Bothered by a Beard

I watched - yes, I was a glutton for it last night - I watched a documentary (if that's what you call it????) - maybe some of it should be called a docudrama, and that's a genuine fact - called "Bothered by a Beard" (1945), made in England. Trust me, this had to be made there and no where else. I know it's hard to believe, but I'm serious: Tod Slaughter is in this history of the beard. That's because the second half is devoted to shaving through the ages. Tod plays his Sweeney Todd part here and cuts the throat of one of his patrons. Passes him down to his wife for the pork pies. That's wonderful history of shaving, don't ya think? We eventually get to Gillette inventing the razor. I really didn't know that he couldn't perfect the blade, and he had to have someone else do that for him. After 36 minutes - that's how long this thing lasted - I didn't really care if they all cut their throats. I was ready to cut mine and be glad of it.

'Bothered by a Beard' could be considered an early example of "mockumentary". This short film consists of a series of vignettes which purport to show how men have contended with their facial hair (and its removal) through the centuries. Unfortunately, this movie isn't funny enough to succeed as a comedy, and it certainly isn't informative enough to serve as a true documentary.

The best sequence is a brief appearance by Tod Slaughter, reprising his most famous role as Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, in the act of 'polishing off' a customer. This isn't a clip from Slaughter's earlier film; it's new footage performed by Slaughter especially for this movie. Veteran comic Jerry Verno is mildly effective in one of the historical vignettes.

Skip this movie, unless you're an absolute Tod Slaughter completist. I'll rate it one point out of 10. Next!