DbcultAccessing Vault...
5.1/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.1/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Dooley's the Name remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have a soft spot for grainy footage and performers who clearly miss the theater stage, then yeah, give it a look. It’s a short, weird trip into the past.
History buffs will probably get a kick out of seeing J. Francis Dooley in motion. If you need a plot that actually makes sense or high-definition explosions, you are going to absolutely hate this. 🍿
I found a copy of this lately and it feels like looking at someone's old family photos, but the family is way more talented than mine. J. Francis Dooley has this energy that just doesn't exist anymore.
He moves his hands constantly. It’s like he doesn't know what to do with them when the camera is rolling, so he just keeps gesturing at nothing.
Corinne Sales is there too, and she mostly spends the time reacting to him. She has this one look where she raises her eyebrows so high I thought they might disappear into her hair. 😂
The whole thing feels a bit like a filmed play, which I know some people find boring. It's not nearly as dramatic as Everywoman, but it’s not trying to be.
There is this one scene in a kitchen—well, it looks like a kitchen, but the stove is clearly just a painted piece of wood. I love small details like that because it reminds you how scrappy filmmaking used to be.
The lighting is also pretty bad in the corner of the frame. One side of Dooley's face is almost always in total darkness for about three minutes.
I wonder if they even noticed that while filming. Or maybe they just didn't have enough lamps that day. 💡
It’s a lot different than the heavy stuff like The Mayor of Casterbridge. This is just meant to make you smirk a little bit.
The title cards are kind of hard to read because they flicker so much. I had to squint at the screen like an old man just to figure out what the joke was.
Actually, I think I missed one of the main plot points because of a huge scratch on the film that lasted way too long. It looked like a lightning bolt was hitting the actors.
Speaking of weird vibes, it reminded me of the pacing in Fangs of Justice, where things just sort of end without a big goodbye. It just stops.
The chemistry between Dooley and Sales is the only reason to watch this, honestly. They have this rhythm that feels like they’ve done these jokes a thousand times in front of a live crowd.
It’s not a masterpiece. It’s not even a "good" movie by modern standards where everything is polished until it bleeds.
But it’s real. You can see the dust in the air and the sweat on their foreheads. 💦
If you've seen things like Land o' Lizards, you know that early cinema can be a bit of a slog. This one isn't a slog, mostly because it's too short to get truly annoying.
I’m glad I watched it, even if I’ll probably forget the specific plot by tomorrow morning. Some movies are just about the vibe of a specific moment in time.
One more thing—watch the background during the street scene. There is a guy in the way back who looks like he’s genuinely confused why a movie is being filmed. He just stares at the camera for a solid ten seconds.
That guy is my favorite part of the whole movie. I hope he had a good day. 🤠
IMDb —
1917
Community
Log in to comment.
