Topic: Gold Is Where You Lose It (1944) - Andy Clyde & Emmett Lynn

[Paul Pain]

I waited long enough for metaldams to catch up to us. 

What happens when you mix Daffy Duck and The Three Stooges?  You get GOLD IS WHERE YOU LOSE IT, appropriately entitled after a Daffy Duck short, GOLD IS WHERE YOU FIND IT, also is the lone Columbia short for the legendary Mel Blanc, who appears briefly in the opening scene and is worth every second.  This short is a remake of YES, WE HAVE NO BONANZA with the Three Stooges.

Go remember a better short if you'd like
YES, WE HAVE NO BONANZA: https://threestooges.net/forums/index.php/topic,5180.0.html

To be fair, GOLD IS WHERE YOU LOSE IT has points where it's a riot in its own right, but the film quality is dismal on this one.

Emmett Lynn was one of those Western film workhorses, and he was probably chosen for this film knowing he'd slot into both the setting and with Andy's character.  Together, he and Andy make quite a decent pair.  A slap-together pairing of Andy and Emmett just doesn't have the comedic energy of Moe, Larry, and Curly, and this short is slowed down appropriately for them.  The result is a film that, when viewed ignoring the original, is a solid effort in its own right.

The highlight of this short is Mel Blanc and Andy interacting with each other.  Andy reacts wonderfully to Mel's behaviors, and Mel is in full Daffy Duck mode.  It has been 20-something years since I last saw an old Daffy film, so it was a huge flashback when I heard that laugh Mel Blanc delivers as he walks off camera.

After Andy and Emmett leave the store, the next major chunk of the film is a remake of the campground scene from the original, including the drama of believing the mule ate the dynamite and died.  This receives different treatment with a bizarre scene involving the mule and a bag of flour that indirectly leads to a similar gold-digging scene from the original.  The rest of the short plays out similarly but with a happier ending for the heroes.

Sit back, ignore the existence of YES, WE HAVE NO BONANZA, and enjoy a good short.

No rating due to the quality of the film reels

[Umbrella Sam]

Kind of similar to Paul and SWEET SPIRITS OF NIGHTER, this was a short I’d been seeking out for years, ever since I’d read about its existence in the book, Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices. Mel did a decent amount of television appearances with Jack Benny, but I highly suspect that was more out of loyalty to Benny than anything else. Mel himself admitted he didn’t feel particularly comfortable on camera, so his film appearances are much more limited. He was in a Red Skelton film, has a bit in a Billy Wilder film, he has an interesting part in a Spike Jones Soundie, “Clink, Clink Another Drink”. As far as I’m aware, though, GOLD IS WHERE YOU LOSE IT is the only time he ever appeared in a live action comedy short. And, yeah, they really take advantage of his presence. I too love all of his cartoon references. The Porky Pig voice, the Woody Woodpecker laugh, even the part where he’s biting the cigar has traces of Bugs Bunny in it. In my opinion, he was just as much of a natural comedian on camera as he was off, it’s just that he preferred lending his talent to cartoon voices, and the world was all the better for it.

As far as the rest of the short goes, it’s perfectly acceptable. Andy Clyde is a very hit-or-miss comedian for me; he definitely has a distinct face and voice, but he kind of does fall into that category where the writers could have given him something that was written for someone else and not have to worry too much about character changes. Clearly that’s the case here given the YES, WE HAVE NO BONANZA connection, although I have to admit SOLDIER MAN was actually the first thing that came to mind when it came to the exploding mule part. Andy and Emmett do a good job when it comes to this part and I also have to admit I liked the addition of the mule coming back and making Andy and Emmett think it was a ghost. The climax with them throwing rocks is a bit dull, but that’s really the only problem I have with it. It’s a fun short overall, not great, but Andy and Emmett do perfectly fine with the material they’re given and of course having Mel Blanc there really gives it an extra edge. I too was disappointed by the film quality, but finally being able to at least see it is good enough for me.

[metaldams]

Well crap, indeed the video is gone.  I just clicked on a random film to catch up and you’re not kidding, someone in copyright might be monitoring.

Or maybe there is another way, oh yeah!     I’ll check it out tomorrow.

[metaldams]

Finally got around to watching this one tonight and think you two nailed it so I don’t have much to add.  Obviously a nod to YES, WE HAVE NO BONANZA and seeing Mel Blanc on screen doing his cartoon voices was a blast.  Andy and Emmett play a couple of country bumpkins well and this basically an unpretentious Jules White short with broad slapstick - the kind of thing Columbia Comedy Shorts were made for.  The ghost mule gag was especially awesome.  I really enjoyed this one.