Done in oil (1934)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Funny Hal Roach short has Thelma Todd and Patsy Kelly playing roommates who are about to be thrown out of their apartment unless they can come up with rent within a couple days. A drunk decides to try and sell some of Thelma's paintings by making her pretend to be French. Soon three men from the art galleries come by and nothing goes as planned. This isn't the best short in the Todd-Kelly series but there are enough laughs to make it worth viewing if you're a fan of the series. The politically incorrect police would have a field day with this short but while the stuff with make you cringe I must admit that it also made me laugh. I guess it's rather silly to say something made you cringe but laugh at the same time but I've come to except the fact that this type of "humor" was found to be okay in 1934. The offensive side of the story has the three men wanting to meet the "Southern cook" so this causes Kelly to dress in blackface and come up acting in various stereotypes. Yes, this isn't done in good taste by today's standards but there's no question that Kelly gives it her all and manages to be rather funny through it all. Todd also manages to get a few laughs as she tries to be French and Arthur Housman plays the drunk fairly well. The movie is going to offend quite a few people not only for the blackface stuff but there are jokes aimed at the French and Indians as well. If you're able to not take this stuff too serious you should have a good time.
