Animal Magnetism: The Silent Comedy Menagerie

Animals were very popular in silent films because the lack of sound made it easy for trainers to instruct the bestial Barrymores and put them through their paces on camera. Some frugal producers were able to develop stars without egos who would literally work for peanuts. For our selection of comedy critters we have Brownie the Wonder Dog, Numa the lion, and the Dippy-Doo-Dads in Circus Clowns (1922), Go West (1923) It’s the Cats (1926) and The Lion’s Whiskers (1925)

Films provided by Undercrank Productions, the Library of Congress, Fabulous Fleischer Cartoons Restored, and D&D Productions.