DbcultAccessing Vault...
Cult Review
Senior Film Conservator
Is The Mayor's Nest worth your seventy minutes today? Well, only if you have a soft spot for dusty 1930s British comedies where people say things like 'by Jove' without a hint of irony.
If you need fast pacing or crisp audio, you will probably absolutely hate this. 😅
It is basically a music hall sketch stretched out until the seams start showing. But in a kind of charming way?
Sydney Howard plays Joe Pilgrim, a trombone player who somehow ends up running for mayor.
His face is amazing, honestly. It looks like a slightly deflated dough ball, and he uses it to look confused at every minor inconvenience.
He has this slow, ponderous way of moving that makes the whole movie feel like it is running at 0.75x speed. It is oddly relaxing to watch.
There is this one bit where he is trying to play the trombone in a cramped room. The slide keeps hitting people in the chest, and the gag goes on for so long it stops being funny, then gets funny again.
Claude Hulbert is here too, playing his usual brand of lovable rich idiot. He has this nervous energy that makes me think he drank about five cups of strong coffee right before the director yelled action.
It is not quite as wild as The Fighting Grin, but Hulbert really tries his best to steal the show.
This movie does not care about high-society drama like Rich People. It is strictly working-class silliness through and through.
Oh, and the legendary singer Al Bowlly shows up! If you know your 1930s British dance bands, seeing him is a nice little treat that will make you smile.
The audio is pretty rough, though. You might need to turn the volume way up to catch the slang, and even then, half the jokes are British puns that probably died out before World War II.
But there is something so sweet about how simple the plot is.
It is definitely more watchable than some other obscure things from that era, like Set Free, which just drags on forever.
The ending is incredibly rushed, though. They basically just resolve the whole plot in about two minutes because they ran out of film, I guess. 🤷♂️
But hey, it is short. Perfect for a lazy afternoon when you want to travel back to a much simpler, sillier time.
