Flat Feat

Officer smith a lot of slapstick--odd for him how can anyone be that stupid?

I've seen several Sterling Holloway shorts from Columbia and this one is a bit better than average. Now this does not mean it's an especially good comedy! In fact, it's highly uneven. At times, you like Holloway and his character, Officer Smith. And, at other times, the film relies heavily on pratfalls--the sorts of broad ones you've come to expect from The Three Stooges. Now for the Stooges, it worked a bit better...here it just seemed a bit out of place.

The story finds Officer Smith (Holloway) a new and not especially competent member of the police force. To make things tougher, apparently Smith's father was a legendary cop...and living up to his tough reputation seems all but impossible. So, after screwing up repeatedly, Smith wants to impress the boss by capturing a gang of crooks single-handed. Is this weakling up to the task?

The film has a lot of broad humor and it's pretty silly and inconsequential. But, it's also watchable and harmless.