So You Want to Be a Bachelor (1951) Poster

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7/10
A bit better than average
planktonrules1 July 2013
George O'Hanlon is back for another Joe McDoakes short. And, as in some of the films, his wife is played by Phyllis Coates--Lois Lane from the TV "Adventures of Superman"--who appears here uncredited.

After Joe and his wife have a scrap, Joe goes into the basement and looks through his old mementos from his bachelor days. As he does so, he reminisces about these good 'ol days and you see his relationship with the woman who would later become Mrs. McDoakes. What follows is insane--often quite funny but occasionally the laughs come so fast you almost wish they'd slowed the thing down a bit. Either way, it is funny and better than the average McDoakes film. I'd say more about what exactly happens, but you just have to see it to believe it!
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Decent McDoakes Comedy
Michael_Elliott13 May 2010
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.
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4/10
The ending might get a chuckle, otherwise this McDoakes is a dud
SimonJack13 April 2021
The Joe McDoakes series of shorts in the mid-20th century were scenarios about little things in life that the average man might experience. Most often, they involved a wife or girlfriend. And, they generally were amusing. A few were outright funny and would draw laughter or chuckles from the audience. But some also were duds,

"So You Want to Be a Bachelor" is a dud. Unfortunately the writer seemed to have no imagination or creativity for things that might be funny here. Instead, the looking back on getting hooked and marriage takes up most of this film's 10 minutes. But none of it is the slightest bit funny. There's not a funny line in the picture, and the antics are ho-hum. I would bet that everyone who watches this film will be able to guess the ending. Yet, it's the only thing that might get a smile.
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10/10
Memories and Delusions
redryan6416 February 2016
Warning: Spoilers
ONCE AGAIN THE series hits the audience from a slightly different angle. The resulting tickling of the old funny-bone manages to come through loud and clear, albeit from a new and innovative pitch (for the MC DOAKES Series).

WE FIND THAT Joe and Alice (George O'Hanlon & Phyllis Coates respectively) are very much the same in most respects as are we, their real life counterparts. When we're here, we want to be there. When it's Summer, we complain about heat; lamenting for Wintertime. Those married long for their "carefree" single days. Conversely, Singles yearn for the date they "tie the knot!

TOLD IN FLASHBACK, we start in the Mc Doakes household, time-the present. As is the custom, Alice can't stand to see Joe in repose on the couch. Not surprisingly, her wives' instincts automatically kicks in.

JOE IS BANISHED to the basement; where he is to excavate the relics from previous epochs in their lives. Some group of vintage photographs start a chain reaction of memories. In it, old flames are resurrected and major life changing events (like the Mc Doakes' Wedding Day) lived.

WHILE FEIGNING EARNEST efforts at labor, Joe also recalls encounters with some other very interesting females of the opposite sex. Proving that the imagination is a most powerful aphrodisiac, Joe bemoans the outcome and ponders the eternal question of "What if?"

AT THE CONCLUSION, we find an acutely shocked Joe being unceremoniously returned to the present (1951) and to the realities of his married life.

AS FOR THE Verdict (Drum Roll.........), we say ****+.
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