Down on the Farm (1920)
*** (out of 4)
This Mack Sennett produced comedy clocks in at 50-minutes and it's basically five one-reelers thrown together. Just about every story development takes place in a ten-minute window but the basic story has Louise Fazenda playing a farmer's daughter. When her father can't pay rent, the evil land owner (James Finlayson) asks for his daughter's hand in marriage. The father agrees not realizing that the girl is in love with a simple man (Harry Gribbon) who works on the farm. I really wasn't sure what to expect from DOWN ON THE FARM but it's actually a very funny little film but as it moves along it turns more into melodrama. I was surprised at how effective the first ten-minutes were in regards to laughs because there are plenty of them. The first section of the film shows us around the farm where we see various animals doing various things but they're all extremely funny. One very impressive sequence has a dog leading a cow to a certain part of the land and then the dog goes over and gets him a bucket of water. This entire sequence is really a lot of fun and it's certainly the highlight of the picture. As the film moves along I think it loses some of its steam but I'll at least give the directors credit for keeping it moving at a very fast pace so you never really have time to get bored. The cast are all extremely good with Finlayson really stealing the picture in the role of the villain. The supporting cast also features a nice bit for Ben Turpin and Marie Prevost plays his wife.
*** (out of 4)
This Mack Sennett produced comedy clocks in at 50-minutes and it's basically five one-reelers thrown together. Just about every story development takes place in a ten-minute window but the basic story has Louise Fazenda playing a farmer's daughter. When her father can't pay rent, the evil land owner (James Finlayson) asks for his daughter's hand in marriage. The father agrees not realizing that the girl is in love with a simple man (Harry Gribbon) who works on the farm. I really wasn't sure what to expect from DOWN ON THE FARM but it's actually a very funny little film but as it moves along it turns more into melodrama. I was surprised at how effective the first ten-minutes were in regards to laughs because there are plenty of them. The first section of the film shows us around the farm where we see various animals doing various things but they're all extremely funny. One very impressive sequence has a dog leading a cow to a certain part of the land and then the dog goes over and gets him a bucket of water. This entire sequence is really a lot of fun and it's certainly the highlight of the picture. As the film moves along I think it loses some of its steam but I'll at least give the directors credit for keeping it moving at a very fast pace so you never really have time to get bored. The cast are all extremely good with Finlayson really stealing the picture in the role of the villain. The supporting cast also features a nice bit for Ben Turpin and Marie Prevost plays his wife.