Wreckety Wrecks (1933)

When the boys run over a dummy, they think they've killed someone. They decide to dispose of the "body" and mistake a seminary for a cemetery.

Director:

Del Lord

Stars:

Ben Blue, Billy Gilbert, James C. Morton

Cast

Cast overview:
Ben Blue	...	Ben
Billy Gilbert	...	Bill
James C. Morton	...	Patrolman
Nora Cecil	...	Miss Winterbottom

Storyline

Ben has a fare, the forbidding Miss Winterbottom. When his taxi won't start, Bill offers to push them. Ben's horn sticks, Bill thinks that's a signal to go faster, and in the ensuing chaos, they strike a manikin. Believing they've killed a person, they try to find a place to stash the body. That night, thinking they've found a cemetery, they enter the grounds of a girls' seminary, run by the same Miss Winterbottom, who's sure she witnessed manslaughter earlier in the day. She and the dummies - Ben, Bill, and the manikin - are bound to meet.

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Plot Keywords:

two reeler

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Genres:

Comedy | Short

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 February 1933 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hal Roach Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

20 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

Not bad...it's just going to make you forget Laurel & Hardy.

The Hal Roach Studio had several series of shorts in the early 1930s--the most famous of which, clearly, was Laurel & Hardy. But they also had Charley Chase, Our Gang, The Boy Friends, Thelma Todd and Zasu Pitts/Patsy Kelly...this very, very obscure team called 'The Taxi Boys'. The Boys never really caught on as a series--much of which might explain the frequent cast changes. Franklin Pangborn and Clyde Cook played leads in one, Clyde Cook and Billy Bevan in another and Ben Blue and Billy Gilbert played leads in most of the later ones.

While these films weren't bad, it's pretty clear that the scripts were ones you could have just as soon seen Stan and Ollie doing...and doing better. Here we have skinny and stupid Ben and tubby and Oliver Hardy-like Billy. The only big difference is that although the plot looks a lot like a Laurel & Hardy one, these two guys just aren't up to the high standard set by this famous team. Ben is just annoying at times with his bizarre and rather effeminate mannerisms. And Billy, though a fine supporting character, as a lead doesn't have a lot of charisma.

The film finds the two (naturally) playing cab drivers. The beat cop is mad as he's always having run-ins with the Boys (especially Ben) and threatens to put them in jail if their stupid antics continue. Soon afterwords, the Boys think they've run over and killed someone--actually it's a mannequin. So, they panic and try to dispose of the body--and accidentally pick up a drunk in its place. As the drunk walks about, the Boys run and hide. This plot is familiar, as it was redone a year later as "The Live Ghost" with Laurel & Hardy.

The bottom line is that this is a decent film--but not a great one. A few more mediocre ones later and the series would be discontinued.