Johnny Hines, a popular light leading man of the early 20s, starts as Burn 'Em Up Barnes -- even his parents call him Burn 'Em Up', so I suppose odd baptismal names were popular back then -- in this racing car comedy, a popular genre of the era (Wallace Reid starred in a series of them for Paramount). The script is fast and furious until the plot kicks in, with funny titles and sight gags galore.
3 Reviews
Gets better as it goes alone
scsu19753 December 2022
"Burn 'Em Up" Barnes is the son of a rich automobile magnate. When his car breaks down, he is mugged and tossed aboard a freight train. There, he befriends a hobo named King Cole. The pair end up in the town of Westwood, PA, where they get mixed up in various situations. Barnes falls for a local girl named Madge. Barnes and Cole are later falsely accused of kidnapping, and jailed. When the bank is robbed, Barnes' father and Madge help him escape from jail, whereby he enters the local auto race and speeds after the crooks.
This film got better as it went along. The early scenes were okay, but didn't seem to interest me too much. The action then picked up and things seemed to move along faster. I particularly liked the relationship between Hines and Breese; they create some funny sight gags, and Breese lends some dignity to the role of hobo. There is also some funny byplay between Barnes and Harry Frazer, who plays Carpenter's effeminate fiancé. The action scenes are well-staged, especially the rescue of a baby boy wandering along railroad tracks ahead of an oncoming train.
The title cards contains plenty of puns and wisecracks.
This film got better as it went along. The early scenes were okay, but didn't seem to interest me too much. The action then picked up and things seemed to move along faster. I particularly liked the relationship between Hines and Breese; they create some funny sight gags, and Breese lends some dignity to the role of hobo. There is also some funny byplay between Barnes and Harry Frazer, who plays Carpenter's effeminate fiancé. The action scenes are well-staged, especially the rescue of a baby boy wandering along railroad tracks ahead of an oncoming train.
The title cards contains plenty of puns and wisecracks.
For those who like fast cars, fast gags and fast action!
JohnHowardReid19 September 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Because they were mostly made by small, independent companies, anxious to retrieve every possible dollar of their investments, "B" films in the early days of DVD (before the major studios woke up to the fact that they were sitting on an inventory bonanza) were formally over-disproportionately represented on DVD.
This amazing development applies to all eras, but most specifically to the silent period when Kodak and Pathé offered producing companies (both big and small) spot cash for 16 millimeter rights. Thus many of these silent films (both those over-praised and many others undeservedly damned) have been preserved, although often albeit in beat-up, far less than pristine copies.
"B" movie companies, always looking for an extra dollar or two, also took great care not to throw away anything that might prove useful, such as work prints, rushes, and even the rolls of film haphazardly printed for the editor's initial show-and-tell. Indeed, such a work print has surfaced in Grapevine Video's DVD, "Burn 'Em Up Barnes" (1921) in which the quality varies all the way from one miserable point out of ten to ten/ten glorious points!
Fortunately, one/ten is the exception rather the rule. Nonetheless, it is distracting, most particularly in the first reel where the quality is generally around 4/10 at the most. But be patient! This is certainly a movie that's worth seeing if you like fast cars, fast gags and fast action. Johnny Hines delivers all three as open-handed producer, deft director and energetic star.
And here's news! You can also catch future director, Richard "Make- It-Fast" Thorpe, in the first of his four on-camera roles.
Incidentally, other than the title itself (which is the name of the hero), this film bears no resemblance whatever to the 1934 thrill- packed (but less expensive and far less comic) serial starring Jack Mulhall.
This amazing development applies to all eras, but most specifically to the silent period when Kodak and Pathé offered producing companies (both big and small) spot cash for 16 millimeter rights. Thus many of these silent films (both those over-praised and many others undeservedly damned) have been preserved, although often albeit in beat-up, far less than pristine copies.
"B" movie companies, always looking for an extra dollar or two, also took great care not to throw away anything that might prove useful, such as work prints, rushes, and even the rolls of film haphazardly printed for the editor's initial show-and-tell. Indeed, such a work print has surfaced in Grapevine Video's DVD, "Burn 'Em Up Barnes" (1921) in which the quality varies all the way from one miserable point out of ten to ten/ten glorious points!
Fortunately, one/ten is the exception rather the rule. Nonetheless, it is distracting, most particularly in the first reel where the quality is generally around 4/10 at the most. But be patient! This is certainly a movie that's worth seeing if you like fast cars, fast gags and fast action. Johnny Hines delivers all three as open-handed producer, deft director and energetic star.
And here's news! You can also catch future director, Richard "Make- It-Fast" Thorpe, in the first of his four on-camera roles.
Incidentally, other than the title itself (which is the name of the hero), this film bears no resemblance whatever to the 1934 thrill- packed (but less expensive and far less comic) serial starring Jack Mulhall.
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