Cinevent Retrospective: Looking for Trouble (1934)

We will be blogging about films that were shown at past Cinevent conventions until the Picture Show in May. This week we review a movie shown in 2006.

RODNEY BOWCOCK: Joe and Casey (Spencer Tracy and Jack Oakie) are telephone line repairmen (troubleshooters to those of you in the know). Their girlfriends (Constance Cummings and Arline Judge) work the switchboards. Joe’s ex-partner gets fired for being involved in an illicit gambling scheme. He blames Joe, opens a real estate office and steals Tracy’s girl along the way. Meanwhile, Joe and Casey try to get to expose him for his crookedness and get mixed up in all kinds of antics and natural disasters including a murder, a fire and probably most notably, an earthquake.

SAMANTHA GLASSER: Tracy plays an old-fashioned he-man who expects his woman to fall in line and do what he says. He is jealous and controlling of Ethel, who complains that while he has already seen the world, she still has the desire to do so, and if he won't take her out, she'll go with someone else. The two butt heads throughout the movie, and no number of romantic scenes between them will convince me that this relationship isn't doomed to fail.

RB: Maybe it’s my modern sensibilities, but I always bristle at this kind of behavior in movies. It isn’t becoming to me at all, even though I suspect that it was supposed to be relatable and macho to audiences at the time. Why anyone would put up with that kind of behavior is beyond me, but I know it still plays today with some. I digress.

SG: The love story might be weak, but the bond between Joe and Casey is fun to see develop. At first, Casey annoys him incessantly, which is a reasonable reaction; this guy is obnoxious. But over time Joe respects his instincts and work ethic, and Casey begins to idolize his mentor.

RB: Spencer Tracy was typecast quite a bit at this time, which likely was part of why he got fed up with Fox and bailed for MGM after such a brief time. Jack Oakie on the other hand was also typecast, but is a much more likable character.

SG: I found Casey's wooing to be more appealing, though probably not entirely genuine. He encourages Maizie to eat more food because he likes a woman with "a few extra pounds." (This comment made me curious to see what the character would think of the figures of modern women.)

RB: He’d probably be quite happy!

I ain't Azusa-ed you yet, but that'll come with time.

SG: There are quite a few pre-code moments in the film. When Joe decides to move to Tahiti, he says all he'll need is a g-string. (What a strange image that conjures up!) When they're calling all the numbers in a small radius to find the guilty party, they stumble upon what seems to be a whorehouse, and they save that phone number for later use.

RB: Maybe I’m naïve, but I thought that was a reference to a string for a ukelele. The brothel reference was quite obvious though.

SG: Ha! That would make more sense.

Photoplay called out Spencer Tracy's superlative performance and said, "Besides its being a cracking good story, the dialogue is right there."

Silver Screen wrote, "This is one of the best comedies of the month, with all concerned turning in grand performances— but especially Arline Judge (as Oakie's girlfriend) and the team of Tracy and Oakie."

RB: Calling it one of the “best comedies of the month” seems to be faint praise, but I don’t think that’s the way it was intended.

SG: There were several fistfights behind-the-scenes making this movie. First the assistant director Dolph M. Zimmer and the second assistant director Michael Lally fought each other, and Lally was fired. Days later, he returned to the set, and William Wellman punched him, beginning fisticuffs. Then Wellman and Tracy had words which lead to violence during a night out at the Trocadero.

RB: Just he-man tough guys doing their thing! Your description of the set reminded me of a Republic serial. You never know when a fight will break out!

SG: In order to sell the film, the Lowes Rochester Theatre in Rochester, NY hired a guy to search under doorways on hands and knees with a flashlight and a sign on his back that said, "Don't go 'Looking for Trouble' — It's at the Rochester." They certainly did find odd ways to promote a film in those days.

RB: That’s one of the more bizarre things that I’ve heard about for sure. Seems like a good way to get popped in the nose.

SG: Motion Picture magazine wrote, "Packed with as many laughs as there are thrills, Looking for Trouble is slightly difficult to classify. But it is not at all difficult to urge you not to miss it."

RB: The neighborhood theaters had a field day with this one. Almost universally liked as a strong action comedy. V.C. Weschler had the lone word of warning that the film was “rather lacking in feminine appeal.”

SG: I was impressed by the numerous shifts in tone throughout this movie. We are treated to a love story, a movie about career ambition, a crime thriller and a disaster film in the span of 80 minutes. Just when I thought I knew where it was going, another twist blindsided me. This is a fun romp I'd delight in revisiting. Four stars.

RB: The film is quite episodic but enjoyable nonetheless and twenty years after it ran at Cinevent, this film is due to reach a larger audience on Sunday, May 3rd when Leonard Maltin will introduce it at the TCM Film Festival. Three and a half stars.

In order to finish up loose ends for this year's convention, we will be taking the month of May off from blogging. We hope to see you May 21-24 at the Crowne Plaza North!