"The Perfect Clown"*** (out of ****)
Larry Semon is "The Perfect Clown" (1925) this April Fool's Day.
It may be an example of revisionist history but some claim silent movie comedian Larry Semon was a top box office attraction in the 1920s. In an attempt to measure his success, and impress modern-day audiences, they say his popularity rivaled Charlie Chaplin. These kinds of statements may have meant something to me if I hadn't heard the same things said of Harold Lloyd and Harry Langdon. Exactly how many comedians rivaled Chaplin's popularity?
Nevertheless, lets split the difference and say audiences were aware of Larry Semon and he had fans of his style of comedy. Whatever his level of fame in the 1920s he is nearly forgotten today. Like many comics of his era, Semon got his start in vaudeville, where his parents were also performers with a magical act. Semon's first screen credit dates back to 1915 when he signed with Vitagraph Studios (which was eventually bought by Warner Brothers). His screen persona was a familiar one among comedians which utilized his diminutive stature and puny physique. He played a good-natured young man that would use his quick wit to get himself out of precarious situations. There was also a lot of physical comedy in his two-reelers and movies. While a comparison is not exactly fair you could say he had elements of Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton in his character.
"The Perfect Clown" was released towards the end of Semon's career (he died in 1928) and in the same year as his most famous comedy, "The Wizard of Oz" (1925). If "The Wizard of Oz" was Semon's masterpiece (as Semon intended) either by popularity or critical acclaim, "The Perfect Clown" is lacking. Its plot doesn't warrant a running time of 50 minutes. This would have been a nice, mildly pleasant two-reeler. To fill in the time "The Perfect Clown" veers slightly off course though admittedly along this detour creates some nice comedy sequences.
Semon stars as Larry Ladd, a man who started at the bottom to work his way down. He is an office clerk that is given the responsibility to deposit $10,000 at a bank. Naturally, he arrives at the bank late and is now stuck holding on to grip bag with the money. Paranoia kicks in when Larry reads a newspaper headline about a bank messenger that was killed while carrying $10,000 (what a coincidence)! What if Larry meets the same fate? He must quickly and safely head home and get ready for his date with his sweetheart (and co-worker) Rose (Dorothy Dwan, the real-life wife of Semon).
Unless I missed something it is never revealed what type of company Larry works at, what the financial transaction was for and why Larry was the one entrusted with this responsibility. It is all what Hitchcock would call the MacGuffin and viewers can live with that as the situation is relatable and entertaining enough to hold our interest.
The set-up of this premise takes up approximately 20 minutes of screen time including a rather lengthy character introduction of Larry centered around his inability to pay his rent as he tries to leave his apartment and head for work without his landlady (Kate Price) and her son (Oliver Hardy) catching him. This sequence features some good comedy routines such as Larry "shadowing" his landlady although Keaton did this type of thing better and seemingly effortlessly. Semon's variation of it isn't as polished.
Where "The Perfect Clown" begins to lose me is around the half-way mark. At this point, Larry teams up with another co-worker, Snowball (African-American comedian G. Howe Black) and the two are put in a comedy/horror situation after their car breaks down, they rest at a cemetery and are stuck in a scary looking basement until morning. What I don't like about this is it ultimately takes us away from the movie main objective, Larry going home. This scenario establishes a completely new environment and sub-plot to serve as a justification for its existence. It merely prolongs the running time of the movie. There are laughs created by this situation and for that, I decided to recommend the movie but "The Perfect Clown" engages in too many "comedy diversions".
From this comedy/horror sequence, the movie turns into a chase comedy. More specifically a cops and robbers chase comedy with an exaggerated number of cops chasing after Larry, recalling Buster Keaton's terrific two-reeler comedy, "Cops" (1922). Where again Keaton created better visual gags.
G. Howe Black (whose real name was Spencer Bell) was a forerunner to African-American comedians like Willie Best playing characters that would suggest racial stereotypes such as black people are illiterate and lazy. The title cards for Snowball's dialogue are written phonetically, as Snowball would say the words. What I liked about the character, however, was he was essentially treated as an equal with Larry. They both acted cowardly and got into trouble. Neither of them is the brains of the team.
It will also be fun for Laurel & Hardy fans to see Oliver Hardy in a comedy minus Stan Laurel. Hardy often appeared with either Charley Chase or Semon prior to his pairing with Laurel. He doesn't exhibit much comedy greatness here though. His primary role is to play antagonist to Semon and throw his weight around, literally. By 1925 Hardy had appeared opposite Laurel but it wouldn't be until 1927 when the boys were an official team.
"The Perfect Clown" is not a perfectly structured comedy. It becomes three comedies in one and in the process loses some of its focus. There are laughs however and some may find Semon's persona enduring. For me, this isn't really the best showcase for Semon and does nothing to establish the uniqueness of the character.
The movie was directed by Fred C. Newmeyer, who collaborated often with Harold Lloyd and directed two of Lloyd's best-known comedies; "The Freshman" (1925) and "Safety Last!" (1923). One of the movie's writers, Thomas J. Crizer, was credited as a writer on another excellent Harold Lloyd comedy, "The Kid Brother" (1927).
If "The Perfect Clown" does tickle your funny bone, you will be able to check out some of his two-reelers on YouTube. There isn't a Blu-ray or DVD collection I am willing to recommend. Also, check out his version of "The Wizard of Oz". I find his character much more appealing in that movie.
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