This is an example of the low grade states-rights shorts that existed in the silent era. Outside of veteran character player Max Asher, nobody is recognizable here. Nearly everything about it is bad, the humor level is below that of the dreadful Pizor productions, the actors seem mainly unattractive, and all act like the rankest amateurs, throwing exaggerated poses and reactions like they were in a 1902 melodrama or a home movie. The gags are predicable or pointless, the props terribly cheap. Even the positioning in the shots and film editing is poor. A century on, we tend to think of the 1920's slapstick comedy films in terms of Laurel & Hardy, Buster Keaton, and Mack Sennett, but the picture goer of that time was much more familiar with this sort of thing on a daily basis.
2 Reviews
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boblipton17 July 2014
Joe Moore disagrees with his father's taste in paintings, so he gets kicked out. After a number of false starts involving women, he gets a job as a waiter at a club where Gloria Joy is the star of the chorus.
Although part of the low opinion I hold of this states right comedy short may be due to its poor presentation -- like too many of the shorts posted on the National Film Preservation site, it seems to be offered at too slow a frame rate -- mostly it's due to the fact that there is little to amuse the viewer. While there is a nice variation on the Diamond Ring scam, the gags are badly paced,telegraphed well in advance, and the players go through their motions glumly, even the homicidal maniac. There were many cheaply made comedy shorts in this period, but surely you can find a better survivor.
Although part of the low opinion I hold of this states right comedy short may be due to its poor presentation -- like too many of the shorts posted on the National Film Preservation site, it seems to be offered at too slow a frame rate -- mostly it's due to the fact that there is little to amuse the viewer. While there is a nice variation on the Diamond Ring scam, the gags are badly paced,telegraphed well in advance, and the players go through their motions glumly, even the homicidal maniac. There were many cheaply made comedy shorts in this period, but surely you can find a better survivor.
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