'The Merry Frinks' sounds like it's about a vaudeville act. Actually, this is one of the more obscure examples of a comedy subgenre that was popular in the 1930s: a 'wacky' family with several different eccentric personalities all living under the same roof. Well-known examples of this subgroup are 'You Can't Take It with You' and 'Three-Cornered Moon'. 'The Merry Frinks' is more plausible than either of these, but not much.<br /><br />I really dislike Aline MacMahon. She was an extremely plain-featured character actress whose performances I've always found very mannered and unrealistic. I've never understood why some people value her so highly. In his book about pre-1945 movie stars, film historian David Shipman devotes a chapter to MacMahon ... but she was definitely a supporting actress, not a star, despite what Shipman says. And yet in 'The Merry Frinks' she is cast in the central and largest role, for one of the very few times in her film career. (Another starring vehicle for MacMahon was 'Once in a Lifetime'.)<br /><br />Hattie Frink (MacMahon) has the thankless task of slaving for her family of oddball no-hopers. These include her husband (the annoying Hugh Herbert), who keeps getting sacked for drunkenness; her eldest son Emmett, a radical lawyer (Allen Jenkins, cast against type in a role that should have been played by Wallace Ford); her truant son Stinky (the excellent Frankie Darro); and her meddlesome mother-in-law.<br /><br />Rich uncle Newt (the great Guy Kibbee) shows up on the Frink doorstep, expecting Hattie to cook his favourite meal for him. She does, and it kills him ... but he dies happy. Then it turns out that Newt has left all his millions to Hattie, with the proviso that she must leave her family in order to collect the dosh. She scarpers off to Park Avenue and takes up with a gigolo (Ivan Lebedeff). Meanwhile, chez Frink, Hattie's family are forced to fend without her ... and they appreciate her at last.<br /><br />This story could have been quite funny, but it's too unpleasant. 'The Merry Frinks' reminds me of that intentionally awful Monty Python sketch about the world's most disgusting family. We're expected to empathise with Hattie Frink, but I didn't care about her nor anyone else in this movie. Will Hattie give up her millions to move back home with her ingrate family? The ending is both highly predictable and extremely implausible. On the way to get there, we do see one extremely impressive tracking shot (by the underrated Arthur Edeson) which required a very complicated 'wild' interior set of the entire Frink house. Elsewhere, the photographic effects seem to be more complicated than necessary. This film reminded me of several WC Fields movies (such as 'Man on the Flying Trapeze') in which he's put upon by his entire family, the difference being that in this case the victim is the materfamilias.<br /><br />I'll rate this movie only 3 points out of 10. At the risk of being ungallant, I'll say that one reason I found this movie so unpleasant is because Aline MacMahon is so ugly. If a more photogenic actress (such as the underrated Ruth Donnelly) had been cast in the main role, I would have found the movie much less painful to watch. There's nothing very merry about the Frinks.