Ain't It Aggravatin' (Short 1954)

Ain't It Aggravatin' (Short 1954). Ain't It Aggravatin': Directed by Dave O'Brien. With Pete Smith, Dave O'Brien, Sally Payne, Frank Sully. A sketch of human foibles that lead to major aggravations. Pete Smith's 'Mr. Fall Guy' Dave O'Brien has problems while attempting to park his car on a city street; he bumps cars in front of and behind him, or is space-hogging two parking places. At home, he decides to construct a patio in his back yard, and various objects and people, including himself, manage to makes a mess of his wet cement.

“Pete Smith made a specialty out of, what else?, u0026quot;Pete Smith Specialties,u0026quot; nearly copping the coveted Academy Award for one of his one-reel (about ten minutes) shorts, u0026quot;Movie Pests,u0026quot; nominated in 1944. He delighted audiences for over twenty years with these short gems dealing chiefly with everyday problems and pet peeves of all kinds. In the post-World War II period, Pete found an everyman-type soul to star in many of these one-reelers, former B cowboy Dave Ou0026#39;Brien. Ou0026#39;Brien also directed the latter day u0026quot;Pete Smith Specialtiesu0026quot; including this one, u0026quot;Ainu0026#39;t It Aggravatinu0026#39;,u0026quot; which he helped write.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOne reason for Pete Smithu0026#39;s popularity was his mesmerizing manner of narration. His voice wasnu0026#39;t much, very nasal, but his style and method of phrasing were unique and much copied by others, including the Disney studios who used a similar method for a series of cartoons featuring Goofy.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Ainu0026#39;t It Aggravatinu0026#39;u0026quot; begins with aggravations involving parking a car. The first scene shows a method later used in the popular TV sitcom u0026quot;Seinfeldu0026quot; by Kramer when he parked, bumping the cars in front and back. Other aggravations are emphasized, ending with a long comedy routine involving brother Dave attempting to lay cement in back of his garage. Slapstick was the main comedic mode in the u0026quot;Pete Smith Specialtiesu0026quot; and u0026quot;Ainu0026#39;t It Aggravatinu0026#39;u0026quot; is no exception. Dave could take a pratfall with the best of them. He had begun his Hollywood career as a stuntman; so he was no novice at the art.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNot as timeless as the humor of the Laurel and Hardy shorts or even that of The Three Stooges, the Pete Smith one-reelers were fun most of the time. u0026quot;Ainu0026#39;t It Aggravatinu0026#39;u0026quot; is a good place to start, illustrating well the last years of the movie shorts as TV sitcoms began to take their place. It also shows the viewer Dave Ou0026#39;Brien at his best. If this one pleases you, take a look at some of the others, including the first u0026quot;Pete Smith Specialtiesu0026quot; from the early 30u0026#39;s.”