Big Moments from Little Pictures (1924)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Roy Clements

Writer:

H.M. Walker (titles)

Release Date:

30 March 1924 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Short

Cast

Will Rogers	...	Himself / Rufus the bullfighter / Robin Hood / Son / Police Chief
Marie Mosquini	...	Senorita / Nursemaid
Earl Mohan
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams		(as Guinn Williams)
Noah Young
Charlie Hall	...	Chaplin lookalike
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Carmencita Johnson	...	Baby

Runtime:

20 min

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Filming Locations:

Hal Roach Studios - 8822 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Hal Roach Studios

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Robin Hood (1922)

Enjoyable spoof from a great humorist

Will Rogers made a number of silent two-reel comedies for the Hal Roach Studio during the 1923-4 season, but apparently he didn't think much of them; he was later quoted as complaining to a friend that "all I do is run around barns and lose my pants." It wasn't until talkies came along that Will found his true métier in a series of domestic comedies at Fox: slow-paced, gentle slices of Americana that eschewed slapstick.

Meanwhile, however, two of Will's earlier Roach comedies hit the bullseye by aiming at Hollywood itself: UNCENSORED MOVIES (1923) and its follow-up, BIG MOMENTS FROM LITTLE PICTURES. Instead of trying to invent a role to play, Will simply dressed up as his famous contemporaries and poked fun at them. Here, he takes on Rudolph Valentino's bull-fighting epic BLOOD AND SAND, Douglas Fairbanks' ROBIN HOOD, weepy melodramas, and the Keystone comedies of the 'teens that were already somewhat passé by this time. In the Valentino sequence Will contrasts the matador's on-screen bravery with his off-screen concern for his personal safety, and the results are mildly amusing. The melodrama send-up is basically a one-joke sketch that doesn't add up to much, but the Fairbanks sequence is quite funny, making creative use of such cinematic techniques as slow-motion and backward footage to make Robin and his Merry Men look ridiculous. Better still is the Keystone segment, which looks and plays very much like the real article, with Will giving a lively performance as Police Chief Ford Sterling and earning some real belly-laughs. Will's impersonation of Sterling is so spot-on that some unwary viewers might be forgiven for believing that they're watching the real thing. This sequence brings the film to a rousing climax and proves that, whatever he told his friends, Will Rogers managed to do some quality work at the Hal Roach Studio.