Ernst Lubitsch (director/writer)
Kurt Richter (production-designer)
Theodor Sparkuhl (cinematographer)
Hanns Kräly (writer)
Ossi Oswalda (lead)
Victor Janson (lead)
Julius Falkenstein (lead)
Max Kronert (lead)
PAGU (production)
A grotesque view of the excesses of early 20th century American aristocracy, aptly in accord with the comedic axiom, “A lot is funny, more is funnier, too much is riotously absurd”. The dialogue is not nearly as witty as it seems to want to be, but with visuals like this, who needs words? Parental advisory: includes scenes of gratuitous foxtrot.
Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle (director/lead)
Elgin Lessley (cinematographer)
Jean Havez (writer)
Al St. John (lead)
Buster Keaton (lead)
Molly Malone (lead)
Jack Coogan Sr. (lead)
Comique (production)
The Rough Boys seem a bit more tame here: sight gags replace roughhouse, chivalry replaces rivalry. Highlights:
Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle (director/lead/writer)
Elgin Lessley (cinematographer)
Buster Keaton (lead)
Jack Coogan Sr. (lead)
Luke the Dog (lead)
Comique (production)
A few goofy gags got me giggling (including the signs in the background) but, overall, this is considerably below the standard Comique had achieved up to this point. Could the much lower energy level be due to the absence of Al. St. John?
Of note, however, is the scene that subtly slips in a bit of political/social satire: the “death” of alcohol - presumably a reference to the ratification of the 18th Constitutional amendment earlier that year, paving the way for Prohibition. Just two days after the film was released, the Volstead Act enforcing Prohibition became law, thus threatening one of comics' most enduring characters - the drunkard - with extinction in the US.
Ernst Lubitsch (director/lead/writer)
Kurt Richter (art-director/costume-designer)
Theodor Sparkuhl (cinematographer)
Hanns Kräly (writer)
E.T.A. Hoffmann (author)
A.E. Willner (author)
Ossi Oswalda (lead)
Hermann Thimig (lead)
Victor Janson (lead)
Gerhard Ritterband (lead)
Jakob Tiedtke (lead)
Max Kronert (lead)
PAGU (production)
This is how a fairy tale should be told: lots of laughs, spiced with a few caustic truths, encompassing no moral at all, if you wish. Or, perhaps, a simple moral that is as easy to discard as it is to swallow (Another tale of gender role rejection: is this the sequel to I Dont Want To Be A Man? ). Multiple viewings are rewarding, as nothing is truly background - the gags are everywhere. It's a musical without sound that's an ensemble showcase, where everyone puts in a first-rate comic performance no matter how small the part - even the horses.
Max Linder (director/lead/writer)
Alta Allen (lead)
F.B. Crayne (lead)
Max Linder Productions (production)
Max breaks a mirror, then tries to avoid bad luck, but makes things worse. First of Linder's three full-length feature films made in USA.
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