Lizzies of the Field

This was another silent comedy short I watched on the "American Slapstick" DVD collection. It's from Mack Sennett starring Billy Bevan. In this one, there's a car race between two competing garages that are built across each other. There's a few amusing sight gags like a bed that's running like a car or the way one car manages to come quickly to the finish line or seeing how some people are bumping into each other. And I liked the last line as depicted on the title card. Otherwise, I didn't think this was such a hilarious short and part of the gags just seemed a little shopworn to me though I'm sure many of them here were brand new and funny to many of the audiences that watched this then. Still, if you're interested in seeing many of these vintage films, Lizzies of the Field is worth a look.

This is a brilliant slapstick comedy, the climax of which is one of the greatest car race sequences ever filmed. Part of the wonder of this film is how on earth they did the stunts with those fragile old jalopies. Equally baffling is how they managed to film those stunts - some of the camerawork is astounding. From the opening sequence, when a bed is racing down the street, to the literally explosive finale, this film does not let up in action or laughs. Do not miss this one, it is a classic!

Billy Bevan and Sidney Smith are auto mechanics; their boss is in competition with a garage right across the street. When a race is announced with a $25,000 prize, they decide to win it..... in the best Mack Sennett way, of course.

It's not only filled with gags the way Sennett liked his comedies, it's directed by Del Lord, master of the automobile comedy. He came off the vaudeville stage and after a period as one of the gang, it was discovered he was dearless in driving the various absurd vehicles that screen comics used. He gradually expanded this into a directing career, for Sennett, for Hal Roach, and eventually for Jules White, where he directed Three Stooges movies.

And in between the directing gigs? He sold autos.

ANyway, this one is fast, furious and full of the unlikely gags that Sennett was using in his slapstick shorts in the period. Enjoy!

Lizzies of the Field (1924)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Rival auto repair shops who own spots across the street from one another enter a car race and it's clear from the start that both are willing to do whatever it takes to win. LIZZIES OF THE FIELD is a pretty mindless film as there's really not too much story but did this ever really stop Mack Sennett? For the most part silent film fans are going to enjoy this thing because it's really fast paced and it never slows down for a second so if you really get caught up in what's going on then it's doubtful you'll even realize or miss the story. I thought the cast was extremely good in their parts and you could really feel that both sides hated one another. Billy Bevan, Sidney Smith and Andy Clyde are all familiar faces to those who watch these films so fans of theirs will be happy to see them working together here. One of the best gags actually happens right at the start of the film as we see Bevan speeding down the road somewhere and then we see that he's actually driving a car that's really a bed. The last five or so minutes really didn't strike me as being funny but there's no question that the car chase was extremely well done and contained some very impressive stunts.

As I was about to write this review, I just realized that perhaps no one will ever read it. After all, LIZZIES is not easily available and few have heard about silent comedian Billy Bevan. This is probably about the sixth film of Bevan's I have seen and although he made gobs of films, there just aren't that many out there.

This film isn't deep or sophisticated and that isn't a problem. Instead, it abounds with wonderful sight gags and stunts. My favorite appears at the beginning, as you see Billy riding along at a very brisk pace in a bed-mobile (called a "Snoozenburg"). Additionally, the film really finished well--with yet another crazy stunt.

The only minor quibble is the pickax scene. This is because I have seen variations on this scene in many movies, so it wasn't as original or exciting as the rest of the film.