Film & Shorts Discussions > Random Comedy Reviews
Odor in the Court (1934) - Clark and McCullough
Dr. Mabuse:
--- Quote from: metaldams on January 25, 2021, 09:59:32 PM ---IMDb does state August 1934 like you mention and if that’s really the case - then this is not pre code. July 1, 1934 s when the code started. Hmmm, really shocked they got away with a few of these gags if that Aug 2 1934 date is accurate.
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The earliest screenings I could find took place on July 17, 1934 in Montgomery, Alabama and Muscatine, Iowa. Since the two-reeler was completed before July 1, perhaps the Hays Office gave the film a pass. When it came to short subjects, the censors were more focused on Betty Boop than Clark and McCullough.
GenoCuddy:
--- Quote from: Dr. Mabuse on January 25, 2021, 09:47:51 PM ---One of my favorite Clark and McCullough films (which were largely hit and miss) and their last pre-Code outing. Released in August 1934, the refreshingly outrageous "Odor in the Court" managed to squeak by the Production Code, which was established a month earlier. We can be grateful this two-reeler avoided the censor's shears. A fast and furious short that demands repeated viewings.
An interesting quote from occasional director Sam White: "The thing about Clark and McCullough was that when you directed them on the set, they were hysterical. I used to think that the scenes I was making would split my gut. When we got it on film, it wasn't funny. They just never came off funny. They exuded some kind of chemistry in person that never came off on the screen as it should have." I wholeheartedly disagree, but I would have loved to see their live act.
Though the high-energy "Alibi Bye Bye" (1935) ended Clark and McCullough's career on a high note, I wonder how the duo would have fared in future shorts with the Hays Office breathing down their necks. Would they have met the same watered-down fate as fellow RKO comedians Wheeler & Woolsey? We'll never know.
10/10
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I also disagree with Mr. White's assessment, many of these two-reelers are great, among my favorites are of course Odor in the Court but also Jitters The Butler, False Roomers, Bedlam of Beards, Love and Hisses and Alibi Bye Bye. I hope The Millionaire Cat, Flying Down To Zero, A Melon-Drama and A Peep on the Deep surface someday, I have more hope for those than I do the Fox films.
As far as your question if the boys would have been watered down post-code, they very well could have, a sneaking suspicion of mine is RKO would have cancelled the series and had Clark and McCullough as comedy support in the Astaire-Rogers films.
metaldams:
Or if they continued on longer, perhaps instead of staying at RKO and playing support to Astaire and Rogers, maybe they would’ve gone to the assisted living home of so many old comedians of the day - The Columbia Shorts Department.
HomokHarcos:
When I saw the title, I assumed the story was going to be different. Like some Limburger cheese in the courtroom. As it is they are crooked lawyers that have never done business before. I like court stories, so this was entertaining, though I don't think it is as good as Disorder in the Court. I'm curious to watch Wheeler and Woolsey's movie with a similar premise. I like Paul McCullough's laugh, probably one of the funniest behind Shemp.
GenoCuddy:
--- Quote from: HomokHarcos on January 27, 2021, 09:04:23 PM ---When I saw the title, I assumed the story was going to be different. Like some Limburger cheese in the courtroom. As it is they are crooked lawyers that have never done business before. I like court stories, so this was entertaining, though I don't think it is as good as Disorder in the Court. I'm curious to watch Wheeler and Woolsey's movie with a similar premise. I like Paul McCullough's laugh, probably one of the funniest behind Shemp.
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Personally, I prefer Odor in the Court over Disorder in the Court.
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