THIS IS ARGUABLY the best and funniest episode in the whole and entire 63 one reel comedies. There is plenty of great interplay between Joe, his wife Alice and the others who get in his way as he attempts to have HIS baby.
THE PACING SEEMS even just a bit faster than the usual Mc DOAKES short; not that it is rushed in any way or by any economic considerations. It is just a case of good management of the available time and film footage. It never looks to be rushed, padded or otherwise "cheap" in any way.
THE CENTRAL PREMISE of a guy who, to say the least, does not get along with kids and suddenly finds his own wife knitting a tiny sweater, certainly has been used at least once or twice before. Still, for a comedy short of about 10 minutes duration (or perhaps because of it) the production team manages to breath a certain freshness into what could otherwise degenerate into a total misfire.
EVEN THOUGH THIS series is designed as a sort of live action version of the surreal and escapist world of the animated cartoon, the combination of Producer Gordon Hollingshead, Director Richard Bare and (of course) Star George O'Hanlon all managed to delver a deliver a movie short in which we actually cared about the hero and to look forward to seeing his next exploit.
BUT IT WAS not only those above mentioned virtues that made for a unique and beloved series. There is one other attribute that the Mc DOAKES pictures possessed that, in the final analysis is most important. They are genuinely funny and performed their function well in "warming up" an audience for the Feature Film that followed.