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6/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Wide Open remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you like watching a man look like he is about to have a complete nervous breakdown for 70 minutes, then yes. This is for people who enjoy old-school farce and don't mind that the audio sounds like it was recorded inside a literal trash can. 🗑️
If you need things like 'logic' or 'realistic human behavior,' you will probably want to throw your remote at the wall. This is a movie where people do things simply because it makes the scene more chaotic.
Edward Everett Horton plays Simon. He is the kind of guy who looks like he apologizes to furniture when he bumps into it. He works in an office where everyone seems to be vibrating with too much energy.
The movie starts with him trying to avoid Agatha, played by Louise Fazenda. She is his co-worker and she is... well, she is a lot. She decides Simon is her man and basically hunts him through the office like a predator tracking a very confused gazelle.
There is this one scene where Simon is trying to work and the phone just won't stop ringing. The way Horton handles a telephone is honestly a masterclass in physical comedy. He looks at the receiver like it might bite his ear off at any second.
I noticed the background actors in the office scenes are doing some very strange things. One guy in the back is just moving the same piece of paper from the left side of his desk to the right side, over and over. It is distracting once you see it.
Simon finally gets home thinking he is safe. He is not safe. Not even a little bit.
He finds a girl named Julia (Patsy Ruth Miller) hiding in his place. She is pretty and charming but also kind of a nightmare because she just won't leave. She treats his apartment like a hotel she already paid for.
The movie is based on a play and you can really tell. Most of it happens in just a couple of rooms. It feels a bit cramped, like the actors are constantly worried about stepping out of the frame.
The dialogue is fast. Maybe too fast? Since this was 1930, they were still figuring out how to talk on camera without it sounding like a shouting match. 📢
There is a lot of screeching. When the women get upset, the audio levels just peak and it hurts your ears a bit. I had to turn my volume down twice during the middle section.
It reminds me a bit of A Gentleman of Leisure but with more sweating. Horton is just constantly mopping his brow. I wonder how many handkerchiefs the wardrobe department went through for this shoot.
One bit that really made me laugh was when Simon tries to hide Julia in the bedroom while his boss is over. It is the most basic trope in the book, but Horton makes it work because he is so genuinely terrified of being caught. His eyes get so wide you can see the white all the way around them.
The boss character is your typical huffing and puffing old man. He is there to be loud and demand things. It is a very 1930s type of role that you don't see much anymore.
I kept thinking about Only a Husband while watching this. There is a similar vibe of 'men who are scared of their wives or potential wives' that was really popular back then. It is a bit dated, sure, but the physical stuff still lands.
Wait, I forgot to mention the cat. There is a cat in one scene that looks like it wants to be anywhere else on earth. It just stares at the camera with total judgment. I related to that cat.
The plot about a mysterious box of money or whatever is barely important. The movie doesn't really care about the 'why,' it just cares about the 'what now?'
Agatha shows up at his house too, of course. Because why not have both women in the same room making his life a living hell? That is when the movie goes into overdrive.
It is interesting to see Louise Beavers in a small role here. She is always great, even when the script doesn't give her much to do besides look skeptical at the chaos happening around her.
The ending feels very rushed. It is like the director looked at his watch and realized they only had five minutes of film left in the camera. Suddenly everything is resolved and everyone is happy, even though two minutes ago they were all screaming.
Is it a masterpiece? No. It is barely a movie. It is more like a filmed panic attack.
But it is funny. If you like seeing a man get completely overwhelmed by the smallest inconveniences, you will have a good time. It feels a lot like Twenty Dollars a Week in how it handles the 'average guy in trouble' trope.
I think the best way to watch this is on a rainy Sunday when you don't want to think too hard. Just let the shouting wash over you. 🌧️
One last thing—the suit Simon wears is about two sizes too big for him. It makes him look even more pathetic, which I assume was the point. Good costume choice there.
It is messy. It is loud. It is Edward Everett Horton doing his thing. Sometimes that is all you need for an hour of entertainment. Don't expect anything deep and you won't be disappointed.
IMDb 5.6
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