Don't Park There (1924)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Fred Guiol

Writer:

Tay Garnett (writer)

Release Date:

22 June 1924 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Short

Cast

Will Rogers
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marie Mosquini

Runtime:

20 min

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Company:

Hal Roach Studios

A one-joke satirical comedy, but it's a pretty good joke

DON'T PARK THERE was one of a series of two-reel comedies Will Rogers made for producer Hal Roach during the 1923-4 season. Except for a couple of amusing Hollywood satires the quality level was not especially high, and apparently no one (including Will Rogers and Hal Roach) ever thought much of the films, but I believe this one wears rather well. It's a one-joke story, but oddly enough the joke is more relevant now than it was in 1924: this is the tale of a man who can't run a simple errand in the city because he can't find a parking space. All Will needs is a bottle of Doan's horse liniment, but it seems that the automobile is taking over the urban landscape and making simple errands a major challenge.

This film works, and still gets laughs, first because the situation remains recognizable, but perhaps more importantly because the style is low-key (no frantic Keystone violence here), and the absurdity builds gradually. One could imagine hearing this anecdote similarly related on "The Prairie Home Companion." Early on, Will can't find a parking space near his destination because other drivers beat him to it. He attempts various forms of bending the rules, without success. Eventually Will is pushed further and further away until (the intertitles inform us) he is forced to leave Los Angeles and search for a parking space in San Francisco, then Seattle. Ultimately, when he learns that the liniment he seeks is no longer being made, he abandons his car and shuffles away, Chaplin-style, on foot.

One historical footnote: I've seen two prints of this film, one of which includes a brief but unpleasant racial gag, and another print, intended for TV screenings, which cuts it. The gag involves an African-American chauffeur who steals a chicken. It's dumb and offensive, and some will find it embarrassing, but my gut feeling is that these bits should be left in. Snipping these gags out of old movies distorts history. Racism was rampant in the 1920s [maybe it's just gone underground today, but that's too big an issue for this little essay], and perhaps we need to be reminded of where we've been to get a sense of where we are. Re-editing old movies might 'smooth out' the rough edges, but it won't make uncomfortable aspects of our history go away.

Well, at any rate, the racial gag is only a quick moment in DON'T PARK THERE. Beyond that, the film is a mildly diverting, pleasant-if-slight satire that is well worth seeing.