An Apple in His Eye (1941) watch online HD

Although this short was part of his RKO comic series, Hal Roach alumnus Edgar Kennedy gets some able comic assistance from Roach regulars Vivien Oakland and especially Charlie Hall. Edgar's wife Vivien is planning a big reception at their house, with lots of desserts, especially pies. When the pie deliveryman accidentally drops one on Edgar's face, Edgar sends him away. Cheap-skate Edgar decides that he can make the pies himself and save some money.

One problem is that Edgar's apple tree hangs over neighbor Charlie Hall's yard, and many of the apples are on the wrong side of the fence. Charlie is trying to take a nap in his hammock, but keeps getting accidentally knocked on the head with stray falling apples. Edgar tries to make the pies in bulk by mixing the dough for the pie crust in his washing machine. The comic build-up to the pie-fight climax is actually better than the fight itself. By the time that the short is over, Edgar, Charlie, the ladies group and even the local firemen are in the thick of a big pie fight.

It is a shame that Edgar Kennedy is mostly known for his appearances as a Hal Roach supporting player (and earlier) as a Mack Sennett supporting player. He also played great comic foils in the 1920s and 1930s, as well as appearing in his own comic short series for a long time. This film is highly recommended, but it plays better with an audience, because the comic tension builds throughout the film.

In the 1930s and 40s, Edgar Kennedy made a string of domestic comedies for RKO. Oddly, some of them featured Florence Lake as his wife (along with her annoying brother and mother) and some of them featured Vivian Oakland. The Oakland ones were MUCH better, as she was restrained and believable, while Lake was an annoying hyena who laughed CONSTANTLY and spoke in a voice high-pitched enough to curdle milk!! Fortunately, this one stars Oakland!

The film begins with Vivian ordering a huge batch of pies for a charity event. However, Edgar is his usual blustery self and thinks he can make the pies much cheaper himself--with rather predictable results (though Edgar's pies look a lot better than I expected!). Along for the ride is Charlie Hall--another Laurel & Hardy regular (along with Kennedy). This is fitting, as he is playing a sort of character he often played with Laurel & Hardy--the annoying neighbor who gets into a battle over nothing (such as in "Tit for Tat"). Here he fights off and on with Edgar and the overall product is a lot like a reworking of a Laurel & Hardy film--with a few changes here and there to keep it interesting. Well worth seeing.

By the way, although the pie fight is a commonly known movie cliché, it actually occurred VERY seldomly--in perhaps only about a dozen films of less. Laurel and Hardy as well as the Three Stooges tried it once. And even Blake Edwards (in "The Great Race") did it, but you'd be hard-pressed to find other examples aside from this movie.

When Vivien Oakland orders 40 pies for the bazaar at 60 cents each, husband Edgar Kennedy says that's ridiculous with a treeful of apples.... and proceeds to bake the pieces himself (using a method that would work only in a short comedy, of course). In doing do, however, he rouses the ire of the man who has been given custody of the store-bought pies, every comic's nemesis, Charley Hall. Of course a huge pie fight ensues! It's not the greatest pie fight ever filmed of course -- that honor might belong to either THE BATTLE OF THE CENTURY or THE GREAT RACE, but it's always fun watching Edgar's slow burn and Charley had been in enough tit-for-tat comedies -- including TIT FOR TAT with Laurel & Hardy -- that this is a fine short.