ONE TOO MANY (1934 Columbia Pictures Short Subject) Starring Leon Errol as Leon, Vivian Oakland as Mrs. Errol, Tom Herbert as Tom, Bud Jamison as The Cop, Jack Norton as The Judge. Also starring William Irving, Kitty McHugh, Harry Semels, Johnny Kascier. Written by Harry McCoy. Directed by Robert F. McGowan
Introduction to the LEON ERROL SALUTE SERIES is at this link.
"What do you mean, "Darling"? What time are you going to stagger in tonight?
Fifteen minutes til the office closes, and Leon Errol has promised the Mrs. that he's coming straight home. She's skeptical--and with good reason. Once co-worker Tom arrives to propose a celebratory "shot" to end the day, the two men end up emptying the whole bottle--and several more at Club Royale afterward, closing the bar down at 2 A.M.
The eight hour delay in his arrival results in some domestic violence, with besotted Leon on the receiving end. Fortunately, Errol has a chance to make amends the following day with Vivian having guests over for dinner: the judge and his spouse. But Tom has another big contract to celebrate, and even the slightest twist of Leon's arm has him back at the Royale--long past dinnertime.
ONE TOO MANY has a misleading title--Errol has far more shots than that on both evenings depicted. Leon suffers all of the human damage from his duo of bouts with with Vivian despite not really philandering this time outside of a couple of flirts. But while ONE TOO MANY displays the Production Code seal of approval before its credits, this Columbia effort would not have been out of place before it. For starters, Club Royale is raided despite the end of Prohibition a year earlier--so something shady is going on there even if Leon isn't partaking beyond the imbibing.
Speaking of, while he's at least 53 (likely older) here, Leon Errol is remarkably nimble with his well worn rubber legged antics. Leon is intoxicated for fully half of ONE TOO MANY's length and it's time well spent. Simply picking up a dropped hat? Making a call from a pay phone? Mailing a letter? They're all too complicated for our befuddled carouser, and Errol's own home is a minefield even before the Mrs. wakes up. One Vivian does, the first bout is as lopsided as it gets.
Close enough to his physical prime for some roughhousing, Leon takes punch after punch from the spouse, resulting in multiple knockdowns. Once Errol finally lands one, it's on her reflection in the mirror. At least the expensive vase he shatters isn't broken over his bald head for once. Good thing for Leon--Vivian Oakland's wife is perpetually pissed from first frame to last and has a violent streak very rarely seen in future Mrs. Errols. It's hard to imagine Dorothy Granger leaping over the railing and attacking her husband with the judge's gavel(!) no matter how much Leon might deserve it. (Can't fully blame him for boozing after you see that!) We dissolve to the following day once the outburst starts, so the question of whether Vivian clears the courtroom with it goes unanswered.
Curiously, Tom Herbert is uncredited despite his substantial role as the instigator of Leon's liquored up follies. Vivian Oakland was a frequent Mrs. Kennedy in Edgar's AVERAGE MAN series, but kept popping up in Leon's shorts occasionally with her swan song PUNCHY PANCHO being the same year as Errol's (1951). Perennial Three Stooges foil Bud Jamison is the cop Leon impersonates, and in a cute bit of casting against type the Judge is played by Jack Norton, one of the few actors more frequently soused onscreen than Mr. Errol.
Robert F. McGowan does a nice job in his first short after a long run of OUR GANG comedies, giving his star the needed space to deliver his time tested routine yet keeping the train on schedule. Too bad this was their only collaboration: McGowan returned to kiddie land with Baby LeRoy in BABES IN HOLLYWOOD for his next two-reeler. Writer Harry McCoy provides multiple set pieces and returned to pen Errol's Columbia swan song HONEYMOON BRIDGE (1935) before his premature death at 48 two years later.
Errol's tenure at Columbia lasted only four shorts during 1934-35 due to a dispute with the studio, which is a shame since the creativity runs high here. Columbia and RKO would reduce the budgets for two reelers in the next decade, but in the mid-thirties handsome production values helped a well conceived short subject shine. The wonderfully sudden denouement hints at Leon learning for once but is cynical enough to have been written before Hays took hold. While THE JITTERS is a hard showcase to beat for Leon's longtime stage antics, ONE TOO MANY serves as almost as fine a vehicle for posterity. It's the closest of his Columbia quartet to the RKO formula, but fresher, darker and practically pre-Code. Definitely one that needs to be freed from the vaults. (**** out of four)
UPDATE 2023: It has been freed! ONE TOO MANY is now available for viewing on YouTube, see below:
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