Sunkissed Sweeties: A weird, sandy little relic

Is it worth the watch?

If you have a soft spot for 1920s slapstick and beach scenery, sure, fire it up. It’s short. You’ll probably like it if you enjoy watching people get indignant over absolutely nothing. But if you hate silent films where the humor relies entirely on exaggerated facial expressions, maybe stay away. 🏖️

Andy Clyde is the whole show here, really. He’s the beach censor, which is a funny enough job title to start with. He spends most of the runtime looking like he’s just swallowed a very sour lemon.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Sunkissed Sweeties (1932) through its definitive frames.

Thelma Hill and Faye Pierre are there, of course. They’re mostly just trying to have a good time. The movie treats their presence as a crisis. It’s all very tame by modern standards, but the way Clyde reacts to a swimsuit is like he’s witnessing the end of civilization.

Some random notes

• The sand looks incredibly uncomfortable to walk on.
• I’m pretty sure I’ve seen better comedic timing in Among Those Present, but this has its own charm.
• The whole thing feels like it was filmed in about twenty minutes.
• Why is the censor so obsessed with their hemlines? It’s almost impressive how much energy he puts into being a buzzkill.

There’s a moment where a hat blows away and the chaos that follows is... well, it’s a choice. It goes on for about three beats too long. You can almost see the actors waiting for the director to yell cut. 🎞️

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Sunkissed Sweeties (1932) through its definitive frames.

It’s not as sharp as Love 'Em and Weep, that’s for sure. It lacks the polish of the bigger studio stuff from that era. But there is something nice about how unimportant the whole conflict is. It’s just people on a beach being silly.

If you're looking for deep meaning, look elsewhere. This is just pure, dusty, salt-crusted nonsense. I don’t think anyone involved thought they were making high art. They just wanted to make a few people laugh at a guy in a funny hat.

Mission accomplished, I guess? Maybe. It’s a bit of a throwaway, but it didn't hurt to watch.