Down the Ribber (1936) User Reviews

Like dealing with MOST customer service reps these days.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 22 February 2021]

I don't think IMDB will allow reviews to contain names of current companies with horrible customer service, but "Down the Ribber" sure reminds me of dealing with several companies and their so-called 'customer service'! Because of this, this short is very timely today as it sure seems as if this problem is getting worse these days.

A weird club of 'ribbers' (folks who play jokes on people) decide to bedevil a guy named John Burt who wants to join them...and they steal his car for laughs! After this joke, John (Leon Errol) tries to deal with his car club and the police to report it and both are about as helpful as him just hitting himself in the head with a hammer...repeatedly. It's a bit tedious after a while...but sure reminds me of several companies and a few police forces (again I don't think IMDB will allow me to mention them by name) I've dealt with over the years.

Is it funny....yes. And, fortunately, it's not one of Errol's domestic comedies...which nearly all have the same basic plot. I enjoyed it but did not love it because it felt frustrating even watching it! But it sure had a good point to make! Worth seeing.

The Practical Jokers

[boblipton · 7/10 · 18 October 2019]

Leon Errol wants to join the Ribbers Club, a bunch of practical jokers. There's an initiation, so they start by stealing his car, then take over the office of his insurance company to torment him further.

It's written and directed by Al Boasberg. Like the other Leon Errol short of his that I've seen, it's clearly run as a skit, with Leon undergoing a comedy of frustration, as insurance agents refusing to understand what sort of car he owns, cops arresting him and Jack Norton, in his drunken persona, testing Leon for drunkenness. The dialogue is fast, the performances snappy and anyone who has ever had to try to put in an insurance claim will attest to the fact that when you're trying to collect on a policy, you wind up owing them money!

There's no assurance in insurance.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 12 May 2021]

Capital a, little a. No letter R in this particular month. Those are the excuses that Leon Errol finds when his car is stolen and he tries to report it to his insurance company. Of course, it's all a rib, caused by a group of friends of his who have gotten him involved in a group of practical jokers, and this is the initiation he gets. He can't find anybody at the insurance company that understands his plite, and even though he explains it clearly, they deliberately go out of their way to mess up the information he gives.

This is a good opportunity to see Leon Errol going to Edgar Kennedy territory as he demonstrates his ability for the slow burn. Anybody who was ever dealt with the overofficious representatives of any kind of public service agency will relate to the convoluted way in which they deal with their customers, speaking English in a way that immediately confuses people and makes them want to just walk out and not continue with the claim or a request for service. Perhaps a little too true, you'll feel as frustrated as he does by the end of the short, but after thinking about it, you won't be able to stop yourself from laughing over the ironies.