The eighth of Pete Smith's GOOFY MOVIES is a typical amusing entry in the series. After a newsreel showing a fashion show from 1913, replete with Smith's snarky comments, we are subjected to a mash-up of clips from silent movies, assembled in DR. HORSEKNUCKLE AND MR. HIVES.
This one appears to be cut from a single movie, given the persistence of the lead actor. This sort of short, in which the wits of the 1930s made fun of old movies, because they were so modern and the movies were so out of date was a common sort of short. Modern audiences will likewise mock old movies, because we are so modern; presumably, our children will make fun of our efforts, because they will be so modern. It's a human foible throughout history.
Yet Smith's commentary is funny, and the acting in whatever movie was sliced up into DR. HORSEKNUCKLE ET.C. is so out of date that I can't help but laugh. Isn't that what comedy is supposed to do?