Are we about to see Bud enact the lead in SWEENEY TODD? Cut his own throat in a fit of depression over his lack of comic ability? No such luck! It's another of the typical adventures of Ham and Bud, those Kalem Komics, a pair of seedy tramps who wandered into a situation, assaulted some people, and ran away. This was supposed to be funny. I'd like to say it never was, but that would be a lie. It almost never was. And so it is here.
After they split up, hating each other almost as much as I hate them, Ham -- that's Lloyd Hamilton -- developed into one of the best short-subject comics of the 1920s and drank himself to death in the 1930s, while Bud Duncan continued working for the next thirty years for no reason anyone can offer.
The story, such as it is, has our dulling duo running away from people who do not pursue, and trying to convince people they're barbers. After they rip the fake beard off a private detective who's in the shop for no reason, Ham calls the cops to chase them. Once again, there are many guns fired at the fleeing pair. Once again, they all miss. It's not a comedy, but a tragedy.
After they split up, hating each other almost as much as I hate them, Ham -- that's Lloyd Hamilton -- developed into one of the best short-subject comics of the 1920s and drank himself to death in the 1930s, while Bud Duncan continued working for the next thirty years for no reason anyone can offer.
The story, such as it is, has our dulling duo running away from people who do not pursue, and trying to convince people they're barbers. After they rip the fake beard off a private detective who's in the shop for no reason, Ham calls the cops to chase them. Once again, there are many guns fired at the fleeing pair. Once again, they all miss. It's not a comedy, but a tragedy.
