This WWI comedy stars Charlie Chaplin's half-brother, Syd. Physically, he doesn't look much like him, but with his bushy mustache looks highly reminiscent of the Keystone comedian, Chester Conklin.
The first half of the film is very mundane and frankly it bored me. Nothing particularly funny occurred and the plot just seemed stuck. About the only thing that happened was the corporal making life miserable for Syd and his underlings because he was just a power-hungry jerk. Fortunately, towards the middle, it abruptly became extremely funny and I found myself laughing out loud. In fact, my wife came in the room and after a moment or two, she was laughing as well! So, let's skip talking about the first half except to say that Chaplin in a career private and dislikes his jerk of a corporal, played by Edgar Kennedy. When the movie switches to the show being put on for the troops, it picks up greatly. Seeing one of the guys in drag was cute, and Syd and his buddy dressed in an amazingly articulated horse suit provided a lot of laughs.
Unfortunately, the Germans attack during the show and the British troops scatter--leaving Syd and his buddy stuck in the horse costume and unable to get out in time! So, they continue to pretend they are a horse. Now this sounds stupid but was made believable because by the time they were discovered, the Germans who saw them were quite drunk! And it was pretty cute seeing them try to escape--especially when the horse head fell off and Syd's dog jumped into the costume (a horse with a dog's head is definitely memorable).
Later, once they are out of the suit, they attack a couple Germans and steal their uniforms. They then discover the German's plan to evacuate the town for the British and leave it booby-trapped to blow up! They also discover that one of the British officers is a German spy. Well, Syd rises to the occasion and the day is miraculously saved. The General is so thrilled that he offers to give Syd ANYTHING he wants, so Syd asks to become a sergeant so he can pay back Edgar Kennedy for all the awful things he did to him in the first part of the film! The film gets high marks for being entertaining and original. It is a FAR, FAR better film than Buster Keaton's WWI film, DOUGHBOYS and a little better than Laurel and Hardy's PACK UP YOUR TROUBLES (good film but too much sentimentality).
PS--Watch the scene just before Syd dons the horse suit. Watching him packing up chairs is amazing--such a seemingly mundane task done in such a swift and amazing way.
The first half of the film is very mundane and frankly it bored me. Nothing particularly funny occurred and the plot just seemed stuck. About the only thing that happened was the corporal making life miserable for Syd and his underlings because he was just a power-hungry jerk. Fortunately, towards the middle, it abruptly became extremely funny and I found myself laughing out loud. In fact, my wife came in the room and after a moment or two, she was laughing as well! So, let's skip talking about the first half except to say that Chaplin in a career private and dislikes his jerk of a corporal, played by Edgar Kennedy. When the movie switches to the show being put on for the troops, it picks up greatly. Seeing one of the guys in drag was cute, and Syd and his buddy dressed in an amazingly articulated horse suit provided a lot of laughs.
Unfortunately, the Germans attack during the show and the British troops scatter--leaving Syd and his buddy stuck in the horse costume and unable to get out in time! So, they continue to pretend they are a horse. Now this sounds stupid but was made believable because by the time they were discovered, the Germans who saw them were quite drunk! And it was pretty cute seeing them try to escape--especially when the horse head fell off and Syd's dog jumped into the costume (a horse with a dog's head is definitely memorable).
Later, once they are out of the suit, they attack a couple Germans and steal their uniforms. They then discover the German's plan to evacuate the town for the British and leave it booby-trapped to blow up! They also discover that one of the British officers is a German spy. Well, Syd rises to the occasion and the day is miraculously saved. The General is so thrilled that he offers to give Syd ANYTHING he wants, so Syd asks to become a sergeant so he can pay back Edgar Kennedy for all the awful things he did to him in the first part of the film! The film gets high marks for being entertaining and original. It is a FAR, FAR better film than Buster Keaton's WWI film, DOUGHBOYS and a little better than Laurel and Hardy's PACK UP YOUR TROUBLES (good film but too much sentimentality).
PS--Watch the scene just before Syd dons the horse suit. Watching him packing up chairs is amazing--such a seemingly mundane task done in such a swift and amazing way.