Radio Rampage (1944) User Reviews

The "Slow Burn" in Slow Motion

[redryan64 · 7/10 · 29 April 2016]

OF THE BIG Hollywood studios, somebody had to b the smallest of biggest (so to speak). Along with PARAMOUNT, MGM, 20th CENTURY-FOX and WARNER BROTHERS, we had RKO RADIO PICTURES. Dubbed "the Little Major", RKO filled that very bill.

WHEREAS THERE WERE many, many great pictures to come out of their production schedules were award winning and even truly "classic", the same really couldn't be said of their Short Subjects department. That isn't to say that they didn't try.

THE ROSTER OF series starring either individuals or comedy teams varied in the studio's history. From the earliest days, we were presented with "Broadway Headliners", which was a sort of catch all, umbrella title designed to give a sort of readily identifiable symbol of "here comes time to laugh!"* SO WE HAD greatly varied fare which prominently featured names like: W.C. Fields, Clarke & McCullough (long time), Billy Gilbert, Benny Rubin, Gil Lamb and Edgar Kennedy.

LONG HAVING BEEN support in both features as well in short subjects, Mr. Kennedy brought a wealth of experience to the RKO product. Countless appearances in a multitude of silent comedies from the likes of Sennett, Roach and many others.

AS FAR AS his starring role, Edgar's screen persona varied not one iota. He always managed to not only get by with his crabby, crotchety and patented "slow burn." Being able to get such incredible mileage from this seemingly limited routine did require a carefully crafted balance in its presentations.

AS FOR THIS short, today's honoured reviewee, RADIO RAMPAGE, we found it to be most captivating and heavy in the most important category of all. It delivers those commendably. In a broad sort of way, this (and some of the other Edgar Kennedy series, has a sort of structural resemblance to so many of those early sound Laurel & Hardy shorts that involved domestic strife.^^ WE'VE LONG FELT that Edgar Kennedy should get a close look by film fandom and TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES did just that this past week.

THANX, Ted! NOTE: ^ The regular and repetitive use of the musical cue was employed by the studio. The earlier shorts did it with an extended opening of the first line of YANKEE DOODLE. This was later superseded with the full rendition of CHOP STICKS.

NOTE: ** This is a remarkable relationship and is also evidence of how these EDGAR KENNEDY shorts are ancestral to so many TV sitcoms.

"Something's wrong with the radio".

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 27 April 2016]

It's been a long time since I've seen an Edgar Kennedy short, he used to crack me up as a kid watching these flicks in the late Fifties. Just for the heck of it I checked his screen credits here on IMDb and there are four hundred forty six entries between 1911 and 1949. That's a lot of laughs.

In his usual inimitable style, Kennedy plays havoc with the wiring of a simple radio and causes more damage than the project was worth. One surprise here was the youthful appearance of Florence Lake playing the part of Mrs. Kennedy, she looked almost young enough to be a teenager prompting another trip to the credits pages. She was actually forty years old playing opposite the fifty four year old comic. I'd like to get her fountain of youth recipe.

At only sixteen minutes, the picture offers it's share of pratfalls and sight gags of Kennedy and his feeble attempts to save a few bucks by doing-it-himself. Instead of paying a repair man $6.50 to repair a loose wire, Kennedy pulls an outlet out of a wall, ruins another wall to the tune of $27.50 in part for requiring overtime labor, and even causes his mother-in-law (Dot Farley) to miss out on a fifty dollar radio prize opportunity. Disregarding the repairman fee, wife Florence mistakenly reminds Edgar his stubbornness had already cost them $78.50, obviously a one dollar error no one caught or intentionally disregarded after the film was in the can.

Don't Touch That Dial

[ExplorerDS6789 · 8/10 · 15 March 2021]

What some guys won't do to save just a little money. Like, if something around the house breaks, rather than allow a professional repair it, fixing it yourself will save you a few bucks, unless you're someone like Edgar Kennedy, in which case, it would be cheaper just buying a brand new one. It seems whenever something in the Kennedy household breaks, Edgar insists on fixing it himself, and we all know how "well" he does that. Take that night when the radio went on the fritz for example. Brother had sent for a repairman, who informed them that the built-in aerial shorted out and says all he needs to do is pull it out and tape it up, a job that would cost no more than $6.50, which in 1944 dollars would equal about $90 today. Regardless, Edgar balks at that price quote, saying he can fix it himself, despite the protests of his family. Mother wants the radio working so she can get Japan... er, I mean, so she can listen to the Busy Little Bees show. So before he gets sent away, the repairman charges Edgar $1.00 for the house call. Just add five more dollars and fifty cents to that and you can do the job. Edgar pries open his wallet and parts with a single Washington, then proceeds to go about what he considered a simple repair. Florence and the others remind him of his other poor repair jobs, like the water heater and the car... the water heater one is I'll Fix It (1941), but I can't recall if there was even an episode where he fixed the car. Anyway, Mr. Fix-It begins by taking out the wall socket plate and pulling out what he believes to be the built-in aerial. Whoo boy, if that's what he thinks, he's in for a shock... and quite literally too. It results in him making a big-ass hole in the wall. He manages to hide it from Florence, who informs him that a man will soon be coming over to pick up Brother, for you see, a miracle has happened: Brother has a job! And no sooner is the perspective employer mentioned does he drop by. Though, for some reason, Edgar thinks he's a radio repairman and pushes him out of the house. I guess he thought Brother having a job was just a ruse.

