His Foothill Folly (1917)
02 Sep 1917 • Short, Comedy • 0h 10m
In the midst of the large number of awful comedies Sennet produced in this period -- he seems to have been too involved in the production of comedy features, as well as the unraveling of the Triangle Corporation -- there are a few that stand out today as watchable. The films Arbuckle turned out before he left for his own studio are often excellent. The famous TEDDY AT THE THROTTLE is fun because of its script and gags. Here is another one that is interesting, although not for the reasons you might expect.What is different here is Raymond Griffith. He is dressed as weirdly as the others, but most Keystone comedians look as if they made their fashion choices on drugs. Griffith looks like he mugged William S. Hart and stole his clothes. While the other comedians glare and glower like fiends, Griffith keeps a wary, personable smile on his face most of the time, and expresses human emotions at other time. His movements, although broad, are not demented. He is clearly an actor who is comfortable with film.Perhaps I am reading too much into this film. Clearly, after he went behind the camera for a few years, and then re-emerged in the mid-twenties, he produced a recognizable comedic human being, but I think he is showing signs of reality here. It is refreshing and pleasing.
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None, English
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United States
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