5.4/10
Senior Film Conservator

A definitive 5.4/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Never Trouble Trouble remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, only if you have a real soft spot for British comedy from the 1930s. If you aren't into that, you’ll probably find the pacing glacial. But for those of us who like seeing people running around in a panic for no reason? It’s fine. It’s light. It’s not changing the world.
The whole premise is just perfectly ridiculous. A broke artist wants out, pays for his own exit, then inherits a mountain of cash. It’s the kind of logic you only get in these old studio comedies. You can almost see the gears turning in the writer's head as they try to justify why he can't just call the hitman and say, 'Hey, actually, never mind, I bought a yacht.'
There is a lot of frantic energy here. It reminded me a bit of the manic, unhinged vibe you find in Once Over, where the chaos just piles up until the screen feels ready to burst. Some of the performances are so big they’re practically taking up the whole room. Wally Patch is in there doing his thing, and honestly, he’s probably the most grounded person on screen, which is saying a lot.
There’s this one sequence where the artist is trying to dodge his own funeral—or something close to it—and the blocking is just all over the place. It’s clumsy. I love it. It feels like they were filming on a tight schedule and just didn't care if the furniture got in the way. It’s refreshingly sloppy.
It doesn't have the grit of Rebuilding Broken Lives or the strange, quiet atmosphere of The Lonely Woman. It’s just fluff. But sometimes fluff is okay. It’s like eating a bowl of popcorn that’s a little stale—you know you shouldn't, but you keep reaching for it anyway. 🍿
Don't look for deep meaning here. You won't find it. Just watch the guy sweat and try to stay alive long enough to spend his inheritance. That's enough.

IMDb —
1931
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