This film was obviously made to use the comic talents of Dick Van Dyke and they did. He was always pulling faces and doing pratfalls on stage and TV and has always had a strikingly strong resemblance to a young Stan Laurel. It had been said in early magazines that Van Dyke felt he was born in the wrong era. With this film he gets to fulfill his dream. Even the dialog scenes play and read like a silent movie and the comedy timing is priceless, especially in scenes with Mickey Rooney who did the eye tricks with no computer help. Michelle Lee is there, for her looks mostly, plus a lot of great cameo comedy bits by the likes of Pert Kelton, Jeannine Riley and even Carl Reiner himself. This film will not be remembered as any great classic, but it does remain a classic in capturing Van Dyke's talent and the memories of Hollywood days gone by.
Review of The Comic
