A police officer alerts his audience to the fact that inanimate objects can be as dangerous as human criminals. He then displays several offenders that have recently been brought in. Shoelaces, for example, have an objectionable habit of breaking at crucial moments. The officer proceeds to call attention to window shades, bedroom slippers, and other menaces. He also answers his critics who advocate reasoning with these objects rather than punishing them.
Acting
Benchley's impeccable timing sells the ridiculous premise.
Writing
Satirical police procedural applied to household objects.
Director
Leslie M. Roush
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Robert Benchley was a legendary Algonquin Round Table humorist who made over 40 short subjects like this, essentially inventing the comedic lecture format.
This parodies 1930s true-crime radio shows and police procedurals like 'Gang Busters,' where moral panic about urban crime dominated American media.
US
