SO’S YOUR AUNT EMMA! (1942)

This soft comedy is a Monogram Pictures film, produced by Lindsley Parsons, and gives ZaSu Pitts a rare headliner in a film of confusing and less funny characters. Co-starring with her is Roger Pryor, in his third of fifteen films, as a newspaper reporter. His glib deliveries provide nearly as many huffed laughs as Pitts (Aunt Emma). She plays another spinster, this time sharing a home with her permanently unmarried sisters. Life is very simple in their small town. Quiet, except for her caustic siblings. Pitts was famous for portraying a fretful old maid, with forlorn eyes and a high-pitched, fluttering, crestfallen delivery. This film eliminates most of those qualities, despite many nostalgic ZaSu fans highly rating the film. At just two ticks over an hour, it is an ideal length, however. 

Pitts reads a newspaper headline about a boxing match that causes her to swoon over a past love, a prizefighter. Turns out the headlined boxer is his son. Hearing radio comments about his lifestyle and lack of training, she feels compelled to travel to New York City by train and help him get his act together to be a success. The screenplay was written by George Bricker and Edmond Kelso. Their premise had comedic potential if they had written something funny, but there are few genuine laughs in this dull, slow-paced, cluttered tale. One wonders if the director, Jean Yarbrough, provided any input. 

There is a kidnapping, murders, a postponed wedding for Pryor, and two dim-witted gangsters who jump to silly assumptions. One being, she appears to be muscling in on the young boxer's handler, Douglas Fowley. With her ever-present umbrella, she is also assumed to be the infamous Kate “Ma" Parker, who was known to carry a gun under her umbrella. Never mind that the real Parker died in 1935. Once Pitts finds out about this, she decides to learn how to talk tough and play the role—not very convincingly—but courageously. One would expect some laughs during this segment as she lays into gangster, Tristam Coffin. I could only muster a muted chuckle, my stomach muscles never moving. In the end, Pitts becomes the unlikely trainer for the wayward boxer back in her hometown. Using her Ma Parker attitude, she puts her two nagging sisters in their place as well.

Notes: The film's title might suggest this is one in a series of popular "Emma" adventures. In reality, it was based on the story, “Aunt Emma Paints the Town” by Harry Hervey. A couple of notable supporting cast members not mentioned above include the chief of dimwits, Warren Hymer, and Pryor's irritated newspaper boss, Dick Elliot.

According to her own introduction on an episode of I Got A Secret in 1952, ZaSu pronounced her name as Say-Zoo. The unique moniker was an amalgamation of her aunts, Eliza and Susan. Her secret on the game show? Rudolph Valentino taught her to dance socially.