So You Want a Model Railroad (1955) User Reviews

Another happy family, thanks to Mr. Agony!

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 20 February 2018]

Considering my father was completely obsessed by model trains, I particularly appreciated this installment in the Joe McDoakes series! And even if you don't come from a family with model railroaders, you'll like this one.

The story begins with Alice on some radio show with a host named Mr. Agony (Arthur Q. Bryan*). She begins pouring her heart out to the man about her husband and his weird addiction to model trains. It all began with Joe buying his nephew a train...and not even letting the kid play with it. Then, Joe got his own trains and it filled the living room. Then, he put trains all over the house...culminating with a dinner party where trains ended up ruining everything.

This one works for one major reason...the punchline at the end if pretty funny. Plus, although ludicrous, the story also was pretty funny...and a big improvement over the previous two stinkers in the series.

By the way, Arthur Q. Bryan was the voice of Elmer Fudd...and he looked quite a bit like him, too!

Psychosis, they name is Joe McDoakes and thy trigger is model trains!

[llltdesq · 9/10 · 7 June 2015]

This is one of the shorts in the Joe McDoakes series released by Warner Brothers. There will be spoilers ahead:

There was a series of shorts released between 1942 and 1956 which starred George O'Hanlon (later best known as the voice of George Jetson on the series The Jetsons) as everyman Joe McDoakes. The series typically revolves around his foibles and screw-ups. His wife Alice is regularly featured and was played by several actresses (Jane Frazee in this one) and she is a long-suffering wife indeed.

In this one, Alice goes on the Mr. Agony radio show (with Arthur Q. Bryan, the voice of Elmer Fudd, playing Agony) to tell a tale of woe built around her husband's obsession with model train collecting (and obsession is an understatement).

It begins with a model train given to Junior as a Christmas present which fascinates McDoakes so much that he plays with it and fights with Junior over the gift. Alice chastises Joe over his behavior, but this is only the beginning.

We watch the character begin a headlong journey into madness (which O'Hanlon plays brilliantly for laughs) as trains take over the house and then their lives, draining their savings and leaving them with almost nothing but trains. There's a dinner with Alice's mother which is horrifically hilarious and makes it clear Joe has gone off his trolley (or would that more appropriately be caboose here?) and the short comically shows a breakdown.

The ending of the short is perfect, so I won't spoil it here.

This short has been released as part of the Complete Joe McDoakes DVD set and is well worth watching. Most Recommended.

Off the Rails!

[ExplorerDS6789 · 7/10 · 12 January 2018]

Many men suffer from addictions, such as alcohol, substance, or even sado-masochistic pleasure. But this short subject addresses a less frequent, but equally dangerous addiction. The addiction...of model trains. It seems Joe McDoakes has developed an obsession with electric trains, which has put a damper on his otherwise happy home life and has nearly driven his wife away. As she sobs on Mr. Agony's radio session, Mrs. McDoakes tells the story of how Joe's new hobby completely blew out of proportion. It all started when they bought their nephew a train set for Christmas, but Joe fell in love with it and refused to let the boy touch it. Going so far as to scream at him if he so much as laid a finger on his caboose. Then he got his own train layout, which grew bigger and bigger, nearly taking up the whole living room. But that's not all it took up, as Joe let it take up all his time and money. Sure, this sounds like typical behavior for those of us who adore model trains. I mean, even today in 2017 they're still a hit around Christmas time or for people who make big, elaborate layouts. With some creativity and ingenuity, you can have quite a setup, so it isn't unusual to splurge and devote time and energy to your hobby. However, when your hobby becomes your obsession, then it's no longer fun. Joe's obsession grew every day, and it was about to get worse.

Joe had become just train crazy. I mean, he was bordering on psychotic. At the train store, he bought a round of track for the boys, and when he saw the new mechanical signal tower, he HAD to have it. He was like Gollum. "My precious!" So Joe built an even larger train layout, and worst of all, when the mother in-law came to visit, Joe served everybody via dishes carried on his trains. Unfortunately, the soup express splashed out of control and the gravy train spilled right into their laps. It was at this point that his family would've liked to run him out on a rail. That's where Mrs. McDoakes' story concludes, and when it came time for Mr. Agony to ask Joe a few questions, we find out who else is a big model train nut. It's an epidemic.

While this Joe McDoakes short may not be as funny as the others, it definitely shows how a simply hobby can make someone develop OCD and alienate his friends and family because of it. You may recognize George O'Hanlon as the voice of George Jetson, but he's great as Joe McDoakes as well. In fact, I think O'Hanlon should've made a few horror movies too, because his maniacal Joe is actually pretty terrifying. Looney Tunes fans might recognize the voice of Elmer Fudd-Arthur Q. Bryan-as Mr. Agony. I used to wonder if he had that speech impediment in real life, but as shown here, it's just an act. So in closing, If you can step back and look at Joe's train layouts and ignore his compulsiveness, it's very creative. And as I said before, model trains, especially Lionels, were all the rage back then, and they're still cool now. So, if you think YOU are obsessed with model railroads, just take a look at Joe McDoakes.

Hobby Happy Joe

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 28 May 2014]

Joe McDoakes short about a wife's frustrations with her husband's model railroad hobby. Not one of the better McDoakes shorts but still fun. The basic joke here, that men become obsessive over their hobbies, is beat to death halfway through the short. There should have been more build up to Joe becoming crazy over the hobby. He starts out crazy and just gets crazier. Still, the dinner with the mother-in-law bit is pretty funny. George O'Hanlon is good as McDoakes. Jane Frazee plays the wife and she's fine. Cool to see Arthur Q. Bryan, the voice of Elmer Fudd, in a live-action role. The twist at the end is cute but predictable.

Decent Entry in the McDoakes Series

[Michael_Elliott · 10 February 2011]

So You Want a Model Railroad (1955)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Decent entry in the series finds Alice going on a radio show and explaining to Mr. Agony why her husband Joe McDoakes is so bad. He isn't abusive. He doesn't cheat. He doesn't even stay out late. No, Joe's issue is that he saw his nephews model railroad and had to get one for himself but nearly a year later he has drained the bank account and has become mentally unstable. Fans of the McDoakes series will want to check this entry out but if you're new to the character then you might want to start with one of the stronger entries. There are a few funny moments to be found here but most of the jokes are just smile worthy and nothing that's going to make you laugh hard. One of the highlights deals with a scene where Joe enters a train store and guys a couple other shoppers a "round of tracks" as if he was at a bar. Another good sequence happens when the McDoakes have had to fire their maid so Joe rigs a train to deliver their food, which of course doesn't work out too well. George O'Hanlon is in good form as is Jane Frazee as the wife and Arthur Q. Bryan, the voice of Elmer Fudd, plays the radio personality.