Hawkins & Watkins Inc.

Wealthy Daphne Pollard acquires a cursed diamond. By the time things are over, two ex-Scotland Yard detectives are being driven by a gorilla on a motorcycle.

Mack Sennett short comedy studio did not deal well with the coming of sound. Although he embraced it enthusiastically, it put paid to his absurd style of comedy, with sound effects taking the place of the bizarre sight gags that were his stock in trade. Here, the progression of events involve Matt McHugh and Forrester Harvey adopting cockney accents, Walter Long as a fortune-telling butler, and Charles Gemora -- credited as "Sir Charles" in his gorilla costume. The pieces do not fit together well.

"Hawkins & Watkins Inc." is a comedy short that Mack Sennett's production company made for Paramount Pictures. It stars Daphne Pollard, the Aussie comic who is not related in any way to Snub Pollard. It also stars Forrester Harvey and Matt McHugh as the title characters as well as the Walter Long, who you might just recognize if you've seen many of Laurel & Hardy's films. Finally, it stars a guy in a gorilla suit...and that says a LOT about the film!

The private detectives, Hawkins & Watkins, are hungry because they have no work. However, when a rich lady's famous cursed diamond disappears, the pair see an opportunity to make a few bucks. They immediately accuse the poor butler (Long) and eventually it turns out that a gorilla is responsible for the theft! The gorilla also flies airplanes, drives a motorcyle and more!

As the description would indicate, this is hardly intellectual faire! It's incredibly silly...sort of like the things you'd expect the Three Stooges to do! So, while I admit that the short is pretty dopey, the important question is...is it funny? Well, it's okay and provides a few laughs, though a cheaply done case of rear projection is pretty lame and the film is far from a must-see.