Customer Reviews

Joe E. Brown Comedy Collector's Set

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VCI Entertainment presents "Joe E. Brown Comedy Collector's Set" --- (Dolby digitally remastered)...featuring top performances by actors to die for from the '30s and '40s with outstanding comedy and screenplays...from little known films that will leave you laughing in the aisles...so pop some popcorn, sit back and enjoy the movie.

Disc One are the first two features:

First up we have "The Gladiator" (1938) (72 min. B/W)...under director Edward Sedgwick, producer David L. Loew, novel by Philip Wylie, screenplay by James Mulhauser, Earle Snell, Charlie Melson and Arthur Sheekman, original music by Arthur Kay and Victor Young, song "On To Victory" by Walter G. Samuels...the cast include Joe E. Brown (Hugo Kipp), Man Mountain Dean (Himself, Man Mountain Dean), June Travis (Iris Bennett), Dickie Moore (Bobby), Lucien Littlefield (Professor Danner), Robert Kent (Tom Dixon), Ethel Wales (Mrs. Danner), Donald Douglas (Coach Robbins). . . . . .our story has Joe E. Brown who wins money as an attendance prize and decides to return to college...as a joke he joins the football team, but without his knowledge is given a super drug that gives him superior strength...is the novel on which this film was based one of the principal inspirations for the creation of "Superman", who made his first appearance the same year, could be!

Second film is "Wide Open Faces" (1938) (67 min B/W)...under director Kurt Neumann, producer David L. Loew, writing credits by Joe Bigelow and Pat C. Flick, Richard Flournoy, Clarence Marks and Earle Snell, music by Hugo Riesenfeld. . . . . .cast includes Joe E. Brown (Wilbur Meeks), Jane Wyman (Betty Martin),Alison Skipworth (Auntie Martha), Lyda Roberti (Kitty Fredericks), Alan Baxter (Tony),Lucien Littlefield (P. T. 'Doc' Williams), Sidney Toler (Sheriff),Berton Churchill (L.D. Crawford), Barbara Pepper (Belle), Joe Downing (Stretch), Stanley Fields (Duke Temple), Garry Owen (Pineapple), Dick Rich (Fingers), Walter Wills (Hardcastle). . . . . .our story has everything from comedy, slapstick to crime with a little suspense thrown in for good measure...what fortune is every gangster on the Columbia Picture lot searching for...our hero in this picture is Joe E. Brown a fountaineer with a photographic memory for his soda jerk orders...is there a certain innkeeper that Brown has eyes for...can he find the loot and pick up the reward at the same time...check out the final conclusion and see how everything falls into place...watch for Sidney Toler of Charlie Chan fame as the bumbling Sheriff and Jane Wyman as Brown's love interest.

BIOS:
1. Joe E. Brown
Birth Date: 7/28/1892 - Holgate, Ohio
Died: 7/06/1973 - Brentwood, California
2. Jane Wyman (aka: Sarah Jane (later known as Sarah Jane Fulks) Mayfield)
Birth Date: 1/04/1914 - St. Joseph, Missouri
Died: Still Living

BONUS SPECIAL FEATURES ON DISC ONE:
1. "Fractured Flickers Sampler #1"
2. My Little Margie Trailer
3. Chu Chin Chow Trailer

Disc Two are the third and fourth features:

Third film on the collection is "Flirting with Fate" (1938) (69 min B/W)...under director Frank McDonald, produced by David L. Loew, screenplay and story by Ethel La Blanche, Joseph Moncure March and Charlie Melson, music by Victor Young and Walter G. Samuels. . . . . .cast includes Joe E. Brown (Dixon), Leo Carrillo (Sancho), Beverly Roberts (Patricia), Wynne Gibson (Bertha), Steffi Duna (Carlita), Charles Judels (Garcia), Stanley Fields (Fernando), Leonid Kinskey (Lopez), Chris-Pin Martin (Solado), Inez Palange (Senora Lopez), Irene Franklin (Hattie), Jay Novello (Del Valle), George Humbert (Del Rio), Lew Kelly (Herbie), Anne Hovey (Ida), Dick Botiller (Renaldo), Carlos Villarias (Captain), Philip Trent (Larry). . . . . .our story has Joe E. Brown down on his luck and broke...what does a life Insurance policy and then doing away with himself with the help of Leo Carrillo...but Carrillo has no stomach for the plan...what will Brown do in the final chapter of this MGM theme with vaudeville, insurance and murder all mixed into the main ingredient...as in past performances Leo Carrillo is a scene stealer with the mispronouncing of the english language, as usual he walks away with the film.

