So You Want To Hold Your Husband (1950)

 

So You Want To Hold Your Husband - 1950

Coming up next is 1950's "So You Want To Hold Your Husband", an entry in the Joe McDoakes series that sees his frustrated wife Alice trying to get some attention from her husband.

The film's cast includes George O'Hanlon, Phyllis Coates, and Art Gilmore.

Alice McDoakes is a little concerned.  When she and Joe first got married, he showered her with attention.

Now, ten years later, he seems to show more attention to the dog than to his wife.

Sitting at home one day after being told that Joe won't be coming home for dinner because he's got to work late, Alice tries to think of something to help her marriage.  Listening to the radio, she gets an idea.

She goes to see a marriage counselor.  He suggests all sorts of ways to get Joe to be interested his wife.  However, Alice has her doubts about the man.  After she comes in, the counselor calls his wife and tells her that he won't be home for dinner because he's working late!

The suggestions from the counselor include making Joe's favorite meal, bringing him his pipe and slippers in the evening, taking an interest in his business, buying a double bed instead of sleeping in twin beds, and laughing at his jokes.  All of these suggestions seem to fail miserably, making Alice understandably upset.

The marriage counselor has one last suggestion up his sleeve.  Alice should pretend to run away with another man and leave a note on the dining room table.  This she does.

Joe finds out that Alice is pretending and stages a suicide to get her back.  She is furious when she finds out that he is joking.

In the final scene, the narrator asks Alice how she and Joe are doing and if she ever got him back for playing that horrible suicide prank on her.  "Three times," she says with a smile as the camera pans to Joe, who is holding triplets.

Cast rundown:

   George O'Hanlon............................Joe McDoakes

   Phyllis Coates.................................Alice McDoakes

   Art Gilmore....................................Narrator

And that's it for So You Want To Hold Your Husband.  It's not the best installment in the "So You Want To" series, but it is humorous.

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So You Want To Be A Bachelor (1951)

 

So You Want To Be A Bachelor - 1951

Coming up next is 1951's "So You Want To Be A Bachelor.  In this installment of the "So You Want To..." franchise, Joe McDoakes wonders what might have been had he chosen to marry someone else.

The film's cast includes George O'Hanlon, Phyllis Coates, Lela Bliss, Harry Hayden, Maxine Gates, and Richard Reeves.

Joe McDoakes is a little unhappy when his wife wakes him up from a nap and tells him to get downstairs and clean out the basement.

He grudgingly heads down to the basement and realizes just what a monumental task lies ahead of him.

Inside an old trunk, Joe finds his vintage raccoon coat.  He eagerly tries it on.

Sifting through the trunk further, he finds a picture of his old girlfriend, Ellie Mae Smith.  He remarks on how beautiful she was.

He also finds a picture of his wedding day.  Joe looks at it and remembers the circumstances surrounding that "happy" occasion.

In a flashback, we see how his wife Alice's parents basically pushed him into the marriage through a series of well-organized events.

Back in the present, Joe looks at his picture of Ellie Mae and says aloud that she must've made someone supremely happy.  At that moment, Joe's wife Alice calls down to him and says he's got a visitor, his old girlfriend Ellie Mae.

Joe is completely taken by surprise by the woman he sees standing at the door.  She remarks on how much he's changed and wraps him in a huge bear hug.

Cast rundown:

   George O'Hanlon...............................Joe McDoakes

   Phyllis Coates....................................Alice McDoakes

   Lela Bliss..........................................Phoebe Peckinpah

   Harry Hayden....................................Charlie Peckinpah

   Maxine Gates....................................Ellie Mae Smith

   Richard Reeves..................................Military Police Sergeant

And that's it for So You Want To Be A Bachelor.  It's hilarious to watch Joe in the flashback scene as his future parents-in-law move about and plan his wedding.  It's a worthy entry in the "So You Want To Be..." series.

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So You Want To Learn To Dance (1953)

 

So You Want To Learn To Dance - 1953

Coming up next is 1953's "So You Want To Learn To Dance".  In this installment in the "So You Want To" franchise, Joe McDoakes must learn to dance to save his job.

The film's cast includes George O'Hanlon, Jesslyn Fax, Creighton Hale, and Emory Parnell.

Joe McDoakes is excited.  He has finally received an invitation to the boss's country club dance.  He's happy until he remembers he doesn't know how to dance.

The girls at the office dismiss him as a hopeless case when they try to teach him a few steps.

The boss even tries to teach Joe.  This involves Joe standing on the boss's feet.  Joe is at first reluctant.  "Now, put your arms around me," says Mr. Blivens.  "I'll see ya later," Joe says as he tries to leave the room quickly.

Joe makes a fool of himself at the dance when he has to dance with Genevieve, the boss's wife.  The only way he knows how to dance is on someone's feet.  Poor Genevieve!

On Monday morning, Mr. Blivens tells Joe that he's been enrolled at a dance academy.  "Oh, but I can't afford dancing lessons," says Joe.  "You're not paying for it!  I'm deducting it from your paycheck," announces Mr. Blivens.

At the dance academy, the teacher sees that she is dealing with a beginning, and Joe is put into the beginner's class for children.

After a few more country club dances, Joe succeeds in putting his job in jeopardy because of his awful dancing.  "Now, you listen to me, you stupid, dim-witted half brain!  I’m giving you one last chance!  Either you make yourself socially acceptable by next Saturday night, or you’re out of this organization!" exclaims Mr. Bivens.

So, it's back to dancing lessons for Joe.  He works very hard to learn every possible dance conceivable.

By the time Saturday night comes around, Joe is a smashing success.  Genevieve is thrilled to have him as her dance partner.

Joe is so successful that he becomes the head of his organization.  Now, his old boss Mr. Blivens must take orders from him!

Cast rundown:

   George O'Hanlon................................Joe McDoakes

   Jesslyn Fax........................................Dance Instructress

   Creighton Hale...................................Barber

   Emory Parnell.....................................George Blivens

And that's it for So You Want To Learn To Dance.  One of the most hilarious parts of this short film is when Joe is learning to dance the apache dance.  He literally swings his instructor around the room by her legs.  He lets go and she crashes through a window.  "I'm ready!" exclaims an exuberant Joe.

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