Shut My Big Mouth (1942) User Reviews (5)

Some Like It....In the West...

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 5 March 2013]

"Daphne, you're leading again!" Oh, sorry, wrong movie. But Joe E. Brown gets the dresses, padded bras and corsets in this western spoof where he dresses as a woman in order not to be killed by a bandit out to kill him because he has been named the new marshal. Jack Lemmon must have watched a few of the movies where Brown dressed in drag because many of his mannerisms in "Some Like It Hot" were emulated by what Brown did in these films.

Brown even gets to do an acrobatic dance with the bandit who has insisted that Brown (as "Henrietta") be companion to the daughter of the kidnapped saloon owner is is awaiting ransom on. Adele Mara is the pretty heroine, with Fritz Feld as Brown's assistant who pretends to be Brown's "husband".

You won't be surprised to learn that Brown does not make a very convincing woman, but neither did Milton Berle, Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Ray Bolger or Bert Wheeler. At one point, he even makes himself resemble Harpo Marx. The result is funny whether it works or not because in a Joe E. Brown film, reality isn't expected, just loads of gags.

In drag out west

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 19 March 2020]

Joe E. Brown and Fritz Feld are a pair of salesmen traveling west when their stagecoach is held up by the notorious Buckskin Bill and his gang. Brown accidentally knocks out Victor Jory as the outlaw leader, but his men rescue him before the posse arrives. Jory vows vengeance but the town wants to make Brown sheriff.

A terror to the men Jory has a reputation of being gallant with the women Brown hits on a plan to leave town in drag with Feld as his new husband. It only works when while their lives are spared, Jory invites them forcefully to be his guest along with Adele Mara.

As you can gather most of the comedy involves Brown in drag fending off Jory and trying to escape. Jory who played mostly drama proves to be a good comic foil for Brown.

A bit of a reversal for Brown who in Some Like It Hot was courting Jack Lemmon who was n drag.

It's a good comic part for Brown who gets good support from the supporting cast.

Joe E. Brown Does It Himself

[boblipton · 6/10 · 19 March 2020]

Is there a more suitable title for a Joe E. Brown comedy than SHUT MY BIG MOUTH? Joe had been away from the screen for a couple of years, and this one was made for Universal, with the competent Charles Barton directing.

The story is that Brown is traveling on a stagecoach filled with valet Fritz Feld and exotic plants; he's a horticulturist, you see. Bandit Victor Jory tries to hold up the coach, Brown thwarts them by accident, and is acclaimed by the townsfolk as a hero.

Much of the rest of the movie has Brown in drag for reasons which seem to consist of "it's funny." Adele Mara provides the love interest with a Mexican accent. Other well-remembered performers include Don Beddoe, Russell Simpson, Joan Woodbury, Lloyd Bridges, and Forrest Tucker. The movie might remind You of Bob Hope's PALEFACE. It's a typically funny, if minor vehicle.

Not Great

[lzf0 · 18 July 2003]

Joe E. Brown made some fine comedies in the early 1930s at Warners. By the end of the decade, he had slipped by making some cheap independent features for David Loew and then making some equally cheap outings for Columbia. Directed by Abbott and Costello regular Charles Barton, this Columbia B film is just another in an endless parade of western spoofs. Brown is teamed with the underrated Fritz Feld, but there is no chemistry between them. At times, Feld is forced to take the role of Brown's straight man and he is quite uncomfortable in this capacity. Brown spends a fair share of screen time in drag; Bert Wheeler is more effective in this type of comedy. There are some interesting glimpses of young Lloyd Bridges and Forrest Tucker in supporting roles. All in all, pretty disappointing.

grow up; get real

[KDWms · 3/10 · 18 October 2003]

After the first couple of minutes of this flick, I was enthusiastically anticipating the rest of it. Then, I could sense the increasing let-down. After a restrainedly-humorous beginning, there followed a rapidly-deteriorating, juvenile set of circumstances, including Brown dressed in women's clothes, and other events which featured people behaving like they just wouldn't behave. All well and good, I guess, if seen only for the purpose of entertainment. But if you expect the least bit of rationality, you're probably not gonna find much here.