The Forgotten Man

Forgotten Man, The (1941)

** (out of 4)

This Paramount-Robert Benchley short isn't a winner but it deserves credit for beating a more popular film to the punch by nine years. In the film Benchley talks about the "forgotten man" at a wedding who just happens to be the father of the bride. We then go back a year to when the entire thing started as the daughter began dating, the wedding plans were announced and of course the father has to start working more to try and pay for everything. Several elements show up here that would later be used in the Spencer Tracy-Elizabeth Taylor classic FATHER OF THE BRIDE and there's no question this film falls way short of that ones greatness but again, you must tip your hat since this one did come first. Once again I found the humor to be way too dry and so much so that there really weren't any good laughs. The film is certainly pleasant to sit through but when you watch a comedy I don't think it's too much to ask that you manage to crack a laugh. I thought Benchley was pretty good in the role of the father but he just doesn't have much to work with as the direction and screenplay are certainly lacking.

Another of Benchley's Mr. Doakes shorts -- some of which were produced at MGM and others at Paramount. This casts Robert Benchley, reduced to a nullity, as the father of the bride -- and the similarity of Spencer Tracy's performance nine years later in the classic Minnelli comedy is amazing.

Although these short subjects are not as hilarious as the ones in which Benchley explains a subject ineptly -- the primordial THE TREASURER'S REPORT (1928) or the perfect, Oscar-winning HOW TO SLEEP (1935), these Joe Doakes shorts are wonderful, low-key comedy shorts and a thorough delight for the movie buff. At only ten minutes each, they can be used to round out a pleasant couple of hours of watching old flicks.