If there were ever two performers who deserved to find happiness in the after life, it was the comic team of Thelma Todd and Patsy Kelly. Todd was murdered in one of Hollywood's most bizarre unsolved mysteries, while Kelly was a has-been before the age of 40 due to her open gay lifestyle and battle with the bottle that kept her unemployed in Hollywood for almost two decades. Praised in the 1930's as one of the funniest character women in films, Kelly replaced Zasu Pitts in a series of shorts she made with Todd for Hal Roach, and also was one of the most acclaimed comics in films, appearing at every major studio as the best pal to pretty much every big Hollywood star. While Todd ended up in the legends of Hollywood scandal, Kelly did make a huge come-back, returning to films and winning the hearts and laughter of audiences who were lucky enough to see her in her Tony winning Broadway performance in "No No Nanette". While she died only a decade later, her fame skyrocketed years afterwards as nostalgia crazy younger audiences discovered her comic genius through TCM and home video.This short is delightfully silly, almost of a "Little Rascals"/"Our Gang" mentality with children obviously howling at the plight of both Todd and Kelly as they end up in the home of the loony Clarence Wilson who has created one of the goofiest looking robots ever to be seen on film. With Wilson behind the scenes guiding its every move, the robot (whom Kelly hysterically refers to as "Mr. Rowboat") attempts to play host to the two ladies, engaging Kelly in a contest of trying to flip silverware into a wine glass, pouring water over her head rather than into her glass, and chasing them all around the house when they discover that there's an escaped gangster hiding under the table. Kelly's brash nature is contrasted with Todd's pretty blonde who gets a few good cracks of her own. Having a long career in features as well, Todd had the potential of becoming another Harlow/Lombard, but unfortunately the only thing they had in common were pre-mature deaths. In retrospect, however, the three also seem to have a more modern presence than other actresses of the 1930's which makes their work seem totally fresh today.Praise must also be given to the hammy performance of the hawk-faced Clarence Wilson, foe to the Little Rascals and W.C. Fields, as well as stingy bankers, shop keepers and process servers who stood in the way of the leading players finding happiness. He reads every line as if he was a dog devouring a huge steak, certainly the perfect way of playing such a character for a comedy short that doesn't even reach the length of a two-reeler. Because of the short running time, this does not wear out its welcome, and features plenty of laughs and action in a brief span. Hence the reason for me giving this an almost excellent rating, because its good hearted goofiness just makes it a pleasure from beginning to end.

Thelma Todd and Patsy Kelly really hit the jackpot this time, as they find themselves against an old dark house with secret panels and stuff, a (very) mad scientist, a malfunctioning robot, AND a dangerous escaped criminal! And all of this take place, you guessed it, in a dark and stormy night. For some reason, I found "The Tin Man" possibly the funniest of the Todd-Kelly shorts I've seen so far, especially when Kelly is making disgusted faces at having to drink a little "refreshment", and at the end when the robot (who IMDb reveals was played by an experienced stuntman) goes bat$#it-crazy and starts chasing everyone around. This is also one of their shortest shorts (at only 15 minutes), I think it should have run a little longer. **1/2 out of 4.

Tin Man, The (1935) ** 1/2 (out of 4) MGM short has Thelma Todd and Patsy Kelly stopping at an old dark house where they run into a mad scientist and his robot. This is one of the better Todd and Kelly shorts I've seen but the real star here is the robot. Both the girls are in fine form but the screenplay really doesn't allow for them to do too much. You get a few of their typical falling down scenes but most of the jokes are written around the robot. The robot, clearly played by a man with a mask on, adds some really good laughs including the ending where the electrical equipment goes nuts and sends him into a rage. Another good joke involves the girls trying to open a window only to find several more.

This is the first Thelma Todd-Patsy Kelly short I've seen, and it appears that they were victims of a scheme to cast them as a female Laurel and Hardy. Not a good decision, since Patsy isn't convincing as a Stan-like nitwit, and when Thelma beats her up for her mistakes she seems sadistic and much less likable than Ollie (or Moe for that matter). The plot is a shapeless hash about a mad scientist creating a robot (played by a guy covered in construction paper). This short has one really beautiful scene. Wanting to distract the menacing robot or to somehow boggle its mind, Patsy has an idea: she'll perform an amazing trick with five spoons. First she lines them up end to end on a table, then indicates by elaborate gestures how she will tap the first spoon, and how it will strike the second spoon, and the second spoon will hit the third one and so on, ending with the last spoon flipping into a glass. Her pantomime & timing are superb, and it's a wonderfully unexpected tactic against a robot. Patsy executes the trick, with the result that the final spoon goes down the low-cut back of Thelma's dress. The whole sequence, which lasts maybe 12 seconds, is the one inspired sight gag in an otherwise ordinary film. I always enjoy seeing Clarence Wilson, but he isn't give much to do here. I'd be interested to see if there are perhaps better entries among the Thelma Todd-Patsy Kelly comedies.