JB: A halfburner. What seemed like a great idea turned out to be one of those things that plays better in your mind. Sitting around doing a puzzle reveals itself to be pretty dull, even if you have two of the most brilliant film comics doing it. This is the kind of film that needs a lot of punctuation gags and little bits of business in between the puzzle-solving. Weak ending. Not nearly as involving as it should be. And yet, like so many of their shorts, it is enjoyable. Ollie's solo scene of listening to the radio steals the whole show for me. Who else but Oliver Hardy could make listening to the radio funny?
JL: Yep, the puzzle business blends together in my mind as a blurry whole, while the most memorable individual gags come before and after. Which is perhaps not a good thing when your main set-piece has less to offer than the throwaway gags.
Copyright © 2012 John Larrabee, John V. Brennan