If there is any value in revisiting low-budget cinema from the earliest days of Hollywood, it would be the fact that so many of them are driven by a sense of pure joy, we can’t help be entertained – and while it may seem dismissive, the majority of the most effective works in this regard were not intentionally designed to be funny, or at least not in the way they intended to be, which only makes them even more enjoyable to watch from a contemporary perspective. Down in ‘Arkansaw’ is one of the more interesting cases, since by all accounts this should be nothing notable – a film designed around a very particular set of stars, telling a story that had real-world implications that bears very little relevance to any modern viewer (with the exception of those interested in mountain-dwelling stereotypes or 1930s economic policy) – but yet it is so compulsively entertaining, perhaps in entirely unintentional ways. However, the pure charm that drives this film is worth the price of admission alone, and with director Nick Grinde behind the camera, and a screenplay by Dorrell McGowan and Stuart E. McGowan, who cobble together every stereotype available to them on what seems to be the afternoon tea-break that it took to write this script, it manages to be one of the more unexpectedly delightful comedies produced at this time, which is a bold declaration in itself. Make no mistake – few films have aged more poorly than Down in ‘Arkansaw’, and I’d personally argue that the only people who will get even an ounce of value out of this film are those with a penchant for more absurd scenarios, especially those works of inadvertent humour, which seems to be the driving force behind this film, which somehow finds itself being far funnier in its most dramatic moments than many other comedies with astronomically higher budgets and better writing – and if that isn’t appealing, then nothing else about this film can contend with your expectations.

The reasoning behind the creation of Down in ‘Arkansaw’ is clear – this was designed to be a vehicle for the vaudeville troupe known as The Weaver Brothers and Elviry, consisting of Leon and Frank Weaver (who played Abner and Cicero respectively) and June Weaver (taking on the part of Elviry, whose relationship with the brothers is never clear – we can’t quite figure out if she’s their sister or one of their wives – and a part of me thinks the fact that this confusion is so prevalent was not supposed to be a source of comedy, because that would imply a much darker sense of humour that I don’t think these charming performers ever intended to utilize), who built their entire careers on playing these dim-witted but oddly resourceful hillbillies that were a stark contrast to the more urbane audiences that would frequent their shows, which is essentially the core of many iconic comedic acts. The industry loved taking popular entertainers from the stage and throwing them into the world of cinema in the hopes that they would flourish in this new and exciting medium, and reach an even broader audience. However, for every Al Jolson or Marx Brothers, there are a dozen that were not fit for the screen, and while it may be harsh, the trio at the heart of Down in ‘Arkansaw’ were certainly not the most natural when it came to being in front of the camera. However, they were by no means poor performers – if anything, their performances are absolute highlights of this otherwise simple film, which doesn’t do much outside of giving us a very funny series of moments with these eccentric characters, all of whom seem to be operating on an entirely different level of logic, which is not uncommon from comedians at this era, but oddly quite bizarre when coming from this trio, who did their best to establish themselves as screen actors but struggle to let go of their stage origins in terms of how they seem to consistently be playing to the rafters.

If there is something that Down in ‘Arkansaw’ does very differently from other films that were designed to be starring features for certain performers, it is that it has some kind of a message, albeit one that is concealed between layers of the most unintentionally deranged and offbeat humour seen during this period. Whereas most films of this kind would be solely dependent on the popularity of the stars, and thus genuinely believed they could neglect something like having a good script or strong concept (which is still a surprisingly widespread issue today) and therefore is doing far too little, this film does a bit too much and seems to get lost in its ambition, which is not necessarily a bad quality, but is one that is important to note in the context of the film as a whole. There isn’t much about Down in ‘Arkansaw’ that is difficult to understand, and it almost immediately establishes its intentions to use these popular characters as vessels for a discussion around the United States government and their efforts to help ordinary folk emerge out of the Great Depression, which was a valiant effort. We can ultimately understand the reasoning behind placing so much emphasis on these aspects of the story – considering most viewers were more likely to be attentive to an eccentric, upbeat comedy than they would a dour, overly extensive government conversation, it makes sense that they would capitalize on the popularity of its stars to get a message across. Considering the New Deal, which sought to help repair a country fractured by the crashing economy, was notoriously difficult to implement due to the public’s hesitance at first, we have to view this film as an attempt to change their mind, even if only to briefly show them the positive side of these policies. Perhaps doing it in a way where the people cynical of the policies are portrayed as mindless hillbillies is slightly inappropriate, but the Golden Age of Hollywood certainly had a fondness for stereotypes from time to time, and it doesn’t impinge on our enjoyment too much.

A more cynical but logical viewer will probably look at this bizarre comedy and see the broad strokes of socio-economic discourse (some may even use the term propaganda) present in every frame – and it is certainly true that Down in ‘Arkansaw’ is very much in favour of the government and its attempts to help the nation recover after the Great Depression. Objectively, this is not something that should be criticized, since the New Deal policy was designed to aid recovery and help those who needed it the most, which is precisely why there is a lot of merit in the message at the heart of this film, and how it was designed to help audiences swallow the bitter pill of a policy that had its problems, but was mainly a force of good at the time. However, this is reading too far into the intentions of the film, and looking too deep into these matters will only spiral into a historical discussion, which is the complete antithesis of what this film set out to do. Ultimately, we can find merit in nearly every part of this film – it’s not always the easiest, since the humour is dated and some of it is so unintentionally hilarious it can come across as stilted and quite uncomfortable. However, just taken for what it is, Down in ‘Arkansaw’ delivers exactly what it offers – it is delightfully short (running at only 65 minutes), is driven by humour and has many charming song-and-dance sequences that offer the viewer the right amount of entertainment that we need to get through this story. It may feel very forced at times, and the ending is bewilderingly strange, but it does serve a purpose, and we eventually discover that this is as much about the film as it is the situation surrounding its creation, which adds depth and helps us understand the reasoning behind the creation of this delightfully odd but entertaining comedy.