Dummies (1928) - A weird silent movie with a very grumpy monkey

If you have about twenty minutes and a weird obsession with 1920s slapstick, Dummies is probably worth a look. It is not going to change your life or anything.

Actually, if you hate creepy puppets or monkeys in tiny outfits, you should probably stay far away from this one. It is very much of its time, which is a polite way of saying it’s a bit messy.

The whole thing centers on this traveling medicine show. You know the type, with the 'Professor' who is basically a con artist selling colored water.

Our main guy is a ventriloquist. Think about that for a second.

It’s a silent movie. You can’t even hear the guy’s voice, but we’re watching him do a 'comedy' act with a dummy and a live monkey.

The monkey is easily the best part of the whole film. He looks like he wants to be literally anywhere else on earth.

There is this one shot where the monkey is just staring at the camera with this look of pure judgment. It made me laugh harder than any of the actual jokes.

The 'Professor' has a daughter, played by Marie Astaire. She mostly just stands there looking pretty while the men run around like total idiots.

I feel like I’ve seen this exact setup in The Peddler, but maybe with less hair grease. Larry Semon helped write this, and you can definitely feel his fingerprints on the chaos.

Semon loved stuff blowing up or people falling over for no reason. It’s not quite as wild as his usual stuff, but it has that frantic energy.

The plot kicks in when a gang of thieves steals the show's money. It is not a very clever robbery.

They just kind of grab it and run. The hero decides he’s going to get it back because he wants to impress the daughter.

The chase scenes are… okay. They feel a little bit like they were making it up as they went along.

One of the thieves has this ridiculous mustache that looks like it might fall off if he runs too fast. I kept waiting for it to happen, but it stayed on.

There is a lot of dust. Everything in this movie looks like it needs a good scrub.

The lighting is super inconsistent too. One minute it’s bright as day, the next it looks like they’re filming in a basement with one candle.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Dummies (1928) through its definitive frames.

I found myself wondering if the dummy was actually a prop or just a very stiff actor in some scenes. It has this vacant stare that is genuinely haunting.

The monkey gets involved in the heroics, which is probly the highlight. Seeing a primate outsmart a grown man is always a win in my book. 🐒

It reminds me a bit of the vibe in Sunday Calm, just that lazy, dusty afternoon feeling where nothing really matters that much.

The ending is exactly what you think it is. No surprises here.

He gets the money, he gets the girl, and the Professor probably keeps scamming people with his fake medicine. It’s a simpler time, I guess.

I noticed the film grain is really heavy in the middle section. It almost obscures the actors' faces during the big confrontation.

It’s weirdly charming though. Like finding an old postcard in a junk drawer that you can’t quite read.

If you’re looking for high art, go watch something else. If you want to see a monkey in a hat, this is your movie.

The pacing is a bit jerky. It feels like they had ten minutes of actual story and stretched it out with a lot of pantomime.

I’ve seen better stuff from this era, like Mountain Dew, but this isn't the worst thing ever made.

It’s just… fine. A little clunky, a little dusty, and very, very silent.

I think the dummy might be under my bed now. I should check.

Anyway, it’s a decent enough distraction if you’re bored of modern stuff. Just don't expect a masterpiece.

The thieves are so bad at thier jobs it’s almost painful. They practically wait for the hero to catch up to them.

The movie is mostly just a reminder that 1928 was a very strange year for entertainment.

I wonder what happened to that monkey. He deserved an Oscar.