Driving through town, Joe runs afoul of a wayward traffic signal. A cop gives him a $2 ticket, but rather than pay and be done with it, Joe loudly professes his innocence to anyone who'll listen (which isn't very many people). Before long, Joe has racked up thousands of dollars in lawyer fees and still ends up doing a stretch in the pokey.
If ever a Joe McDoakes deserved an Oscar nomination, this is the one -- it's Joe firing on all cylinders. George O'Hanlon has never been better, playing to the hilt the innocent victim caught up in bad circumstances. The usual McDoakes stock company, including Ted Stanhope and Willard Waterman as a couple of self-serving lawyers, are also in fine form. The icing on the cake is a brief but hilarious cameo by Douglas Fowley -- best known to Laurel & Hardy buffs as a menacing gangster in Our Relations and Jitterbugs -- as a tough convict who thinks Joe is as hard-shelled as any con.
A beautiful piece of comedy from start to finish.
Our rating: (C) 2012, Steve Bailey.
Go to:
Our home page