Final film on the bill is "Earthworm Tractors" (1936) (69 min B/W)...under director Raymond Enright, produced by Samuel Bischoff, screenplay and story by Hugh Cummings, Richard Macaulay, Paul Girard Smith, Joe Traub and William Hazlett Upson, music by Howard Jackson and Heinz Roemheld. . . . . .cast includes Joe E. Brown (Alexander Botts), June Travis (Mabel Johnson), Guy Kibbee (Sam Johnson), Dick Foran (Emmet McManus), Carolyn Hughes (Sally Blair), Gene Lockhart (George Healey), Olin Howland (Mr. Blair), Joseph Crehan (Mr. Henderson), Sarah Edwards (Mrs. Blair), Charles Wilson (H.J. Russell), Irving Bacon (Taxicab Driver), Stuart Holmes (The Doctor), William B. Davidson (Mr. Jackson). . . . . . .our story opens with the most natural born salesman in the world Joe E. Brown who can sell just about anything that you don't want to purchase...can Brown sell an Earthworm Tractor to grouchy lumberman Guy Kibbee...will June Travis the daughter of Kibbee be able to keep her father at bay from tearing Brown apart...Brown is completely likeable through the entire film and keeps you guessing when and where he's going to be fired again, again and again...watch for the final scene in the tractor race and keep your eye on all the dangerous stunts performed by the studios top stunt people...but remember Brown's a natural born salesmen as Jack L. Warner of Warner Bros found out ----- there's a great deal of entertainment here for all the comedy fans out there...all courtesy of VCI Entertainment, who in my humble opinion is the best there is in restoring early serials and features like this one.

BIOS:
1. Leo Carrillo
Birth Date: 8/06/1881 - Los Angeles, California
Died: 9/10/1961 - Santa Monica, California
2. Dick Foran (aka: John Nicholas Foran)
Birth Date: 6/18/1910 - Flemington, New Jersey
Died: 8/10/1979 - Panorama City, California

BONUS SPECIAL FEATURES ON DISC TWO:
1. "Fractured Flickers Sampler #2"
2. Edgar Kennedy Promo
3. Leon Errol Promo

Great job by VCI Entertainment for releasing the "Joe E Brown Comedy Collector's Set", digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more of the same from the '30s vintage...order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment, stay tuned once again with a top notch easy going lighthearted humor that only VCI Entertainment (King of the Serials) can deliver...just the way we like 'em!

Total Time: 274 mins on DVD ~ VCI Home Video 8315 ~ (6/27/2006)

Though by far not the best of Brown's films, I have to admit that it is great to have four of his "B" comedies available on DVD. As usual, VCI have given us a very nice selection and for a very reasonable price.

So, when can we expect to see Volume 2, VCI? I'll be the first to pick it up.

Joe E Brown was a great comedian in the 1930's and on usually playing the nice guy that is dragging everyone to straight to Hades with his good intentions. Mix ups, mis-heard, assumptions and trying to do the right thing has Mr. Brown crossing paths with contractors, football players, boxers and of course his girl to be. Some of it is madcap and other parts are tounge in cheek, but if you are in tune with the era you'll laugh and smile at the antics. (Also, if you're interested in vintage clothing and fashion this film has a lot to see and Joe's suits are outstanding!) There are some thrills and chills for the day but rest assured it will all work out ok. Our Gang-Little Rascals fans will spot a young Dickie Moore in the one back to college film.

If you're in tune with the time these films were made, you should have some good laughs.

It's not Joe E. Brown's best work, but it's not his worst, either. Until SOMEBODY unlocks the Warner Brothers vault and puts out Joe's best (as a lead actor, that is--I'm not talking about Showboat and Some Like It Hot), namely Alibi Ike and Elmer the Great, this will have to do.

I bought this set because I saw Earthworm Moving Machine on TV years ago and LOVED IT! IT truly is one of the most hilarious, uproarious comedies I've ever watched. If you love old movies, can handle black and white and don't mind the lesser quality and occasionally unstable movement of older filming, you will be engrossed in very fine, nearly slapstick comedy. Joe Brown acts the part of the inflated ego driven, bumbling idiot as well as any actor who ever lived. He is zany Lucy in masculine form. The other comedies in this series may fall along these lines as well but could lack some of the sheer vigor of EMM. These movies represent the typical era mini dramas of falling in love, trying to impress the girl of your dreams (clean enough for children of all ages) and eventually succeeding...but perhaps not with the girl of your dreams but a real dreamgirl. Earthworm is amazing because there do not appear to be any stuntmen or standins and to see what these actors were willing to do for a laugh is shocking. Some of the footage is so riotously funny you may literall split a gut laughing. I borrowed this film to my sister, a nurse, who played it for a friend who had undergone surgery...she literally split her stitches laughing. That's my only caution, otherwise enjoy it in good health!

