SO’S YOUR AUNT EMMA! (1942)

This super soft comedy is a Monogram Pictures film, produced by Lindsley Parsons, and gives ZaSu Pitts a rare headliner. 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 some nostalgic ZaSu fans highly rating the film. 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, choppy tale. One wonders if the director, Jean Yarbrough, provided any input. At just two ticks over an hour, nearly anyone can see it through to the end in the hope it will improve. 

Pitts reads a newspaper headline about a boxing match that causes her to swoon over a past love, a prizefighter. Turns out the boxer is his son. Hearing radio comments about his lifestyle and lack of training, she feels compelled to travel to New York City and help him get his act together with a proper diet, fresh country air, and exercise for a successful career. 

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 his classic locked-jawed, rapid delivery. With her ever-present umbrella, she is assumed to be the infamous Kate “Ma" Parker, who was known to carry a gun under her umbrella. Never mind that the real Ma Barker 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. The gangsters and police shoot it out in near total darkness in the end, thanks to a segment of poor print quality. Pitts becomes the unlikely trainer for the wayward boxer back in her hometown. Using her Ma Parker attitude, she finally puts her two nagging sisters in their place.

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, the high-pitched Dick Elliot with his slurring esses.

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.