Reducing

It's all aboard for comedy as down-and-out Marie Truffle (Marie Dressler) and her rambunctious brood take the train from South Bend to sophisticated Manhattan. There, Marie gets a job in the slimming spa owned by her successful sister (frequent Dressler co-star Polly Moran) and untangles the romantic knots created by four headstrong young lovers. From snappy start to warm Thanksgiving Day finish, Reducing is a delight as Dressler wrestles with the indignities visited upon a large woman in a small upper berth, explores the mysteries of electric reducing belts or dumps Sis in a mudbath. Enjoy the unmatched screen charisma that made this decidedly unglamorous actress Hollywood's #1 star in the early 1930s.

• comedy
• drama