THE STOLEN JOOLS is a short, star-packed film that was released to raise money for a tuberculosis charity. It was sponsored by a cigarette company, so I'll let you take that in for a moment. The format is to whip through a number of brief vignettes, pretty much all of them featuring some famous actor from the era. So the viewer is treated to Edward G. Robinson doing his gangster shtick, Buster Keaton prat-falling as a cop, and Laurel and Hardy having trouble with their fall-apart car. There are turns from starlets like Joan Crawford and Fay Wray, and even the kids from Our Gang pop up at one stage.
It hardly makes for proper film-making or intelligent viewing, but as a novelty piece it works, I suppose. The main problem is that a number of the faces are going to be unfamiliar some 80-plus years after this film was made so that I didn't know who most were. Only the most die-hard cinema buffs with a huge interest in the era will truly appreciate this.
It hardly makes for proper film-making or intelligent viewing, but as a novelty piece it works, I suppose. The main problem is that a number of the faces are going to be unfamiliar some 80-plus years after this film was made so that I didn't know who most were. Only the most die-hard cinema buffs with a huge interest in the era will truly appreciate this.