Romeo and Juliet

In this 1924 irreverent deconstruction of the Stratfordian canon, Mack Sennett’s stable of comedic eccentrics dismantles the somber architecture of Shakespeare’s 'Romeo and Juliet.' Far from the moonlit yearning of traditional stagings, this burlesque transmutes the tragic destiny of the Veronese lovers into a kinetic frenzy of slapstick and ocular acrobatics. Ben Turpin, the cross-eyed titan of the silent era, embodies a Romeo whose visual disorientation serves as a literal and metaphorical lens for the film’s chaotic energy. The narrative bypasses the existential dread of the original source material, opting instead for a series of escalating gags involving precarious balconies, misunderstood intentions, and the physical vocabulary of the Sennett 'fun factory.' Supported by the reliable buffoonery of Billy Bevan and the comedic timing of Dot Farley, the film functions as a satirical critique of the burgeoning 'prestige' cinema of the 1920s, replacing poetic pentameter with the visceral rhythm of the custard pie and the pratfall. It is a work of pure iconoclasm, where the dignity of the Capulets and Montagues is sacrificed on the altar of low-brow brilliance.