Lou Holtz tells a couple of long, rambling, corny stories.
Watching this, I was surprise. This was the highest paid Broadway entertainer of the 1920s, able to command $6,000 a week, mentioned by George Burns as one of the funniest comedians he knew of? Tastes change, but I'm an old guy, and this wasn't particularly funny.
The thing is, this was Holtz's first appearance in front of a movie camera. To someone used to a live audience, it must have been strange. A live audience gives you a reaction, allows you to gauge your material and adjust your performance. With a movie like this, everyone is busy trying to make sure that it is technically perfect. There are sound men and camera operators doing their work, and they haven't time to laugh or criticize.
So eventually Holtz learned the business, working in venues that actually had audiences, on radio and television. I've seen him there and he's very good. Here, not so much.
Watching this, I was surprise. This was the highest paid Broadway entertainer of the 1920s, able to command $6,000 a week, mentioned by George Burns as one of the funniest comedians he knew of? Tastes change, but I'm an old guy, and this wasn't particularly funny.
The thing is, this was Holtz's first appearance in front of a movie camera. To someone used to a live audience, it must have been strange. A live audience gives you a reaction, allows you to gauge your material and adjust your performance. With a movie like this, everyone is busy trying to make sure that it is technically perfect. There are sound men and camera operators doing their work, and they haven't time to laugh or criticize.
So eventually Holtz learned the business, working in venues that actually had audiences, on radio and television. I've seen him there and he's very good. Here, not so much.
