The Golfers

This is a delightful early talkie from Mack Sennett's studios. Andy Clyde plays Ed Martin, a banker who gets involved in a $10,000 golf game with an oil man. In order to win he enlists the help of his daughter Winnie (played by Mack Sennett bathing beauty Thelma Hill) and professional golfer Charlie Guest who plays himself in the movie. Also in the cast are Harry Gribbon and Patsy O'Leary. The movie was filmed at the beautiful Lakeside Country Club in Toluca Lake, California. Of course there are a lot of laughs and pratfalls. The highlight of the movie for me was Thelma Hill's lovely performance - she was a very talented actress and should be remembered more today. You don't have to be a fan of golf to enjoy this fun comedy.

Back in 1929, I am pretty sure that "The Golfers" went over far better than it does today. After all, today we are used to gorgeous sound quality...and back in 1929, sound was incredibly archaic. But despite that, the film actually is much better than usual because unlike most films of the day, this one is filmed outside...making it much tougher to use the primitive sound systems of the day. So, although it sounds pretty cruddy, for the time it was state of the art....and actors were no longer required to huddle around hidden microphones.

The short film itself is actually a lot like "Caddyshack". George (Harry Gribbon) is boorish and obnoxious and ends up playing a round against Ed (Andy Clyde). Through the course of their game, George talks when Ed is trying to hit the ball and does a lot to throw Ed off his game. In frustration, Ed takes the bait and agrees to play for $10,000....a huge sum today or back in 1929 which converts to nearly $150,000 today. Who will take the game?

The film is mildly interesting but also not especially funny. Today, it would seem very dated...but it's not bad for its time.