Fancy That (1929) - Seeing Fred Mertz as a Hobo Millionaire

You should watch this if you have ten minutes and want to see William Frawley before he became the grumpy neighbor on I Love Lucy. It is a total trip seeing him so young and full of energy.

If you hate static cameras and people screaming their lines at a hidden microphone in a flower vase, you will probably hate this. It is very loud for no reason. 📢

The whole thing is just a silly excuse to see two bums act like they belong in a mansion. It is not exactly deep. But honestly? It’s kind of charming in a clunky way.

Guy Voyer plays the other half of the duo. He has this face that looks like it was made of wet clay. He makes these expressions that probably worked great in the back row of a theater but look absolutely insane in a close-up.

There is a specific moment where they are trying to eat soup. The sound of the spoons hitting the bowls is so loud it sounds like a construction site. I think the sound guy just gave up that day.

The plot doesn't even bother explaining how they got rich. They just have the money. I respect that. No boring backstories here.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Fancy That (1929) through its definitive frames.

The 'fancy' party guests look like they were recruited from the sidewalk five minutes before filming. One woman in the background is wearing a hat that looks like a literal bird nest. I couldn't stop staring at it. 🐦

It reminds me a bit of the chaos in When Caesar Ran a Newspaper, but with more tuxedos. It’s that specific brand of 1920s humor where everyone is just slightly too fast.

William Frawley has this way of holding a cigar that makes it look like a weapon. He keeps gesturing with it and I was genuinely worried he was going to poke someone's eye out. He’s got that vaudeville timing down perfectly though.

The dialogue is mostly just puns. Some are okay. Most are terrible. You’ll groan at least four times, I promise.

I noticed a guy in the background of the party who just stands there for three minutes straight without moving. I think he might have been a cardboard cutout. Or maybe he was just really bored. 👤

Compared to something like The Unknown, this feels like it was made on a different planet. Silent films had this grace, but these early talkies are just noisy and awkward. But the awkwardness is why I like it.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Fancy That (1929) through its definitive frames.

There’s a bit where they try to dance. It’s a mess. A beautiful, uncoordinated mess.

The movie stops as abruptly as it starts. It doesn't really have an ending. It just sort of... ceases to exist. Which is fine because I don't think they had enough jokes for another minute.

I wonder if the writers of The Man Who Could Not Lose saw this and thought, 'Yeah, let's do something like that but maybe with more logic.'

It’s a weird little piece of history. It’s not 'good' in the way we think of movies now. But it’s real. You can feel the sweat on the actors as they try to remember where the microphone is hidden.

One of the waiters looks exactly like my uncle. It’s distracting. He drops a tray and the sound effect is like a bomb going off. 💥

Anyway, if you like seeing how movies used to be before they got all polished and boring, give it a look. It’s ten minutes of your life. You’ve wasted more time looking for a pair of socks.

Just don't expect it to make much sense. It’s just hobos and hats. And honestly? Sometimes that is enough for a Tuesday night.