The Comic

I watched "The Comic" on TV when I was teen. Sure, it was not the very best movie I ever watched. But somehow it was unforgettable. Until today, I still can recall a scene when drunk Billy Bright (Dick Van Dyke) smashing neighbor's house thinking that it was his. Sad, funny, and bitterness mixed. After "The Comic", for me, Dick Van Dyke had never been funnier then.

"The Comic" is one movie I could always watch again as I think it was the best thing Dick Van Dyke ever did. I always thought that Harry Langdon was the chief prototype for the Billy Bright character because of his pork pie hat that he wore. I didn't know much about his personal life but that when he decided to write, direct and produce his own films, he learned too late that he should have left that to people who knew their business. Thanks to the other bloggers on this site, I learned about Buster Keaton. Never quite understood his character, just that dead pan face of his. Mickey Rooney of course was modeled after Ben Turpin. He makes the prophetic comment that when people stopped laughing at his crooked eyes, they started killing each other. There was a cute scene where Billy and "Popeye" are walking up Hollywood Boulevard and Billy is guessing whose footprints he's stepping on. When he reaches Chaplin, he looks down and says "He never became a citizen." A comment which was made for criticism but tinged with a bit of envy. A classic, underrated movie, in the same class as "Face in the Crowd."

I have just seen this movie for the first time in over 25 years. I still remember the last time I saw it. It was not a great movie by any means but I am a big film fan and this movie was memorable for me. The last scene of Van Dyke's character getting up in early morning hours just to watch one of his old films with his ex-wife always stuck with me. It is a really sad scene. Van Dyke is great in this, he would have made a great silent comedian. While the character is obviously based an awful lot on Buster Keaton, Van Dyke to me actually resembles Stan Laurel at times. The brief clips of the silent films his character does make you want to see the entire films. I also enjoyed Mickey Rooney's performance, too. I highly recommend this to anyone who is a silent movie fan or a Dick Van Dyke fan.

Short and Sweet, to the point will be my Comment....This was My Late Dad's and My Favorite Movie...One of the Last things I said to him, where he could still recognize me, at his bedside was..."Ya Got Good Color", It made him smile...his last smile...That's a powerful ability, for any movie...thank you...Dr Buck....OK, so I guess I need to add more working to my comment section, or so they (the computer powers to be), tell me..10 lines, hmmmmm, well, guess I might ad that not only is this Van Dyke's finest film moment (love his dual roll as father and son), but also Mickey Rooney's ...as Cock-Eye....if you're a fan of him, check out the little known movie...The Atomic Kid...Everytime I eat a peanut butter sandwich, I smile (see the movie to understand that comment...T.Y. Again (OK, now is that enough words?)

This film was obviously made to use the comic talents of Dick Van Dyke and they did. He was always pulling faces and doing pratfalls on stage and TV and has always had a strikingly strong resemblance to a young Stan Laurel. It had been said in early magazines that Van Dyke felt he was born in the wrong era. With this film he gets to fulfill his dream. Even the dialog scenes play and read like a silent movie and the comedy timing is priceless, especially in scenes with Mickey Rooney who did the eye tricks with no computer help. Michelle Lee is there, for her looks mostly, plus a lot of great cameo comedy bits by the likes of Pert Kelton, Jeannine Riley and even Carl Reiner himself. This film will not be remembered as any great classic, but it does remain a classic in capturing Van Dyke's talent and the memories of Hollywood days gone by.