In the mid-late 1920s, Charley Bowers starred in a few dozen comedy shorts where he played a wacky inventor. While his inventions aren't nearly as over-the-top or dramatic in this film as some of his others (such as NOW YOU TELL ONE or WILD ROOMER), nevertheless it is a wild and funny film.
The film begins with Charley behaving like a real pest. He is overdoing it as he's trying to teach himself the Charleston--as he paints footsteps all over the house to guide him in learning this dance. However, his dancing looks more akin to a seizure and eventually he decides to invent some dancing shoes (literally). The problem is that the landlord (or brother or whoever--the film doesn't make this clear--but he's a guy who lives in the same home as Charley) is head of the Anti-Dancing League--a group of "do gooders" who want to outlaw this lewd act. Another problem is that another lady in the home wants to marry Charley but if Charley wins the contest, the prize is $10,000 AND the right to marry a pretty Spanish lady (talk about an odd prize). Lots of crazy complications arise during all this, such as the shoes dancing off without him and the prize itself--she is certainly NO prize! While all of this is far from sophisticated, you can't help but laugh because it is always funny.
There are a few odd little tidbits I'd like to mention. First, the lady in love with Charley is very, very large (about 300 pounds) but unlike most films of the day, there really aren't the fat jokes you'd expect and it's nice to see that Charley is indeed smitten by her. Second, I don't know why but there was a quick joke about the Spanish Flu--the same virus that killed 20-30,000,000 people in 1918-1919. I think it was STILL too soon, as many in the audience of the day must have lost family and friends to this disease! Tacky, tacky, tacky.
Finally, on the DVD there are two different musical tracks. Choose the original one, as the alternate version is horrible--mostly accordion and very, very annoying.
The film begins with Charley behaving like a real pest. He is overdoing it as he's trying to teach himself the Charleston--as he paints footsteps all over the house to guide him in learning this dance. However, his dancing looks more akin to a seizure and eventually he decides to invent some dancing shoes (literally). The problem is that the landlord (or brother or whoever--the film doesn't make this clear--but he's a guy who lives in the same home as Charley) is head of the Anti-Dancing League--a group of "do gooders" who want to outlaw this lewd act. Another problem is that another lady in the home wants to marry Charley but if Charley wins the contest, the prize is $10,000 AND the right to marry a pretty Spanish lady (talk about an odd prize). Lots of crazy complications arise during all this, such as the shoes dancing off without him and the prize itself--she is certainly NO prize! While all of this is far from sophisticated, you can't help but laugh because it is always funny.
There are a few odd little tidbits I'd like to mention. First, the lady in love with Charley is very, very large (about 300 pounds) but unlike most films of the day, there really aren't the fat jokes you'd expect and it's nice to see that Charley is indeed smitten by her. Second, I don't know why but there was a quick joke about the Spanish Flu--the same virus that killed 20-30,000,000 people in 1918-1919. I think it was STILL too soon, as many in the audience of the day must have lost family and friends to this disease! Tacky, tacky, tacky.
Finally, on the DVD there are two different musical tracks. Choose the original one, as the alternate version is horrible--mostly accordion and very, very annoying.