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5.0/10
44
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In context, it's quite good.
If this comedy short had been made just a few years later, I never would have scored it an 8. That's because for 1911 it was very, very good but the broad humor and style would become dated compared to later and much more subtle silent comedies.
In "Calino Wants to Be a Cowboy", Clément Mégé plays the boob, Calino. He wants to live the cowboy life and travels to America to see the West. There he meets some real cowboys who seem to think he's hilarious--as he's totally out of his element and a bit of an idiot as well. During this portion, they make sport of him but also have a guy perform rope tricks. While the rope tricks aren't funny, they are STILL very impressive to watch today.
Later, after Calino returns home, he tries to imitate the rope tricks and shooting like a 'real cowboy'. Naturally, he destroys everything in his apartment. To me, the humor was awfully broad here and doesn't hold up as well as the rest of the film. I especially noticed that the shots were directed no where near the pipes---yet the pipes kept springing leaks after each shot! Finally, unable to imitate them, Calino decides to return to the West where he is welcomed by his old cowboy friends. And, so ends this movie.
Director Jean Durand probably did this one about as well as he could considering it was filmed in France and subtlety wasn't yet a trademark of most silents. The film has a few laughs, the great rope tricks (the best part of the film) and holds up pretty well today. Not a brilliant film, nevertheless to insane silent fans (like myself), it's well worth seeing.
In "Calino Wants to Be a Cowboy", Clément Mégé plays the boob, Calino. He wants to live the cowboy life and travels to America to see the West. There he meets some real cowboys who seem to think he's hilarious--as he's totally out of his element and a bit of an idiot as well. During this portion, they make sport of him but also have a guy perform rope tricks. While the rope tricks aren't funny, they are STILL very impressive to watch today.
Later, after Calino returns home, he tries to imitate the rope tricks and shooting like a 'real cowboy'. Naturally, he destroys everything in his apartment. To me, the humor was awfully broad here and doesn't hold up as well as the rest of the film. I especially noticed that the shots were directed no where near the pipes---yet the pipes kept springing leaks after each shot! Finally, unable to imitate them, Calino decides to return to the West where he is welcomed by his old cowboy friends. And, so ends this movie.
Director Jean Durand probably did this one about as well as he could considering it was filmed in France and subtlety wasn't yet a trademark of most silents. The film has a few laughs, the great rope tricks (the best part of the film) and holds up pretty well today. Not a brilliant film, nevertheless to insane silent fans (like myself), it's well worth seeing.
helpful•00
- planktonrules
- May 3, 2013
Details
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Calino veut être cow-boy
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime6 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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Top Gap
By what name was Calino Wants to Be a Cowboy (1911) officially released in Canada in English?
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