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Thursday, December 12, 2013

Three Chairs for Captain Spaulding!


Sitting down on a chair is a simple process.  A chair is specifically designed with a flat raised surface to allow a person to sit comfortably and take their weight off their feet.  An animal can rest by laying on the ground or cuddling up inside a burrow, but a man is unable to accomplish the simplest task without creating a device to aid him in his efforts.  Unfortunately, these unnatural devices can at times turn on their creators, which comedians are all too happy to demonstrate.  I have no other commentary today.  What else is there to say?  Without further ado, here is a comedian having trouble sitting in a chair.

 Charlie Chaplin in A Day's Pleasure (1919)


Lupino Lane in Summer Saps (1929)


 Danny Kaye in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) 


Jerry Lewis in The Patsy (1964)


 
 Jacques Tati in Play Time (1967)


Film historian Dan North was struck by the Play Time scene's "gleaming floors and comfortless furniture."  These same elements were used again by Jerry Lewis in Cracking Up (1983).


Peter Sellers in The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)

 


No comedian liked chairs more than Chaplin.

The Rounders (1914)
 

The Rink (1916)


The Circus (1928)


Modern Times (1936)


The Great Dictator (1940)


I have one last clip.   It is from the Marx Brothers' film that inspired the title of this article.

Animal Crackers (1930)


 

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