Black Oxfords (1924)
** (out of 4)
Disappointing comedy from Mack Sennett has a mother and daughter getting threatened by a banker that if they don't pay their mortgage then they'll be tossed out of the house. The son (Sid Smith) would be more than happy to help but he's locked up in prison but his friend (Vernon Dent) finds a way for them to escape. This is a pretty uneven short from start to finish and sadly it really doesn't have any laughs that really work. I think the biggest problem is that there's simply not too much life in the film and every time they do try to do something funny it usually ends up falling flat on its face. This includes a rather long sequence where the men get dressed up in a cow outfit and a farmer comes in to milk a cow. This scene just doesn't have any comic timing to it and by the time it's over you're looking at your watch. The flatness pretty much runs throughout the film and even the cast can't do much to help. Both Smith and Dent appear to be giving it their all but they can get zero laughs. Anna Dodge plays a supporting part but she can't do much with the material either. BLACK OXFORDS is just way too flat for anyone to watch unless they're die-hard fans of Sennett.
