Topic: Love at First Fright (1941) - El Brendel

[Paul Pain]

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0132290/

After last week's torment, LOVE AT FIRST FRIGHT is a pleasant enough short.  El is actually looking comfortable for once, and he does a decent job as a verbal comedian in this one.  Yes, once again, the short revolves around insulting hillbilly stereotypes and how not-hillbilly El gets caught in yet another feud.

The weakest thing about this short is the extras.  Almost no Columbia regulars appear in this, and boy does it make things weird.  Marion Martin does here what she was known exclusively for at this: playing a hussy trophy blonde who needs some decent, but not exceptional, acting skills.  She is the only other person credited, and there must be a story behind this strange cast.  Marion Martin eventually came into her own and featured in many of the late Marx Brothers films.  Many of the extras actually had decent fame in years both before and after this.  Seriously, go check out the IMDB page for this one as it's more interesting than most Columbia shorts have to offer.  Hank Worden lived so long after this one that he had roles in KNIGHT RIDER and SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT, acting until his death at age 91 in 1992.

Overall, this is a case of solid actors, in roles clearly catered to their talents, dealing with a lousy plot.  We get murder, chickens that lay explosive eggs (not ducks), and horseback riding down a fence.  It's quite the surreal short, and without the sound effects one wouldn't know it's from Columbia. 

The rant El makes while he is tied to the stick is quite possibly the best we will see from him.  He also does a fine job as a radio announcer.  Overall, I'm still not terribly impressed by him, but he's actually earning his pay for once.  He fits more with Marx brothers humor than slapstick.  The gun joke when he's sitting with Marion is an interesting bit with a crazy twist ending that leads to a chase scene.  That ending was also one of Columbia's strangest as well.

Overall, I laughed a lot more at this one than I was expecting by the title.

"Yumpin' Yiminy, get me out of here!"

7/10

[metaldams]

Eh, again, it’s just OK.  This time, I don’t think El Brendel is so much the problem, he does what he can with such limited material.  He was actually kind of funny when he was tied up above the bucket of water as well as his scene with Marion Martin.  Yeah, this time, the hillbilly cousin marrying thing pops up again.  A few months back, I couldn’t escape the disintegrating scared black man.  Now, between this and Abbott and Costello’s COMIN’ ROUND THE MOUNTAIN, it’s Appalachian cousin marrying that seems to be the theme. 

The majority of this short left me flat as there is only so much humor that can be derived from the dumb hillbilly thing.  The gag of thinking El Brendel was in the radio was a real eye roller and went on too long for my tastes.  As for the positives, I did enjoy the one man band in the radio station and there is one brilliant, even Keaton worthy gag towards the end.  El Brendel is seated escalating down a fence on a hill at top speed.  There’s a door opening on the fence that closes just in time for El Brendel to keep up his ride.  Funny bit there, but not enough to save what I’d hope would be better for a 1941 Del Lord short.

The big hillbilly guy played the king in SOME MORE OF SAMOA (Tiny Ward), probably shot around the same time as this, and the king’s sister from that short (Louise Carver), shows up as well.  As far as Marion Martin, she would show up ten years later as the leading lady in MERRY MAVERICKS.

[Paul Pain]

At the end of this, especially after metaldams' review, I am left feeling this was a vehicle merely for testing new actors, different gags, and previously untried effects (untried by Columbia shorts).

[Umbrella Sam]

Well, at least it’s an improvement over AY TANK AY GO. LOVE AT FIRST FRIGHT is once again a comedy that deals with a feud (was this a common theme in a lot of El Brendel’s solo shorts?). While it is still painfully boring for some long spots, there are a few moments that manage to stick out. I actually do kind of like the part where the family accidentally communicates with El Brendel over the radio and mistake the song names for him speaking to them. I also like when one of the family members casually threatens him with a gun during his scene with Marion Martin. Heck, even the climax with the fence is kind of cool. For me, the highlight is at the beginning when one of the people makes a random objection and gets shot, only for Hank Mann to say afterwards, “Objection overruled.”

So, LOVE AT FIRST FRIGHT is funny in spots, which is more than I thought it would be, but it’s still not really much proof that El Brendel could carry a comedy series successfully.

5 out of 10