Nifty Numbers (1928) - Mostly just Jimmy Hertz falling over things

You should probably watch this if you have 15 minutes and like seeing people from the 20s act like they've had too much caffeine.

If you're looking for a tight plot, just go watch The Divorcee instead. 🎞️

Jimmy Hertz has a face that looks like it was molded out of clay and then slightly squashed.

It’s great for comedy, honestly.

The movie starts in an office that looks like it was built in about twenty minutes.

Everything is made of wood and looks slightly flammable.

I love how 1920s sets always look like they’re one sneeze away from falling over. 🏚️

It adds a layer of tension that probably wasn't intended.

Jimmy Hertz plays this clerk who is clearly very bad at his job.

He spends the first three minutes just trying to sharpen a pencil.

It’s the kind of slow-burn physical comedy that makes you either laugh or want to scream.

I found myself doing a bit of both.

His hands move so fast they're a blur on the old film stock. ✏️

Then there's Frances Lee.

She comes in and the whole energy changes, mostly because she's actually trying to act.

She has this way of widening her eyes that makes her look like a surprised owl. 🦉

It’s very effective for the medium.

You can't really hear what she's saying, but the title cards tell us she's mad about some bill.

Wait, I should mention the writing by Jean Arlette.

It feels very... loose.

Like they had a bunch of props and just decided to film whatever happened.

It’s not as structured as something like The Man on the Box.

That movie actually has things happen in an order that makes sense.

In Nifty Numbers, logic is more of a suggestion than a rule.

There is a bit with a ladder that I swear I’ve seen in five other movies this week.

But Cliff Lancaster brings a weird intensity to it.

He climbs it like he’s trying to escape the movie itself. 🪜

I don't blame him.

I noticed a cat in the background of one shot.

It’s just sitting there on a desk, looking bored out of its mind.

I wonder if it belonged to the director or if it just wandered onto the set.

The cat is honestly the most natural actor in the whole thing. 🐈

It doesn't blink once while Jimmy is falling over a chair.

Speaking of falling, there is a lot of it.

Billy Engle does this weird tumble where he looks like a folding chair.

I’ve seen him do similar stuff in The Sawmill.

He’s got those rubber bones that only people in the 20s seemed to have. 🦴

What happened to those bones? Modern actors are way too stiff.

The lighting in the back half of the film is a bit of a mess.

It’s like they ran out of lightbulbs or the sun went behind a cloud and they just kept rolling.

It makes the scene with the safe look like a horror movie for a second.

I kind of wish it had turned into a horror movie. 👨🏻

Eddie Barry's mustache is scary enough on its own.

There's this one reaction shot of Georgia O'Dell that lingers.

And lingers. And lingers.

I think the editor might have fallen asleep at the crank. 🍕

She’s just staring off into space, probably thinking about what she’s going to have for dinner.

I was thinking about dinner too at that point.

If you’ve seen Hotsy-Totsy, you know how these comedies usually go.

They build up to a big chase.

Nifty Numbers builds up to... a medium-sized chase.

It involves a lot of people running through doors and coming out of different doors. 🕰️

It’s classic, but it’s also very "been there, done that."

Still, there’s a charm to the grainy black and white footage that makes it feel like you’re looking at a time capsule.

I liked the bit with the telephone. 📞

Jimmy gets his ear stuck in the receiver or something.

It’s physically impossible but in the world of 1928, anything can happen.

I wish my phone was that interesting.

Nowadays phones are just glass slabs that don't even let you get your ear stuck in them.

Aileen Carlyle and Margaret Lee are basically just there to be confused.

They do a lot of "hands-on-cheeks" acting.

It’s a bit much, but hey, it was the style at the time.

I'll say this: the movie doesn't overstay its welcome. 🐶

It’s short, punchy, and a little bit stupid. In a good way.

Like a dog that tries to catch its own tail and hits a wall.

You feel bad for it, but you're also laughing.

One thing that really bugged me was the music in the version I saw. 🎹

It was this jaunty piano that didn't match the mood at all.

When things got "tense," the piano just kept playing the same happy tune.

It made the whole thing feel even more surreal.

Like a fever dream you can't wake up from.

Is it a masterpiece? No. 🎥

Is it better than staring at a wall? Definitely.

It’s got that raw, "we’re just making this up" energy that I miss in modern films.

Everything today is so polished and tested.

This movie feels like it was tested on a group of people who had never seen a camera before.

And I love that about it.

The point is, Nifty Numbers is a fun little distraction. 📉

Go watch it if you want to see a guy fight a desk.

Don't watch it if you're looking for deep meaning.

There is zero meaning here. Just numbers. And falling.