IT IS THE DESIRE OF all red-blooded males (American or otherwise) of the world to build up their bodies with hard exercise, good dietary habits and clean living. The method has usually involved following the instructions of an outstanding physique exponent; such as the best known, CHARLES ATLAS & his "Dynamic Tension" method.*
SO IT CAME to pass that our hero, Joe McDoakes, got the urge to build up his musculature via the progressive resistance method (Commonly called Weightlifting, or more properly, Weight Training). He sends for the lessons from Mail Order Exercise Guru, portrayed by Willard Waterman.
JOE'S DESIRE TO build himself up is piqued by Alice's (Mrs. McDoakes) obvious attention and reaction to their neighbor, Ellery. It is this man's mere presence in Bermuda shorts, bare chested and doing yard work that unleash an obviously sexual reaction to the neighbor in Joe's woman. This indication of a sort of natural selection oriented male rivalry leads Mr. McDoakes to invest his cash in a mail order correspondence muscle building program.
BEING THE YEAR of 1949, there is no video instruction; but rather written text following along with verbal directions, recorded on phonograph records. The inspiration and step by step keys to a successful training regimen are meted out via the verbal method.
THE ONE REELER takes every angle in making jokes by contrasting the relatively puny Joe to the bodybuilder, Ellery. The jokes, which were probably a little clichéd and "long in the tooth", even then they quite possibly went over a little better than they would today. The reason for this is that the Sport and Activity of Bodybuilding, using weights, spring cables, machines and related free hand exercises, is much better known now than it had been in those by gone days. Consequently, being much more familiar, the humor is less outlandish.
IN SUPPORT OF George O'Hanlon (as Joe), we have some talented and oft seen character actors in supporting roles. Veteran of many a movie of the '30's and so often a foil for the 3 Stooges in their long lived Columbia Shorts series, Fred Kelsey, appears as a delivery man. Television's first Lois Lane on THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, the beautiful,sexy and talented Phyllis Coates (woo, woo, woo, woo!), makes one of many appearances as Joe's spouse, Alice McDoakes.
AS FOR THE role of "Ellery", the short states that it is introducing the AAU MR.America Title Holder of 1945 and the MR. USA (Professional) winner of 1949, Clarence "Clancy" Ross. This initial film appearance proved to be his Swan Song; for Mr. Ross' induction into filmdom was also his last appearance. He later returned to managing the circulation of the Oakland, California Newspaper and running his own Bodybuilding Gymnasium.
Our rating = 2 1/2 Eightballs.
NOTE: * The sale of Physical Culture mail order courses date back to before the turn of the 19th to the 20th Century, to such instructors as Eugen Sandow (known as the "Father of Bodybuilding"), Wrestling Champion, Martin "Farmer" Burns and Sicilian immigrant, Angelo Siciliano-who was far better known by his professional name of "Charles Atlas". Although Atlas died in 1972, his course is still sold via the mails and over the internet!
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