A tribute to the late Lois Kibbee (Mrs. Smalls)

Rating: 7/10 (14 August 2003)

Lois Kibbee plays the relatively minor role of Mrs. Smalls, the snooty yet amusing wife of Judge Smalls (Ted Knight). A veteran of several roles of society matrons on daytime soaps during the 70's and 80's, Kibbee had her only film role in this popular snobs vs. the slobs comedy which, second to "National Lampoon's Animal House", remains a testament of the style of comedy during the Jimmy Carter era.
Best known as the lovable and somewhat mellowed Geraldine Whitney Saxon on "The Edge of Night", for which she received several Emmy Nominations, Kibbee took time off from that role to make this film, where she first appears in the restraunt scene with no dialogue, but a similar Geraldine look of shock that sets the standard for her character. Of course, her character is reacting to the pass made to her by the obnoxious Rodney Dangerfield. Later, Kibbee has two key scenes of slapstick where her character domineeringly tries to get the caddys out of the country club pool and notices an object in the pool which sends the whole club into panic; The scene flashes forward and while Kibbee watches, SNL veteran Bill Murray comes in for one of the funniest pay-off scenes in film history and Kibbee's reaction is priceless. If there were Oscars for cameos, Kibbee would have been a shoe-in for this role.
Her next group of scenes surround the christening of a yacht where young Michael O'Keefe flirts with her over the amused objections of her hubby, Ted Knight; Once again, Kibbee gives the perfect reaction shot as her attempt to christen the yacht fails. This is followed by Knight and Kibbee's return to their lavish home where O'Keefe and loose Cindy Morgan (as their niece) are about to perform the dirty deed. Knight and O'Keefe get into it while Kibbee is taking a shower. A shower-capped Kibbee peaks out as O'Keefe runs by in his underwear. Her reaction of joyous surprise is another one of the subtle hysterical moments of the film, yet after this she only appears as an extra in the show's final scene. "Edge of Night" fans who adored her as the formerly snobby Geraldine (based loosely originally on Rose Kennedy) were delighted by the comical way she was presented here, and later "One Life to Live" fans were gifted by her dramatic gifts as the evil matriarch Elizabeth Sanders. The world of show business lost one of their true treasures in 1993 when Kibbee, who also wrote for "The Edge of Night" (and briefly "Capitol"), passed away from a brain tumor.
I suggest catching this film to see an amazing performance of an actress who could say more with her eyes than most do with words, than catching her on "The World of Soap Themes" website where an episode of "One Life to Live" features her in a different type of role. Hopefully, SoapNet will eventually show re-runs of "The Edge of Night" where she played an older lady with the heart and love of life of a 20 year old who not only was beloved by every character on the show but by practically the entire audience as well.