Peter Gibbons, meet Thadeus "call me Tad" Page. Selling life insurance may have been the 1940's equivalent of a cubicle job, but in any case Tad Page doesn't take to it much better than Peter Gibbons did in "Office Space", and they both appreciate fishing. Henry Fonda is the perfect personality for demonstrating the value of well-timed laziness. Don Ameche was either Alexander Graham Bell or a pleasant schemer in his films (until "Trading Places" at least) and his Dwight Dawson-ambitious-man-with-a-gimmick is nicely drawn here. I also appreciated the subtle manner in which the tune "Lazy Bones" was woven unobtrusively into the background during Fonda's scenes. Watch for it on TCM; worth your time.
Review of The Magnificent Dope
