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6.5/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.5/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Call a Cop! remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
"Call a Cop!" from 1931? Look, if you’re not already a super fan of early sound shorts, this one might feel a bit like homework. But for anyone curious about how comedies were made right after the silent era ended, or if you just love a good, old-fashioned goof, it’s worth a quick peek. If you need snappy dialogue and intricate plots, you'll probably bounce off this fast.
The whole setup is pretty straightforward: two girls, played by Gertrude Messinger and Mary Kornman, are home alone. They hear a noise. 👻 Burglar! they think. So, they call their fellas, David Sharpe and Grady Sutton, to come save the day.
You gotta remember, this is 1931. The sound technology was still figuring itself out. So, don't expect crystal-clear audio. What you do get is a lot of physical comedy, almost like a silent film with talking thrown in.
Grady Sutton, bless his heart, does a lot of the nervous, bumbling guy routine that he was so good at. His wide-eyed panic is pretty much his signature. Eddie Baker also shows up briefly, and he’s got that gruff, no-nonsense look down perfectly, even if he doesn’t do much. It’s a very specific kind of face for the era.
The boys arrive, all ready to be brave, but mostly they just trip over each other and get into mild scrapes. There's a bit where they're tiptoeing around, trying to be stealthy, and it just turns into a tangle of limbs. It’s a classic bit, done many times since, but still has a certain charm here.
What struck me was how fast everything moved. No lingering shots, no deep character development. It's gag, gag, next gag. Like a visual punchline every few seconds. You can tell they were trying to pack as much slapstick as possible into a short runtime.
There's a moment where one of the guys tries to open a door with a broom, and it just splinters. It's not a huge laugh, but it’s a nice, practical effect. And the girls spend a good chunk of the film just screaming, which feels right for the era. 📢 The sound mixing itself is kind of its own character sometimes. You get these loud bangs that feel a little too loud, then whispers you almost miss. It's a charm, not a flaw, of these early talkies.
The "burglar" itself is exactly what you’d expect from this kind of short. No real suspense, just an excuse for the boys to look foolish. And they do look foolish, in the best possible way. The whole thing feels a bit like a stage play sometimes, with people entering and exiting rooms. The cameras were probably still quite bulky then, making elaborate outdoor shoots tough for a short like this.
The ending kind of just... happens. No big resolution, just fades out after the main kerfuffle. You won't find anything deep here. But if you’re looking to kill about twenty minutes with some harmless, frantic fun, and you don’t mind a bit of vintage acting, give Call a Cop! a shot. It’s a fun little piece of film history.
IMDb 5.6
1922
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