The Cross Country Bunion Race is weirdly sweaty and funny

You should probably only watch this if you have a weird obsession with 1920s slapstick or you've run out of everything else on your watchlist. It is a silent short that basically does exactly what the title says, which is weirdly honest of it.

If you hate old movies where the humor is just 'man falls down,' you are going to absolutely despise this. But if you like seeing the roots of physical comedy, it's a decent way to kill twenty minutes.

First off, the title is just... gross? Why bunions? 🦶

I guess it is based on the George McManus comic strips, but seeing 'Bunion Race' in big letters on a silent film card makes me uncomfortable. It makes you think about sweaty feet way more than a comedy should.

The whole thing is just a chaotic mess of people trying to win a race across the country. There is no real logic to the geography. One minute they are in a field, the next they are basically in a different ecosystem.

Dorothy Coburn is the only reason I stayed tuned in. She has this way of falling that looks like she actually broke every bone in her body, but then she just bounces back up.

She was in a lot of Laurel and Hardy stuff, so she knows how to take a hit. There is this one scene where she trips over a fence and her legs just go everywhere. It’s actually kind of impressive.

Syd Saylor is also here, looking perpetually confused. He has this face that looks like he’s trying to remember if he left the stove on at home while he’s sprinting for his life.

I noticed the crowd in the background looks totally bored. Like, there’s a big 'race' happening and half the extras are just standing there looking at the camera like they’re waiting for a bus. 🚌

It reminds me a bit of the energy in Hot Heels, but maybe a bit more low-rent. Not that any of these silents were high-budget masterpieces, but this one feels particularly scrappy.

There is a bit with a dog that goes on way too long. The dog doesn't even seem to know it's in a movie. It just keeps barking at a tree that isn't part of the gag.

I love how the film quality is all grainy and jumpy. It adds this weird ghostly vibe to the slapstick that makes it funnier than it probably is.

The editing is... well, it’s 1927. Some of the cuts are so jarring you feel like you missed a whole scene, but you probably didn't.

It’s just more running. And more tripping. And more bunion jokes that don't really land because, you know, it’s a silent film and you can’t hear a bunion.

If you’ve seen Hick Manhattan, you know this kind of 'small town person does something big' vibe. It’s a trope for a reason, I suppose.

I did find myself wondering how many pairs of shoes they went through. The actors are really hitting the pavement hard in some of these shots.

There’s a moment where a guy gets hit with a bucket and the soot or whatever is inside it stays on his face for the next three scenes, but then suddenly vanishes. Continuity wasn't really a priority back then, was it? 😂

It’s definitely better than some of the stuff from that year, like maybe Flesh and Spirit, which takes itself way too seriously. At least this movie knows it is about people with sore feet.

The ending is kind of abrupt. It just sort of... stops? Like they ran out of film or the actors got too tired to keep running.

I wouldn't call it a 'must-see' by any stretch of the imagination. But for a Sunday afternoon when you're feeling lazy, it’s a nice little time capsule of how people used to hurt themselves for a laugh.

Also, Harry Martell has a very strange mustache. It looks like it’s trying to escape his face. I spent more time looking at that than the actual plot. 🥸

Anyway, it’s a short. It’s fast. It has bunions in the title. What more do you want?