Even Billy Gilbert cannot shave -- I mean save -- this musical comedy about a rivalry between two barbers' colleges run like a football game. It looks as though the editor thought it was funnier than it was and ran the reaction shots longer than needed, resulting in slow pacing and annoying gaps.
Billy is in full cry doing Italian double talk AND a bit of his famous sneezing routine. If they had just kept the camera on him and left out the reaction shots entirely, it might have worked better. Indeed, it looks like the dp was trying to get out of the short subject department using inappropriately dramatic shots to demonstrate his brilliance.
This very atypical MGM short was probably an attempt to fill in the gap left by Hal Roach's exit from short subject production. Alas, MGM never produced much in the way of funny shorts, the Robert Benchley lectures aside.
Billy is in full cry doing Italian double talk AND a bit of his famous sneezing routine. If they had just kept the camera on him and left out the reaction shots entirely, it might have worked better. Indeed, it looks like the dp was trying to get out of the short subject department using inappropriately dramatic shots to demonstrate his brilliance.
This very atypical MGM short was probably an attempt to fill in the gap left by Hal Roach's exit from short subject production. Alas, MGM never produced much in the way of funny shorts, the Robert Benchley lectures aside.