Pool Sharks (1915)
*** (out of 4)
W.C. Fields made his screen debut in this silent comedy, which not too many think very highly of. In the film Fields is doing battle with a rival over a woman they both have the hots for. To settle the fight, the two agree to play a game of pool, which goes rather strangely to say the least. Those expecting the classic Fields might be disappointed here because the film has more to do with some of the work Chaplin was doing at the time rather than what we think of when we think of Fields. Not too many people are very high on this short but I've always enjoyed it for the slapstick. Slapstick was the most popular thing in silent comedy and I think the work here is pretty well done, especially early on in the film. The pool game is where the comedy goes flat as we get some good looking stop-motion animated sequence, which, while pretty, are dull in terms of laughs.
*** (out of 4)
W.C. Fields made his screen debut in this silent comedy, which not too many think very highly of. In the film Fields is doing battle with a rival over a woman they both have the hots for. To settle the fight, the two agree to play a game of pool, which goes rather strangely to say the least. Those expecting the classic Fields might be disappointed here because the film has more to do with some of the work Chaplin was doing at the time rather than what we think of when we think of Fields. Not too many people are very high on this short but I've always enjoyed it for the slapstick. Slapstick was the most popular thing in silent comedy and I think the work here is pretty well done, especially early on in the film. The pool game is where the comedy goes flat as we get some good looking stop-motion animated sequence, which, while pretty, are dull in terms of laughs.