Country: United States
Language: English (intertitles)
Director: Leo McCarey
Writer: Leo McCarey
Stars: Max Davidson, Johnny Fox
and Martha Sleeper
Release Date: 8 May 1927 (USA)
Also known as: Es kommt immer
anders, als... (Germany - alternative title); Prudence (USA - rerun title)
Production Co: Hal Roach Studios
Sound Mix: Silent
Color: Black and White
Genres: Short | Comedy
The hilarious silent-film comedy
'Jewish Prudence' is fairly easy to obtain in film libraries, but all known
English-language prints of this movie have the original title card 'Jewish
Prudence' removed and a new title card spliced in, so that this film is now
renamed 'Prudence'. If you can't locate this very funny movie under its
original title, try looking for it under the less offensive (and less funny)
name 'Prudence'.
The title 'Jewish Prudence' is of
course a pun on 'jurisprudence', but it also refers to the character played by
silent-movie comedian Max Davidson in his starring films. Davidson, who was
indeed Jewish (and with strongly Semitic features), tended to play a
stereotypical Jewish character on-screen. This can be unpleasant for modern
viewers, but Davidson usually steered clear of the more vicious aspects of a
Jewish caricature. His on-screen character tended to be resourceful rather than
cunning, frugal rather than an outright money-grubber. Max Davidson reminds me
of the English actor Ron Moody, whom he physically resembles: Moody has proudly
used his Jewish heritage as a basis for most of his acting roles, yet his portrayals
never become offensive.
In 'Jewish Prudence', written by
Stan Laurel and directed by Leo McCarey, Max is a father saddled with three
grown children who will never amount to anything. His daughter (Martha Sleeper)
is bone-idle. Max's older son (Jesse De Vorska) is an incompetent schlemiehl
whom Max pressures into taking a job as a lorry driver. The younger son (Johnny
Fox) is an idiot who wants to be a professional Charleston dancer. (Fair
enough: that's how Lord Grade got started.) A handsome young lawyer (Gaston
Glass), newly admitted to the bar, wants to marry Max's daughter, but Max
refuses to consent until lawyer Gaston wins his first court case.
When Max and his dancing son
witness a road accident, Max sees a chance to make some money by persuading
Johnny to fake a leg injury. There's an uproariously funny sequence in which
Johnny feigns injuries by displaying a false leg while concealing his real leg
inside a hollowed-out cushion. Of course, several things go wrong. (At one
point, Johnny's got three legs showing.) When Max gets a visit from two men who
seem to be insurance claims adjusters, Johnny plays his scam for all it's
worth. This scene has a very funny payoff. Johnny Fox, who gave an amazing
performance as the supernatural visitor in 'One Glorious Day', gives a
splendidly physical performance here as Max's son. Eugene Palllette, hefting
only a fraction of his later girth, is impressive as one of the visitors. Spec
O'Donnell, who played Davidson's son in so many of his films, is absent from these
proceedings.
SPOILERS COMING. Meanwhile, Max
brings suit against the driver who supposedly injured Johnny. The lawyer for
the defence is none other than Gaston, who humiliates Max and Johnny in court
by exposing them (hilariously) as liars and frauds. Gaston wins his case and
then smoothly claims the right to marry Max's daughter. Max drives away in
disgust, but his car is immediately hit by a truck. Gaston eagerly offers to
represent Max in a lawsuit against the truckdriver, but the driver turns out to
be (of course) Max's other son!
'Jewish Prudence' is extremely
funny; even more so because (unlike many other Hal Roach comedies of this
period) it actually has a believable plot. Director Leo McCarey's comic pacing
is brisk and excellent. The climactic trial scene in this film must have been
good experience for McCarey when he directed Chico Marx's trial in 'Duck Soup'.
However, I was annoyed by one 'impossible' gag in 'Jewish Prudence' during the
courtroom sequence, when a solemn portrait of George Washington is seen to
burst out laughing at Max's pathetic testimony. This sort of gag is acceptable
for a totally unrealistic comedian such as Harpo Marx, but it drastically
conflicts with the comedic style of Max Davidson, who tended to play very
plausible and realistic characters. It's only due to fears of Political
Incorrectness that Max Davidson's (Jewish) screen characterisation is so seldom
available to modern filmgoers.
