Henry the Ache

This short subject about a couple of the wives of Henry the Eighth of England is pretty much of a burlesque skit and Bert Lahr as Henry mugs it up endlessly. Although a marvelous presence, he was made for the stage, with his rubber face and loud noises, so apart from his turn as the Cowardly Lion in THE WIZARD OF OZ, his best role is as a burlesque comic in THE NIGHT THEY RAIDED MINSKY'S. Here he runs through his usual combination of oaf and child, and in a two-reeler it works. But if it had gone on for another fifteen seconds, it would have been far too much.

Also good in this short is Monte Collins, a comic who had a bit of a leading role in some shorts in the late silent era and who then slipped into second banana roles and did some nice work for Columbia, particularly with Buster Keaton.