Jewish Prudence

The hilarious silent-film comedy 'Jewish Prudence' is fairly easy to obtain in film libraries, but all known English-language prints of this movie have the original title card 'Jewish Prudence' removed and a new title card spliced in, so that this film is now renamed 'Prudence'. If you can't locate this very funny movie under its original title, try looking for it under the less offensive (and less funny) name 'Prudence'.

The title 'Jewish Prudence' is of course a pun on 'jurisprudence', but it also refers to the character played by silent-movie comedian Max Davidson in his starring films. Davidson, who was indeed Jewish (and with strongly Semitic features), tended to play a stereotypical Jewish character on-screen. This can be unpleasant for modern viewers, but Davidson usually steered clear of the more vicious aspects of a Jewish caricature. His on-screen character tended to be resourceful rather than cunning, frugal rather than an outright money-grubber. Max Davidson reminds me of the English actor Ron Moody, whom he physically resembles: Moody has proudly used his Jewish heritage as a basis for most of his acting roles, yet his portrayals never become offensive.

In 'Jewish Prudence', written by Stan Laurel and directed by Leo McCarey, Max is a father saddled with three grown children who will never amount to anything. His daughter (Martha Sleeper) is bone-idle. Max's older son (Jesse De Vorska) is an incompetent schlemiehl whom Max pressures into taking a job as a lorry driver. The younger son (Johnny Fox) is an idiot who wants to be a professional Charleston dancer. (Fair enough: that's how Lord Grade got started.) A handsome young lawyer (Gaston Glass), newly admitted to the bar, wants to marry Max's daughter, but Max refuses to consent until lawyer Gaston wins his first court case.

When Max and his dancing son witness a road accident, Max sees a chance to make some money by persuading Johnny to fake a leg injury. There's an uproariously funny sequence in which Johnny feigns injuries by displaying a false leg while concealing his real leg inside a hollowed-out cushion. Of course, several things go wrong. (At one point, Johnny's got three legs showing.) When Max gets a visit from two men who seem to be insurance claims adjusters, Johnny plays his scam for all it's worth. This scene has a very funny payoff. Johnny Fox, who gave an amazing performance as the supernatural visitor in 'One Glorious Day', gives a splendidly physical performance here as Max's son. Eugene Palllette, hefting only a fraction of his later girth, is impressive as one of the visitors. Spec O'Donnell, who played Davidson's son in so many of his films, is absent from these proceedings.

SPOILERS COMING. Meanwhile, Max brings suit against the driver who supposedly injured Johnny. The lawyer for the defence is none other than Gaston, who humiliates Max and Johnny in court by exposing them (hilariously) as liars and frauds. Gaston wins his case and then smoothly claims the right to marry Max's daughter. Max drives away in disgust, but his car is immediately hit by a truck. Gaston eagerly offers to represent Max in a lawsuit against the truckdriver, but the driver turns out to be (of course) Max's other son!

'Jewish Prudence' is extremely funny; even more so because (unlike many other Hal Roach comedies of this period) it actually has a believable plot. Director Leo McCarey's comic pacing is brisk and excellent. The climactic trial scene in this film must have been good experience for McCarey when he directed Chico Marx's trial in 'Duck Soup'. However, I was annoyed by one 'impossible' gag in 'Jewish Prudence' during the courtroom sequence, when a solemn portrait of George Washington is seen to burst out laughing at Max's pathetic testimony. This sort of gag is acceptable for a totally unrealistic comedian such as Harpo Marx, but it drastically conflicts with the comedic style of Max Davidson, who tended to play very plausible and realistic characters. It's only due to fears of Political Incorrectness that Max Davidson's (Jewish) screen characterisation is so seldom available to modern filmgoers. I'll rate this very funny movie 10 out of 10.

While I would never go so far as to give this comedy short a score of 10, it is extremely funny and I found myself laughing out loud on several occasions. I'll reserve 10s for a very small number of truly great shorts--this one is near-great.

As far as my review goes, I probably can't add a lot to the excellent review by F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre. They summarized the film very well as well as gave background information that I certainly wasn't aware of--even though I have a very extensive knowledge of silent comedies. Because their summary is so good, I'll leave it up to you to read that if you want an in-depth explanation of the plot. I really wasn't aware of this film until I saw it bundled in the British release of the films of Laurel and Hardy. While neither is in this film, it was apparently written by Laurel and so it was thrown in as sort of a bonus. This is odd, because Laurel wrote other films and acted in quite a few without Oliver Hardy but they aren't also included in the set.

This film is about a Jewish man and his three lazy and stupid grown children. The adventures they have and the gags throughout the film are great, though in today's world it may make many uncomfortable. After all, Papa Gimplewart is a conniving and dishonest man who will do practically anything for money--a popular image of Jews in the 1920s. Nowadays, such a stereotype will no doubt make many cringe--especially in light of the Holocaust. However, this would be a mistake--you can't just ignore this film because it is exceptionally funny and deserves to be preserved and remembered despite changing times.

By the way, sadly the sound track for this silent film isn't particularly good. It consists of various Scott Joplin songs tossed into the film and they don't particularly match the action or mood.

Papa Gimplewart (Davidson) is an unlucky man – he has three ne'er do well grown children. They all are bone-lazy and none too bright. Papa is adamant that the boys get jobs; he gives the incompetent Abie a truck to operate a hauling business. Before getting to the street Abie destroys a shed and part of the house in a funny albeit destructive scene. Papa next goes to work on the other son, Junior, and goes with him in search of a job including that of a Charleston dancer. Coming upon a trolley accident, Papa tells Junior to sneak into the overturned trolley; soon Junior is pulled out of the trolley and taken off in an ambulance. The funniest part of the short is when two men come to the house and papa thinks they're investigators looking into the accident. Hiding one leg, Junior pretends that a wooden leg is his actual leg and that he is paralyzed. The case ends up in court and defending the trolley company is Aaron, Papa Gimplewart's daughter's beau. Papa had told Aaron that he could marry his daughter Rachel after he won his first case. The court scene is a hoot with Papa being found out in a number of lies. Max Davidson had such an expressive face and gestures. This short is better than many a comedy silent I have seen (and certainly funnier that many a sitcom episode).