Review of The Happy Hottentots

Joe Frisco plays one of the "Reece Brothers," but he's not actually a Reece OR a Frisco, but rather Louis Wilsonn Joseph of Milan, IL. Bob Callahan plays the other "Reece Brother," even though he actually DID have a brother act with his sibling Chuck, and Bob Callahan WAS his birth name in Lima, OH, Nov. 10, 1896. Sadly, Bob passed away in Hollywood in 1938 at the age of 41, so he was not available to HOTTENTOTS director Bryan Foy when he produced such triumphs as WOMEN IN THE WIND (1939), GRANNY GET YOUR GUN (1940), or THE NURSE'S SECRET (1941). Which still begs the question, who WERE these Hottentots, and WHY were they so happy? This lame 10 minute, 42.16-second sketch from 1930 wears out its welcome very quickly, and then drags on longer than the wait for Godot. (I kept watching in hopes of hearing Lucky's speech, but no such luck.) The stage backdrop in front of which the "Reece Brothers" try to entertain has ads on it, which now are cruelly branded onto my brain, perhaps forever: A.R. Crow Chop Suey; Dr. Howe's Gent's Furnishing; Surrey Drug Store; Guy's Pharmacy--741 Pike St.; Ketcham & Cheatham Real Estate; Hill's Creamery; Sunrise Florist; Jones Co.; and Green Hotel: 200 Rooms (hope they have HBO; one really needs it after 10 minutes plus of the "Reece Brothers").