The Golden Age of Comedy

This well-meant but misleading compilation celebrates the glory days of silent film comedy, for the most part through mediocre excerpts from the Max Sennett and Hal Roach Studios, which even at their peak could never match the sophistication of a Chaplin, Lloyd, or Keaton two-reeler. The repertory of Sennett and Roach gags rarely extended beyond mild parody, primitive slapstick, and artificial trick effects, giving an entirely false but lasting impression of silent comedy as nothing but frantic pratfalls and pie fights. The exception here is Laurel and Hardy, whose deliberate methods of wreaking mayhem overturned the time honored formula of fast and furious chases. Happily, the film gives them extra attention, but the majority of footage is devoted to second-rate clowns like Billy Bevan and cross-eyed Ben Turpin. Even the great Harry Langdon is represented only in a clip from a minor Sennett short which gives little indication of his unique talents, and the enthusiastic voice-over narration underlines his lackluster antics with forced wit and too many puns.