There are only a few of Charley Bowers' silent shorts that still exist today. Thankfully, they have been released in a two DVD set that are sure to make you laugh...or at least say "how did they do that?!". That's because Bowers was a master of stop-motion and he also made a bunch of cute films involving inventors and their strange Rube Goldberg-inspired machines.
In this film, Charley is out to tackle one of the most pressing problems of the ages--how to keep eggs from breaking before the customer gets them home from the market (I know I have spent countless hours fretting about this). His plan is to make an egg with a rubberized shell so it won't crack. Well, when he tries to talk to business men about financing, they think he's a nut and throw him out--mostly because Charley makes a nuisance of himself and explains it all wrong. One reviewer complained about this section of the film--saying it wasn't all that funny. While I'd agree it's the low-point, I still did enjoy it.
What was crazy fun, however, was later in the film when he started working on his invention. To make this crazy machine, he kept stealing ANYTHING he might need--making those around him very irritated. But, he stole everything so well, they didn't seem to know it was him. And, when he began trying to test the product, the film sped into insane fun. I would tell you more about the eggs hatching--but it would spoil the fun. Instead, just watch and marvel at one of the best stop-motion scenes you'll ever see. This was made years before Willis O'Brien did his amazing stop-motion for KING KONG (which have made him a legend in the field), but Bowers' stunts are more impressive--at least in my semi-humble opinion. Ya gotta see it to believe it!! Overall, an amazingly bizarre, surreal yet funny film. Not among Bowers' best, but even his second-tier films are terrific!
In this film, Charley is out to tackle one of the most pressing problems of the ages--how to keep eggs from breaking before the customer gets them home from the market (I know I have spent countless hours fretting about this). His plan is to make an egg with a rubberized shell so it won't crack. Well, when he tries to talk to business men about financing, they think he's a nut and throw him out--mostly because Charley makes a nuisance of himself and explains it all wrong. One reviewer complained about this section of the film--saying it wasn't all that funny. While I'd agree it's the low-point, I still did enjoy it.
What was crazy fun, however, was later in the film when he started working on his invention. To make this crazy machine, he kept stealing ANYTHING he might need--making those around him very irritated. But, he stole everything so well, they didn't seem to know it was him. And, when he began trying to test the product, the film sped into insane fun. I would tell you more about the eggs hatching--but it would spoil the fun. Instead, just watch and marvel at one of the best stop-motion scenes you'll ever see. This was made years before Willis O'Brien did his amazing stop-motion for KING KONG (which have made him a legend in the field), but Bowers' stunts are more impressive--at least in my semi-humble opinion. Ya gotta see it to believe it!! Overall, an amazingly bizarre, surreal yet funny film. Not among Bowers' best, but even his second-tier films are terrific!