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 A Television Set (1953)

 

So You Want A Television Set - 1953

Coming up next is 1953's short film "So You Want A Television Set", a story about a couple who get a brand new TV.  Disaster strikes on the first night.

The film's cast includes George O'Hanlon, Phyllis Coates, Rodney Bell, Doris Day, and Gordon MacRae.

Joe McDoakes is trying to have breakfast and read his newspaper.  His wife Alice asks him why they can't have a television set.  "Alice, television is just radio with eye strain," he tells her.  She starts to cry and he relents.  They can get a TV set.

Alice turns and lifts the cover off of a brand new set.  Surprise!  Joe is flabbergasted.

Right away things go wrong.  Joe asks his friend Marvin to help with the installation.  Marvin is only too happy to help "install" it.  He proceeds to take every single part out to make sure it's done "right".

Joe is also a little upset with Alice when she unveils two new television chairs.  He can't justify the expense.  "You have to sit somewhere when you are watching television," she says.  He looks around the room at the other seating options.

And then, of course, there's a disagreement about what to watch.  Joe wants wrestling.  Alice wants a movie.

Tensions rise when Marvin and his wife come over and want to watch the new TV.  They even kick Alice and Joe out of their new chairs, relegating them to the back row!

More neighbors notice that the McDoakes' have a new TV and want to join the party.  By now, Joe is getting pretty upset.

It becomes a little too much for him when he's got to serve them all beer and potato chips.

The group can't agree on a program to watch.  As they all get up at once to change the channel, they run into Joe and cause him to spill beer and potato chips all over himself.  He has a sort of breakdown and throws a glass through the television screen.  Later, he storms out to cool off.

He decides to go and see a movie starring Doris Day and Gordon MacRae.

It's a lucky thing for him that he's there.  He wins the theater door prize: a new Ford automobile!

To his utter delight, he discovers that he's sitting next to one of the stars of the movie, Doris Day.

Joe turns to his neighbor to share his good fortune.  It turns out to be Gordon MacRae, who is not so amused.  "Hey, you know who's sittin' next to me?  Doris Day!" Joe exclaims.  "I know.  She was with me until you took my seat," says Gordon, who promptly switches seats with Joe.

"Gordon MacRae!" exclaims Joe.  "Gordon MacRae and Doris Day!"  They both shush him as the movie rolls on.

Cast rundown:

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

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

   Rodney Bell.....................................Marvin Schulz

   Doris Day.......................................Herself

   Gordon MacRae...............................Himself

And that's it for So You Want A Television Set.  This is just one in a whole  short film series featuring Joe McDoakes.  The series spanned sixty-three short films and went from the years 1942 to 1956.  Doris Day and Gordon MacRae appeared in this installment to promote their new film "By The Light Of The Silvery Moon".

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