The Druggist's Dilemma: Why are they on a wire?

If you have twenty minutes and want to see two guys treat a pair of trousers like a holy relic that requires a circus act to deliver, The Druggist's Dilemma is your movie. It is not exactly high art, and if you are looking for a coherent plot, look elsewhere. But for people who enjoy watching old-school physical comedy where people fall down a lot? Yeah, this works.

Bobby Clark and Paul McCullough are soda jerks here, which is just a fancy way of saying they cause problems in an apron. The whole setup is paper-thin. They need to get some pants to their boss, and somehow, this leads them to a high-wire act.

It’s honestly absurd. There’s no real reason for the wire, but they do it anyway. The stunt work is… well, it’s definitely something. You can tell they were really up there, and it gives the whole thing a weird, nervous energy that you just don't get in modern, green-screened comedies.

James Finlayson shows up, and as always, he brings that twitchy, frustrated energy that makes him the best part of any scene he’s in. He just stares at these guys like he can’t believe he signed the contract for this. I relate to him so much in this.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of The Druggist's Dilemma (1933) through its definitive frames.

It feels a bit like Taking Orders in how much it relies on the actors just throwing their bodies around. There’s a frantic pace that never lets up, which is both its biggest win and its biggest headache. Sometimes, I just wanted them to stop running and explain why they didn't just take the stairs.

Don't expect the emotional weight of something like The Manxman. This isn't trying to change your life. It’s just trying to see if it can make you laugh at a guy losing his balance on a rope. 🤡

The pacing is a bit of a mess, frankly. It jumps from one frantic bit to the next without catching its breath. You can almost see the gears turning as they try to figure out how to get to the next gag. It is not polished, but maybe that is why it feels more human than most of what we watch today.

• The pants are clearly not worth the effort.
• Watch for the background extras looking genuinely confused.
• The sound effects are louder than they have any right to be.
• It ends so abruptly you might think your internet cut out.

It is definitely a relic of a different era. If you hate slapstick, you’ll be miserable. If you like seeing people do dangerous, stupid things for a laugh? You'll have a blast. 🥤