Lambchops

George M. Burns, shows a lot of talent looks to me like he will make it big in show biz. But it seems to me that he could use a partner. Or perhaps a funny lady to help him carry it off.

George and Gracie enter an elegant drawing room, looking everywhere for something. Turns out, they're looking for the audience, and when George spots the camera, they start in on their patter.

Comedian Fred Allen was slated to film one of his comedy routines but had come down with the flu, leaving the studio in the lurch. Burns was told that the job paid $1,700, so he said yes on the spot. "I'd never heard of $1,700 in my life, especially for nine minutes' work," Burns quipped.

Now, this may not be the funniest thing you ever heard, but it makes for a nice debut for Gracie Allen and George Burns. Gracie may be semi-forgotten today, but Burns remains a comedy legend, and seeing him this early in his career is a treat.

Lambchops (1929)

*** (out of 4)

George Burns and Gracie Allen had one of the greatest relationship in Hollywood history. Their comic timing would take them into radio, television, movies and just about any other thing you can think of. Their first shot at the movies came in this 8 minute sound short, which shows the two doing one of the acts that they did on vaudeville. If you're unfamiliar with these early talking shorts, they were basically just filmed in a building with a cameraman, a director, the stars and someone able to record sound. They were mostly filmed in one take so we really get a great idea of what it would have been like seeing Burns and Allen on a stage.

The act here is pretty funny for the most part and especially a "joke" that Allen tells yet she's not bright enough to realize that it doesn't make a bit of sense. The two also get to perform a nice song and dance and the short ends with a pretty funny walk off. Fans of the two will certainly enjoy seeing this.

This being the film debut of the comedy team of George Burns and Gracie Allen, it's fascinating to watch a vaudeville act that had been formed just a few years earlier provide their pretty amusing banter that they use here to fill seven minutes. Among the many amusements from them: George-"What man in the army has the biggest hat?" Gracie-"The one with the biggest head." or George-"What sings with four legs?" Gracie-"Two canaries." George, tired of having Gracie steal his punchlines then asks and answers, "What gives more milk than a cow? Two cows!" They also go into a song and dance routine with more amusing patter before they realize they have a few more time to fill. If you're familiar with Burns and Allen, you can probably guess what happens. So on that note, I recommend Lambchops for anyone interested in these vintage shorts.

An early Vitaphone film, this Warner Brothers short apparently was one created using a very complicated system through which an accompanying record was synchronized with a movie camera. There were several serious setbacks for such a system (such as if a film skipped--it became out of sync for the rest of the film plus the records quickly wore out--and 20 showings was the normal life-span of the records) and even though it produced excellent sound, it was eventually replaced. The last of the Vitaphone films were made in 1930, then the studio switched to the standard sound-on-film system.

This is Burns & Allen's first screen performance. Because it's so early, the team's style is different from what you might have come to expect. George is more of a shyster than he'd play later--with jokes about him stealing his brother-in-law's stuff. As for Gracie, she's ditsy, but less so than in later films. Their banter is also a bit different because it's a bit faster paced--like they later deliberately slowed it down for the audiences.

In addition to their comedy, you can see the team's vaudeville roots as they sing and dance a nice little number together. While neither George nor Gracie would have ever been accused of having great voices, the song works because it's within their range and was quite sweet.

Overall, a charming little short--one of the better shorts of the early sound era.