So You Want to Be a Bachelor

So You Want to Be a Bachelor (1951)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Joe McDoakes (George O'Hanlon) wants to sleep on the couch but wife Alice makes him go to the basement to get it cleaned up. Once there he finds some old photos and starts to daydream about when he was single and what caused him to marry Alice. This short starts off a little slow but it quickly picks up once the actual wedding takes place. We finally get to see how the two got together and it makes for a couple pretty good laughs, although in some ways you wish they'd spent a little more time coming up with something better. One plus is that the actual wedding has some very funny stuff including an interruption that almost prevented the marriage. How it plays out was pretty smart and manages for a good smile. As usual O'Hanlon hits all the right marks as does Phyllis Coates as his wife. The final pay-off is predictable but mildly amusing.