A Few Moments with Eddie Cantor, Star of 'Kid Boots' (1923) Online

If you'd like to get a taste of what old-time Vaudeville was like, take a look at this fascinating and amusing talkie short. Headliner Eddie Cantor delivers a six-minute routine consisting of several jokes, two songs, and one comic poem, performed before a black backdrop in an empty studio. It's too bad the filmmakers couldn't have captured him in front of a live audience-- as it is, Eddie's jokes are met with eerie silence --but at least George Olsen's terrific dance band was present (off-camera) to provide jaunty jazz accompaniment. This short captures Cantor's act at the point when his career was really taking off, when he was starring in the Broadway musical comedy "Kid Boots," produced by legendary showman Flo Ziegfeld. The film was made at the midtown Manhattan studio of Lee De Forest, pioneer of the sound-on-film process known as 'Phonofilm.' Between 1922 and 1928 De Forest made dozens of talkie shorts featuring prominent performers such as Cantor, DeWolf Hopper, Weber & Fields, Eubie Blake, etc., films that are invaluable records of the great stage stars of the day.

Mr. Cantor sings two funny songs, "O Gee Georgie," and one he co-authored with a punchline for a title: "The Dumber They Come, the Better I Like 'Em ('Cause the Dumb Ones Know How to Make Love)." If he was uncomfortable performing his act without an audience you'd never guess it from his exuberant delivery. Eddie skips, dances, scatters imaginary rose petals from his derby hat, etc., looking very much like the caricatured version of himself that would pop up in so many Warner Bros cartoons in later years. Most of his jokes are "groaners," but Cantor (like Milton Berle, Johnny Carson, etc.) was a comic who got more mileage out of the jokes that bomb than the ones that score. That's why I regret there wasn't a live audience in the studio when this film was made: if they'd groaned at his punchlines, Eddie would've tossed out comeback lines funnier than the original jokes.

I wish Lee De Forest had been able to capture footage of Bert Williams, Eva Tanguay, and W.C. Fields performing his juggling act when he was still young and nimble, but as it stands I'm grateful for the survival of the films that were made. This one is a treat, and it's available on DVD from a couple of different sources. Someday, however, it would be terrific news for Vaudeville buffs to hear that all the surviving De Forest Phonofilms have been restored and released in a single collection. If that happens, someone please let me know!

When I found this film, I was shocked at the date. That's because this little experimental film starring comedian Eddie Cantor was made in 1923--and yet it had sound! This was four years before THE JAZZ SINGER, plus the quality of the print and sound was superb. So often, sound films made in the late 1920s had such major sound problems they are practically unwatchable. Now this ISN'T to say that this was a great film--Cantor's act was pure corn (i.e., very old fashioned and not especially funny humor), though his songs were a lot better than his awful jokes. The first song, believe it or not, is about the benefits of dating dumb girls! It's far from politically correct and pretty racy, but also pretty funny as is the final song on this short. It's watchable, but far from the quality of some of his later work, such as GETTING A TICKET--a very agreeable short from 1930. As far as recommending the film goes, the average person will probably find it dull, but to historians and film buffs, it's an important must-see.

This is the earliest talking film I've ever seen. I've been a fan of Cantor for years and do indeed enjoy this film. Although a far cry from later talking pictures, it did present clear example in 1924 that talking pictures were just around the corner. Although somewhat crude, it does manage to entertain me and I'm sure much more so to the audiences 80 years ago. I think it should be presented more often today as a real pioneering film. Since he's not wearing his usual blackface, it shouldn't be too much of a problem these days to those of who who carry a chip on their shoulders about blackface acts. Other than Edison attempts of synchronizing recordings on wax cylinders to motion pictures & Max Fleischer's partnership w/ Dr. Lee DeForest presenting some talking cartoons, this has to be a first. Watch it if you can, it's real history.

Starting today and up to and maybe after I see Les Miserables, I'm reviewing musical movies in nearly chronological order starting with this Lee De Forest Phonofilm short starring Eddie Cantor, a comedian and song-and-dance man who was a big star on Broadway. He sings a couple of songs of which the first-"The Dumber They Are, The Better I Like Them" is self-explanatory! He also tells many pretty funny jokes. Since this short is only seven minutes long, there's really nothing more than that to describe but since this was one of the earliest sound films, whatever audiences that watched this must have been overwhelmed simply by the what was coming out of it! So if you watch this thinking of that timeline, you should have no trouble enjoying A Few Moments with Eddie Cantor, star of Kid Boots.

While the film quality might not be spectacular, A Few Moments With Eddie Cantor is a treat for Cantor fans and comedy fans alike. This precursor to his lavish films with Goldwyn is an intimate window into what a stand-up performance by Cantor must have been like. Some of the jokes are dated but no less enjoyable, delivered delightfully by the one and only "Apostle of Pep." One can't help but laugh and sing along with Eddie as he gives out with lively renditions of "Oh Gee, Georgie" and "The Dumber They Come (The Better I Like 'Em)." It's unfortunate that AMC no longer plays this short from time to time, as they used to. More people, I think would be turned onto Eddie Cantor. That's how I was introduced to him.