Mr. Skitch (1933)

This is an excellent example of the early film making of Will Rogers. Will Rogers was the #1 male box office performer for five consecutive years until his death. All of America loved Will Rogers, and he could not have made a bad movie if he tried. People who complain about the stereotypes in his movies are shortsighted, and have no idea about the times in which he lived. People like that just need to stick to Ingmar Bergman crapola and leave real Americans alone. Will does not have to apologize to any man. All of that being said, this film is packed with humor. Will's family loses their money and tries to make their way to California. Zasu Pitts is especially funny and wonderful in the role of Will's wife. Laughs all along the way. If it ever plays on TV, do yourself a favor and catch it.

Having heard so much and read so many profound and witty sayings by Will Rogers, I was anxious to see him on film. I expected this movie to be funny, or at least touching. What I got was mainly a boring movie.A family loses its house and possessions, due to bank incompetence....and nobody is upset! They just jump in the car and head to California.For the most part, the humor is stupid and the film moves too slowly. That's the problem with a lot of comedies. Comedy seems to date itself a lot more than other genres.It was fun, however, to see Zasu Pitts and Rochelle Hudson in here.

Many of the family banter i remember in my family comes from this time and these type of movies. Here is some of the grit and emotion that helps Americans get through tough times. One funny scene is the first time Will and his family encounter a British woman, He seems 6 inches shorter than her and a quick quip by his wife is that the british woman is from sweden. :) His ability to adapt to situations is evident in people today. Some scenes are hard, like the scene with the Indian (but that is not very harsh) and the one with Mr. Cohen, but Mr. Cohen himself is shrew as well, so there is a balance to the characters. His free-wheeling spirit is evident in the first 15 minutes with the scene where he takes his family for a joy ride down a mountainside to establish his confidence and up-beat fun loving side with his children. A fun movie.

Will Rogers and his family fall victim to the Great Depression and head off to California.Along the way,he encounters other travelers,and the man who was famous for the statement"I never met a man I didn't like" shows that he was apparently only referring to people who were born in America.There is a very uncomfortable scene with a man named Cohen(Harry Green),and another with an Indian,which is thankfully short,perhaps due to the fact Mr. Rogers was half-Cherokee himself.Call this review revisionist history if you want,but I call them like I see them.Different times,I guess.