Joe Penner was an extremely untalented and physically unappetising man who starred in a few low-budget comedies. Basically, Joe Penner was Lou Costello without the sex appeal. (Or Frankie Howerd with less effeminacy.) If Penner is now remembered at all, it's only because he was the source of a catchphrase that continues to resurface: 'Wanna buy a duck?' This was Joe Penner's most significant contribution to comedy, but even this was only down to a process of elimination.
The Hungarian-born Penner started out in American burlesque as a baggy-pants stooge, but he failed to get any laughs. He developed the gimmick of walking out on stage carrying a random prop, and interrupting the straight man to ask him: 'Wanna buy a (whatever object Penner was carrying)?' Time after time, this business got no laughs. Eventually, Penner came out onstage clutching a wooden hunting decoy, and he asked the straight man: 'Wanna buy a duck?' This got a huge laugh, and a star was born ... very briefly. Penner parlayed that one gag question into a brief career as a radio and film comedian. On the radio, Penner developed one other catchphrase that was briefly popular: 'You nassssssty man!' Penner merits a footnote in animation history, as his vocal schtick was the inspiration for Warner Brothers' early cartoon character Egghead, who eventually evolved into Elmer Fudd
Joe Penner's best film was 'The Boys from Syracuse', in which he played a dual role via trick photography. But the merits of that film are largely due to the Rodgers and Hart score and several other cast members, not Penner.
'The Day the Bookies Wept' (great title, lousy film) is more typical of Penner's output. This story is an attempt at imitating Damon Runyon's distinctive universe of gamblers and wise guys, but it's far below Runyon's standard. A fleet of cab drivers have decided to pool their savings and invest in a racehorse. But the nag they end up with is named Hiccough, out of Bourbon, by Distillery. (That's the funniest gag in the picture.) It turns out that Hiccough always runs dead last, at least when he's sober. Ah, but when Hiccough drinks beer ... he becomes the fastest thing on four legs!
Penner plays a pigeon-breeder who implausibly (and ineptly) gets hired as the horse's trainer. He decides to run Hiccough as a long shot and then get the horse drunk so he'll win at long odds. Movies about animal abuse are very seldom funny. (And I know for a fact that horses will strenuously refuse alcohol.) The best and funniest performance in this film is given by veteran comic actor Tom Kennedy. Thurston Hall is welcome, as a blowhard named Colonel March (no relation to Boris Karloff's one-eyed detective of that name). I'll rate this movie 3 points out of 10, mostly because I'm a sucker for 1930s movies full of character actors with Brooklyn accents.
