The inclusion of this extremely unfunny comedy short on All Day Entertainment's otherwise exemplary American Slapstick 2 set is, perhaps, an attempt to prove that the style didn't die with the advent of sound. However, the film almost entirely eschews physical comedy in favor of extremely labored ethnic humor, here at the expense of the French. Willie Howard plays Professor Pierre Ginsberg, a hapless academic unwise in the ways of love who finds himself wooing the wife of a Chicago gangster on board an ocean liner. There are next to no laughs here, and the only spark of ingenuity arrives early in the form of a visual non sequitur involving truffles and umbrellas.
3 Reviews
Playboy Number One was a lame comedy short
tavm16 February 2019
Just watched this talking comedy short on the "American Slapstick 2" DVD set. It has a French man on a cruise persisting on chasing a woman on the ship who happens to be the wife of a man he just made friends with! I'll just say this short is lame from beginning to end...well, if the short I watched had an end as it seemed to stop abruptly. So, no, I definitely don't recommend Playboy Number One!
Just what the public wants--a comedy with not one ounce of humor!
planktonrules20 November 2008
The American Slapstick Volume 2 is a nice set of lesser known comedies. Oddly, in addition to many great slapstick era films, there are three sound comedies that all have the common thread of not being particularly funny. Instead of physical humor, the three films are much more vocal in style--and why they would put these in a slapstick collection is beyond me!
This particular short is about an annoying French professor who is a moocher. He's on a cruise and becomes friends with a couple of Chicago gangsters. In passing, the Professor says how the cruise has been a disappointment because he's so unlucky in love. One of the gangsters insists that the professor's problem is that he takes 'no' for an answer--he needs to be persistent with "dames". Well, it just so happens the lady in question happens to be the wife of the gangster. Later, there's an inevitable but unfunny confrontation. The film then ends very abruptly--as if perhaps part of the original film is missing. But, considering it's been so unfunny, who cares?! Unfunny, not particularly acted well and unsatisfying. If you want to see an early and GOOD sound comedy, try one of Stan and Ollie's--your brain will be glad you made that choice instead.
This particular short is about an annoying French professor who is a moocher. He's on a cruise and becomes friends with a couple of Chicago gangsters. In passing, the Professor says how the cruise has been a disappointment because he's so unlucky in love. One of the gangsters insists that the professor's problem is that he takes 'no' for an answer--he needs to be persistent with "dames". Well, it just so happens the lady in question happens to be the wife of the gangster. Later, there's an inevitable but unfunny confrontation. The film then ends very abruptly--as if perhaps part of the original film is missing. But, considering it's been so unfunny, who cares?! Unfunny, not particularly acted well and unsatisfying. If you want to see an early and GOOD sound comedy, try one of Stan and Ollie's--your brain will be glad you made that choice instead.
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