The Boy Friend

ALTHOUGH HIS NAME may well be no household word today, this 2 reel comedy is one in the series starring one Max Davidson. The German born actor-comedian of Jewish descent was a very prolific and popular screen funny-man; whose movie career began before World War I. His Roach comedies were steeped in ethnic humour, often paring "the Cohens & the Kellys".

THE CAST IS well constituted, having been cast from the players who were regulars at the Hal Roach Studios. Max Davidson, Marion Byron, Edgar Kennedy and Fay Holderness all pitched in and did their usual good job. We were at first miffed by the male romantic lead; who seemed very athletic, handsome and adept at doing comedy. It turned out to be Gordon Elliot; who we knew better as "Wild Bill" Elliot, star of so many "B" Westerns during the 1930's & '40's.

AS FOR THE production, it is beautifully filmed; utilizing an excellent mixture of inside locales and beautiful outdoor scenes on the streets of Culver City, California, where the Hal Roach Studios were located. The picture wastes no time in moving the story along without even one superfluous frame being shot.

ONE ADDITIONAL STRONG suit that THE BOY FRIEND possesses is the inclusion of the work of writer, H.M. Walker. He was the very skilled scribe who contributed so many great scripts during both the silent as well as during the Talkie era.

IT WAS THE work of Mr. Walker that made him the foremost writer of title cards and dialog during the era of silents. He continued the practice with the coming of sound with those opening scene title cards that set the scene and mood for the laughs to come in those LAUREL & HARDY Sound Shorts.