SilentComedyMafia.com

http://www.cinecon.org/cinecon_films.html

One just has to smirk and shake one's head at the general nonsense hyperbole emanating from the "Cinecon on-line" statement in their showing of Mack Sennett's A CLOSE SHAVE (1929) that it was a "formerly lost" film and that their showing of what is frankly a rather tepid to mediocre film is some sort of a major "re-premiere". I can say this because I have had a print of the film for more than thirty years, and I never considered my print even a "one-of-a-kind" rarity.

In fact, here's a copy of the film on Internet Archive:

https://archive.org/details/BillSprague ... CloseShave

Well, I'm sure thems that run that show these days are a little hard pressed to make a pretty ho-hum line-up sound all that interesting,

RICHARD M ROBERTS

A CLOSE SHAVE is also on YouTube: https://youtu.be/fmQRjyz9YuI According to their stats, it was posted there in January 2013.

I used to own the Johnny Burke-Sennett CLUNKED ON THE CORNER, with its blatant imitation of Harry Langdon's seduction scene from THE STRONG MAN. Thank God for Vernon Dent's usual top-notch support in these Burke outings. Anyone who doubts Harry Langdon's brilliance as a performer or his ability to milk a gag for maximum effect need look no further than at Burke's attempts to ape Langdon. What was Mack Sennett thinking?

I think Mack Sennett hired Johnny Burke to imitate Eddie Quillan imitating Harry Langdon, which would make Burke the Harry Mann of Langdon impersonators.

I've never seen Burke do much of anything funny, I have a print of A JIM JAM JANITOR featuring him as well and he comes across as a normal guy who dresses up in a funny suit thinking the costume will get the laughs. I assume his Vaudeville Doughboy act was mostly verbal.

RICHARD M ROBERTS

Looks like his act was about 12 minutes of monologue followed by 5 minutes of more physical comedy at the piano(s).

This Variety review from Sep 13, 1918:
https://ibb.co/KDd3xPD

and this from Nov 29 the same year:
https://ibb.co/ypBLnKj