Polo Joe (1936)

• Director
  • William C. McGann
• Writers
  • Peter Milne(screen play)
  • Hugh Cummings(screen play)
  • Richard Macaulay(contributor to treatment)
• Stars
  • Joe E. Brown
  • Carol Hughes
  • Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher

  At the time of its release, Polo Joe was critically lambasted as the worst Joe E. Brown starrer to date. Compared to his later non-Warners efforts, however, it's not so bad: the biggest criticism that can be levelled against it is that it's virtually indistinguishable from Brown's other 1930s vehicles. The plot and comedy of the film can be summed up in a single sentence: Joe Bolton (Brown) is terrified of horses, but joins a polo team to impress his sweetheart Mary (Carol Hughes). The climax borrows a page from Brown's 1935 baseball flick Alibi Ike, with the villains holding Joe prisoner so that he can't ride in a polo championship. As always, Brown does all his own stunts in Polo Joe, a fact that is more impressive than amusing.