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5.4/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.4/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Jack Buchanan with the Glee Quartet remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you're into the really early days of sound film, or just curious how Vaudeville translated to the screen, then "Jack Buchanan with the Glee Quartet" is a neat little time capsule. Otherwise, for anyone expecting a modern laugh or anything resembling a plotted story, you're probably gonna be bored stiff. This one's mostly for the film history buffs and the patient, not the casual Netflix scroller. 🕰️
It opens with Jack Buchanan, all smiles and charisma, stepping out. He tells us he's filling in for a member of the Glee Quartet. The whole gag is he's had absolutely no time to rehearse. We get it. 😂
The Glee Quartet themselves are super slick, all synchronized moves and perfect harmony. Then Buchanan jumps in, all elbows and apologies. He immediately messes up the words, gets the dance steps wrong. It's a very simple premise, really.
You can tell this is meant to be funny. Buchanan is trying his best to look bewildered. He's totally out of sync. It’s a very physical, very direct kind of humor. Like, the kind you'd see on a stage.
There's a bit where he loses a shoe, then the other. It feels like a classic stage bit that would get a good chuckle. You can almost imagine the audience back then really enjoying that specific moment.
Honestly, it's fascinating to see how they tried to bring that live stage energy to something like Vitaphone. The sound quality isn't amazing, but you can hear the voices clear enough. It’s raw. Very raw.
The camera just sort of sits there, letting it all unfold. No fancy angles or quick cuts. It's really just capturing a performance, which is exactly what these early shorts were often about.
The pacing is what it is for a short from this era. It just goes on until the joke's done. No big surprises, no twists. Just a quick chuckle, or perhaps a mild smile, and then it’s over.
It's not really a film you "watch" in the modern sense. More like you observe a historical document. A very brief, mildly amusing one.
What stuck with me? The sheer confidence of Buchanan to pull off being unprepared so perfectly. That's a skill, that is. And how the other Glee guys just keep going, completely unfazed. True pros. They don't even crack a smile.
It’s a fun little glimpse into a bygone era. Don't expect a masterpiece, but it's a neat piece of film history. 🎬
IMDb 5.4
1922
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