According to Brian Gari, grandson of the star Eddie Cantor, only one print of this film is in existence. He offered it to Paramount (the original production company) for preservation and was rejected. He has since found people willing and able to preserve the film and he has announced plans to release a DVD version.
The film was a box office flop, and it is not difficult to see why. Cantor wrote the story himself, but his treatment was undoubtedly too long to meet the commercial requirements of a 1927 feature comedy. Subplots and potentially strong supporting characters remain undeveloped in favor of numerous recycled gags which were hoary even then. Also, the obligatory chase climax is weak by comparison with, say, Harold Lloyd's "Girl Shy," an obvious model for the current work.
Happily, the performances are good. Cantor is fine in the lead, although virtually any competent performer could have done as well. Little of his unique gifts, so prominently displayed in his series of hits for Goldwyn, are evident here. Given his musical talent, Cantor was a performer who needed sound to make it big on the screen.
William Powell makes a suavely charming villain, and Jobyna Ralston is up to her Lloydian standards as the love interest. Roscoe Arbuckle's direction is competent, especially in the gag sequences, but lacks the inspiration that often graced the short films of his underrated nephew Al St. John.
Despite its faults, a film with Cantor, Powell, and Arbuckle directing is worth preserving and worth seeing at least once. I can think of many worse ways to spend an hour.
Final comment: The screening I attended (at MOMA) was introduced by Brian Gari and his mother, Janet Cantor Gari. Mrs. Gari announced that, in accord with a quaint family tradition, homemade brownies would be waiting for the audience after the screening. So they were. The movie earned a 6. The brownies earned an 8.
The film was a box office flop, and it is not difficult to see why. Cantor wrote the story himself, but his treatment was undoubtedly too long to meet the commercial requirements of a 1927 feature comedy. Subplots and potentially strong supporting characters remain undeveloped in favor of numerous recycled gags which were hoary even then. Also, the obligatory chase climax is weak by comparison with, say, Harold Lloyd's "Girl Shy," an obvious model for the current work.
Happily, the performances are good. Cantor is fine in the lead, although virtually any competent performer could have done as well. Little of his unique gifts, so prominently displayed in his series of hits for Goldwyn, are evident here. Given his musical talent, Cantor was a performer who needed sound to make it big on the screen.
William Powell makes a suavely charming villain, and Jobyna Ralston is up to her Lloydian standards as the love interest. Roscoe Arbuckle's direction is competent, especially in the gag sequences, but lacks the inspiration that often graced the short films of his underrated nephew Al St. John.
Despite its faults, a film with Cantor, Powell, and Arbuckle directing is worth preserving and worth seeing at least once. I can think of many worse ways to spend an hour.
Final comment: The screening I attended (at MOMA) was introduced by Brian Gari and his mother, Janet Cantor Gari. Mrs. Gari announced that, in accord with a quaint family tradition, homemade brownies would be waiting for the audience after the screening. So they were. The movie earned a 6. The brownies earned an 8.