If the combination of “Edward Everett Horton” and “silent comedies” just made you do a double take like, well, Edward Everett Horton, I don’t blame you. A very familiar “fussy gentleman” type in ’30s and ’40s films, and also known for working in television, Horton isn’t someone we associate with “silent clown.” Yet a silent clown he was for a short series in the late 1920s, and it’s only recently that his two-reel comedies have been hauled out of archives and restored. And, all eight of them are available on Undercrank Productions‘ new DVD collection!
Undercrank has been doing incredible things with crowdfunding, which you’ll recognize from their fine DVD sets in the past. Originally preserved by the Library of Congress before being restored for the set, all the Horton shorts have turned out crisp and clear, are beautifully tinted, and are accompanied by Ben Model–they could hardly have looked (and sounded) better in 1927 and 1928. There’s also a handy mini-documentary about the backstory behind this series. If the two-reelers seem to have surprisingly high quality, it’s because no one less than Harold Lloyd himself produced the series ( released under the name Hollywood Productions), and enlisted several of his writers and directors to bring it to life.
He’s slimmer, more heavily-made up and far more active than we’re used to, but he’s very much the same Edward Everett Horton, with flustered reactions and all. Most of his shorts feature “upper crust” settings like mansions and fox hunts, which even at this time seemed to fit Horton’s persona the most. In the words of Undercrank Productions, his best shorts are “right up there with Pass the Gravy, Limousine Love and Big Business as examples of the final peak of silent comedy.” Even the lesser ones (such as Vacation Waves with its overfamiliar “bickering family goes on a trip” storyline) are livened up by Horton’s performances. He was surprisingly game to do slapstick, whether it involved being chased by an angry horse or appearing in drag.
Of the eight shorts–No Publicity (1927), Find the King (1927), Dad’s Choice (1928), Behind the Counter (1928), Horse Shy (1928), Scrambled Weddings (1928), Vacation Waves (1928) and Call Again (1928)–I probably liked No Publicity and Scrambled Weddings the most for their urgent plots and high society settings. (Of course, others will probably float up the list as I rewatch the set!) I also enjoyed how all the top-notch prints treated us to more of those nice, clear shots of the Los Angeles area, including the exteriors of several beautiful mansions that still stand today. If you enjoyed seeing peaks of 1920s L.A. in Harold Lloyd’s own films, you’ll enjoy seeing even more in Horton’s comedies.
If you’re interesting in seeing Horton like we’ve never quite seen him before, this new DVD set is available at on Amazon.com for a reasonable price. I’m always excited to grow my collection of Undercrank releases, and I hope you are as well!
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Silent-ology 
Courtesy of Disney historian JB Kaufman’s website, I only just recently found out Horton did silent comedy! It’s so bizarre to think of, but it is pretty cool. I’ll need to check out this set.
I didn’t know about that either until the Kickstarter came out! He looks so young in this series too.
This is a wonderful production. I was a very proud to sponsor the Kickstarter project. These are very Lloyd-esque. Even the intertitles have similar groan-invoking quips to those films. EEH is absolutely adorable and does drop some classic EEH dtakes. The restorations are astonishingly clean and respectful of the original.
This is a great mini review, thanks! 🙂
Dad’s Choice is a short I’ve always wanted on home video ever since I saw it at Slapsticon more than a decade ago. This is awesome news!
I bet it looks even better than it did ten years ago, too!
Did not know about this film, Looking forward to watching them.
🙂
In addition to these well-deserved kudos, I would like to add the fact that the visual transfers of these films accurately have the look of nitrate film prints! I was blown away at how these appear. Totally impressive!!!!
They’re gorgeous!
What a treasure trove this DVD set sounds like! (no pun intended) Per IMDB, Horton has an extensive career in silent films, including appearing in silent versions of La Boheme and Ruggles of Red Gap. I hope more of his silent work can be released. It’s mind-boggling to think what might still be out there in terms of silent comedy – keeping fingers crossed that more keeps being found!
So am I! There’s a remarkable number of films out there that have been preserved, but not made publicly available yet–lots of hidden gems waiting for the right person to come along!