Early comedy great Charley Chase has a small role. He appeared in only nineteen feature films but in over 260 comedy shorts, mostly in the silent era, before dying at age 46. He is frequently considered the forth great silent film comedians after "The Big Three", but there are a few running for that title.
This is essentially a henpecked husband story. Hardy is “King in his castle” but has to resort to trickery to get what he wants, then must face the consequences when found out. A TV staple for decades, but back in 1933 it might have held a tinge of originality. Unfortunately, we must watch it with modern eyes, and the comic potential is rather limited. And, as I have asserted before, Laurel and Hardy’s comedy didn’t stand the test of time. It’s just not funny, not to me anyhow.
I noticed something about how the boys framed their bits. It was almost always with Stan on screen left and Oliver on the right. There was only one exception, when they were trying to share a tiny bed for the night. If I watch another, I will take note. Sharing a bed was a very common gag for those two. I wonder …
I’ve given the boys another chance, and again they come up short. A victim of changing tastes, or maybe because they’ve been copied by so many over the century, but they just weren’t funny or interesting. Perhaps unfair but I call them like I sees them. AMRU 2.5.
No comments:
Post a Comment