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6.1/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.1/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Ambassador Bill remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have about seventy minutes and want to see a guy fix a national crisis with a deck of cards, Ambassador Bill is worth a look. It is mostly for people who like that specific, slow-talking 1930s charm. If you hate movies where Americans act like they know everything, you will probably find this one pretty annoying. 🤠
Will Rogers plays Bill Harper. He is sent to a place called Sylvania because the politics there are a total mess.
The first thing he does is start making the embassy look like a regular house. He is just... so relaxed while everyone else is wearing fancy uniforms and plotting murders.
I noticed early on that the sound quality is a bit hit or miss. Sometimes the dialogue sounds like it was recorded inside a giant tin can.
There is this kid, the little King, who is played by Tad Alexander. He looks so stiff and miserable in his royal outfits.
The best parts are when Bill just treats him like a normal boy. They play baseball in the palace, and it feels like the most genuine thing in the whole movie.
I kept waiting for something big to happen with the revolution outside. But the 'civil unrest' mostly looks like a few guys shouting in a hallway.
It reminded me a little of the tone in The Old Hokum Bucket, just with more medals and fancy hats.
Ray Milland is in this too, looking incredibly young. He plays a junior diplomat who is mostly there to look handsome and be part of a romance subplot that I honestly forgot about halfway through.
There is a scene where Bill is teaching the locals how to play poker. The way Rogers handles the cards is clearly something he has done a thousand times in real life.
He is not acting much; he is just being Will Rogers. Which is fine, because he is very good at it.
The villains are so obvious they might as well be wearing signs. Gustav von Seyffertitz plays the main schemer, and his name is almost as intimidating as his face.
He stares at people with this intense look that feels like it belongs in a darker movie, maybe something like The Golem. But here, he just gets outsmarted by a guy who likes to whistle.
I love the weird little details. Like how the 'assassin' looks like he’s trying too hard to be sneaky.
One guy gets hit with a baseball and the reaction shot lingers for way too long. It is supposed to be funny, but it just becomes awkward silence.
The movie is definitely a product of its time. It has that very 'America is the best' vibe that was everywhere back then.
It feels a bit like Ridgeway of Montana in how it handles the 'outsider coming to town' trope. Only instead of the West, it is a dusty European palace.
There is a very brief cameo by Ben Turpin. If you aren't looking for him, you might miss him.
His eyes are still doing that famous thing, and it made me laugh more than most of the scripted jokes.
The ending is very rushed. Everything gets solved because Bill is just a nice guy who knows how to talk to people.
It is not a masterpiece, and it feels a bit thin in the middle. Like they had a few good sketches and tried to stretch them into a plot.
But it is cozy. It is the kind of movie you put on a Sunday afternoon when you don't want to think about anything heavy.
I liked it more than Blindfold, mostly because Rogers is just so likable.
If you like seeing 1930s sets that look like they are made of cardboard, you will have a good time. Just don't expect a deep political thriller.
It is just a movie about a guy who thinks everyone would be happier if they just played more games. Maybe he was right. 🃏
IMDb 6.1
1927
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