Oft in the Silly Night

In 1929, the Al Christie unit with Paramount Studios did something most unusual...they made about a half dozen comedy shorts starring all-black casts. And, instead of the usual black characters in mainstream studio films, the people in these shorts did NOT play maids nor idiots. They were most atypical of the era and sadly the films are pretty much forgotten today. Fortunately, a few are posted on YouTube...including this one.

The casts to these shorts used most of the same actors....just playing different characters. One of the black actors, Spence Williams, had a very long career as an actor, director and writer. And, in the 1950s he gained fame playing Andy on "Amos 'n Andy" on television.

In this one, the chauffeur is in love with a rich man's daughter. How can he possibly get the old man to let him marry her? Well, by trickery and deception, of course!

The film is enjoyable and worth seeing. Not a brilliant film by any stretch but an unusual and important one historically speaking.

Oft in the Silly Night (1929)

*** (out of 4)

A man (Edward Thompson) steals a limo from his boss and hires a friend (Spencer Williams) to play chauffeur so that he can impress the woman (Roberta Hyson) he loves who just happens to be his boss' daughter. The only problem is that there's a bad wreck and the father fears that the daughter has been killed. This short contains plenty of laughs including a wonderful scene where Williams has to try and explain to the father that his daughter is "sorta" dead. The subject matter is certainly rather bleak but the actors really pull it off.

Edward Thompson has been driving young lady Roberta Hyson around. He's smitten with her to the point of following her to a grand party. In taking a night off, he has Spencer Williams agree to drive him in the car for the time being. When Ms. Hyson finds out her chauffeur's car is out, she investigates and tells Spencer-not knowing Edward is not in the driver's seat-to take her out for a ride. What happens after that threatens to take a turn for the worse but it all ends well. The print I watched seemed to end abruptly but otherwise, Oft in the Silly Night was pretty enjoyable...

This is a pretty good early-Black cast comedy (including Spencer Williams, the future "Andy" of Amos and Andy fame) about a rich lady who is in love with her chauffeur and his hairbrained scheme to try to get the girl's father to approve (does it work? Watch it and see).

Pretty amusing, if not belly-laugh inducing stuff. The characters and the actors who play them are quite pleasant and likable, and this comedy is not as grossly stereotyped as one would expect form the times. Roberta Hyson, who did not get the fame she deserved, is particularly appealing, charming, and funny which proves that a pretty girl can also be a great comedienne.