Bright Eyes

Bright Eyes (1922)

*** (out of 4)

Charming and at times very funny comedy about parents who force their daughter (Harriet Hammond) to marry an oil tycoon (Ben Turpin) but during the wedding they learn that he's now broke. BRIGHT EYES is without question one of the better Mack Sennett shorts from this period and the majority of the credit has to go to ol' cute eyes himself. Turpin does a really good job here and those legendary cross-eyes of his certainly fit so well into the story. There are some really funny jokes aimed at his eyes including a hilarious bit where he and his future bride are on a date but his eye cause him to keep eating out of her soup bowl. Another funny sequence follows this as Turpin tries to play the game of golf but not being able to properly see the ball is certainly an issue. The second portion of the film deals with Turpin finding out he's broke and having to join his almost in-laws as a normal worker. These scenes also contain some nice laughs thanks in large part to Turpin. There's no question that fans of his are going to enjoy this film and if you're not a fan than this will probably change that.

Clocks stop when Ben Turpin looks at them, and mirrors crack, but he owns all the oil wells in the Rockies, so Bud Ross and Dot Farley are determined that their daughter, Harriet Hammond, will be married to him -- until he loses all his money and takes a job with them as a maid-of-all-work.

Sennett continues to aim his comedies at his lower class audiences in this one by showcasing the foolishness of the rich. He fills this one with his usual assortment of weird gags and over-the-top car chases at the end. I continue in my mild dislike of Ben Turpin, whose principal skill is to stand around looking cross-eyed while in an unlikely situation, but the Sennett staff built a superior comedy around him in this one.