User Reviews

A two reeler slapstickish comedy from RKO. This was the first of a series of 11 shorts in the "Blondes and Redheads" series, directed by Roach Studios-schooled George Stevens, and includes a few other Roach Studios alumni. At least some of the others are available on DVD, and perhaps also YouTube, which is where I saw this. This is my first look at this series.. According to another reviewer, who has seen more, it is one of the poorer ones. ............The film features June Brewster: the presumed redhead(can't tell with B&W). Her office coworker, Carol Tevis is the cute, petite, blonde. From my perspective, Carol is the very essence of the stereotypical ditzy dumb blonde. The two girls compete for dates among the single office men. Carol complains to June that the men always bypass her for June. I can see why. She comes across as brainless, with a squeaky winning voice, rather obnoxious in her sometimes aggressive, but lame, attempts to impress the men. Throughout the film, they occasionally compete for handsome and level-headed Edward Nugent, as Charlie. June gets the first chance, as Charlie asks her for a date, which she accepts. But, the office boss tells her she has to work late, so has to decline. Carol takes this opportunity to ask to take her place. Charlie reluctantly agrees, and they go off to the park...........Meanwhile, the boss doesn't seem to actually have anything for June to do. Unexpectedly, a boy drops in with his model airplane, and, amazingly, asks June if she will accompany him to a model plane show. She says can't, and the boy leaves, incredibly, forgetting to take his plane. This gives June an idea. She attaches a note to the model and heaves it out the window, it heading toward the adjoining highrise office building.{I'm beginning to think June may be as ditzy as Carol!). Amazingly, it enters a window and hits a large globular light fixture, smashing it to pieces which fall on the occupant, who is bespeckled, rather short, introverted, Grady Sutton, who will be known as Clark(apparently, in honor of Clark Gable, a magazine picture of whom is on his desk). He read the attached note, writes his on note , attaches it to the plane and sails it back to the adjacent highrise building. Amazingly, it enters June's window, dropping it's note, but continuing on to crash through a door window and hit an ink bottle, splattering the boss with ink. Apparently, Clark's note contained his phone number, as June soon calls him and asks what he looks like. He looks at the flattering description under Gable's picture and reads it off to her. She says will meet him at the park.......... June is first to arrive at the park, where she passes by Carol and Charlie. Charlie looks fed up with Carol and makes a pass at June, who continues on and sits on a bench waiting for Clark, who eventually arrives on his bicycle, but overshoots his landing spot, landing in an occupied pleasure boat. Chased away, he accidentally steps in the middle of the cake of a pair of picnickers, then trips over their cooler. June sees this and laughs. Clark sits next to her on the bench and June soon finds out that this is her 'handsome' Clark. Not impressed, she tells him that they should go hide somewhere.. They bump into Charlie and Carol, and soon June has stolen Charlie from Carol. The 2 women go back and forth several times stealing Charlie from the other. Meanwhile, Clark gets into trouble trying to show that he can pick up other women. Eventually, Charlie ends up with June, and Clark with Carol, just before they decide to rent two pleasure boats, at Clark's expense. Soon, Clark runs into an occupied boat because he was distracted by Carol's arms entangling him. Then, Clark throws a chain overboard(why?), which gets tangled up in Carol's dress as it uncoils, tearing part of it off. Clark picks the partly denuded Carol up and is carrying her toward shore, kicking, in the shallow water, as the film ends............Clearly, Carol and Clark are the main comedians, while Charlie, and, to a lesser extent, June, are the straight men. .......Incidentally, with her unique manner of speaking, Carol was often drafted as Minnie Mouse's voice, in cartoons............. Interestingly, that same year, Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler starred in a musical number called "Petting in the Park" : a more risky title than that of this film.