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From my favorite movies..

An Exercise In Nonsense

"Now You Tell One" is an American 21-minute silent black-and-white short film. These limitations should not come to anybody as a surprise as this film has its 90th anniversary this year. Charly Bowers (writer, director, lead actor) made quite a few films, but he never managed the success of Keaton or Chaplin, maybe because when he did these, silent films were almost already a thing of the past. And also he may have looked too similar to the duo and just been a weaker version. People were in the mood for changed and he clung to the old. Anyway, about this one here, I thought the first half was bearable and okay to watch, but then it gets really boring and repetitive at some point. I cannot say I enjoyed this watch. Not recommended.

Wow, this was sure a creative little silent comedy! The film starts with a meeting of the Liars Club. Each member is trying to outdo each other with their fanciful tales, but they really aren't that good, so one of them stomps off in disgust. He meets an odd little man (Charley Bowers) with his head stuffed in the end of a cannon (why, they never really seemed to adequately explain). Charley is so weird and tells the strangest stories, so the guy takes him back to the Liars Club to show him off! Charley's story concerns a wonderful scientific potion he's created. Just a few drops can do almost ANYTHING! And, using the best visual tricks of the day I have ever seen, he does the most astounding and unbelievable things!! For example, when he meets a lady in a house infested with mice, he uses the formula to make a plant that grows cats! It looks pretty real as the cats begin rapidly sprouting one after the other! Even today, such a scene would be very difficult to replicate without computers. It took immense patience and skill to do all the amazing camera tricks in the film. You really MUST see them to believe it! In the end, not surprisingly, he wins the admiration of the liars but he's very upset when they announce he is the champion liar. The problem is that everything he told them is TRUE!By the way...look for the mouse who is packing heat. What a great tiny segment!

I was so impressed by the sheer inventiveness and unique combination of live action and animation in this short -- from the elephants storming the Capitol to a cat's tail spawning off a pussy willow. Mr. Charles Bowers is definitely an unsung comic innovator of the silent era -- he has the crafty sight gags and deadpan persona of Buster Keaton, the impishness of Harry Langdon, coupled with the absurd imagination of an animator. This film is one of the highlights of the mostly excellent compilation, "Slapstick Encyclopedia."

Charles Bowers was first an animator, and his flair for stop-motion shows in this amazing short comedy. The excellent special effects will truly amaze even the most CGI-jaded viewer. Luckily, Bowers' creative wit matches his agility with the camera - there're some crazy and hilarious sight gags here.