Kid Boots

... this is a 1926 silent starring Eddie Cantor in the title role and costarring Clara Bow. This film is a great treat because we get to see how the musical comedy "Kid Boots" was turned into an effective silent film. Kid Boots works in a tailor's shop and is about to get a beating from the beau of Clara McCoy (Clara Bow) when he is saved from harm by Tom Sterling (Lawrence Gray). Likewise, when Tom's soon-to-be ex-wife tries to prove that they have been reunited so she can annul their divorce decree and get in on Tom's recent large inheritance, Kid Boots comes to the rescue and claims the two have not been alone together. I know this sounds strange, but chalk it up to divorce law in the early 20th century. Tom then runs off with Kid Boots - his witness - to a mountain resort until the time for his final divorce decree to become final has come and gone to evade his ex-wife's trickery.

At the resort Tom meets a girl that he falls for, and Kid Boots runs into Clara McCoy again, still accompanied by her brutish boyfriend. Clara prefers Kid Boots because she "prefers reliable men to good-looking ones" a title card tells us. At the resort Tom's ex-wife and her lawyers soon follow, along with all of the comic routines and mix-ups that you're accustomed to seeing in Cantor's sound films, if you've been fortunate enough to view those rarely seen comic gems. The film is quite good and it didn't surprise me that it was a Paramount silent that someone else had restored and presented.

Eddie Cantor was already an established stage star when his Broadway musical-comedy "Kid Boots" opened in December of 1923. He'd been headlining annual editions of the Ziegfeld Follies since 1917, and had toured the country in Vaudeville for years before that. "Kid Boots" proved to be a smash hit that ran for over a year (an impressive run in those days) but when Paramount signed Cantor to recreate his role for the cameras it was no sure bet that the venture would succeed. Movies were still silent, of course, and much of Eddie's appeal depended on sound: he was known for singing comic novelty songs in a high, reedy voice, and delivering wisecracks at a rapid pace. His Ziegfeld co-stars Will Rogers and W.C. Fields had tried their luck in the movies and although both were moderately successful their silent film appearances were never as popular with audiences as their live shows. Was there any reason to expect Eddie Cantor could do any better?

Well, oddly enough, he did. Kid Boots, the movie, is a highly enjoyable confection that packs a lot of laughs into its brisk 60-minute running time and never wears out its welcome. Mr. Cantor comes off surprisingly well in his silent incarnation, throwing himself into some strenuous-looking physical routines and emphasizing his trademark look of pop-eyed surprise at key moments without overdoing it. It helps that the writers equipped him with a steady supply of sight gags, some of which may be a tad familiar to silent comedy buffs but which still prompt laughter today. (I was lucky enough to see this film with an audience, and can attest that it's a real crowd-pleaser.) It also helps that the supporting cast offers notable examples of what was called 'feminine pulchritude' at the time: Eddie is paired with the one and only Clara Bow, seen here just as her career was starting to accelerate. Eddie and Clara make an unexpectedly credible couple, both bright-eyed and exuberant. They have a classic "meet cute" scene when Eddie, who plays a tailor's assistant, accidentally sews his suspenders to her dress and then pulls her along behind himself when he has to leave in a hurry. Also on hand is the exquisitely pretty Billie Dove, who unfortunately isn't given much to do, as well as fiery Natalie Kingston, a veteran of the Mack Sennett Studio, who plays 'bad girl' Carmen Mendoza. We're told by a sassy title card that Carmen has Missouri legs, "the kind that have to be shown," and a nice lazy pan shot of Miss Kingston provides that service. I guess the filmmakers were trying to compensate for the loss of the stage show's dancing girls; in any case, I'm not complaining!

The plot, as might be anticipated, isn't what you'd call substantial. Eddie, a hapless fellow known as "Kid Boots," is rescued from a bully by a handsome young playboy named Tom; in return, Kid agrees to help Tom get a divorce from his gold-digging wife. (It's made clear that the scheming wife, the aforementioned Carmen Mendoza, tricked Tom into marriage and that they've never actually lived together; so, in short, Tom's a decent chap who simply found himself in a spot of trouble.) Most of the story takes place at a scenic mountain resort, a setting which allows for gags on the golf course, gags by the pool, and more gags in the lobby. The thin plot is really just an excuse for comedy routines, and happily there are some good ones along the way. I especially liked the bit where Eddie succeeds in convincing Clara that he's with another woman by positioning himself next to an open door, rolling up one sleeve and playing the half-concealed "woman" himself. I also enjoyed the scene in the resort's clinic, where Eddie finds himself on the massage table, manhandled by a masseur who turns out to be the bully from the opening sequence, jealous of Clara and eager for revenge. (Chaplin fans will be reminded of a similar routine in his 1917 comedy The Cure.) It all winds up with a breakneck, race-to-the-rescue horseback chase over a winding mountain trail, which leads in turn to some Harold Lloyd-style thrill comedy. One moment, Eddie and Clara are dangling from a rope off a precipice, with a single parachute between them, and the next they've managed to save themselves, untangle the plot, help out good old Tom and defeat that no-good Carmen, all in the space of the film's last five minutes.

