Feather Your Nest (1944) Online

When hanger on brother-in-law Jack Rice wants to get married, slow burning Edgar Kennedy sees an opportunity to get rid of him (and that obnoxious mother-in-law) for good so he agrees to lend him money for the engagement ring. However, that creates all sorts of other issues when the cheap ring he buys is accidentally switched with a more expensive ring, including Kennedy wrestling with 75 chickens, one of whom allegedly swallowed the ring. Typical exaggeration of wretched family situations reminds viewers that their family isn't so bad, or does it? Maxine Semon as the fiancee proves herself to be just as horrid as the rest of the family, so it becomes very apparent where this is going. Kennedy shines as usual as the type of man Rodney Dangerfield would emulate years later with the no respect routines, and that includes his own wife (Florence Lake) who would drive any man to insanity.

This is a domestic comedy starring Edgar Kennedy and Florence Lake. Lake was often cast as his wife in these films by RKO, but they also had the likes of Vivian Oakland, Sally Payne and Irene Ryan in these same parts. Of the four, Lake was the most common AND most annoying due to her very high-pitched voice and laugh. Fortunately, in their later films this seemed to have been toned down a lot--so that watching was no longer like chewing glass! Here, the laugh is still there but it's easier on the ears.

"Feather Your Nest" starts with something REALLY weird--Edgar's brother-in-law is being nice to him! Edgar naturally suspects something is amiss--and it turns out the guy wants Edgar to give him $200. Well, not surprisingly, Edgar is not going to give it to him--until he realizes that if the brother-in-law is going to use it to buy an engagement ring--and that means he'll FINALLY be moving out of his home! Unfortunately, the salesman gives him the wrong ring (one costing $2000 not $200) and Edgar must return it ASAP. However, the ring is stuck on Sirena's finger and getting the ring back to the shop isn't as easy as it sounds. And how a chicken relates to all this is something you'll just need to see for yourself!! The humor is a bit forced here, but it still is funny and Lake is apparently medicated enough that she's not a detriment to the film! Worth seeing though not what I'd call subtle!! Still, the ending was nice.

This is one of the finest examples of Edgar kennedy's series at RKO. The pacing is fast; a chicken swallows an engagement ring he bought so his brother in-law can marry. I long to see other shorts for my collection and book I'm writing on him and RKO shorts in general.