6.4/10
Senior Film Conservator

A definitive 6.4/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Love on a Ladder remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have a spare ten minutes and a weird fondness for watching Edgar Kennedy look miserable, sure. If you’re looking for a romantic comedy that actually feels romantic, skip it. This one is for the completionists of 1930s shorts and people who enjoy watching a premise run face-first into a brick wall.
Florence Lake really sells the "bored housewife" energy here. She has this way of blinking that says, I am going to make your life a nightmare today, and she doesn't disappoint.
The whole bit with the uniform and the ladder is supposed to be funny because it’s so forced. It is forced. You can practically see Edgar Kennedy wishing he was literally anywhere else. When he’s standing there, waiting to climb, he looks like he’s waiting for a bus in the rain.
There’s a specific moment where he fumbles with his hat that made me laugh. Not because it was written that way, but because it looked like he genuinely forgot what he was doing for a second. That kind of real-life awkwardness is the only thing that keeps the screen from feeling dead.
It’s not quite as chaotic as The Boat, which had a much better handle on physical slapstick. Here, the comedy just sort of sits there, waiting for someone to do something explosive.
It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s a tiny, weird slice of old Hollywood desperation. 🪜