User Reviews

Charles Murray and George Sidney played stereotypical Irish-and-Jew comedy for Universal for ten years, particularly in the "Cohens and the Kellys" series. This short is a break from the more elaborately plotted features, and offers them in a two-act as battling driver and conductor on a bus -- same characters, different casts.

It's a funny little short, as they fight, then bond over mutual foes, then fight again. There are some funny lines and some amusing foes, particularly Arthur Houseman, playing his trademark drunk.

The bus they run seems to run over a set of trolley tracks from the old Red Line; I have no idea why any bus company would consider that worthy of a bus route.

Charles Murray and George Sidney are streetcar operators who hate each other, but they find a common enemy in their new supervisor. They get lots of laughs as mainly straight characters against the various trials the colorful public brings. Among them is Arthur Housman playing (what else?) a drunk who wants to know if the streetcar goes to Main Street, Sherwood Bailey of Our Gang fame as an annoying unruly kid, and adorable little Buster Phelps in a blink-and-you'll-miss-him part. It is no wonder these streetcars show up so often in comedies; they were a perfect contained space for a lot of laughs.

This film was shown at Capitolfest in 2017.

This comedy short stars veteran performers Charles Murray and George Sidney, who worked together frequently. When this film was made they were also appearing in a series of feature length programmers known as The Cohens and the Kellys, which traded on the great popular success of the stage play "Abie's Irish Rose." The play established a familiar, crowd-pleasing template: an Irish dad and a Jewish dad are comically at odds. They trade barbs, squabble, and even duke it out, but eventually make peace. The film series began in 1926 during the silent era, and lasted well into the '30s.

In the opening minutes of Rolling Along it appears the time-tested formula has been adapted to a new setting. Murray and Sidney are bus drivers. Murray has applied for a transfer to different station, to get away from an annoying colleague—who, of course, is Sidney. Meanwhile, Sidney has also applied for a transfer. And, wouldn't you know it, they both wind up at the same place. It looks like the squabbling is set to continue, but instead, when the guys are bedeviled by a harsh supervisor, they quickly put their differences aside and focus their anger on him.

"Rolling Along" is the perfect title for this short, for most of it takes place on a moving bus as it rolls through the city streets. Murray is at the wheel, while Sidney collects fares and tries to maintain order among the passengers. (Good luck with that.) The guys must contend with a drunken man—who else but Arthur Housman?—an unruly kid, and, most of all, their own ineptitude. It's amazing these guys have kept their jobs as long as they have without any fatalities, because they barely seem to know what they're doing. Somehow the passengers take matters calmly when this duo turns their trip into an ordeal, at least until the crazed, "Abandon Ship!" finale.

While I didn't find Rolling Along hilariously funny I was never bored, and enjoyed myself even when the gags were predictable. There are some amusing moments along the way, and the visuals are impressive. In fact, this short was so skillfully shot and edited that this alone is a good reason to watch. Clearly, the crew worked on an actual moving bus, without relying on any process work or rear-screen projection. Through the bus windows you get a good look at the stores, office buildings and homes of 1930 Los Angeles. Historically minded viewers will have plenty to see. Where comedy is concerned, I enjoyed Mr. Housman's contributions most of all. He provides a running gag that builds to a closing punchline, which ends Rolling Along on an ironic note.