Saturday, December 10, 2011

"If I could walk that way I would not need talcum powder!"



Here are four versions of the classic "Walk this way" routine.


Is My Palm Read (1933)



 In Society (1944)



Don't Throw That Knife (1951)




Young Frankenstein (1974)


A variant routine involved a dance instructor who loses control of their actions while leading students through a dance number and the students, unaware of a problem, blindly follows the instructor's disorderly moves.  Here is a clip that shows Max Linder performing the routine in Max, professeur de tango (1912).  Max, who has had cocktails prior to the lesson, is more than a little tipsy.


A better known version of the routine, in which a bee flies down the back of the instructor's dress, was performed by The Three Stooges in Hoi Polloi (1935).



Here is one other version of the routine that turned up on a 1982 episode of Police Squad.



The Funny Parts, which traces the history of gags and routines, is now available on Amazon.


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