Today’s program of silent films was dedicated to Forgotten Funny People. It must be true, because I had heard of none of them—Marcel Perez, Alice Howell, and Douglas MacLean. Ring a bell, anyone? Right.
The first short, Sweet Daddy (1921), starring Marcel Perez, was really quite amusing. He was a milquetoast-ish husband literally ball-and-chained in the kitchen. In fact, his wife knocked him out of the window (twice!) and he was only saved by the chain around his neck. When his dictator-like wifey sent him out shopping (her “Pick-a-little, Talk-a-little” friends were coming over for lunch), he managed to meet a showgirl, lose money and find money (hey, it’s slapstick comedy!) take her to a fine restaurant and almost be found out by wifey and her cronies. He feigns injury (showgirl plays a nurse, onstage) and mayhem ensues getting him home. While he’s at home, there is much hopping about (he’s bandaged head to toe), and mayhem. The ending was a bit of a ???, as he jumps out of the kitchen window using an umbrella as a parachute.
Under a Spell (1925 (1924 on the cover of the printed program)) starred Alice Howell, an actress who created a ditzy-dame character. As a side note, in real life, Alice Howell plowed her earnings into California real estate and comfortably managed her lucrative holdings until her death in 1961. But I digress.
Our heroine’s husband falls asleep downstairs. A cross-dressing bandit (I’m not making this up, you know!) sneaks in, steals the husband’s wallet, and slops her dripper—er, leaves a shoe behind. Wifey finds it and is furious and hires a hypnotist to get to the truth. The mesmerist hypnotizes hubby into thinking he’s a monkey. The hypnotist gets boinged! (hello, these are silent film comedies!) before he can break the spell, hubby (as monkey) escapes, butler (yes, wifey and hubby can afford a butler) hires a gorilla suit, and butler entices hubby back to the family home. The hypnotist eventually returns hubby as hubby, the police subdue and arrest the “Bobbed-Hair-Bandit,” wifey realizes her mistake, and THE END.
The feature was One a Minute (1921), starring Douglas MacLean. Apparently he was a light comedy star/leading man that several high-powered actresses (Alice Brady, Mary Pickford, and Vivian Martin) liked to have in their films. I don’t particularly see the “handsome leading man” qualities, but maybe that’s why the actresses liked him?
At any rate, in One a Minute, Mr. MacLean was a recent law school graduate returning to Centerville. On the train was a young girl (Marian DeBeck) also returning to Centerville! After some comical confusion regarding de-training, our hero goes to the pharmacy started by his father—he’s expected to take over. Across the street is a new chain store pharmacy, owned by (oops!) the young girl’s father. Our hero decides to “create” the all-curing panacea that his father was always searching for. He creates a concoction out of four hum-drum ingredients, hoping that the concoction will work—or at least give the impression of working. Lo and behold! everyone who uses the powder is healed! He calculates that (like P.T. Barnum) if he gets one sucker a minute his future will be more than rosy.
The young lady’s father, who wants to crush the competition, has the powder analyzed—those four ingredients can’t cure anything. A trial ensues and the judge! is incapacitated, takes a powder (no, not literally—and it’s a joke used on a text slide in the film), and miraculously feels better.
Father of young girl buys the company and formula from our hero—but insists on knowing what the fifth ingredient is that our hero will not reveal, but finally does. It’s – faith. (Sort of like the think system in “The Music Man.”)
At any rate, boy gets girl and all live happily ever after.
This is a wonderfully curated series and Ben Model was, once again, a superb piano accompanist/composer to all three films.
ConcertMeister
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