THE FULLER BRUSH GIRL
US, 1951, 85 minutes, Black and white.
Lucille Ball, Eddie Albert, Jerome Cowan, Gale Robbins, Carl Benton Reid, John Litel, Lee Patrick, Jeff Donnell.
Directed by Lloyd Bacon.
While this is a small film of its time, The Fuller Brush Girl is still very entertaining, and very funny for contemporary audiences.
It was written by Frank Tashlin had begun his career in animation, move to screenwriting, relying on his cartoon jokes, pratfalls and slapstick comedy, the continual succession of gags. While he had directed some films, during the 1950s and 1960s, he had quite some success in directing films with stars like Tom Ewell, Jayne Mansfield and, especially, Jerry Lewis.
The film was directed by Lloyd Bacon, a steady director at Warner Brothers during the 1930s and 1940s, adapted to all genres of films – and able to transfer Tashlin’s comedy to the screen.
The film is also a star vehicle for Lucille Ball who had been in films with significant roles since the 1930s with quite some significant roles, moving to MGM where she appeared in a number of their lavish musicals. She was about to become Lucy with her television show and her husband Desi Arnaz, I Love Lucy. She had her main success on television but also made some amusing films in the 1950s, The Long, Long Trailer and Forever Darling. She also starred in the screen version of Mame.
There is a very funny credit scene with an anonymous Fuller Brush Girl going to a number of doors and getting all kinds of brush offs. We are then introduced to Lucille Ball’s Sally, at a switchboard, urging her boyfriend, Humphrey, Eddie Albert in a rather low a key role, to get a job. Jerome Cowan is the boss who is involved in crooked dealings including getting his wife to go on holidays before a smuggling operation.
There is mayhem at the switchboard when Sally has Fuller powder all over her, sneezes, sets the switchboard a light and is fired.
She decides to be a salesperson herself, the first customer being Red Skelton (who had played The Fuller Brush Man in the comedy of 1948). There are a series of disasters including babysitting, being tied up, tying up the children. The main complication occurs when the boss has to explain the powder on his clothes because of Sally’s sneezing and his wife does not believe him. Sally is asked to go and explain but when she fails to arrive, the boss asks a burlesque dancer, Gale Robbins, to take her place – the wife is murdered.
The police are suspicious, Sally thinks she has murdered the wife but has not, Humphrey helps her, they Escaped from the police, going to a burlesque show with Gale Robbins singing Put the Blame on Mame, from Gilda. There follows quite an amount of slapstick comedy, escaping over the roof of buildings, going onto a boat, the couple being pursued by the criminals with all kinds of shenanigans and two parrots who mislead the humans because they are able to literally parrot the latest words that they have heard.
It is old and perhaps old-fashioned – but funny nonetheless.
1. Classic comedy? A small comedy? 1951? Characters, gags, slapstick and pratfalls?
2. The writing of Frank Tashlin, his career as an animator, screenplays, direction, working with a variety of comedians? His sense of humour, jokes, situations, cartoons with live action? The continuous jokes in the screenplay, taking them ahead of time but audiences enjoying them?
3. Lucille Ball, her long career before this film, at MGM in musicals, the increasing success? About to move into television I Love Lucy? Her skills as a comedienne? Her skills as a clown?
4. The American city, the suburbs and streets, houses, various houses and doors? Offices? The police precincts? The wharves? The ship? The musical score? The burlesque theatre, Ruby singing Put the Blame on Mame? Sally and her burlesque performance, the music, the beat, her rhythms and timing?
5. The opening credits, the gags at each door with the Fuller Brush Girl and the attacks?
6. Lucille Ball is Sally, tall, redhead, ditzy, working at the switchboard, her love for Humphrey, wanting to put the deposit on the home, the discussion with the estate agent, engaged to Humphrey, for a long time, hopes for marriage? Urging Humphrey to apply for the job, her girlfriend, the powders and the mayhem, the switchboard blowing up, Mr Simpson covered in powder? Her being fired, the breaking glass doors? Her sneezing – and that continuing on the bus with dire results? The gags with hats, babies, things flying out bus windows?
7. Her friend visiting, the explanation of the Fuller Brush Girl, the cosmetics? Money motivations for Sally, her decision to go out and sell, the encounter with Red Skelton, memories of the Fuller Brush Man, his selling her things? Selling to the woman, and her subscription to the magazine? Being mistaken for the babysitter, the mayhem, the kids, then tying her up, her tying them up? The women, playing bridge, the boy with his chemical experiments, her dealing with the hairstyles, the wrong liquids, the hair falling out?
8. Humphrey, a nice man, rather self-effacing, Sally pushing him to get the job, asserting himself to the boss, his being used because he was stupid, the deposit on the home,
the discussions with his boss, finding Sally to make the explanation clear to the bosses wife?
9. Simpson, the boss, his plot, using Humphrey, Mr Watkins and being fired, the links with the other thugs, smuggling diamonds? His wife, sending her on a holiday, her smelling the powder? His plan, getting Sally to explain? Her not turning up, getting Ruby, his wife dead?
10. Sally, going to the house, the encounter with Ruby, being knocked out? Thinking that she was Mrs Simpson? The hitman? Simpson and his mistakes? Humphrey’s visit?
11. The police, the evidence, everything pointing to Sally, the contact with Humphrey, the car outside the house, the media?
12. Sally and Humphrey, the escape from the police, over the fences, going to see Simpson, Sally realising that Ruby was the woman she saw, going to the burlesque, in the
audience, the chorus, Ruby and her version of Put the Blame on Mame? Ruby backstage, quitting, planning to go on the boat?
13. Sally, at the stage entrance, with the men, putting on the costume, applying for the job, the grotesque make up and lashes? The chase with criminals, on stage, her performance, the rhythms, the beat, the strip? Humphrey’s embarrassment? The manager wanting to hire her?
14. Going to find Simpson, his being dead, Humphrey on the floor, Mr Watkins shooting at him? Their fleeing on the roof, Watkins taking them to the wharf, realising the truth, their abduction onto the boat? Watkins committing the murders?
15. Ruby, backstage, the solution, explanations for the police?
16. The farce on the boat, the chases, hiding, in the funnel, dangling from the wires, the parrots and their talking and imitating the humans, hiding amongst the sacks, the roles, the wheels and Sally going around the boat, plugging the wine casks, drinking the wine, the cask with the star and the explosives?
17. The Coast Guard, the police, the pursuit? The criminals, realising there would be the explosion, diving overboard? Sally and Humphrey romantically together – and the parrots and their imitation?
