Charley Bowers is remarkable not as a silent comedian, which is what he principally was. A bit like Harry Langdon, but blander, lacking athletic grace or much daredevil prowess (despite his supposed circus background), he could be said to have earned his decades in oblivion by failing to create a distinctive character onscreen. Bowers' true talent lay in filmmaking animation and visual effects, and also in surrealism, which is what he used those skills to create.
Now You Tell One (1926) is set in a club for liars, and illustrates a number of tall tales, allowing Bowers the actor to step into the background for much of the action. The opening skit shows 47 elephants marching into the Capitol Building. We know, of course, that no short subject could mobilize so many pachyderms like Hannibal, so we assume that the special effects artist has multiplied the number of beasts, probably starting with just one.
Now You Tell One (1926) is set in a club for liars, and illustrates a number of tall tales, allowing Bowers the actor to step into the background for much of the action. The opening skit shows 47 elephants marching into the Capitol Building. We know, of course, that no short subject could mobilize so many pachyderms like Hannibal, so we assume that the special effects artist has multiplied the number of beasts, probably starting with just one.
- 6/21/2013
- by David Cairns
- MUBI
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