The Grocery Clerk

Another reviewer didn't apparently like this film very much. And, while it is far from the best silent comedy I have seen, it's also among the best I have seen of his films. In other words, if you don't like this film, you probably won't like Larry Semon's films. And, I must admit that he is definitely not one of my favorite silent film stars, though he was very popular in his day.

Larry works in an old fashioned grocery story. While in the store, there are a lot of scenes involving Larry accidentally dumping things on peoples' heads and the film is pretty dull. However, later, when the action switches to the outdoors, the film has some funny and amazing stunt work--with Semon flying from platform to platform by rope just as they are being leveled. Not great by any stretch of the imagination, but I can sure respect the amazing stunts and that no one was killed making it!

You can't help thinking that this could have been better. The settings are interesting enough, there's plenty of energy, and there's a wealth of comic material, yet it never really comes together. Larry Semon was very imaginative, yet his comedies often show a lack of discipline. They are often held back by such things as an overly manic pace, grating or inappropriate characters, and overuse of unfunny puns in the title cards. This one is no exception, although at least here the bad puns are kept to a minimum after the first few minutes.

As "The Grocery Clerk", Semon sets up some creative gags, but many of them do not come off all that well because things just move too frantically. The few gags that are set up more carefully generally do work well enough. Likewise, the story could have worked better with a little more development and a little less of the pointless running around. It all could have been rather effective with a more careful hand in charge. As it is, it's only watchable at best.