Will Power (1936) User Reviews

Very Odd

[BJJManchester · 7/10 · 5 September 2005]

A very strange Edgar Kennedy short,directed by cult film-maker Arthur Ripley.Ripley apparently had a reputation for being a very odd person in real life,and that is certainly reflected in this comedy,though it is all the better for it.

The story is about Edgar trying to get his lazy,irritating brother-in-law (Jack Rice) a job simply by mental telepathy;what with atmospheric lighting,semi-psychological conversations with a nurse,and a zen-like slow repetitious chant from Kennedy ("GET....... BROTHER......A .......JOB"),it seems more like a film noir than a domestic two-reeler! Edgar's strategy works alright,but not in the way he intended! Well worth seeing.(It is now available,along with other Kennedy short comedies,on a DVD compilation)

Surely they could have come up with a better plot than this!!

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 21 June 2011]

This is one of a bunch of films Edgar Kennedy made with Florence Lake. In all these films, Lake's brother and mother live with them--and make Edgar's life miserable. ANd, like the rest of the films, Florence has a simpering laugh that is VERY hard to take! This one has a bizarre plot that really, really stretches itself way beyond the point where you need to suspend disbelief to enjoy it!

Edgar has a plan to try to force his freeloading brother-in-law to get a job. He pretends to have a heart attack (forcing the brother-in-law to go to work). Then, and here's where it gets stupid, he uses 'mental power' to get the bum working--concentrating strongly in the hope that this concentration will make the guy finally find a job. Huh?! While it's not even in the middle of the series, this one sure looks like the writers ran out of ideas! Often dumb and not particularly enjoyable.

By the way, it was pretty weird how everyone referred to Florence's brother as 'Brother'. Even his own mother called him that as well as the guy interviewing him for a job!

One for Edgar Kenny fans!

[JohnHowardReid · 9/10 · 7 March 2018]

Edgar Kennedy (himself), Florence Lake (Mrs Kennedy), Jack Rice (the brother-in-law), Dot Farley (mother), Kitty McHugh (nurse), Harrison Greene (the boss), Harry Bernard, Harry Bowen (men on phone).

Director: ARTHUR RIPLEY. Screenplay: Edgar Kennedy, Arthur Ripley, John Grey. Story: John Grey. Photography: Jack MacKenzie. Film editor: Edward Mann. Sound recording: Denzil A. Cutler. RCA Sound System. Producer: Lee Marcus.

Copyright 2 March 1936 by RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. U.S. release: 6 March 1936. 2 reels. 16 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: Edgar pretends to have a heart attack so that his brother-in-law will be forced to get a job.

COMMENT: Edgar Kennedy is one of those fortunate comedians who can't help but be amusing. Join Edgar with cult director Arthur Ripley and the audience is in for a field day in this entry (number 29 in the 103-picture RKO series). The spooky "will power" premise is delightfully augmented by weird close-ups.

The plot also has some nice twists and the players, as usual, have a grand time at Edgar's expense.

AVAILABLE on DVD through VCI. Quality rating: Eight out of ten.

"Brother! Get....A.....Job!"

[boblipton · 8/10 · 5 June 2019]

Mother-in-law Dot Farley and brother-in-law Jack Rice have been mooching on Edgar for four years by this point in the series, so Edgar develops a plan to force Rice to get to work: he fakes a heart attack, and while he's recovering, there's no money coming in. Dot Farley is not going to stand for that!

This episode has two of the wackiest in the entire series: Edgar using the power of Eastern swamis, which he has learned from a book, is completely bizarre and funny; and Dot Farley renewing old, romantic acquaintances with Harrison Greene to get Rice a job.

In the end, it didn't work. Kennedy's "Common Man" series of shorts came out of RKO for 16 years, until his death, and Rice never kept a job for more than two minutes.

Doesn't Work Very Well

[Snow Leopard · 13 January 2003]

Despite the best efforts of the veteran comic actor Edgar Kennedy, this short comedy is just too goofy to work very well. The story starts off all right, with Edgar deciding to use a combination of trickery and "Will Power" to try to motivate his lazy brother-in-law to get a job. But as it progresses, it's neither plausible nor very satisfying. If it were a little funnier, it would be all right if it didn't make any sense, or vice versa, but unfortunately, neither is really the case. Kennedy had good timing and many other comic skills, but this time he just wasn't given enough to work with, and it just doesn't have much to offer.