This Is the Life (1933): A weird little tea-shop caper

Is it worth your hour?

If you like old British comedies that smell like mothballs and have zero respect for personal space, then yeah, maybe. It’s not exactly a hidden masterpiece, but it’s got that specific 1933 energy where everyone is shouting their lines like they're performing to the back of a stadium.

If you need your movies to have a coherent plot or, you know, stakes that actually matter, you should probably just skip this and watch The Animal Kingdom instead. This isn't high art. It’s barely even medium art.

The whole thing kicks off with these two teashop owners who inherit a fortune. It’s the classic rags-to-riches setup, but done with a level of frantic energy that feels like the actors had just discovered coffee for the first time.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of This Is the Life (1933) through its definitive frames.

The moment they enter 'society,' the movie hits this weird gear. The posh accents are so thick you could cut them with a butter knife. One of the characters is wearing a tuxedo that looks two sizes too big, and I spent half the runtime wondering if he was going to trip over his own coattails.

The Gangster Problem

Then, of course, the Chicago gangsters show up. Because why wouldn't they? It feels like the writers just needed a villain and grabbed the first one they saw in the hallway. They aren't menacing; they're more like cartoons in pinstripe suits.

There’s this one scene where a gangster is trying to look tough while holding a teacup, and he looks so uncomfortable it’s actually the most human part of the movie. It’s these tiny, accidental details that make you realize someone was actually on set, even if they were just trying to get through the day.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of This Is the Life (1933) through its definitive frames.

• The pacing is all over the place.
• Some of the dialogue is so fast it sounds like a record spinning at 45rpm.
• The sets look like they might tip over if someone sneezes too hard.

I found myself zoning out during the middle act. It just drags on, spinning its wheels with social gags that probably felt fresh ninety years ago but feel a bit dusty now. Then, suddenly, something happens—a chase, a shout, a fall—and you're awake again.

It’s not a movie I’d recommend to a stranger, but if you’re into the history of this kind of fluff, you’ll find some charm here. It’s definitely better than the slog you get in something like The Mysterious Rider, at least in terms of pure, unadulterated nonsense.

The ending comes out of nowhere. One minute they're in a mess, and the next, everyone is laughing and the screen fades to black. It’s like the budget ran out and they just said, 'Good enough.' Honestly? I respect that.