So You Want to Play the Piano (1956)

Alice neglects her housework because she is enthralled with the long-haired piano player, Gregor Flatsorsharpsky, next door. Joe buys a piano, and the accompanying free lessons, and sets out to impress Alice. Alice is vastly unimpressed.

Director:

Richard L. Bare

Writers:

George O'Hanlon (story), Richard L. Bare

Stars:

George O'Hanlon, Phyllis Coates, Charlie Hall

Cast

Cast overview:
George O'Hanlon	...	Joe McDoakes

Storyline

Alice neglects her housework because she is enthralled with the long-haired piano player, Gregor Flatsorsharpsky, next door. Joe buys a piano, and the accompanying free lessons, and sets out to impress Alice. Alice is vastly unimpressed.

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Plot Keywords:

piano | joe mcdoakes | narration | sequel

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Genres:

Comedy | Short

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 May 1956 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Richard L. Bare Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

10 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Follows So You Want a Model Railroad (1955)

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Soundtracks

"I'm Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry M. Woods
Played by the piano mover

User Reviews

Not Too Many Laughs

So You Want to Play the Piano (1956)

** (out of 4)

Joe (George O'Hanlon) comes home from work one day and notices that Alice hasn't cooked him dinner or cleaned up the house. It turns out she's been over to the neighbors house who just happens to be a famous piano player. The jealous Joe decides to buy a piano and teach his wife a lesson. This was the next to last entry in the Joe McDoakes series and unfortunately it's not one of the better entries. There are a couple decent moments but overall the film is burdened with a rather weak screenplay that doesn't offer us anything fresh or original. The movie pretty much goes through the motions as our hero Joe makes an idiot out of himself and tries to become some great piano player but he makes one mistake after another. There's even a sequence where just about everyone who walks into the house jumps on the piano and does better than Joe even though he's been practicing for weeks. O'Hanlon certainly has the energy for the role but you can still tell that he apparently knew things were coming to an end. Phyllis Coates is back as Alice and it was good to see her back but the screenplay doesn't give her that much to do. The 9-minute running time is a tad bit slow and that's not a good thing so this one here is certainly for fans only.