Getting Gertie's Garter

More like a George Feydeau farce than a 1930's Hollywood screwball comedy, "Getting Gertie's Garter" is a small budget film with plenty of laughs. Constrained by the censors of the time (1945), it still manages to do enough "couple swapping" to qualify as a sex farce. But be warned, to really enjoy this film you have to throw all logic away.

The "small star" cast of Dennis O'Keefe, Marie "The Body" McDonald, Barry Sullivan, etc. are not the most famous of Hollywood actors. Still they manage to set the right tone and pull it off.

A silly piece of fluff that runs only 72 minutes, "Getting Gertie's Garter" like "The Horn Blows At Midnight" (1945) and "The Boys from Syracuse" (1940) is a mostly overlooked gem. If you are into comedy, it is a must see.

The basic idea is pretty simple: Scatterbrained Dennis O'Keefe once gave a garter to his friend Gertie. Now he's a prominent scientist (and a married man) and he decides he needs to get Gertie's garter back.

O'Keefe spends almost the entire picture sneaking into rooms, climbing out of windows, crawling around in haylofts, and just generally behaving oddly—all in pursuit of the elusive garter which Gertie, by the way, has decided she might want to hang on to.

The supporting cast includes Sheila Ryan as O'Keefe's exasperated wife; she knows something is up but can't quite catch him at it. Marie McDonald is fine as Gertie herself, a good-natured blonde who is tolerant of O'Keefe's persistence but only up to a certain point. Barry Sullivan and Jerome Cowan trade wise cracks as a couple of buddies who add to the mischief. J. Carrol Naish as the butler and Binnie Barnes as a busybody add hilarious bits as well.

The whole crew eventually ends up at Sullivan's ritzy country house, where Sullivan and McDonald are soon to be married—if O'Keefe doesn't mess up their plans too.

It's all very frantic and slapsticky—extremely funny nonsense.

If possible, this movie should be viewed immediately after watching Up in Mabel's Room, which was made the year before with the same director (Allan Dwan), same star (O'Keefe), and same plot (almost exactly).

"Getting Gertie's Garter" (1945) is a remake of the 1927 film...and the films are very similar. Both have a plot that seems a bit thin....and the central problem doesn't seem THAT bad. This is a weakness of the films, though they still are enjoyable.

When a scientist, Dr. Ken Ford (Dennis O'Keefe) finds out that he's being subpoenaed to court, he instantly becomes upset. Why? Because he'll have to divulge that he once bought Gertie a garter which he had personally inscribed. Considering that they used to date and this happened long ago, it did seem strange that this was blown out of all proportions. Instead of just coming clean and admitting to his wife that he once dated Gertie, Dr. Ford spends the entire movie running about like a chicken with its head cut off. This is also a bit of a problem for Gertie, as she's about to get married as well and doesn't want her beau to know about her past with Dr. Ford. Hillarity ensues.

If you can ignore the fact that the serious problem is not all that serious, the film is enjoyable. Overall, it's about as good as the original.....flawed but enjoyable.

Fast paced farce! Funny picture! Cast and Crew do an excellent job in all departments!!! Projected a beautiful 16mm reduction print! Gotta see a classic black and white flick on film on a projector - that's the only way! Both female leads were HOT chicks! The film never lets up! Critics of motion pictures all suck because none of them could do a better job of directing a picture that they dislike! The 1940's flicks all ROCK because everybody who worked on them were all seasoned professionals - unlike today! Tripods and perfect lighting are a must! Clear soundtracks when you can understand every word spoken! No screen time wasted! Under 90 minutes is all you need to get a point across! Sorry Quentin, your flicks are way too long, but it's nice you still love motion picture film - and not digital! Keep up the good work! So kick back and enjoy a funny little picture at 24 frames per second! That's 1,440 pictures flashing before you eyes in one screen minute! Imagine that! I'm sure the stupid distributors have allowed the nitrate cut negatives and optical soundtracks to decompose, while letting their copyrights laps into public domain - finding little value in these old B flicks, too bad they never saw the internet coming! Oh yea, who needs R rated movies! This flick has so many sexual innuendos it's hilarious! People hated the Hayes Office, but in a way censorship made for the best movies ever! When adults went to the movies, that used their brains! And I'll see you at the movies!

If the frantic Ken (O'Keefe) doesn't get that incriminating garter back from ex-sweetie Gertie (McDonald), it's good-bye to wife Patty (Ryan). Trouble is Gertie has her own plans, and when she doesn't, grasping butler Charles (Naish) does. Meanwhile, buddies Ted (Sullivan) and Billy (Cowan) are no help at all. So it looks like splitsville for poor Ken, unless the screenplay comes up with a last minute solution.

This 1945 production mimics the highly successful Up in Mabel's Room of 1944, even down to director Dwan and male lead O'Keefe. That's not surprising since what could be snappier fun for a war factory's late shift than these frenetic bedroom farces. They're non-stop action with the gags and innuendoes flying faster than Superman's speeding bullet. O'Keefe's in a permanent lather, while McDonald shows the stuff that nicknamed her The Body. Yes, indeed.

Anyway, you can check your brain at the door and let the nonsense take over. In my book, the movie's still a whole lot of fun, even if garters have gone the way of the corset.