Edgar traces the so-called built-in aerial to the second floor and bores into the wall with a bit and brace, though all that does is penetrate a light fixture in Mother's room, first making the lights blink on and off, then when he twists the brace, the fixture spins round and round, freaking Mother out. Ha ha ha! Very well done gag! On his second attempt, he ends up pulling the light fixture right out of the wall, so now this house has two big-ass holes in it... on second thought, make that three. Edgar receives quite a jolt from the light and goes tumbling down the stairs, much like the line of dominoes he's set up are now going to start falling down. The telephone rings and it's a man from the Busy Little Bees program, who called to inform Mother, whose name is revealed as Mrs. O'Hussy (LOL, perfect name), that had she been listening to the program, she would have won $50 in some random prize giveaway. Well, at least she'll get a mouse trap as a consolation prize. Edgar agrees to pay Mother the $50, and although he was at fault and wronged her, it must be nice for the shoe to be on the other foot for a change and have Edgar cause something bad to happen to Mother, especially after all the crap she gives him. As if that weren't bad enough, Mr. Thompson comes back and demands to see Brother, and it escalates to door-stop fisticuffs. Florence tries in vain to get Edgar to call the radio repairman, but he still won't budge. However, he does agree to call a wall plasterer. Gee, I don't know, Edgar, don't you want to try to fix it yourself? Maybe get yourself plastered to the wall? Some other time, perhaps. So the late-night patch job costs him a whopping $27.70. Florence even keeps tabs on how much money Edgar's thrown away so far. Deciding to abandon the built-in aerial, Edgar goes to put one on the roof where it belongs. I know of two guys who can help him set up an aerial on his roof, though it may drive him "hog wild". He tries to throw it onto the roof, but he misjudges his aim and it ends up flying into his neighbor's window, which yanks off her bed sheets. Mother in-law sees them through the window and thinks it's a ghost. Ha ha ha! Eddie's really getting her good in this one. The sheets wind up on Edgar and the dumbkopf falls off the roof, right on top of Mr. Thompson! It's then revealed to Edgar that he was the man who would've taken Brother to South America on a job for three years, but now, the deal is off. Not only that, but the neighbor comes over to take back his wife's sheet and give Edgar a poorly choreographed punch. Well, it's a good thing that radio repairman left his pliers as he's returned to get them, and is given the go-ahead by Florence to fix the aerial. It's then that the repairman spells out for Edgar that the built-in aerial is built into the radio set and not the wall. Well, to cap off this madcap adventure, Edgar accidentally knocks down the rain gutters.

This one in indeed one of my favorite Edgar Kennedy shorts. It's funny, it's acted and shot very well, and the best part about it is: Edgar does all the damage himself. It's one of the very few times the family completely stays out of his way, and even TRIES to be helpful, like Brother getting the repairman. If Eddie hadn't been such a cheapskate, he could've just paid the $6.50, then Mother could listen to her program, Brother would be out of what little hair he has, and he would have saved himself a king's random in repair bills. We've got great supporting players too, like Tom Kennedy playing the man who would have relieved Edgar of his brother in-law for three years if he hadn't treated him with contempt. Not sure why Edgar assumed he was a radio repairman, and even if he was, why would he treat one so poorly? Maybe because they know more about radios than him? We've also got Charlie Hall as the real repairman, in one of his few non-antagonistic roles. If you haven't seen Radio Rampage, I definitely recommend it. It's one of many shorts where Edgar tries to save money by doing repairs himself, only to end up owing far more money in the damages he incurs. I also recommend Laurel and Hardy's Hog Wild where they try to set up an aerial. Good times all around.

Radio Damage

[Michael_Elliott · 28 April 2016]

Radio Rampage (1944)

** (out of 4)

Edgar Kennedy gets home to a broken radio but instead of paying a repairman he decides to try and fix it himself. Before long the entire house is a wreck and he still has to deal with his annoying wife (Florence Lake) as well as her brother (Jack Rice) and mother (Dot Farley).

RADIO RAMPAGE is another film in the long-running "regular Joe" series that Kennedy and the gang made for well over a decade. It's rather amazing to see how long this series actually lasted and it just shows how much love people had for Kennedy. As was the case with most of the films I've seen, I really wasn't overly impressed with the story but thankfully Kennedy did make it mildly entertaining. There's no question that he was this series as he at least made you feel sorry for the character and all the bad situations he got himself into. The wife character wasn't nearly as annoying here as she was in previous episodes and there were a few funny moments scattered throughout.