Wall Street Blues

Billy Bevan stars as a security guard at an investment firm. Many of the things he does to protect the company seem pretty crazy...and funny. But his dedication to the company and his boss are challenged when he learns that an evil man has manipulated the boss into allowing him to marry the boss' daughter. And so, when Billy learns, he sets out on a mission to stop the wedding...all while being chased by a very determined villain (Vernon Dent).

This is a film that certainly will make the PETA-types out there upset. Near the beginning are a couple gags involving a dog....and ultimately it gets blown up (not for real...but in the film). I laughed and laughed...and my wife thought the exploding dog portion was pretty sick...though she did love the other dog gag just before it.

In addition to these insane stunts, the film is chock full of many of the weirdest and most inventive comedy bits I've ever seen. Several employ animation and while they seem very dated today, back in 1924 they were state of the art. Many of the stunts are breathtakingly dangerous as well...such as the car hanging off the cliff portion. Overall, there are so many weird, funny and inventive moments that you cannot believe this film...and you are bound to laugh. I dare you not to!!

In many ways, this Mack Sennett film of the 1920s shows how far the studio had gone since the 1910s. While they were super-popular in the earlier films, stories were practically non-existenet as actors were literally told by directors to 'just wing it' or 'act funny'. Often this mean hitting each other or kicking each other or wildly firing guns at each other. Here in 1924, by contrast, there is a good story and, most importantly, well executed and well crafted stunts and gags. Well worth your time.