Fifteen Minutes

Snub Pollard has been out walking all morning and sits down in a quiet alley for a few minutes rest.... and by the time it is over, is being chased up a tree by a bear.

Snub's short subjects for Hal Roach were matters of pure comedy construction, getting from one impeccably performed gag to another. Snub himself was a pure clown and eventually his style of short subject found no home at Roach, where comedy ruled, but only when supported by character. However this is a fine example of the pure slapstick style for the era.

For many years it was considered lost, but there are a lot of cans of unidentified films at the Library of Congress. Every once in a while they drag in maniacs who spend their time reading old newspaper clippings and censor reports, and they identified this one. Undercrank Productions put it on a DVD with a dozen others for FOUND AT MOSTLY LOST.

A portion of "Fifteen Minutes" is missing. There are no titles at the beginning or end and it's possible more of the picture is missing. However, what does still exist is very high quality, very funny and well worth your time.

The short stars Snub Pollard, an Aussie comic who starred or co-starred in a lot of American comedies of the 1920s. And, apart from his short "It's a Gift", "Fifteen Minutes" might just be his funniest film.

The story is set during a 15 minute period. Snub's wife tells him to sit down on a bench and relax...she'll be back soon. During this period, EVERYTHING that could go wrong, goes wrong...and instead of a relaxing 15 minutes, Snub is attacked by a crazy housewife and her husband, chased by police, chased by a bear and so much more.

The frenetic pace is what's best about this film. If one gag doesn't work, it doesn't matter as another is coming only moments later! Plus, while there's a lot going on, it doesn't resort to cheap slapstick to get laughs but genuinely funny situations. You can thank good writing and direction for this lovely film.