This movie is just the thing to lift your mood on a rainy afternoon. Cantor's follow-up feature Special Delivery is also enjoyable, but I'd rank this one a notch or two higher. Kid Boots, like its lead players, is cute as a button, short and sweet.

Fired from his job in a tailor's shop, comic Eddie Cantor (as Samuel "Kid" Boots) becomes companion to handsome millionaire Lawrence Gray (as Thomas "Tom" Sterling). The men find work as golf instructor and caddy at a country club, while Mr. Gray waits for his divorce to become final. There, Mr. Cantor re-encounters pretty swimming instructor Clara Bow (as Clara McCoy), from the opening skit, which he played out with her burly boyfriend Malcolm Waite (as "Big" Boyle).

At the club, Cantor goes crazy for Ms. Bow while Gray romances beautiful Billie Dove (as Eleanor Belmore), the boss' daughter. Meanwhile, Gray's leggy wife Natalie Kingston (as Carmen Mendoza) checks into the room next to her husband, to cause trouble. She proceeds to "vamp" Cantor aside, in order to spend the night alone with Gray; if she is able to do this, their divorce won't become final, and she can partake of his inherited millions. Cantor must save Gray and win Bow.

This was a successful film debut for stage star Cantor, who might have joined Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd if this had been released a decade earlier. As a film, "Kid Boots" may not equal the best of those other comedians' works, but you can see Cantor had the silent stuff. Most impressive is the film's exciting end, which features a very impressive cliff-hanging sequence. This is pure cinema, but Cantor includes great stage bits, too. How he makes Bow jealous, and scenes with Mr. Waite are highlights.

******** Kid Boots (10/4/26) Frank Tuttle ~ Eddie Cantor, Clara Bow, Malcolm Waite, Lawrence Gray

Eddie Cantor hit the ground running in Hollywood with what has to be one of the most opened-out stage adaptations in film history. What started life as a Broadway musical has become a high-octane silent comedy filmed extensively out and about on location in California, bludgeoning the audience with a steady succession of vivid sight gags and ending with a remarkably convincing-looking (and funny) climax worthy of Harold Lloyd with the leads hanging from a sheer cliff face. Despite being famed for his singing and his distinctive voice, Eddie has the perfect face (and facility for physical comedy) to be a natural for silent movies; and is beautifully matched by a most winsome Clara Bow.

Movie actors realize they've made an impact in the entertainment world when Hollywood produces a motion picture about their life. That's precisely what happened to vaudeville, stage and screen actor Eddie Cantor in 1953 when Warner Brothers gave him the full-blown biopic treatment in its 'The Eddie Cantor Story' with actor Keefe Brasselle playing 'Banjo Eyes.' Cantor's debut in feature films came when he was 34, a relatively late age to be be starting out in cinema. His October 1926 movie, "Kid Boots," was a silent version of the 1923 hit musical of the same name he starred in for an incredible 489 straight Broadway performances. The film expands Cantor's lead role as a wheeling-and-dealing caddie at a private country club's golf course, who becomes a witness in a court case for a playboy in the middle of a messy divorce with a gold-digging wife. Clara Bow serves as Eddie's love interest.

Cantor, born and raised in New York City, dove into the entertainment business early on, displaying a knack of singing and slinging jokes in saloons, where a young Jimmy Durante played piano for his act. He graduated to vaudeville before producer Florenz Ziegfeld slotted him into his 'Ziegfeld Follies of 1917.' Working alongside Will Rogers, Fanny Brice and W. C. Fields, Cantor proved his worth with his melodic voice and his sense of self-deprecating humor. When on tour, he briefly dated future 'Valley of the Dolls' author Jacqueline Susann.

His prominence in the 1923 play 'Kid Boots' showcased his talents even more. Inventor Lee De Forest hired Cantor to appear in one of his first sound movie recordings to demonstrate his recent invention Phonofilm. Eddie sings two songs from the play 'Kid Boots.' De Forest's "A Few Moments with Eddie Cantor" was the innovator's biggest name star for his series showing how the first sound impulses imbedded on a celluloid strip could play in perfect sync with the picture.

The play also had a profound influence on Frances Rose Shore. As an aspiring singer, she sang one of the play's most popular songs, "Dinah," during several radio auditions. When she was being introduced by a famous New York City radio disc jockey, he had trouble remembering her name but knew she was going to sing her signature song. So he quickly called her the 'Dinah girl.' She loved the name so much she adopted it to ever be known as Dinah Shore.

Eddie Cantor used the movie "Kid Boots" as a springboard to introduce himself to a variety of media, including radio and television. In the following year he was offered the lead in Warner Brothers' 1927 "The Jazz Singer." But along with George Jessel he turned down the part, missing out on one of the biggest historical turning-points in cinematic history.