A Night at the Movies

An MGM ROBERT BENCHLEY Short Subject.

Trying to quietly spend A NIGHT AT THE MOVIES isn't so simple for hapless Robert Benchley.

Nominated for the Best One-Reel Short Subject Academy Award, this was one of a series of little films to feature the gentle humor of Robert Benchley (1889-1945). Watching him deal with the unexpected difficulties of simply enjoying a movie elicits much quiet amusement.

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Often overlooked or neglected today, the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents, both in front & behind the camera. The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film, something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel. Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material, short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios' feature films.

Robert Benchley and wife Betty Rose Clarke decide to go to the movies, and that's where their troubles begin in this typically amusing Benchley short.

His vehicles were moving from the ones in which he lectured vaguely on subjects which left the viewer knowing less than when he started, to ones in which he performed as the befuddled man ever in quest of a decent good time and doomed to failure. Although the sight of a movie house packed with thousands of attendees, and a disdainful staff to supervise their comings and going may confuse the modern viewer, still we can feel his consternation at trying to find a movie that neither he nor his wife have seen before. After all, although we may no longer go to the movies several times a week, we do have to deal with cable or TV service with thousands of channels and offerings.... and nothing on.

Finally agreeing on which film to see, Robert Benchley and his (uncredited) wife Betty Ross Clarke set off in time to watch the feature. There is a free lottery to win a shiny new car in the foyer and that's where the tickets are accidentally placed, so ensuring the rest of their visit gets off on a typically unfortunate foot! It pans out with the usual cinema nuisances and as Benchley gets more irritated by his experience, he leaves the auditorium and struggles to find his way back into what appears to be the world's s largest circular cinema. It's an amiable critique of going to the movies, and for those of us who regularly attend them there are certainly some truths that ring true around selfishness and lack of self-awareness, but I think this rather over-contrives the scenarios and his bumbling can go wrong, will go wrong character actually began to annoy me quite quickly.

AS VALUABLE TODAY as both a fine example of what the old short subjects were to the movies in Hollywood's Golden Age, as well as a sort of historical piece who's unintentional chronicling of the movie house of that era, A NIGHT AT THE MOVIES is an all around gem of a mini-movie. One can learn more about life in that period between World Wars from it than many a history book on domestic life in the USA.

THE PRODUCTION TEAM takes great care in putting everyone's favourite everyman, Robert Benchley, at the center of what seems like a very simple, uncomplicated premise; being that of going to the local movie palace to see a highly rated, new release. It is a first run picture and would be playing at the big theatre, downtown; rather than at the local show in the neighborhoods.

THIS WAS LONG before anyone had thought of a Shopping Centre Multi-Plex, or even a Shopping Mall, for that matter. It was a time when moviegoers expected and received a sort of "royal" type of treatment and received same. The importance and seriousness of the occasion is emphasized by the manner of dress one sees in the many patrons who fill the theatre. One's "Sunday Best" was the order of the day when attending any public performances; be they a baseball game, football, boxing, wrestling, a concert in the park or the movies.

THE FACT THAT everything seems to happen to poor Bob Benchley is at the center of this one. No matter what the situation from buying the tickets for he and his spouse, being seated or what have you, they all revolve around Benchley's very urbane appearance and very refined and dignified manners. It is a case of the most refined of the Homo Sapiens being in competition with a bunch of Paleolithic Neanderthals.

THE FACT THAT Mr. Benchley was not primarily an actor, but rather a gifted writer who was coaxed to step before the cameras and deliver his own words, seems to have added to his on screen personality and appeal to his audience. While certainly no virtuoso of an accomplished thespian, his sort of amateurish characterization of this very genteel individual's coping with the trials and tribulations of modern life were well served in this series of shorts.

THIS BASIC PREMISE had been done before. In the 1929 silent two reeler, MOVIE NIGHT, it is Charley Chase who is put through the running of the gauntlet of multiple mishaps at the cinema. This was a Hal Roach Production, written by Chase & Leo McCarey and directed by Lewis R. Foster.

Robert Benchley stars in yet another short film about a poor schnook who seems to always get getting the short of things in life. In this case, the schnook (Benchley) and his wife want to go to the movies but 1001 little annoyances occur. The summary says that Benchley leaves the ticket in the car...that is NOT the case. Apparently, there was a prize drawing and he accidentally dropped the movie tickets into the slot for that and tried to use the raffle tickets to get into the theater. Then, annoyances about--such as an incredibly large man who sits in front of him and, ultimately, his accidentally walking up on stage and embarrassing himself. All in all, it's pretty typical of a Benchley short with very few belly laughs but plenty of fun, gentle entertainment as he plays his put-upon character. Worth seeing but far from a must-see.