The Fabulous Joe (1947)

 

A Howleroo That Could Happen To You!

Despite the tagline found on the film's one sheet, it's unlikely that the premise of the Hal Roach Studios quickie The Fabulous Joe will ever manifest itself in your–or anyone else's–life, but it's definitely an enjoyable way to spend fifty-nine minutes. Similar to the 1945 crime/horror/comedy The Missing Corpse, this bizarre farce spirals out from a woe-begotten middle aged business man, who has been relegated to an obsequious ATM for his high-society obsessed family. Trying to put his foot down and establish a modicum of dignity in his household, results in creating a carousel of revolving mishaps that lead him to a much more dire place than he started. All for laughs of course. 

Joe.

The Fabulous Joe opens in a courtroom, where we find the aforementioned business man, milquetoast Milo Terkel (Walter Abel), offering the testimony to his defense in a divorce suit filed by his wife, Emily (Margot Grahame). After society hound Emily ditches her husband on their anniversary to attend a party thrown by a snobbish socialite, Milo loses his cool and lets his fast-spending daughter, his live-in barnacle of a brother-in-law, and his inattentive spouse know exactly what he thinks about they way he's been relegated to a non-entity in the family. They are aghast at his sudden cruelty and decide to leave him, taking refuge at Mrs. Terkel's sister's place.  Eventually Mrs. Terkel decides that maybe she was too hasty in her departure and that perhaps Milo had a point regarding her treatment of him, and returns home in an effort to patch things up. Of course, in her absence, a string of unrelated events has been unfurling, involving the buxom Gorgeous Gilmore (Marie Wilson) and her thug boyfriend Louie (Nick the bartender, himself, Sheldon Leonard). And where is the titular Joe in all of this, you might ask?

Milo gives Louie his thoughts on how he treats women.

Well, Joe is a dog. But not just any dog, he's a talking dog. And not just any talking dog, but a dog that only Milo can hear (presumably). On the day of his anniversary, before things start to go from bad to worse at home, Milo finds that a recently deceased client has bequeathed his dog Joe to him. Unsure of the proposition, but eager to have the companionship, Milo takes ownership of the pet. After heading home to spend his anniversary with his wife, and upset at finding himself alone, jilted Milo and Joe head out on the town and eventually find themselves in the Florida Club, imbibing on a laughably complex and potent drink called the Mystery Gardenia. It not only smokes like a tumbler full of dry ice, but instantly turns a white gardenia black, when it's added as a garnish. It's unclear if drinking the drink is what opens the communication channel between Milo and his new pet, but it seems that's what the film is positing, even though he continues to hear Joe long after he's stopped drinking. While moping over being alone on his anniversary, Milo garners the attention of Glamorous Gilmore, a good time girl who is also at the Florida Club, and is very attracted to the large diamond necklace Milo had planned on giving his wife as an anniversary present. This draws the ire of jealous boyfriend Louie, who doesn't like the attention his girl is giving Mr. Terkel. Eventually Louie gives Milo a smack in the eye and threatens to do the same to Glamorous, and all parties part ways. At least for the time being.

Florida Club bartender Al Bridge, mixing up a
Mystery Gardenia

Once Joe starts talking, we find out that he's less an affable domestic pet, and more of a lecherous troublemaker. As Milo is sitting in the park across from his apartment, Glamorous Gilmore incidentally once again enters his life as she passes by. Eager to stir up trouble and, presumably attempting to get Milo's mind off of his marital woes, Joe brings the two together again by pushing her into a pond. Furious and sopping wet, Glamorous demands Milo replace her ruined dress before she lets him walk away. Obviously it's nighttime, and all the stores are closed, so Milo invites Glamorous to his apartment to shower and slip into something of his now- estranged wife's in the meantime. Of course Mrs. Terkel arrives home to attempt a reconciliation and Milo has to try to hide the barely dressed Glamorous before his wife gets the wrong idea. 

Glamorous Gilmore (Marie Wilson) has Milo in a
compromising situation.

Milo recounts all of this on the witness stand, trying to convince the court that the whole series of misunderstandings was the product of his talking dog, Joe. And, in true Michigan J. Frog fashion, Milo's attempts to prove the point by trying to goad Joe into speaking in the courtroom only encourages the court to think he's not only a cad but a mentally unbalanced one.

The Fabulous Joe is definitely a product of its time. Audiences today would likely be more apt to cringe than chuckle at what munchkin-voiced Joe has to say (he refers to women as "tomatoes"), when he decides to talk. Even if his heart is in the right place. Sometimes. It's a fast and frivolous absurd comedy that might be too silly or too distasteful for some, but an enjoyable romp for those in the right mood for it and are fans of comedies from that time period.

Offbeat and screwball, The Fabulous Joe is definitely worth checking out for fans of The Three Stooges, the Ma & Pa Kettle films and other Hal Roach productions. 

Dir. - Harve Foster; Story - Hal Roach, Jr.; Screenplay - Arnold Belgard, Jack Jenve; Producer(s) - Bebe Daniels, Bernard Carr, Hal Roach, Jr.; Editor - Bert Jordan ; Cinematography - John W. Boyle; Music - Heinz Roemheld.

Milo Terkel - Walter Abel, Emily Terkel - Margot Grahame, Debbie Terkel - Barbara Bates, George Baxter - Howard Petrie, Glamorous Gilmore - Marie Wilson, Louie - Sheldon Leonard, Henry Cadwallater - Donald Meek.