It's a Bear

Joe Rock and Billie Rhodes move, as they do every month to avoid payting rent, into a new apartment. This one has a 'no children, no pets' policy, to they hide the baby in the bass fiddle and the dog in the oil painting when needed. When their uncle's lawyer shows up to tell them they've inherited his estate, they're ecstatic, until it turns out they must take care of "Little Henry"..... and Little Henry is a bear.

To be exact, he's John Brown, the bear that people who are nuts about silent comedy will recognize from Keaton's THE BALOONATIC. It's a very funny little comedy, with many an eccentric gag. Rock, who had started out in the movies as a second-ranked comic for Vitagraph, was now producing his own comedies, and they were very good. Eventually he would move to England and produce films there.

Joe Rock and Billie Rhodes star in this strange domestic comedy. When the story begins, you see that they live in an odd apartment building. Not only doesn't it allow pets, but the same goes for kids....and Joe and Billie have a baby AND a dog. So, they use clever ways to hide them so they won't get tossed out of the place.

This domestic scene is interrupted by a lawyer who arrives to tell Joe he's to inherit a lot of money PROVIDED he also agree to take care of Little Henry. Unfortunately, Little Henry turns out to be a black bear! What's next? See the film...it's currently posted on YouTube.

"It's a Bear" is not a hilarious comedy but a rather quiet and normal one...until late in the film when Joe dresses up as a bear and the janitor begins shooting him. That slapsticky portion is not great....and harkens back to earlier silents where bopping someone on the head, kicking their behind or shooting them repeatedly was considered hilarious...which it isn't. But the rest of the film is pleasant...plus I liked the dog. Worth seeing for silent film buffs...but not exactly a must-see film.