Then Came the Yawn: A weird little time capsule

If you've got ten minutes to kill and a high tolerance for 1930s slapstick, Then Came the Yawn is a weird curiosity. It’s definitely worth a watch if you like film history or just want to see how people in 1934 thought "meta" humor worked.

If you aren't into grainy, crackling black-and-white shorts, stay far away. You will probably find it painful.

The whole gimmick is a parody of those bombastic movie trailers that used to blast out of cinema speakers. It feels very much like a Kid in Hollywood sketch but without the child actors and with way more confusion.

There’s a bit where hillbillies are singing 'She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain' but in the style of synagogue cantors. I had to pause it. It’s just so strange and oddly specific that I’m not entirely sure what the director was going for.

The Frozen North section of the film feels like it was ripped straight out of The Alaska Cruise. It’s got that same vibe of "let's just put people in fur coats and call it a day." The jokes don't really land by today's standards, but there is something charming about how desperate they are to make you laugh.

I caught myself staring at the background extras. Some of them look like they’d rather be anywhere else. One guy in the back row is barely even pretending to be involved. It’s the small, messy things that make these old shorts better than the polished stuff.

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s not even a great short film, really. But it feels human, mostly because it’s so damn awkward. It reminds me of the pacing in Where Am I? where you’re never quite sure if the next beat is going to be a punchline or just a weird silence.

Educational Pictures really lived up to their slogan, "The spice of the program!" even if this particular spice is mostly just dust and salt. 🧂

Quick observations:

• The audio quality is rough. Expect a lot of hiss.
• The singing is definitely… something.
• I think I saw a camera shadow in the corner of one shot.
• It moves way faster than most movies from this era.

Anyway, watch it if you want to feel like a film archivist for a few minutes. Otherwise, you aren't missing much. 🎥