The Great Library Misery (1938) User Reviews

The Poor Grouch!

[Sylviastel · 5/10 · 27 March 2015]

This film short is about a man who applies to be a member of the Grouch Club. He describes his experience of trying to obtain a library book as a visitor. He visits the library several times to a young librarian who quotes library rules. The poor applicant does everything to get a library card and borrow a popular book. You have to wonder why he doesn't just buy the book instead but you have to admire his determination. Is the book worth it because you can just go to the bookstore and get it. Nancy Evans is fine as the straight no nonsense librarian. The film could have gotten away with an unattractive woman in the role. The story is short and sweet.

Mildly amusing and dated

[AlsExGal · 6/10 · 2 September 2018]

This little short is about a guy who wants to join the grouch club because for six months since moving to his town he has been unsuccessfully trying to join the library. The librarian is a courteous blockade of documentation requests - you must own a home or have cosigners that do, you must have references, and you must have a telephone, among others. And there is a fellow that has a Franklin Pangborne like presence who steps into the picture every time the would be library member raises his voice.

The short was directed by Lloyd French, who worked for Hal Roach and directed Laurel and Hardy. The would be member of the grouch club does have an Oliver Hardy - like demeanor in that he starts out calm and polite and grows angrier and louder with each ridiculous impediment put in his way.

Today the grouch would just buy the book off of Amazon if he met resistence at the library. Who wants to put in a landline just to satisfy such a stuffy institution anyways?

An explanation of some of the ways in which libraries are such miserable . . .

[oscaralbert · 7/10 · 27 December 2014]

. . . places to hang out, even back in 1938. Hulking Detmar Poppen portrays a library "bouncer" of yesteryear here, in THE GREAT LIBRARY MISERY. Under "Rule 16" of the taxpayer-funded librarians' emporium pictured in this 11 1/2-minute short, this burly bouncer guy can oust his involuntary benefactors for FIVE YEARS if they break the "Code of Silence" (which means that two library employees gabbing can hear a taxpayer requesting vital information from a third public employee--or, more often nowadays--an outside trouble-shooter on a cell phone trying to walk the patron through difficulties which the library staffers cannot or will not fix). Just 10 or 15 minutes ago, the library bouncer in my current location ejected the gentleman at the computer to my right for a "Rule 16" violation (though I do not know if it was a five-year death penalty or not). Therefore, any user of a modern public library is sure to sympathize with the "F.T. Smith" character here. Whether it's being charged 40 cents for each sheet of paper, or being subjected to water-boarding in order to obtain a library card, the librarian sanctuaries of today would look extremely familiar to "Mr. Smith" of 1938!

You'll Become A 'Grouch' Watching This - It's Not Funny

[ccthemovieman-1 · 2/10 · 13 February 2007]

This short feature stars "The Grouch Club." Jack Lescoulie Jr. plays the "Grouchmaster." The story was written by Nat Hiken of "Bilko" television fame. That program was a lot funnier than this little film.

The group is meeting to discuss the latest application for membership. Lescoulie gives the definition of a grouch (I think I qualify!) and then goes over the application with the four other guys in the room. That's the last we see of him until the end.

The bulk of the story is about "F.T. Smith" and his trials and tribulations of trying to take out a book at the public library. They make it about impossible with one obstacle after another. Arthur Bryan is Smith and Nancy Evans is the librarian. Detmar Poppen (nice name) is the library manager who keeps threatening to kick Smith out of the library for being too loud.

Frankly, I saw nothing humorous in this skit - nothing. I can't believe this would make people laugh, but I guess humor was a lot different back in 1938.

Awful Comedy That's More Annoying Than Anything Else

[Michael_Elliott · 18 July 2012]

The Great Library Misery (1938)

* (out of 4)

Awful "comedy" has Mr. Smith (Arthur Q. Bryan) moving to a new town where he hears about a free public library. He goes there to try and get a card but the frustration is so bad that it makes him write a letter to a "Grouch" club where he hopes to join. I love all sorts of films and I especially love watching Turner Classic Movies, which means I watch quite a few shorts each month. In fact, if they play one that I haven't seen then I make sure to watch it. Ever so often you come across one that is beyond bad and that's where this thing belongs because it was so annoying and painful to watch that I wanted to jump through the screen and just start breaking things. The biggest problem is that the entire thing is just so annoying that you can't have fun with it because it really is torture to watch. The annoying librarian, the annoying manager and then we've got the annoying lead character who keeps doing dumb things to try and get this free card. Of course, all of this torture is just going to lead to a very obvious and annoying ending. Thankfully this thing only ran 12-minutes or else it would have been much worse but there's still no question that this is among the worst shorts I've ever seen. The only mildly interesting thing comes from this being Bryan's first film. He's best remembered for the voice of Elmer Fudd and you can hear some of that here.

Grouchy

[boblipton · 6/10 · 13 August 2023]

There's two much laughter at the executive board meeting of the Grouch Club until Arthur Q. Bryan tells his sad tale of trying to check out a book at the library.

Bryan spent a lot of time performing on the radio, but he's best remembered as the voice of Elmer Fudd in the Bugs Bunny cartoons. In this Vitagraph short, he spends six months trying to get a library card so he can check out a book by James Hilton, constantly balked by the rules of using the public library, which seem to be at least fifty-six in number. His increasing frustration at the sort of petty bureaucracy that afflicts all of us provides the humor here.

A lot to grouch about

[fredcdobbs5 · 3/10 · 6 October 2014]

The "plot" of this Warners short concerns a man named F.T. Smith who is applying for membership in The Grouch Club, an organization of men who like to grouch about everything. On his application, Smith relates the experience he had trying to get a card at his local library, and why that qualifies him for membership in this club. There are only about two or three even remotely funny things in this film, otherwise it's a complete dud. This badly written, poorly directed, overacted mess tries to pass itself off as a screwball comedy, but virtually nothing works. The only interesting thing about is it that "F.T. Smith" is played by character actor Arthur Q. Bryan, who made his name as the voice of none other than the beloved Elmer Fudd of the great Warners cartoons of the 1930s and 1940s. Bryan actually LOOKS like Elmer Fudd, and if you close your eyes when he speaks, you can definitely hear Elmer's voice. Otherwise, there's absolutely no reason whatsoever to watch this time-waster.

Funny...and a bit cartoonish.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 7 December 2016]

In this film, Mr. Smith (Arthur Q. Bryan) has sent his application in to the Grouch Club because he hates people. What follows is the story of why Smith is now such an angry man.

The guy just moved into town and simply wants to check out the book "We Are Not Alone" by James Hilton. However, the librarian refuses to give him a card and makes him jump through many, many bureaucratic hoops to get it. Many months pass...and ultimately he gets his card after a ton of trouble...but this isn't the end of his problems!

This film is a bit like a cartoon as far as the silliness of the plot AND because Arthur Q. Bryan was the voice of Elmer Fudd. Overall, a very enjoyable short--one that will even make grouches smile!