You Bring the Ducks Review: Irvin S. Cobb vs. A Very Loud Nephew

You should probably watch this if you have twenty minutes to kill and you like seeing old-timey comedians get extremely frustrated. It is a good movie to put on while you are doing something else, like folding socks.

If you hate characters who scream their lines or act like they just drank ten cups of coffee, you will probably want to turn this off after five minutes. The nephew is a lot to handle.

Irvin S. Cobb is the main guy here. He has this great face that looks like a bag of flour that is slightly annoyed at the world. He’s trying to suck up to the Governor to get a plumb job.

The Governor, played by Oscar Apfel, looks exactly like what a 1934 politician should look like. Stiff collar, serious eyes, and a mustache that looks like it was applied with a ruler. He just wants to shoot some ducks in peace.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of You Bring the Ducks (1934) through its definitive frames.

Then Benny Baker shows up as the nephew. He is the chaos agent of the movie. He wears this weird little hat and has a voice that could probably cut through glass if he tried hard enough.

There is this one moment where the nephew is trying to help with the gear, and he’s just dropping things and being loud. You can see Irvin’s neck getting red. It doesn't feel like acting; it feels like Irvin actually wanted to hit him with a boat oar.

The Hunting Vibes

• The marsh looks like it might just be a very large puddle in a studio backlot.
• The ducks are mostly just blurry shapes in the sky that look like they were edited in later.
• Everyone handles their shotguns in a way that makes me think safety training wasn't a big deal in the thirties.

I noticed that Fred 'Snowflake' Toones shows up as the help. He was in Sucker Money too. His character is the typical trope you see in movies from this era, which is always a bit awkward to watch now, but he has a very expressive face when things start going sideways.

The physical comedy is okay. It’s mostly people falling over or almost getting shot by accident. It reminded me a bit of Gall of the Wild but with more yelling.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of You Bring the Ducks (1934) through its definitive frames.

There is a bit with a duck call that goes on for way too long. The nephew keeps blowing it at the wrong time. The first time is funny, the second time is okay, but by the fifth time, I was ready for the Governer to just leave him in the woods.

The movie doesn't really have a big ending. It just kind of stops when the jokes run out. It feels like they had a certain amount of film in the camera and just quit when they hit the end of the roll.

I did like the outfits, though. Everyone in the 30s went hunting in clothes that look like they were going to a nice dinner afterwards. Irvin looks very round and lumpy in his gear, which is relatable. 🦆

It’s not a masterpiece or anything. It's just a weird little slice of time. If you’ve seen On a Sunday Afternoon, you know the vibe of these short comedies. They are just meant to make you chuckle for a second and then move on with your life.

One weird thing I noticed: the mud looks suspiciously like chocolate pudding in one shot. I might be wrong, but it had a very specific shine to it. Why would they use pudding? Maybe it was easier to wash off than actual swamp muck.

Anyway, it’s fine. It’s a solid C+. Watch it if you like grumpy old men being annoyed by young people. That’s basically the whole movie.