Parody trailers are a dime-a-dozen now but they were a real novelty when this short from Educational Pictures ("The spice of the program!") appeared in movie houses. Its satire of "coming attractions" hyperbole encompasses hillbillies singing "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" in the manner of synagogue cantors and a gag set in the Frozen North.
United States
If you've got ten minutes to kill and a high tolerance for 1930s slapstick, Then Came the Yawn is a weird curiosity. It’s definitely worth a watch if you like film history or just want to see how people in 1934 thought "meta" humor worked. If you aren't into grainy, crackling black-and-white shorts, stay far away. You ...
Comparing the cinematic DNA and archive impact of two defining moments in cult history.
Ben K. Blake
Richard Smith
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"If you've got ten minutes to kill and a high tolerance for 1930s slapstick, Then Came the Yawn is a weird curiosity. It’s definitely worth a watch if you like film history or just want to see how people in 1934 thought "meta" humor worked. If you aren't into grainy, crackling black-and-white shorts, stay far away. You will probably find it painful. The whole gimmick is a parody of those bombastic movie trailers that used to blast out of cinema speakers. It feels very much like a Kid in Hollywood..."
