Uppercuts

Just watched this silent comedy short on the "American Slapstick" DVD. It stars Jack Duffy, who was a young adult during this time, as an old geezer who accepts a challenge to an opponent to get a boxer to fight the opponent's man. This geezer gets his butler to take the rounds but when that butler seems defeated, the geezer punches a few rounds himself! After that comes a police chase. I'll stop there and just say there are some pretty good stunts that provide some nice slapstick so there are a few laughs but overall it might be a little shopworn in this day and age. Still, if you're a silent movie buff especially the comedy kind, Uppercuts is worth a look if you're in the mood.

This film is a decent silent comedy though it isn't much better than average. It stars the surprisingly young Jack Duffy--who is only about 44 in the film though he appears about 70. Apparently Duffy was quite the makeup artist and following his career decline, he made a place for himself in Hollywood as a makeup man.

The film begins during a meeting of an organization dedicated to the elimination of boxing. However, in a not particularly inspired moment, Duffy and another man get in an argument and agree to settle it by having a box-off--where both bring a boxer to decide the argument. This really makes no sense considering the club and the transition was rather poor. However, the fight itself was reasonably funny--especially when Duffy entered the ring and caused a riot--followed by a lengthy and well made police chase.

Is this great or sophisticated humor? Hardly! However, it will make you laugh now and then and it's a chance to see Duffy star in a film--there are lots of films in which he was a supporting player.

Jack Duffy combined two useful show business skills -- the ability to take a good comedy fall and the ability to make himself up as an old man -- and used these skills to good comic effect to play an old geezer who could take the bone-breaking falls that were common in this era of the movies: made up he looked like Chic Sales, but much sprier. And he was pretty good in a number of comedies, usually in support, but sometimes in lead, as in CHICKEN FEATHERS.

But this piece, although it had good gags, wanders too much from its basic plot assumptions -- wifey wants prize-fighting ended, but Jack is a fan who somehow gets his butler to go into the prize ring -- to rise much above a decent average.