Circus Daze (1928) Online

Poodles Hanneford was a circus clown, best known for his equestrian act. When the Weiss brothers decided to try him out for the movies in the waning days of silent comedy, they settled, in this short, on a circus background. And when this short is about circus gags, it is very good. Mr. Hanneford may remind the latter-day viewer a bit of Shemp Howard in his reactions, albeit without all the tics and squeaks -- which I always found more annoying than funny anyway. His falls and other stuntwork are fine, and were this short no more than those, it would be excellent, a documentary of the sort of clowning that went on in that era.

Unhappily, however, it is more than that, and lessened thereby. Mr. Hanneford's reactions are broad, suitable for a three-ring circus, but given the comparative intimacy of a movie screen, overly broad and mechanical. In addition, there are too many 'clever' titles early on that distract from the real fun -- including a version of the famous equestrian act with some too obvious wirework, but some real and beautiful falls.

Given time and patience, Mr. Hanneford might have developed into a worthwhile screen presence, but this was 1928 and silent comedy's days were numbered.

So see it for the circus gags and take some pleasure in survival of some real and distinctive entertainment.

This is a silent comedy starring Poodles Hanneford and made by the Weiss Brothers--a studio that competed with Hal Roach in the later days of silent comedies. It is the first Poodles Hanneford film I have seen and I have never heard of him before I bought the DVD "Weiss-O-Rama"--a collection of shorts from this long-defunct film company.

While the film certainly doesn't rival the best comics of the day, it is a very agreeable little film--and better than the Snub Pollard shorts on the same DVD (which is odd, because Pollard COULD be very funny).

The film consists of Poodles working at a traveling circus doing odd jobs. The first involves grooming a horse, though in a rather dangerous scene, an elephant ends up laying on him! ALong the way, it becomes obvious that he and the Ring Master are in love with the same lady. However, near the end, the dirty-minded Ring Master attacks the lady and she faints--just when she's supposed to go on with her act. In a pinch, the owner tells Poodles to dress in drag and do the act! While unconventional, it certainly was exciting and the day is saved.

The film has no huge laughs but is consistently clever and likable. Not a must-see film by any stretch but one that is still enjoyable over 80 years later.