I Never Forget a Face

I Never Forget a Face (1956)

** (out of 4)

Somehow this later day Warner short picked up an Oscar nomination. What we basically have is Dwight Weist and Ward Wilson narrating a bunch of footage from the 1920s as they explain who the people are that we're looking at. I'm going to guess that the majority of this footage came from either newsreels or some sort of short from that era. We get to see several familiar faces including the likes of the Duke of Windsor, Warren G. Harding, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Al Jolson, William Jennings Bryan, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, John Burroughs and Richard Byrd among many others. I think this short is mainly going to appeal to history buffs who will get a kick out of seeing the famous faces. There's some nice footage from the Rebublic National Convention in 1920 and some very good shots of Roosevelt. The most interesting thing will be for fans of INHERIT THE WIND as we get quite a bit of footage from the actual trial, which allows us to see the real people involved with the historic case. Still, the narration adds very little and this just seems like a cheap way to get a short subject out there just as they were basically dying off.

This short film was produced and directed by Robert Youngson--a man known later for his film compilations of early comedies. These films (such as "When Comedy Was King" and "The Golden Age of Comedy") discuss the work of the silent comedians of cinema--such as Chaplin, Keaton and Laurel & Hardy and are good overviews for modern audiences. However, in the case of "I Never Forget a Face", early comedians have nothing to do with the film. Instead, it's a film about the 1920s. However, if I was asked what was the theme of the short, I really couldn't say. Considering that this film is about an entire decade and it's only a short, you'd think it would have a tighter focus...but it didn't. At first, the film seemed to be about the politics of the 1920s--but then it changed focus and discussed elderly inventors and modern aviators. But, nothing was mentioned about life in the 20s--and the film began, oddly, to discuss British leaders--after discussing only Americans for most of the film. I just don't get this. Some interesting old film clips are shown and a bit of 20s history is discussed but there just isn't any coherent message and, as such, there isn't a lot of reason to watch this short.

A lot of old newsreels were combed to make this nostalgic short subject from 1956. It got an Oscar nomination for Best Short Subject.

A whole lot of political and other kind of celebrities from the 20s who many even in 1956 and more so now are forgotten are recalled in this compilation. With the exception of George Bernard Shaw and Alfred E. Smith they are all recalled with no voices.

The only left alive from the film was a baby who was pictured with her mother and grandmother. Ms. Elizabeth Windsor was carried by her mother who was Elizabeth Bowes-Lyons the Dutchess of York. They're both pictured with Queen Mary of Great Britain. All as we know became Queen of Great Britain with the babe now 91 years old and still reigning as same.

George Bernard Shaw gave us some of his Shavian wit, but the one best shown is Governor Alfred E. Smith of New York who was Democratic candidate for president in 1928. During his growing up on Manhattan's Lower East Side, Smith did some amateur theatrics for his church and small theatrical companies before he decided politics would be his field. He looks like he's having a rollicking good time in a rendition of the Bowery.

Always love films like these.

This WB short is a look back to the 1920's politics, entertainers, and popular issues. Basically, this is a newsreel looking back three decades earlier. In 2025 terms, it's like a little short looking back to the 1990's. I'm sure that the era's audience would know all this stuff and feel a bit of nostalgia. It's not only a look back at the 20's, but also a look back at the 50's remembering the 20's. It is nice to hear the voice of George Bernard Shaw.

Robert Youngson, who produced this Oscar nominee, seems to have gone through the archives of the Warner-Pathe newsreels to produce this short. It's a newsreel for the 1920s, starting with the 1920 presidential conventions and ending with the 1928 Democratic convention, with Al Smith leading the faithful in singing "The Bowery".

It's a nostalgic short subject, typical for Youngson, who is still remembered for his compilations of silent comedies that spearheaded their revival. Newsreels were dying, killed off by television news. Why wait for the weekend show at the theater when you could watch three times as much five nights a week? Sixty years later, we watch stuff on the Internet or cable, special dedicated channels -- assuming we look at all. This short's nomination was an act of nostalgia even then. Now it is poignant.