What! No Beer? (1933) starring Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante
Synopsis of What! No Beer?
In What? No Beer! Two film clowns (Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante) appear together. It’s the story of a couple of regular guys trying to cash in on the end of Prohibition. A little bit prematurely …
Review
What! No Beer? begins with a lovesick Elmer (Buster Keaton) in love with a lovely, pro-prohibition woman. But at the meeting he follows her into, he votes in favor of ending prohibition! And gets throws out. Later, Jimmy (Jimmy Durante) comes into Elmer’s taxidermy shop, to get his prize fishing catch stuffed. And he talks Elmer into talking into being “wet” — ending Prohibition.
Prohibition is voted out, and the gangsters, rum runners, and speakeasy criminals are upset. But Jimmy sees an opportunity! With Elmer’s money, he wants to buy a brewery! And Elmer’s willing to go along, to earn a million dollars, and impress Hortense.
Comedy highlights
- Chaos at the voting booth, ending with rotating them like a carousel.
- Poor Elmer getting a shave at Jimmy’s barber shop — when he’s getting excited about the vote!
- Three homeless people are sleeping in their new brewery. And they’re the new employees!
- One of them actually knows how to brew mass amounts of beer. But Jimmy dismisses him because of his stammer. So, they use a recipe that would work in a crock for the enormous vat!
- Then, the water fight at the brewery.
- Elmer “tapping” the cork on the beer bottles. And then the bottles erupting. Then, poor Elmer getting stuck in the vat, as the suds flow all over.
- Elmer and Jimmy at the police station. Where they find out that it has 0% alcohol content!
Brewing actual beer at the brewery
- Schultz finally manages to let Jimmy know that he’s actually a master brewer! And Jimmy plans to sell bootleg beer to get Elmer’s money back. And keep it a secret from Elmer, of course.
- And the gangsters don’t like it that they’re undercutting their price on the bootleg booze.
- Elmer accidentally soaking Hortense after she “faints”. And the shy young man reacts as she takes off her wet clothes!
- Elmer sends Hortense home with Jimmy’s overcoat. Unaware that Jimmy’s stored the $10,000 downpayment from Moran in the coat! And her gangster boyfriend thinks that she’s being unfaithful, and slaps her! So she starts to point her affection towards Elmer …
- Elmer goes to deliver the first shipment of “beer” to Moran! And, a rival gangster plans to destroy it. But, parked on a hill, he gets a flat tire. And then the barrels start rolling madly downhill! It’s a chaotic, funny scene.
- Elmer can’t leave town to save his own life because …. He’s taking Hortense for a picnic in the park!
- Elmer “escaping” the brewery in a barrel.
- Elmer’s clever plan to destroy the evidence — “free beer at brewery”!
Funny movie quotes from What! No Beer?
Jimmy Potts: What’s that?
Elmer Butts: It’s a kangaroo. It’s a native of Australia.
Jimmy Potts: My sister married one of them!
Jimmy Potts: [about Elmer] We were shellshocked together in France …. But I recovered.
Elmer Butts: It’s so dark in here I can’t see my nose in front of my face!
Jimmy Potts (Jimmy Durante): I don’t have that trouble.
Cast of characters
- Buster Keaton (College, Sherlock Jr.) … Elmer J. Butts. The naive young taxidermist who wants to make a million dollars, in order to get married. He’s got an enormous crush on Hortense.
- Jimmy Durante (Speak Easily) … Jimmy Potts. The barber who gets a million dollar idea. To open a brewery before Prohibition’s technically repealed! And spends Elmer’s life savings of $10,000 to do it.
- Roscoe Ates (Freaks) … Schultz. The homeless employee with a stammer. But he’s actually a master brewer!
- Phyllis Barry (Three Little Sew and Sews) … Hortense. The lovely Australian lady, originally Butch’s girl, who becomes Elmer’s love interest. And bravely tips him off to the upcoming police raid.
- John Miljan … Butch Lorado. The rival gangster, who takes out Spike, and wants Elmer & Jimmy to start making 5,000 barrels a beer per day for him! And, he’s Hortense’s abusive boyfriend as well.
- Henry Armetta (Bogus Bandits) … Tony
- Edward Brophy (Speak Easily, Wonder Man) … Spike Moran. The criminal who contracts with our protagonists for 1,000 barrels a day!
- Charles Dunbar … Mulligan
- Charles Giblyn … Chief
Additional Cast
- Sidney Bracey … Dr. Smith
- Eddy Chandler … Cop
- James Donlan … Al
- Billy Engle … Beer Drinker
- Sherry Hall … Moran’s Henchman
- Pat Harmon … Moran’s Henchman
- George Irving … Politician
- Al Jackson … Stool Pigeon
- Wilbur Mack … Banker Jordan
- Broderick O’Farrell … Police Chemist
- Lee Phelps … Passer-By
- Rolfe Sedan … Barber
- Harry Tenbrook … Moran’s Henchman
Product Description of What! No Beer?
Two of comedy’s greatest masters – Buster Keaton and Jimmy Durante – appear together in this effervescent and irreverent slapstick about a couple of regular guys trying to cash in on the end of Prohibition. Durante is a barber who talks Keaton, his dim-bulb taxidermist buddy, into spending his life’s savings on a brewery. Determined to be first, they start making beer before Prohibition is actually over. That makes their “competition” bootlegging thugs – something they didn’t count on! Then, Buster falls for one of the gangster’s molls, the cops get into the act, and Keaton and Durante have to figure out how to get out of the beer business before they’re done in! From a story by Robert E. Hopkins (Anita Loo’s screenwriting partner on San Francisco), this timely farce, directed by veteran Edward Sedgwick, was called “one solid riot of laughs…Rowdy and hoodlum fun” (The New York American).
Trivia
- Keaton’s final film for MGM and his last starring role in the U.S. He would go on to make numerous shorts, appear on television, as well as perform as a character in other films.
- Buster Keaton disappeared during production …. He married his “sobriety nurse” Mae Scriven during a drunken fling in Mexico.