. . . in reference to hard-laboring Loyal Patriotic True Blue Normal Average Union Label Working Stiffs being fired suddenly with callous impersonal disrespect at the slightest whim of Corrupt Corporate Communist\Capitalist Money Mogul Misers, but the Pachyderm Party's Propaganda House of the Groaning Fat Cat One Per Centers is so out-of-touch with Real Life as we know it that the narrator of this THE BOSS DIDN'T SAY GOOD MORNING fantasy refers to this oft-repeated scandalous demeaning violation of Human Rights as being "Blue-slipped"! This live-action short's main character, wage slave "John Jones," is pictured with the sleazy business culture engulfing him like a swamp, compelling him to ape the misbehavior of such amoral top-of-the-pyramid scheme apex predators as "Tiger" and "POTUS #45" by cheating at golf himself. THE BOSS DIDN'T SAY GOOD MORNING also shows the malignant office atmosphere of John's workplace environment leading toward an imminent broken home through domestic abuse, another common thread connecting him to the pair of aforementioned future Real Life miscreants.
6 Reviews
Presentable Studio short.
Mozjoukine18 September 2002
It's possible to see director Tourneur's sensitive approach to his work in this passable Metro short about industrial relations. It is however hard to belive that Mullhall's duties as office worker sustain his spacious scrubbed up studio art department replica of a family home.
This one holds attention quite well even without synchronised speech and film making is more assured than most of these program fillers.
This one holds attention quite well even without synchronised speech and film making is more assured than most of these program fillers.
Be nice to others or else perhaps you could start WWIII or lead someone to suicide or crash the stock market or,...
planktonrules16 February 2009
My summary is a bit of an overstatement, but it really isn't that far from the mark. In this MGM short, a busy and thoughtless boss ignores an employee who says 'good morning'--and this snub leads to a long, long series of calamities in this heavy-handed lesson on manners and how to treat your subservients. After the snub, the working shmoe goes home and growls at the family and makes a mess of his life--all because of one time that his boss doesn't return the greeting!! What a nut! Wouldn't it be funny if in a followup film someone forgets to say 'you're welcome' and this guy then goes off on a killing spree or if a waitress forgets a guy's coffee so he in turn invades Poland!! Talk about a heavy-handed message filled with propaganda! While the film tries to make a nice point, it really does seem a bit extreme and silly. See what you think and let me know if you get a chance. It's watchable and well made but all a bit trite.
Let's Neurotically Overreact To Everything!
boblipton2 June 2019
Jack Mulhall is at work one morning when the boss comes in and strides to his office without his customary "Good Morning" to his loyal salaryman. Carey Wilson then goes on for ten minutes about Mulhall's worries that the boss is angry with him, about to fire him, frame him for drowning kittens, denounce him as a Bolshevik agent of the Yellow Peril, etc. Etc.
As I said, this goes on for ten minutes. It's clearly meant to be funny. And yet for Wilson, who was quite capable of writing (or at least collaborating, given the dozens of writers MGM employed on every script), it's a matter of "the mountain labored for months to bring forth a mouse". Wilson tended to a this sort of hysteria in his other narrated short subjects.
As I said, this goes on for ten minutes. It's clearly meant to be funny. And yet for Wilson, who was quite capable of writing (or at least collaborating, given the dozens of writers MGM employed on every script), it's a matter of "the mountain labored for months to bring forth a mouse". Wilson tended to a this sort of hysteria in his other narrated short subjects.
One of many types of bosses...It takes all kinds!
mark.waltz12 December 2014
Warning: Spoilers
In my 40 years of working life, I've had my share of unique employers, some amiable, some idiots, others coming in to work on the Bi-Polar express, others power hungry and determined to take credit for any idea. There have been foot stampers, micro-managers, joke tellers, sneaker uppers, back patters, back stabbers, mother figures, father figures, salty old dames who utilize old school management styles that don't mix in today's "P.C." b.s. with their style. I've had the boss who doesn't say good morning, and I too have feared that my job would be on the chopping block because of that. So I totally identified with how Mr. John Jones (Jack Mulhall) felt as Mr. Boss (Granville Gates) glares at him, not even willing to find out for myself why they looked so crabby. In many cases, my instincts were right. Power-tripper bosses don't say good morning simply to either test you or trip you up, and the results aren't always present. Do you go home, kick the dog, yell at the kid, complain about dinner, write a resignation letter? Do you toss and turn at night, wondering if it is even worth going into work the next day? That's what this Carey Wilson short questions, and what was in 1937 is today in 2014 as well. It is just methods have changed, and the conclusion is that we are all human. We may misunderstand sometimes, but often that's not the case. It is for Mr. John Jones, however. It would be very interesting to have seen the varying types of bosses, and while the work dynamic has changed a lot over the years, the fact remains that you won't last at your job unless you've got the type of boss who respects your work because you respect theirs. That's what creates teamwork. If I ain't comfortable with you, I ain't gonna work for you.
Average
Michael_Elliott22 January 2009
Boss Didn't Say Good Morning, The (1937)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Carey Wilson narrates this MGM short about an office boy (Donald Haines) who has a horrible weekend just because his boss didn't say good morning. Director Tourneur is best known for films like Cat People and Night of the Demon but he got his start making these MGM shorts and that included the brilliant The Man in the Barn. I'm sure some film buffs might be attracted to this film since he directed it but they should be warned that this is all Wilson. Tourneur really doesn't have much to direct here so that beautiful style of his never comes through. The short itself is pretty much just set up for various remarks by Wilson, which was a staple of his career. The film offers up a couple laughs but it's rather confusing to know what this thing is trying for. Is it trying to say workers shouldn't worry if their boss doesn't talk to them? Is it saying bosses should always talk to their employee? I'm really not sure but it's not a horrible way to spend ten minutes.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Carey Wilson narrates this MGM short about an office boy (Donald Haines) who has a horrible weekend just because his boss didn't say good morning. Director Tourneur is best known for films like Cat People and Night of the Demon but he got his start making these MGM shorts and that included the brilliant The Man in the Barn. I'm sure some film buffs might be attracted to this film since he directed it but they should be warned that this is all Wilson. Tourneur really doesn't have much to direct here so that beautiful style of his never comes through. The short itself is pretty much just set up for various remarks by Wilson, which was a staple of his career. The film offers up a couple laughs but it's rather confusing to know what this thing is trying for. Is it trying to say workers shouldn't worry if their boss doesn't talk to them? Is it saying bosses should always talk to their employee? I'm really not sure but it's not a horrible way to spend ten minutes.
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