23 -- Skidoo

Lew Fields is the owner of a beer garden in the Gay 90s, with a scowling wife, the biggest glass of beer for a nickel in town, and trouble getting waiters.

Fields is remembered for his legendary vaudeville pairing with Joe Weber, but they broke up their act about 1920. Both men lived another 20 years and even had significant movie careers. I suppose like many another double act, from Martin & Lewis through Simon and Garfunkel, they got tired of dealing with each other and sought more variety in art and life.

Fields shows his sharp timing with the women here, fast and glib. There are some records of his act with Weber and one movie appearance together in ROSE OF WASHINGTON SQUARE.

A classic example of vaudeville on film. Lewis does a splendid job as Otto Ott, owner of a roadside watering hole for travelers. Even though his antics are corny by today's standards, they still stand the test of time. The double talking between himself and his nagging wife (Marie DuMont?) are incredible and equal to his contemporaries, the Marx Brothers. I only wish that this short was available on tape for all to see. I highly recommend this short to any film connoisseur!

23 -- Skidoo (1930)

** (out of 4)

This is a pretty flat comedy from Warner about a restaurant owner (Lew Fields) who can't keep waiters and has to hear it from his all too evil wife. He finally has five new people show up but they've all got their own "troubles" as to why they won't make good waiters. Comedian Fields is one of many people who were famous on Vaudeville but never made the jump to motion pictures. If you check out his page on IMDb you'll see that there was a very large gap in his filmmography and while I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that on stage his "act" was quite funny, it sadly doesn't translate to film. I wouldn't put all of the blame on the comedian because he actually is quite charming in the picture and his low-key style works to a point. The problem is that the screenplay just doesn't offer him much to work with. We get the typical scenes of him being picked on by the wife and of course he has some silly lines to say to the new waiters who all have physical problems. Fans of early cinema might want to check this out or those who want to see vaudeville performers but everyone else can just skip it.

This is pretty typical of many of the short films from the first few years of the "talkies". Since recorded voices were such the rage, these and full-length films tended to rely too much on voices--and as a result, TONS of musicals and vaudeville comedians were instant stars. It wasn't until about 1931 or 32 that the films tended to have deeper plots and better acting. It is in this context that this short was made. The fast-talking (and not particularly funny) comedian, Lew Fields, is the star of this film. He owns a restaurant and spends most of the film instructing his new waiters on how to be successful--by being grouchy, unapproachable and indifferent! This is a somewhat cute idea, but Fields' delivery is poor and the film is flat. The only interesting moment was the film's punchline--a surprising apparent gay reference. My advice--seek out a Laurel and Hardy film. They made a great transition to sound AND didn't talk the audience to death!

Lew Fields plays Otto Otts who is the proprietor of a small beer garden that advertises it has the largest glass of beer in town for five cents a glass. The short starts off with a guy getting deliberately and sloppily drunk. Fortunately, the short gets better when Lew appears as he is an engaging entertainer even though his material is now dated. His wife is quite the harridan and they engage in a routine that he must have frequently used in his vaudeville act. Says she: "You don't deserve a wife like me," to which he replies " I don't deserve rheumatism either but I've got it." Because of his wife's behavior, most of the waiters have quit and he interviews new applicants, and he insults either their appearance or attitude. which makes for a somewhat wince inducing routine although probably amusing at the time. The concluding gay bit was surprising and not funny. Nonetheless, this is an interesting short worth watching if just to see a comedian who was very popular in his day.