I'm a film lover that used to go to every classic film festival I could afford to seeking good classic films. I've seen over 8,000 titles so far from the late 1800's thru today's latest. However, it's gems like Skinner's Dress Suit that I try to recommend to folks who enjoy good silent comedies.
Back in the 1980's I was lucky enough to see SDS at Cinefest in Syracuse, New York when they played a rare 16mm print that belonged to film historian, author and professor William K. Everson. Now my favorite genre is screwball because I really enjoy romantic comedies, but I prefer them to also have a heart and some reality. Like those films by Frank Capra and Howard Hawks. Well as I set in that darkened audience I started to laugh, chuckle and as the story slowly built howl at the humorous scenes as they unfolded before me.
It's star Reginald Denny I had known as a reliable character actor in the 1930-1960s. What I didn't know what that in the silent era he was the top comedian at Universal studios. Denny was their version of a Harold Lloyd but he does not use clever devices or dangerous thrills. Denny plays a realistic everyday Joe that just wants to get along in life without pushing.
In SDS he is happily married to "Honey" played sweetly by Laura LaPlante how believes in her husband and just wants him to get ahead so they can live a little better.
SPOILERS: At the urging of his wife, Skinner, a meek and humble clerk, asks his boss for a raise; he is refused, but in order not to disappoint his wife, he tells her that he got it. She immediately buys him a dress suit, and this single purchase puts Skinner on the road to ruin, involving him in so many new social obligations that he is soon faced with bankruptcy. Greatly burdened with debt, Skinner loses his job. Before he can tell his wife, she whisks him off to a society dance at a hotel where one of his most important clients, Jackson, is trying to crash the exclusive party. Jackson's wife wants to go to the dance and persuades her husband to ask Skinner to invite them.
This simple premise is peppered with strong characters, accidents, and many delightful surprises. Let me conclude by saying it is now out on Blu-ray in a package with two other films almost as good as this one. SEE IT NOW and you will thank me later!
It's star Reginald Denny I had known as a reliable character actor in the 1930-1960s. What I didn't know what that in the silent era he was the top comedian at Universal studios. Denny was their version of a Harold Lloyd but he does not use clever devices or dangerous thrills. Denny plays a realistic everyday Joe that just wants to get along in life without pushing.
In SDS he is happily married to "Honey" played sweetly by Laura LaPlante how believes in her husband and just wants him to get ahead so they can live a little better.
SPOILERS: At the urging of his wife, Skinner, a meek and humble clerk, asks his boss for a raise; he is refused, but in order not to disappoint his wife, he tells her that he got it. She immediately buys him a dress suit, and this single purchase puts Skinner on the road to ruin, involving him in so many new social obligations that he is soon faced with bankruptcy. Greatly burdened with debt, Skinner loses his job. Before he can tell his wife, she whisks him off to a society dance at a hotel where one of his most important clients, Jackson, is trying to crash the exclusive party. Jackson's wife wants to go to the dance and persuades her husband to ask Skinner to invite them.
This simple premise is peppered with strong characters, accidents, and many delightful surprises. Let me conclude by saying it is now out on Blu-ray in a package with two other films almost as good as this one. SEE IT NOW and you will thank me later!