The Great Gildersleeve

There's very little that can be said to be "great" about Throckmorton Gildersleeve, a petty, mean, mendacious blowhard who somehow also manages to be completely unlikeable. It certainly doesn't help that Peary's substandard slapstick or Scooby-Doo giggle stand in for a punchline at the end of most scenes - his is the kind of lazily written schtick that might have stretched a smile or two in the '40s but couldn't possibly entertain a modern-day audience.

I'm not too familiar with Harold Peary's character Gildersleeve, except that he's turned up in a few movies I've seen. Apparently he was a very popular on radio in it's day. The Great Gildersleeve (1942) was the first of four Gildersleeve films to be released during the war. Your typical B-comedy. Broad and clear comedy, relaying on confusion to fill it's hour of laughs. Quite entertaining, even if I doubt the character will be among my favorites.