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5.4/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.4/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. The Big Idea remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Look, if you are a completionist for the Three Stooges, you’re going to watch this anyway. If you are just looking for a tight, coherent story from 1934? Forget it. You’ll probably hate how much time is spent on random dancing girls and radio impressions that have absolutely nothing to do with the main premise.
The whole thing feels like a variety show that accidentally got a script.
Ted Healy is playing the 'straight man' here, which is a thankless job when you’re surrounded by people constantly breaking into song. There’s this constant feeling that the movie wants to be a sophisticated comedy but keeps getting distracted by a shiny object in the corner. It’s weirdly disjointed.
One minute we are in a 'Big Idea' office, and the next we are watching a musical number that feels like it belongs in Sailors' Wives or some other random production. The transition isn't just shaky; it’s basically non-existent.
There is a cleaning woman who acts as a sounding board for Ted’s 'Big Idea,' and honestly, she looks more confused by the dialogue than I was. Why are there fountains in the office? I kept asking myself that while watching.
It’s not as dark as Possession, obviously, but there is a strange, frantic energy to the editing that makes you feel like the filmmakers were running out of film stock or patience. Or both.
The scene where he imagines the radio show goes on for a while. It’s okay, but you can tell the movie is just trying to pad the runtime before he finally gets to meet Honey. You can practically hear the director yelling, 'More dancing! More noise!' whenever the plot starts to make sense.
It’s not a masterpiece. It’s not even a particularly good short. But it’s a time capsule of a certain kind of frantic, pre-code era nonsense that I weirdly don't mind. 🤷♂️