The Rodeo

Either I saw a different film than the other reviewers or more likely, I have a lower brow sense of humor, for I thought this comedy short was funny, enjoyable and entertaining. The Smith family (father, mother, little daughter, grandma, uncle) are starting their Sunday noon meal and while title cards aren't really needed, they add some humor ("Uncle believed in regular exercise - he pushed himself away from the table three times a day"). The kids and the dog really have all the best scenes. The cook's kid substitutes wax candles for asparagus stalks and the look on the Smith kid's (Mary Ann Jackson) face after she has taken a big bite is priceless. Even the dog gets in the act when he eats a wax "asparagus" and slow motion stumbles to the bathroom. Once that frivolity is over, we hear a radio show where they're promoting a rodeo that's in town and cowboy Bill Cootie announces " Tomorrow's your last chance, folks, to see those stockyard sheiks vamp them cows." Ah, they just don't write dialog like that anymore. Off to the rodeo where "Everyone was having a good time except the cows." But there are obstacles along the way and not every Smith makes it to the rodeo. Mary Ann Jackson was the highlight of this short - such an expressive face - and amusing. Not only worth seeing but worth seeing more than once.

The film begins with a family at home having a meal. The biggest laugh(?) involved some candles being substituted for asparagus and the hilarity(?) that resulted when the people and dog at them. Later, the decide to go to the rodeo but 1001 problems occur on the way there in the car.

This is a Mack Sennett comedy from the end of the silent era. While Sennett had been a very successful producer of comedies in the 1910s, by the late 20s, he had lost his studio and was a relatively minor player in the comedy world. After seeing films like THE RODEO, I could easily see why. The biggest problem with the film is that there were no laughs. In Sennett's earlier films, the comedies had only the broadest of outlines and actors just improvised. I am not sure if this was still the case in 1929, but it sure looked like it--with too many slow moments and situations that lacked punchlines. Additionally, all the old and established talent had left Sennett years earlier, so the film is left with very minor comics (such as Andy Clyde) and future minor stars (such as Mary Ann Jackson who gained some notoriety when when left to be in Hal Roach's "Our Gang").