Roy Smeck, the Wizard of String, in His Primetime (1926)
* 1/2 (out of 4)
The name Roy Smeck might not be known today but he became known as "The Wizard of String" as he could play the banjo, steel guitar and the ukulele. With that said, I found this short to be extremely poorly made and so poorly so that it really takes away from the talent behind Smeck. From a historic point of view this short is very important as it was one of the earliest examples of the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system. This film played on the same bill as the first feature to feature this new technology, DON JUAN, with John Barrymore. On that level I'd recommend people to watch this but it's rather aggravation in terms of entertainment. As is to be expected, the camera just stands still and the early sound recording leaves a lot to be desired. The film never really flows at any pace, which is another reason it doesn't work too well. I love catching these rare films on Turner Classic Movies but this one here is for film buffs only.