The Bees' Buzz

By the tail end of the silent era, Mack Sennett, who once sat at the top of the heap of comedy producers, was being criticized for being too old-fashioned and sticking to brad slapstick when his competition was becoming much more subtle and sophisticated. This short is an interesting example of Sennett's trying to adapt that same wild slapstick comedy ethos to the infant medium of sound on film.

In a lot of cases this addition of sound translates to people shouting "Oooooh!" or "Oh no! Oh dear!" while the typical Sennett hi jinx of barrels bursting, people tripping, and, in the big finale, bees invading people's pants plays out. In other cases, though, it's used to augment the action, with the addition of some legitimate good lines and puns (and a witty song that the players seem to jump right into at the beginning after a few lines of odd rhythmic dialogue.

Sennett actually succeeds mightily in the sense that he manages to translate the craziness, energy, and speed of his silent films remarkably well to sound, in a year when very early sound equipment caused many films to be clunky and slow.

However, this short loses points for not making much of any sense. The plot, such as it is, involves a woman who is going to elope with a different man than the on she is supposed to be engaged to (no further explanation of this). We meet the new fiancé as he enters and pours alum in the punch for no apparent reason other than to set up an alum-in-the-mouth gag (done better by Laurel and Hardy in "Tit for Tat"). A chase, of course, ensues, which includes a scene that causes us to wonder why a full-sized cow costume would be sitting around a real barn, maintained by a farmer with no idea that he "cow" could be a costume. The two lovers also miraculously have a rubber glove they can use to emulate an udder, only to set up the funny gag of the farmer feeling guilty for pulling the udder right off.

This must also be one of the earlier instances of Andy Clyde playing his "pops" character, though he doesn't get much to do on his own. Vernon Dent is very good as the jilted fiancé's old pal. There's a good stunt sequence involving just missing a full-speed train.

While trying to make sense of anything that happens here is futile an it doesn't have anything like the artfulness that a lot of Sennett's competitors developed, I think anyone would agree this isn't boring for an instant, and what it does -- fast paced, large-scale broad slapstick -- it does well, despite the difficulties adding sound must have introduced.

The film begins with a father (Andy Clyde) announcing his daughter's engagement. It's obvious she is not thrilled about this and soon her lover appears to elope with her--leaving her fiancé in the dust. The fiancé and her dad pursue them as they look for a minister to legitimize their love. Along the way, a variety of very old fashioned sight gags are used--all of which I have seen in movies also made by Mack Sennett Studios a decade or so earlier.

The 1920s and 30s were not kind to Mack Sennett. The once King of Slapstick was now scrambling to find work and pay bills, as Hal Roach and other producers of comedies had now surpassed him--mostly because Sennett's style was hopelessly locked in the same pattern he made so great in the teens and the gags were by now tired and repetitive. While car chases, people dressed in ridiculous cow costumes and bees in people's pants might have seemed funny, by the time this film came out it was all passé. Quite simply, Roach's comedians like Laurel and Hardy, Charley Chase and the Our Gang were able to change with the times and transitioned well from a broad physical style of comedy (of the silents) to the sound era. However, BEES' BUZZ is practically speaking, an older style silent film with some added sound. And to make things worse, the once very funny Andy Clyde (who wrote and acted in many silent classics) is wasted here in this unfunny mess.

It's no coincidence that the film's opening and closing emblem is a dog--as this film is DEFINITELY one for the dogs! Don't believe the amazingly high score on IMDb for this public domain film--find it on the web and watch it for yourself to see how low Sennett had fallen.

Incredibly weird and hilarious old-fashioned cartoon-like comedy where people run around in zig-zag patterns yelling like Daffy Duck.

The plot relates to an oil baron from Oklahoma all set to marry Andy's daughter but she doesn't want to marry him and elopes with someone else. The Oklahoman tries to impress her and her friends by singing but unknowingly has a drink containing alum, which for some reason makes him unable to open his mouth very far, so the song comes out with him sounding like a cow.

And speaking of cows, the eloping couple hide inside a cow costume (where in the world did it come from?) and they hide in the barn, but oh-oh, here comes the very "old" farmer (which is the only character that isn't done very good as he seems more like a teenage boy or young woman with an incredibly fake-looking beard) to "milk" the fake cow. Later there is a funny bit with a real cow making an (drawn animation) exclamation mark and a question mark with its tail as the couple drive off still with the cow costume over them!

The most entertaining aspects relate to watching really old-fashioned cars race around during the chase scenes - which seem very real when compared to many other movies where they just have a movie screen behind the driver. The angles and the way it is filmed are amazingly well-done.

Finally, bees are everywhere (thanks to a golf ball knocking their hive from a tree) and stinging everyone - and this is where it gets even weirder. The Justice of the Peace races around the golf course making sounds like Daffy Duck, still inside (and "wearing") his portable sauna box!

This short little movie (about 20 minutes long) deserves an 8 because of how much it made me laugh, although I'm sure a lot of people would find some scenes annoying. I have watched it a few times.

You will probably be on the floor rolling with laughter by the end.

8/10