VCI has assembled three post-Warner Brothers films by Brown plus "Earthworm Tractors." I like Brown a lot, and his personality certainly carries these films, which for the most part are in the B-movie category in my opinion. Still, any lover of comedy and especially Brown should have this in their collection, or at least rent it to view them. The quality is fair - not bad really, but no real restoration seems to have been made here (in fact "The Gladiator" was taken from a 16mm print released by Nu-Art Films). In spite of the lack of real bonus material (though the bios are nice references), the movies contain little gems of routines in them sprinkled here and there. I might have given it three stars if it weren't for Brown's performances, otherwise the quality of both the copies and the original productions is just fair.

Quite some time ago (40+ years), I was watching afternoon TV, and the film ALIBI IKE came on, and I remember enjoying it very much. Prehaps set three, could include this title.

It's great that some real Joe E. Brown films are finally available. The films all look great with no splices. The only unfortunate issue is with The Gladiator and Wide Open Faces. They are both re-releases and the main and end title cards have been replaced on both.

Joe E. Brown, a robust comic personality, gets a terrific DVD showcase from CVI Entertainment. One can see why he was one of the top box office draws of the 1930's---equipped with a wide slot of a mouth which could be contorted into any comic mask, and a penchant for bumbling in & out of trouble, Brown was an ideal movie clown. Often cast as an underdog or "local boy makes good" type that silent comedian Harold Lloyd built his career on, Brown projected that same type of silent movie innocence. Yet, he didn't directly rely on wisecracking jokes or dialogue. Therefore, his screen personality fell happily somewhere in the middle. However, his distinct voice could turn a regular line into a funny one, combined with great facial reactions and that trademark yell.
Three of the four films here are when Brown left Warner Bros. to work for independent producer David Loew; a move that Brown himself said was "bad advice and a disastrous move", for he soon became known as a "B-movie" star at the box office. The production values & scripts occasionally looked & felt second-rate. But despite all this, Brown gave it his all & turned out some pretty good comedies.
"The Gladiator" (1938) is arguably the best of the Loew films; an irresistible comedy casting Brown as a nerdy outcast type at college who's injected with special serum from a campus scientist which transforms him into a super-human athlete! The script mines every comic opportunity as Brown haphazardly breaks furniture, walls, floors, and nimbly leaps over & pushes away players during football games! The big climax is Brown wrestling Man Mountain Dean & must use his brains when the formula wears off!
"Wide Open Faces" (1938) is less successful but extremely pleasant as Brown plays the town soda jerk (Brown displays startling dexterity here doling out drinks & sundaes) who inadvertently captures a notorious crook & becomes famous. Helping to restore an old hotel, crooks from all over converge on it once they discover that the original crook stashed a fortune there. It's climaxed with a daffy chase via car, railway cart, and boat.
"Flirting with Fate" (1938) is a lively comedy with Brown as head of a theatrical troupe coming into South America. Desperate for success--and money--a despondent Brown tries to commit suicide so his troupe can collect on his life insurance, which leads to a series of comic misadventures...trying to shoot himself, drinking ant poison (it's really hard liquor), throwing himself into a lion's den, and asking a dangerous bandit to kill him. Climaxed by a bull chase & an "explosive" ending, it's dizzy fun!
"Earthworm Tractors" (1938) is one of Brown's last comedies for Warner's. A dandy comedy about an independent salesman who invests in earthworm tractors...in spite of the fact he knows nothing about them! Playing a pushy "go-getting" type, Brown manages to be likable/funny without being annoying as he optimistically pushes forward while seemingly oblivious to the comic devastation he leaves in his wake. Highlights include Brown demolishing the countryside (and the would-be investor's truck) during a demonstration; towing the investor's home to a new address (and narrowly missing a train); and another tractor ride through a dynamited, rickety bridged area that goes for thrill comedy.
The menus created for this DVD are quite impressive. It just goes to show that even "B-movie" material can't hold down a great talent like Joe E. Brown!

Joe E. Brown ALWAYS makes me laugh. A true classic which is well worth the money spent.