AllMovie

The best of Joe E. Brown's Columbia starring vehicles, Shut My Big Mouth is also one of Joe's funniest efforts since his heyday at Warner Bros. Brown is cast as wealthy easterner Wellington Holmes, who heads to the Wild West in search of peace and quiet (!) When Wellington's stagecoach is held up by masked bandit Buckskin Bill (Victor Jory), our hero accidentally fires off a lucky shot that sends the villain and his minions scurrying off into the hills. The local townsfolk appoint Wellington sheriff, failing to inform him that this "honor" is tantamount to a death sentence in these here parts. Several unbelievable complications and coincidences later, Wellington dresses up as a Mexican senorita in order to rescue heroine Conchita Montoya (Adele Mara) from Buckskin Bill's clutches. Incredibly, the villain falls madly in love with the disguised Wellington, resulting in the film's biggest bellylaughs. Though pushing fifty, Joe E. Brown could still pull off his "babe in the woods" act, which he does with finesse in Shut My Big Mouth. The film also served as stepping stones in the careers of up-and-coming Columbia contractees Lloyd Bridges and Forrest Tucker, billed eleventh and twelfth respectively.