One Run Elmer (1935)

Another short from the Educational era.  Even though, when this short comes to mind, I tend to think of it as fairly ho-hum, it actually has a few parts that are pretty terrifically funny (the magic of Buster, I suppose – even if the film he’s in is just all right, he finds places to shine.)

Several miles from the middle of nowhere, Buster is running the world’s most podunk, ramshackle gas station in the California desert.  When someone starts building just on the other side of the dusty dirt road, he thinks the “boom” he’s been waiting for is finally on its way, but it turns out to be another gas station, with the proprietor competing with Buster for both business and girls.  Both guys set their caps at a lovely motorist, and they discover that the way to impress her is through baseball.  Each plays for one of two teams in the nearby town, and when they meet on the field, they know that her affections are at stake.

Some of the details on Buster’s rundown little gas station are pretty fun.  I like the cobweb-draped cash register and the deep ruts worn in the sand by Buster’s rocking chair, and when an angry driver chases Buster into his shack, I love how the whole thing tilts from side to side.  I also enjoy his price war with his rival, which is done well and has some good bits in it, especially the kicker.

A lot of the other rivalry stuff isn’t as interesting to me, again in terms of both business and the girl.  It’s not really a situation where Buster’s made out to be a chump (the other guy is just more of an opportunist – their dynamic is like a less criminal version of the projectionist and the “sheik” in Sherlock Jr.)  Rather, this section simply feels a little run-of-the-mill.  Nothing particularly wrong with it, but nothing stands out.

Where the short really heats up is when it gets to the baseball game.  Virtually every throw, swing, and hit is accompanied by a gag ranging from good to great.  The popcorn-ball switch is my favorite – everything about it is so much fun.  I also like Buster’s explosive final swing, and after the gum-ball trick is pulled on him, I love the little moment immediately following his next hit, when he stops to pick up the bat and make sure the ball isn’t stuck to it.

Like trains, cars, and cops, there’s just something about baseball.  Buster could come up with baseball gags for days.  He played around with comedy from various sports over the course of his career, but his baseball gags are always a win.  Even though it’s not a well he went to as often as the train-car-cop themes mentioned above, it was always memorable when he did use it.  The baseball scene in The Cameraman is one of its best sequences, and without the game here, this short would have very little that’s noteworthy about it.

Warnings

Slapstick violence.