The Pride of the Force (1933) - A weirdly charming, rubber-faced relic

You should only watch this if you have a deep, slightly worrying obsession with dusty British comedies from the early thirties. If you expect slick jokes or fast pacing, you are going to absolutely hate it within five minutes. But for those of us who love weird cinematic history, it is a pretty fun ride. 🎪

The movie stars Leslie Fuller, who was apparently called "Elstree's own Clark Gable" back then. I find that hilarious because he looks more like a friendly potato than a Hollywood heartthrob. He plays identical twins with opposite dreams.

One twin is a policeman who desperately wants to join the circus. The other is a goofy farm hand who wants nothing more than to be a cop. Naturally, they swap places, and chaos—or what passed for chaos in 1933—happens.

Fuller's face does some truly bizarre things in this movie. He has this rubbery mug that he stretches in ways that look almost painful. It is the kind of physical comedy that feels completely dead today, but it is fascinating to watch here.

There is a scene early on with a pig in a muddy yard that goes on for way too long. I think they spent about ten minutes just filming people slipping in the mud. I actually got up to make some tea during this part and did not miss a single plot point.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of The Pride of the Force (1933) through its definitive frames.

Speaking of 1933, it is funny to compare this to what was happening across the ocean. While Hollywood was churning out slick pre-code dramas like Mary Stevens, M.D., Britain was still making these very theatrical, stagey farces. It feels like watching a filmed stage play where someone forgot to turn down the stage lights.

The audio is another thing. It sounds like everyone is shouting into a tin can at the bottom of a very deep well. Sometimes the background noise completely swallows the dialogue, but honestly, you do not need to hear the words to get the jokes.

The circus scenes have this oddly empty feeling. It looks like the production could only afford about twelve extras to play the audience. They all look incredibly bored, which made me laugh more than the actual clown acts. 🤡

At one point, there is a chase scene that feels like it was edited by someone who was actively falling asleep. Shots do not really match up, and characters seem to teleport from one side of a field to the other. It has that cozy, low-budget charm that you just do not get anymore.

If you have ever watched old cartoons like Bosko the Musketeer, you will recognize the simple, bouncy rhythm of the humor here. It is innocent, a bit dumb, and totally harmless.

Some things I noticed:

• The pig squeaks sound suspiciously like a human crew member doing voice effects behind the camera.
• One of the circus performers wears a mustache that looks like it was glued on sideways.
• There is a reaction shot of a policeman that lingers for so long it becomes genuinely creepy.

It is definitely not a masterpiece. But if you want to turn your brain off and look at a bygone era of British silliness, it is worth a quick look.