Be Reasonable

This is a very funny silent comedy by the forgotten comic, Billy Bevan. While I have seen hundreds or more old time comedies, this one stands out from the crowd because of its amazingly frenetic pace. Once one amazing sight gag occurs, another appears before you know it. Plus, some of the gags are so elaborate you really have to hand it to the folks who made this film. My favorite involved the periscope on the beach, but there were just so many wonderful scenes it's hard to remember them all.

Billy is a bit of a masher. He meets a lady on the beach and immediately gives her an expensive gift (some pearls). The problems are that she has her eyes set on the handsome lifeguard and the collection agents either want Billy to pay for this necklace or return it. Well, she naturally doesn't want to give up the pearls, so Billy decides to break in to her house to steal them (and a few other items while he's at it). This results in a very funny chase scene between what appears to be hundreds of policemen and Billy and is highly reminiscent of the Keaton film, COPS (which actually came out a year AFTER Bevan's film).

Terrific gags, lots of laughs and lots of originality. Even though Billy Bevan isn't well known today like Chaplin, Keaton or Lloyd, this one ranks up with their best. See it and have a good time.

Billy Bevan wakes up under the beach - yes, under: this is a silent comedy, after all -- and rise to try to court Mildred June. Of course, it all ends up in Billy being chased by dozens of cops.

It's a fairly typical Sennett two-reeler of the era, with wild gags being held together by speed and the great editing that Sennett had. The gags are funny, and what more could you ask for?

Bevan was one of the leading comics at Sennett's studio, but that did not define him. After the silent era ended, he became a fine supporting actor in movies like John Ford's THE LOST PATROL. and THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GREY, usually playing a Cockney, despite his Australian provenance. His last role was in 1952, and he died in 1957, aged 70.