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Bamboozled

A protective father masquerades as an automatic doll in this bonkers interwar comedy.

Comedy 1919 35 mins Silent

Overview

Very silly but lots of fun, this silent slapstick comedy was produced by British company Swastika Films - years before the ancient symbol was appropriated by the Nazis. Director Fred Rains appears as a protective father who – for reasons not entirely clear - disguises himself as an automatic doll to keep an eye on his prospective son-in-law. Rains, father of Hollywood actor Claude, was adept at physical comedy, and the bizarre sight of him being hauled around robotically in full drag is quite something.

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