So You Want to Learn to Dance (1953) User Reviews

A very strange sort of McDoakes film.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 19 October 2017]

While there were quite a few Joe McDoakes films made during the 1940s and 50s, the character himself was incredibly inconsistent. While Phyllis Coates often played his wife, in some installments she simply isn't there...and Joe seems single. Perhaps this is because she was busy with other work (such as her starring in the black & white TV "Superman" episodes)...all I know is that this one, too, has Joe living the life of a single man...at least until late in the film...and this new Mrs. McDoakes is NOT the one we're familiar with or expecting.

Joe is surprised that his boss has asked him to come to his club for a party. After all, Joe is a schmuck and not a guy you'd expect to be moving up in the company. But there is a problem...Joe's expected to dance with the wives...and he's completely incompetent. The film follows him as he works hard to learn to dance...and its consequences.

This is a clever and enjoyable short film...despite it not quite fitting in with the McDoakes canon. Fun and well worth seeing.

Fresh Look At Familiar Subject

[redryan64 · 7/10 · 22 February 2016]

IN PRESENTING THIS short, the production team had the good sense and instinct to exploit yet another universally felt human foible; being that of shyness. In one sense this cold be called a Part 2 of their previous outing in SO YOU WANT TO BE POPULAR. Being that the socially acceptable of closely contacting those of the opposite s-e-x, namely dancing (slow type) is positioned center-stage in that episode.

BUT IT'S ONLY one aspect of the 'Popular' outing. other considerations were explored and exploited.

ONE ASPECT OF having a successful and long-running series is that there is a danger of repeating oneself. After all, there are only so many plots and the subject matters are also finite. But the trick is to do it up in as differently as is possible.

IN THIS EPISODE, the greatest added element is that of locale and the whims and whimsy of having to please an extremely overbearing boss. Rather than doting and playing the role of apple polishing boot-licker, our guy Joe (George O'Hanlon) is a reluctant player in the pageant of kissing up to the head man's every wish.

ALTHOUGH HE IS a very reluctant player and possesses no desires to get ahead in business via this flattery ridden method, the ending and fate had different ideas. It could be said that the whole story could be summed up with those lyrics from the Doris Day hit song of the day; namely. "Que Sera, Sera". (Now Schultz, that means, "Whatever Will Be, Will Be!" in French.....I mean Italian!)

Nice McDoakes short

[Michael_Elliott · 24 February 2009]

So You Want to Learn to Dance (1953)

*** (out of 4)

Joe McDoakes (George O'Hanlon) finally gets invited to the bosses house but then he freaks out because he doesn't know how to dance. The boss tries to give him lessons but that doesn't prove to work so finally Joe is told he must learn or be fired. Here's another winning entry in the series that manages to be very funny throughout. If you've seen one of these then you know what to expect but O'Hanlon is at the top of his game here as he gets to show off some wickedly funny and bad dancing and his nervous scratch at the door of the boss is hilarious. Another great sequence happens when a couple women from the office try to teach him to dance but even this blows up in his face.