Earthworm Tractors (1936)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

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:

Tractor | Salesman | Destruction | Factory | Train

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.

Mister Brown & Mister Kibbee Score Comedic Success

Alexander C. Botts - a natural born salesman - tries to sell EARTHWORM TRACTORS to a most unwilling businessman.

Based on William Hazlett Upson's short stories for the Saturday Evening Post, this very funny, fast-paced film is an excellent vehicle for Joe E. Brown. His great rubbery face registering amusement, determination or frustration, Brown propels himself from one slapstick situation to another. His goofy antics - moving his girlfriend's house without her permission is just one of them - are genuinely hilarious.

Human pepper pot Guy Kibbee is Brown's perfect foil. Eyes bulging & voice booming, he inevitably finds himself involved in Brown's more dangerous schemes. At one point, words utterly failing him, he discovers his only possible response to Brown's incredible behavior is a quick sock on the jaw.

Mention should be made of laconic Olin Howlin, shoe polish guzzling Gene Lockhart & telephone operator Rosalind Marquis, each of whom add bright moments to the film.

Alert movie mavens will spot two humorous goofs early in the film: 1) In the first scene, when rival Dick Foran parks his car in front of pretty Carol Hughes' home, the cameraman & camera are perfectly reflected in the convertible's driver side window; 2) A little later on, Joe E. Brown's white suit is mad-splattered when he tries to extricate lovely June Travis' auto from a puddle - but when he jumps in with her moments later the fabric has miraculously laundered itself.