Gay Old Days

"Gay Old Days" stars Frank Luther, a man who didn't make a lot of films but who was much more famous as a singer. He also, incidentally, was an ordained minister!

The film begins with a nice trio singing a song. Then, a cop is chasing a pickpocket. The guy tosses the wallet...and a Salvation Army worker thinks it's a donation! Oddly, this results in some other folks breaking into song! There isn't much of a transition here....just a cop singing to a girl to impress her with his baritone voice. Then, the trio break into song once again...meaning that the plot to the film is scant at best!

So, is it any good? Well, the singing quality is nice...which doesn't surprise me as Luther was known for his singing and eventually became an executive with Decca Records. As far as the story goes...well, it's a nice musical. I think a real plot would have helped...but you can't have everything.

Frank Luther and company, dressed up for the Gay 90s, perform a street scene and various old songs, including "A Thousand Times No", "When You and I Were Young, Maggie", and because the duck one of them is carrying seems to prefer it, "Clementine."

The other reviewer would seem to prefer more of a plot than this one-reel short subject boasts, but that might have necessitated the cutting of a song, and I wouldn't want that. There's just enough going on to set the scene as a Saturday night,with men waiting for their girls with a duck, a couple of Irish policemen disputing over pretty maid Jean Delacy, and a pickpocket forced to make a donation to the Salvation Army.