Dear Ol' Pal

Dear 'Ol Pal (1923)

*** (out of 4)

Funny one-reeler has best friends ('Snub' Pollard, James Parrott) constantly fight over anything and then making up moments later. Soon both men are trying to help a woman (Marie Mosquini) they love but can't do so over fighting to be the one to help. This is a pretty funny short that manages to be quite charming while everything going on could be looked at as being annoying. I had recently gone through some Pollard and Parrott short where it seemed neither actor had enough timing to make the comedy wok but that's just the opposite here as both hit a perfect stride together and really deliver on the laughs. The laughs are pretty simple as we normally see the two men asking one another if they want to do something, both agree and then both can't agree to which one should go first, which in return leads to a fight. This simple premise gets quite a few laughs due to the chemistry between the men and their timing. The wild, over-the-top and down on the ground fist fights are funny enough to make this film worth viewing by fans of silents.