The Fuller Brush series

  • The Fuller Brush Man (1948)

    The Fuller Brush Man (1948)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On TV, November 2021) At some point in the future, I will be tempted to get all of the Red Skelton movies of the 1940s I can get (or maybe wait for a TCM marathon) and see if my impressions of a repetitive streak are correct. In how many titles does he play a good-natured semi-simpleton dragged into a crime comedy? I realize that’s not exactly a weird premise nor much of a stretch from his usual persona, but The Fuller Brush Man has, beyond the unusual nature of its titular job, some overly familiar elements. Of course, this is a film that came well into Skelton’s career, so playing to his strengths was the natural course of action. Now, I do like Skelton’s shtick most of the time and this film does it quite well — although I like him just a bit better when he’s not handicapped by an overly naïve protagonist: in Ship Ahoy, or the Whistling series among others. The Fuller Brush Man ends up being a decent but unspectacular effort for him — pleasant enough to watch, but not necessarily a highlight. He does what he does well, and that’s not bad.

  • The Fuller Brush Girl (1950)

    The Fuller Brush Girl (1950)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, November 2021) By 1950, Lucille Ball was on the cusp of superstardom considering that her epochal TV show I Love Lucy was only a year away from broadcast. In a way, The Fuller Brush Girl is the last film of an era for her — by that time, she was widely recognized as a leading comedienne and her mastery of physical comedy was much stronger than her earlier films. The Fuller Brush Girl (a sequel to the Red Skelton vehicle The Fuller Brush Man) lets Ball free to unleash her comic talents as a ditzy woman pressed in evermore ludicrous situations in the midst of a murder investigation. Reuniting several key creative talents from the previous (and similarly funny) Miss Grant Takes Richmond, the film seems tailored to Ball’s strengths. It’s not quite as funny as it could have been, but it’s still a vastly entertaining showcase for Ball, in the midst of a rather ordinary comedy.