Old Sawbones is a frantic, messy little relic

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, only if you have a very specific craving for 1930s slapstick and don't mind feeling a little confused by the pacing. If you grew up watching The Poor Fish or enjoy those rapid-fire shorts that seem to run on pure caffeine and panic, you might get a kick out of this. If you need a movie to make sense or care about medical accuracy, just skip it.

The whole premise is just absurd. A medical committee deciding who gets a job based on a quantity-over-quality contest? It’s pure lunacy. Watching the younger doctor try to look modern while Doc Clyde just stumbles through the screen is… something.

Notes from the couch

• There is a moment where the editing feels like it just gave up. It skips over the actual doctoring to get to the next punchline.
• The arrival of the quintuplets is handled with all the grace of a bowling ball hitting a pile of dishes. It’s hilarious but also kind of exhausting.
• I’m still not sure why half the cast is running in the background of the shots. It feels like they were just trying to fill the frame.

It definitely lacks the polished timing you see in something like Sneakers, but that’s not really the point, is it? The comedy relies on sheer volume. Everyone is yelling or falling over. It’s loud.

There’s a specific bit where Doc Clyde is rushing to the house to deliver those babies, and the way the scenery changes behind him makes me think they were just dragging him on a cart in front of a painting. It’s so obviously fake that it becomes the best part of the scene.

Is it a masterpiece? No. Does it feel like a fever dream you had after eating too much cheese? Absolutely. It’s not trying to be a La La Lucille level production, and that’s fine. Sometimes you just want to watch a guy scramble to win a bet by being the fastest obstetrician in the county.

Also, the ending is abrupt. Like, really abrupt. The screen just goes black while you're still wondering if everyone is okay. Classic.