Earthworm Tractors (1936)

Director:

Ray Enright

Writers:

Hugh Cummings (writer)
Richard Macaulay (writer)

Release Date:

17 December 1936 (Denmark)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Alexander Botts is a self-described natural born salesman and master mechanic, who is trying to make...

Plot Keywords:

Salesmanship | Salesman

Cast

Joe E. Brown	...	Alexander Botts
June Travis	...	Mabel Johnson
Guy Kibbee	...	Sam Johnson
Dick Foran	...	Emmet McManus (as Nick Foran)
Carol Hughes	...	Sally Blair
Gene Lockhart	...	George Healey
Olin Howland	...	Mr. Blair
Joseph Crehan	...	Mr. Henderson
Charles C. Wilson	...	H.J. Russell (as Charles Wilson)
William B. Davidson	...	Mr. Jackson (as William Davidson)
Irving Bacon	...	Taxicab Driver
Stuart Holmes	...	The Doctor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rosalind Marquis	...	Telephone Girl

Also Known As:

A Natural Born Salesman (UK)

Runtime:

69 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:G (Ontario) | Finland:S

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Actress Sarah Edwards, while listed in preview credits and shown in at least one still from "Earthworm Tractors" as Mrs. Blair, was cut from final release prints. She is probably best known for her role as Mrs. Hatch in It's a Wonderful Life (1946).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Alexander first meets Mabel, her stuck car gets mud all over his clothes. He ties a rope to a taxi to pull her car. As soon as he gets into the taxi, the mud is gone from his clothes.

Very Good 30's-Style Comedy

"Earthworm Tractors" is a very good 30's-style comedy, with pleasantly silly main characters and a story designed to set up some good comic sequences. It's the kind of movie that can easily come out badly if not done with some skill, but this one is done nicely and it works.

Joe E. Brown plays Alexander Botts, a self-described born salesman and master mechanic, whose real talent is for getting in over his head. His attempts to make a big sale of tractors to grumpy, old-fashioned lumberman Johnson (Guy Kibbee) lead him into one disaster after another. Much of it is stock humor, but it is pleasantly done, and there are some particularly funny sequences of the tractor rampaging out of control. Kibbee and Brown are both good, giving deliberately exaggerated performances that work well. It's mostly a two-man show, but the rest of the cast does well when called on.

Anyone who likes comedies of the era should enjoy this film. It's very pleasant, and at times is hilarious.