Waltzing Around (1929) User Reviews

Longer....not necessarily better.

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 24 December 2019]

"Waltzing Around" was recently posted to YouTube and I was thrilled to see it. This is because it is a very early Clark & McCullough film, and I've only seen some of their later pictures. What makes this one different is that it's longer than the ones they made in the 1930s and plays more like a full-length film. The print itself is in fair condition...a bit scratchy and dark. However, it's very watchable and the sound is good.

When the story begins, Harold and Gus (Clark & McCullough) stop to destroy a green house's windows for kicks. Soon, they get jobs selling concessions at the boxing match. They really only want to watch the match and do almost nothing to sell their products. Soon, Harold accidentally drops his tray of soft drinks and they hit the champ on the head. Folks think Gus knocked the guy out and they soon arrange for a boxing match...with Harold acting as the referee.

When you see a boxing comedy, you expect that the boxing match will be a fiasco...with little adherence to the rules. However, in the case of "Waltzing Around", they don't even make much of a pretense...the boxing never really occurs and the whole thing is a mess. A mildly funny mess, yes, though not one that you must see unless you are a die-hard fan of the comedy team. A few laughs here and there but mostly just an early and not especially successful comedy when you compare it to some of their contemporaries.

Great pacing and acting not typical for a 1929 sound film

[comedyshorts-1 · 8/10 · 9 July 2015]

Either you love Clark and McCullough or you don't. I am one who loves the team.

For years, only their RKO 2 reel shorts have turned up for modern audiences to view and comment on. All their 1928-1929 Fox films and negatives were destroyed in a major nitrate fire. Only Reel 2 of The Belle of Samoa exists in 35mm at the Library of Congress. There are two complete 16mm prints in a private collection - The Belle of Samoa and Waltzing Around.

Clark has been referred to as Groucho on Speed, while McCullough is overshadowed by his partner's energy. Here Clark is still Clark but a little more subdued. McCullough has more dialog and humorous bits of business.

Florence Lake in her third film roll as George's girlfriend has a couple of good exchanges with Otto Fries. Later she became better known as Edgar Kennedy's wife in his series.

Harry Sweet, who directed Waltzing Around, became head of the RKO shorts dept. He may have been instrumental in getting the team their own series there.

The film opens with the boys on the open road. They walk by a greenhouse, then come back. Temptation wins out, all but one window is broken. The farmer comes after them with rifle in hand. That night they become vendors in a sports arena irritating the crowd. When a boxer is accidentally knocked out. the promoter assumes McCullough is responsible and hires him as a replacement.

Waltzing Around has great gags, pacing and acting that is not typical of a sound film released in May of 1929. It was copyrighted 5 months earlier in January with a running time of 28 minutes on 4 reels..