The Tin Man

This is the first Thelma Todd-Patsy Kelly short I've seen, and it appears that they were victims of a scheme to cast them as a female Laurel and Hardy. Not a good decision, since Patsy isn't convincing as a Stan-like nitwit, and when Thelma beats her up for her mistakes she seems sadistic and much less likable than Ollie (or Moe for that matter). The plot is a shapeless hash about a mad scientist creating a robot (played by a guy covered in construction paper).

This short has one really beautiful scene. Wanting to distract the menacing robot or to somehow boggle its mind, Patsy has an idea: she'll perform an amazing trick with five spoons. First she lines them up end to end on a table, then indicates by elaborate gestures how she will tap the first spoon, and how it will strike the second spoon, and the second spoon will hit the third one and so on, ending with the last spoon flipping into a glass. Her pantomime & timing are superb, and it's a wonderfully unexpected tactic against a robot. Patsy executes the trick, with the result that the final spoon goes down the low-cut back of Thelma's dress. The whole sequence, which lasts maybe 12 seconds, is the one inspired sight gag in an otherwise ordinary film. I always enjoy seeing Clarence Wilson, but he isn't give much to do here. I'd be interested to see if there are perhaps better entries among the Thelma Todd-Patsy Kelly comedies.