Call of the Cuckoo (1927)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Clyde Bruckman

Writer:

H.M. Walker (titles)

Release Date:

15 October 1927 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Short

Plot:

Mishaps befall a new home owner (Davidson) located next door to an insane asylum.

Plot Keywords:

Asylum | Two Reeler

Cast

Stan Laurel	...	Asylum inmate
Oliver Hardy	...	Asylum inmate
James Finlayson	...	Asylum inmate
Charley Chase	...	Asylum inmate
Max Davidson	...	Papa Gimplewart
Lillian Elliott	...	Mama Gimplewart
Spec O'Donnell	...	Love's Greatest Mistake
Leo Willis	...	Guest
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frank Brownlee	...	Prospective house buyer
Edgar Dearing	...	Guest
Otto Fries	...	Bit part
Charlie Hall	...	Asylum inmate
Fay Holderness	...	Guest
Charles Meakin	...	House buyer
Lyle Tayo	...	Guest

Runtime:

USA:17 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Germany:o.Al. | UK:U

Company:

Hal Roach Studios

Trivia:

This film was made just days after Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy had finished filming The Second 100 Years (1927), in which they play shaven-headed convicts. Thus, the reason for the boys' buzz-cut hairdos in this film.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Myra Breckinridge (1970)

Some at times good slapstick moments in an outdated, not entirely great movie.

This is a fairly decent, typical Hal Roach slapstick comedy, which guest star's Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy and James Finlayson as Asylum inmates.

Real main characters of the movie though are played by Max Davidson and Lillian Elliott and with Spec O'Donnell as their stupid looking son. Especially Spec O'Donnell is great in his role who carriers the brilliant name 'Love's Greatest Mistake' in the movie. Basically all he does in the movie is look stupid but he does this extremely good and because of that he is really fun to watch.

The movie has some typical slapstick moments that are most of the time fun to watch but never truly hilarious. The way it is brought to the screen is simply too outdated for todays standards, also compared to other slapstick comedies made from the same time period. Especially the editing is lacking. There lies the main problem of the movie; it's too lacking in it's humor and style.

It certainly does have its moments but it is no essential viewing for the fans of slapstick comedy from the '20's. Perhaps still only for some, for the fairly small Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy and James Finlayson roles in the movie.

6/10