The Sin of Harold Diddlebock ~ 1947 -BW

QUICKIE: Two men dangle out the window of the 5th floor suspended only by a lion, and other amazing feats brought to you by Mr. Diddlebock's bender.

PLOT: Twenty years after his triumphs as a freshman on the football field, Harold is a mild-mannered clerk who dreams about marrying the girl at the desk down the aisle. But losing his job destroys that dream, and when he finds a particularly potent drink at his local bar, he goes on a very strange and funny rampage (with a lion in tow).

SUMMARY: This movie stressed me out to no end. Diddlebock gets fired because he's a lame-O, boring bookkeeper. He gets over 2 grand from his retirement fund and a gold watch. Out he goes onto the street, and as a drifter talks him into having his very first drink, we cringe knowing the loss of his life savings is imminent. But we're pleasantly surprised as Diddlebock's enthusiasm explodes out of 20 years of suppressed genius and joy. He runs around screaming and over reacting to everything for the rest of the film.

Diddlebock manages to make $15,000 betting on horses, buys a ridiculous checkered suit, a month's of service from a horse and carriage, and a circus. Once he sobers up he discovers the circus is in huge financial trouble. So Diddlebock schemes up a plan to interest bankers to buy the circus off him by taking the lion to the banks, drumming up attention. There's real stupid slapstick humor here and when they hang off the side of the building suspended only by the lion, I was squirming with uncomfortableness the whole time.

There's the great cliche happy ending as Diddlebock discovers that during his bender he married his true love, and Barnum & Bailey buy the circus for $175,000. Rich, famous and married, Awww.

Margaret Hamilton (Wizard of Oz) has a small part as Diddlebock's sister and Rudy Vallee makes an appearance as well. But I was mostly captivated by the lion. And the constant yelling. Still, a good film with many funny bits and very daring stunts.