Movie-Town

Marjorie Beebe, a talented comedienne and actress of the early-sound era but nearly forgotten today, starred in a number of comedy shorts for producer-director-studio head Mack Sennett, and she was a brilliant physical comic who reminds me of Lucille Ball at her best during the I Love Lucy/Lucy Show era. This early-sound comedy short, shot in beautiful color and directed by Mack Sennett himself, really has no plot--most of the first reel takes place poolside where Beebe (who plays herself, Marjorie Beebe, actress in Mack Sennett films!) is chatting with an Italian count, played by Luis Alberni. Sennett himself appears, and there is some fine underwater footage in the pool, including a swimming sequence with Buster Crabbe, in one of his earliest film appearances, although a "non-acting" one. The second reel of the film takes place at a party. Music and show are provided by George Olsen's band, and their fascinating performance is a wonderful document of a pre-swing-era, 1920's dance band and their floorshow, which shows us how much is lost to us when we only hear music such as this on old phonograph records. Someone tries to convince Sennett to hire one Virginia Whiting (playing herself), a young woman hoping to get into films. Interestingly, this was the last of six comedy shorts that Ms. Whiting appeared in (in small roles) for Sennett. Her seventh and final screen credit was in a Charley Chase film at Hal Roach Studios. In this part of the film, Marjorie Beebe eats dinner with The Count, and a number of jokes are garlic-related. Beebe's natural,spontaneous comic style is a joy to watch throughout, and she looks great in color! While Mack Sennett's sound-era output is usually written off as awkward and not very funny--and often it is both of those--he was still taking chances, the use of color and the underwater photography being two interesting elements here. Overall, this is a fascinating curio sure to interest any fan of either Sennett or Beebe or early sound-era comedy shorts.