The Better 'Ole

Although the character of Old Bill and his pal Alf had its origins in the comic strips of Great Britain in doing a bit of research I was surprised to learn that the play on which this film was based was produced by the American actor Charles Coburn. It ran 353 performances and it starred Coburn on Broadway as well during the 1918-19 season. But it came to the screen as a vehicle for Sydney Chaplin, older brother of Charlie Chaplin and a fair comic himself.

Curiously enough one of Charlie's successes was a service comedy set in World War II Shoulder Arms. But in this case the comedy is set in the British army with the British born Sydney Chaplin.

Whatever else Old Bill is, he's a survivor. He and partner Alf played by John Ackroyd are the Willie and Joe of the British Expeditionary Force. The situations these two find themselves could easily be adapted to World War II era service comedies that conceivably would have starred folks like Bob Hope or Danny Kaye.

Briefly put the plot has Old Bill and Alf foiling a major German offensive almost singlehandedly. A remarkable achievement for a pair that make gold bricking an art form.

I'd check out The Better 'Ole to see what a funny guy Charlie's brother could be.

Syd Chaplin is Bruce Bairnsfather's cartoon creation to the life in this, the second screen adaptation of the play he wrote with Arthur Elliot in 1917. Aged only 41, Charlie Chaplin's elder brother Syd looks twenty years older as the laconic army veteran who even for a silent film says very little. Although frequently called upon to show great athletic prowess (it comes as no surprise when he turns out to be able to pick up a piano in one hand), Chaplin remains for the most part quietly inscrutable behind that enormous moustache that makes it difficult to see where his mouth is, but for the pipe usually sticking out of it.

Although there is quite a lot of plot, the film for the most part comprises a series of comic episodes, some of them quite surreal, such as the lengthy sequence in which Bill and little Alphie get drunk while careering around terrorising Germans dressed as a pantomime horse... No, really! (Contrary to the late F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre's earlier declaration, by the way, the Kennedy brothers do share the screen together in a play staged for the troops: Tom as a blacksmith shielding his daughter from a nasty Hun played by Edgar). Great fun, handsomely produced.

There is more about Bairnsfather's films in his biography - IN SEARCH OF THE BETTER OLE published by Pen and Sword Books, Barnsley, UK. His most famous cartoon was the Better Ole but his most famous film was 'Carry on Sergeant' the phrase that gets most Army Officers through wars. The film was made in Canada in 1928 but caused furore in the country when a Canadian soldier was shown going upstairs with a girl in an estaminet. It did not do well mainly because it was a silent film just at the time that the talkies were taking off eg The Jazz Singer. Originally 14 reels long it has been shortened in the modern era and has been shown on Canadian television. Other films by Bairnsfather are The Better Ole 1918, Old Bill through the Ages 1924, The Better Ole 1926, Vitaphone personal appearance 1927 and Old Bill and Son 1941.

This is my second attempt to watch this totally worthless excuse of a movie. I cannot see any value in it, except maybe as a bad example of a silent movie about The Great War, a movie that is supposed to be funny.

Syd Chaplin, Charlie's older brother, does a lot of mugging the camera, including from inside a costume horse, but none of it was funny.

The other people in the cast of "The Better 'Ole" try as hard as they can, but without any funny material, it's all a waste.

Considering this is rather late in the history of silent movies, it's really hard to understand why there is a lot of knockabout, a lot of falling down, but almost nothing funny.

Apparently Syd Chaplin had some success, was considered a comedic character, but judging by "The Better 'Hole," I cannot see why.

Tonight, 25 Sept 2022, is at least the second time TCM has shown it, There are so many good movies, including good silent movies, I just do not understand why it's being shown again.

Syd Chaplin (as "Old Bill" Busby) and Jack Ackroyd (as Little "Alfie") are World War I servicemen; while being bombarded, in a foxhole, Mr. Chaplin tells Mr. Ackroyd, "If you knows of a better 'ole - go to it." This exchange gives the film its peculiar title. The characters are based on the (by now) obscure British cartoon comic "Old Bill", by Bruce Bairnsfather. Seeing the familiar characters brought to the screen might have made the opening scenes delightful, but they no longer entertain. Veterans (of film) Edgar Kennedy (as Austin) and Harold Goodwin (as Bert Chester) help make the early going bearable.

Ackroyd's stabbing of Chaplin as he sleeps under a bale of hay begins some intermittently good scenes. Chaplin's chair lifting ability amazes, and the Chaplin/Ackroyd team becomes funnier as the comedy progresses; they are most delightful as "two-men-in-a-horse".

The production levels offered by Warner Brothers are quite high; "The Better 'Ole" was the second film to make use of the studio's synchronized music and sound effects "Vitaphone" process. With a certain British sibling named "Charlie" experiencing a "Gold Rush" at the box office, it's easy to understand Warner's effort.

***** The Better 'Ole (10/7/26) Charles Reisner ~ Syd Chaplin, Jack Ackroyd, Edgar Kennedy, Harold Goodwin