Author Archive: Retro

A comedy of frustration as assistant director Edgar Kennedy is under pressure to complete a film at the studio in spite of a temperamental star and his obnoxious in-laws.

Nanette Renfrae, after an arduous season of society’s whirl, decides to spend a quiet summer at a secluded seaside resort. The place selected is one frequented by the middle class, where she feels she will be free from the tormenting attentions of the male sex that her beauty has induced in the past. She arrives without ostentation accompanied only by her maid, but her extreme pulchritude and graceful bearing soon enraptured the male contingent of the place to the jealous rage of the other women folks who find themselves deserted. She cannot stir but what there is a score of admirers present. A walk on the beach, a stroll through the park is invariably attended by a regiment of gallants, until to her they become positive pests. One would have been acceptable, but twenty, well, it seems as if she is destined to pass time in the seclusion of her room. The maid, however, is [...]

Set in an early cinema house, this comic short illustrates the problems with the gals’ hats obscuring the movie patron’s line of vision.

A gardener is watering his flowers, when a mischievous boy sneaks up behind his back, and puts a foot on the water hose. The gardener is surprised, and looks into the nozzle to find out why the water has stopped coming. The boy lifts his foot from the hose, whereby the water squirts up in the gardener’s face. The gardener chases the boy, grips his ear, and slaps him in his buttocks. The boy runs away, and the gardener continues his watering.

A beautiful redhead (Myrna Dell) comes knocking on Leon’s door demanding the return of a compact dropped accidently in his pocket while they were dancing. But his wife (Dorothy Granger) has already discovered the compact and thinks Leon bought it as a gift for her. And then, to no great surprise, the redhead’s jealous husband makes an appearance. Leon, before he is cleared of any hanky-panky with the redhead, nets two black eyes.

Edgar tries his hand at making pies for Vivien’s charity bazaar with predictable results.

Leon’s beautiful blonde maid threatens to quit on the eve of a big party Leon is giving, and, to persuade her to stay, he gives her the fur coat belonging to his wife (Dorothy Granger). The latter views this action as a piece of bad news and Leon gets yet another object lesson regarding the exchange of one problem for a worse problem.