While the plot sounds cute (and perhaps zany) I have to admit the film not only had charm (thanks to the performance of Colleen Moore) but was highly entertaining. Now, I do not watch a lot of silent films but I manage to view about half a dozen every year and after decades of movie watching I can say this film is easily on the top ten list of must-see silent classics. So entertaining that this film made it on the American Film Institute’s 2000 list of the “Top 100 Funniest American Movies.”
Exteriors for the film were shot on location in New York City, helping to preserve what was part and parcel of the roaring twenties on camera. Shortly after the arrival of the troupe in the city, from Los Angeles, the weather turned cold and rainy. This gives the film the distinction of being one of the first major motion pictures to show the streets of New York in the rain (the studio, making the most of a bad situation, chose to say they had planned for it to rain, and it was the lack of rain that had kept the troupe from returning to Los Angeles from New York on schedule). Cameras were placed in hidden locations so scenes could be shot with unsuspecting pedestrians, however when viewing the rushes of scenes just show, one news boy was seen staring directly into the camera in every shot; the sharp-eyed boy had noticed the hidden cameras in every instance.
But the child who really steals the film is Mickey Rooney, at the age of four. A number of reference guides and websites will claim this was Rooney’s film debut, but he did appear in a short subject prior. Naturally, this film pre-dates his popular Mickey McGuire series. And Rooney has a larger-than expected role as a millionaire midget.
I recommend you do yourself a favor and find this movie to watch.
