Boire et déboires

Surprisingly, still very funny affectionate parody of silent cinema cliches. A cult film ahead of it's time.

Introduced by bombastic Billy Gilbert, the story begins in old New York, where moustache-twirling lawyer Alan Mowbray (as Silas Cribbs) is trying to get control of the estate recently inherited by handsome young Richard Cromwell (as Edward Middleton). The lascivious Mr. Mowbray is also interested in harp-playing beauty Anita Louise (as Mary Wilson), who finds her true love is Mr. Cromwell. After the lovebirds wed, Mowbray tries to gain control over Cromwell with alcohol...

This broad parody of old-time melodramas may initially be taken as a bad movie, but it's a surprisingly clever spoof, for the time.

Unfortunately, the film stays in a mildly amusing mode for most of the running time, and depends on a mediocre pie-in-the-face for its comedy climax. With their tongues pressed firmly in cheek, Cromwell and Mowbray make swell scenery-chewing, eyebrow-raising impressions. As Ms. Louise's mother, marvelous Margaret Hamilton matches the melodramatics. While miscast as Cromwell's boyhood pal, silent legend Buster Keaton is a bonus. Farm animals offer deadpan counterpoint.

******* The Villain Still Pursued Her (10/11/40) Edward F. Cline ~ Richard Cromwell, Alan Mowbray, Buster Keaton, Anita Louise

This is a solid, if often silly, parody feature that spoofs the conventional melodrama genre. Most of it is played in a style that is far from subtle, and not all of it works smoothly, but it has a decent cast and some other good features. The broad parody works well most of the time, almost poking fun at itself as it pokes fun at melodrama conventions.

The story has the familiar setup of a helpless widow and her daughter who find themselves at the mercy of an unscrupulous villain, played by Alan Mowbray, and who seek help from a virtuous but naive young heir. Mowbray does a pretty good job of parodying melodrama villains, and Buster Keaton has some very good moments, although his role is smaller. Keaton's timing and his appreciation of gag possibilities are still there. Some of the other performances are a little plain, but at least some of the time that may have been by design.

There are some slower stretches, but there are also some sequences that are pretty amusing. It builds up to a suitably tangled finale that has some good moments, although it is unfortunately marred by one inappropriate gag. Overall, it's uneven, but at least worth seeing for those who have an interest in its era and genre.

I hate melodrama, but had reservations about this satire of the genre nonetheless. I thought it would be one of those films Buster Keaton only appeared in order to garner a paycheck. My qualms quickly diminished as I watched this unheralded classic. I have watched it a few times since I first obtained a copy, and it never fails to make me laugh throughout. Keaton is superb, as is the rest of the cast, and the comedy stands up very well. As long as we have soap operas, "The Villain Still Pursued Her" will always be funny!

Villain Still Pursued Her, The (1940)

** (out of 4)

Strange but dull comedy about a villain who's in love with a married woman. In order to steal her he turns the husband into an alcoholic so that he won't be able to support her or their son. It's strange seeing how alcoholism was looked at back in the day but this film gets zero laughs, although the strangeness keeps it watchable. Not even Buster Keaton can get any laughs in his small role.

Sadly Keaton had to appear in a lot of small budget stuff like this and even more sad is that this is one of the better films that he did.