Fünf Minuten Angst

Fired from his job in a tailor's shop, comic Eddie Cantor (as Samuel "Kid" Boots) becomes companion to handsome millionaire Lawrence Gray (as Thomas "Tom" Sterling). The men find work as golf instructor and caddy at a country club, while Mr. Gray waits for his divorce to become final. There, Mr. Cantor re-encounters pretty swimming instructor Clara Bow (as Clara McCoy), from the opening skit, which he played out with her burly boyfriend Malcolm Waite (as "Big" Boyle).

At the club, Cantor goes crazy for Ms. Bow while Gray romances beautiful Billie Dove (as Eleanor Belmore), the boss' daughter. Meanwhile, Gray's leggy wife Natalie Kingston (as Carmen Mendoza) checks into the room next to her husband, to cause trouble. She proceeds to "vamp" Cantor aside, in order to spend the night alone with Gray; if she is able to do this, their divorce won't become final, and she can partake of his inherited millions. Cantor must save Gray and win Bow.

This was a successful film debut for stage star Cantor, who might have joined Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd if this had been released a decade earlier. As a film, "Kid Boots" may not equal the best of those other comedians' works, but you can see Cantor had the silent stuff. Most impressive is the film's exciting end, which features a very impressive cliff-hanging sequence. This is pure cinema, but Cantor includes great stage bits, too. How he makes Bow jealous, and scenes with Mr. Waite are highlights.

******** Kid Boots (10/4/26) Frank Tuttle ~ Eddie Cantor, Clara Bow, Malcolm Waite, Lawrence Gray

Eddie Cantor hit the ground running in Hollywood with what has to be one of the most opened-out stage adaptations in film history. What started life as a Broadway musical has become a high-octane silent comedy filmed extensively out and about on location in California, bludgeoning the audience with a steady succession of vivid sight gags and ending with a remarkably convincing-looking (and funny) climax worthy of Harold Lloyd with the leads hanging from a sheer cliff face. Despite being famed for his singing and his distinctive voice, Eddie has the perfect face (and facility for physical comedy) to be a natural for silent movies; and is beautifully matched by a most winsome Clara Bow.

Eddie Cantor (Samuel 'Kid' Boots) becomes a witness for Lawrence Gray (Tom Sterling), who trying to divorce his gold digger wife Billie Dove (Eleanore Belmore). They go to a resort to avoid the wife until the date of the divorce case, but the wife's shyster lawyer tracks them there. There he meets Clara Bow (Clara McCoy) who falls for him, but he has several runins with her boyfriend Malcolm Waite (Big Boyle) and with the wife. After an exciting chase, he arrives at the court house to help finalize the divorce and also gets the girl.

Many really funny sequences.

Movie actors realize they've made an impact in the entertainment world when Hollywood produces a motion picture about their life. That's precisely what happened to vaudeville, stage and screen actor Eddie Cantor in 1953 when Warner Brothers gave him the full-blown biopic treatment in its 'The Eddie Cantor Story' with actor Keefe Brasselle playing 'Banjo Eyes.' Cantor's debut in feature films came when he was 34, a relatively late age to be be starting out in cinema. His October 1926 movie, "Kid Boots," was a silent version of the 1923 hit musical of the same name he starred in for an incredible 489 straight Broadway performances. The film expands Cantor's lead role as a wheeling-and-dealing caddie at a private country club's golf course, who becomes a witness in a court case for a playboy in the middle of a messy divorce with a gold-digging wife. Clara Bow serves as Eddie's love interest.

Cantor, born and raised in New York City, dove into the entertainment business early on, displaying a knack of singing and slinging jokes in saloons, where a young Jimmy Durante played piano for his act. He graduated to vaudeville before producer Florenz Ziegfeld slotted him into his 'Ziegfeld Follies of 1917.' Working alongside Will Rogers, Fanny Brice and W. C. Fields, Cantor proved his worth with his melodic voice and his sense of self-deprecating humor. When on tour, he briefly dated future 'Valley of the Dolls' author Jacqueline Susann.

His prominence in the 1923 play 'Kid Boots' showcased his talents even more. Inventor Lee De Forest hired Cantor to appear in one of his first sound movie recordings to demonstrate his recent invention Phonofilm. Eddie sings two songs from the play 'Kid Boots.' De Forest's "A Few Moments with Eddie Cantor" was the innovator's biggest name star for his series showing how the first sound impulses imbedded on a celluloid strip could play in perfect sync with the picture.

The play also had a profound influence on Frances Rose Shore. As an aspiring singer, she sang one of the play's most popular songs, "Dinah," during several radio auditions. When she was being introduced by a famous New York City radio disc jockey, he had trouble remembering her name but knew she was going to sing her signature song. So he quickly called her the 'Dinah girl.' She loved the name so much she adopted it to ever be known as Dinah Shore.

Eddie Cantor used the movie "Kid Boots" as a springboard to introduce himself to a variety of media, including radio and television. In the following year he was offered the lead in Warner Brothers' 1927 "The Jazz Singer." But along with George Jessel he turned down the part, missing out on one of the biggest historical turning-points in cinematic history.

A delight I caught at the Film Forum in New York City 5/00 (very nice 35 mm. print). Eddy Cantor (not once in blackface) excellent as a former tailor hooked up with the wealthy Laurence Gray. Cantor's his valet, caddy and advisor (women are after Gray's millions). Cantor is crazy about Clara Bow (her first screen role)and there are lots of chases and hilarity. Billy Dove (of Ziegfeld fame) is featured.