Konterr
Brilliant and touching
Murphy Howard
I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.
Calum Hutton
It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...
Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
"The Barber Shop" is a 1933 short film, so it already had its 80th birthday a couple years ago. And while it is still in black-and-white, this is from the early days of sound film already. It runs for 20 minutes and the director is Arthur Ripley. The writer here is W.C. Fields who also plays the main character. If you have seen some of Fields' other short films, you basically know what to expect here. He focused on different professions and included chaotic behavior and some known plot topics such as relationship struggles with the wife etc., all while dealing with his customers and sadly he is not always (well, never) the most skilled at his craft. So much for the general facts. The specifics here are in my opinion about a film that is not really too funny. It's probably just me as, while I see his talent, the writing and comedic approach by Fields are rarely really to my liking. In my opinion, the comedy in here has not aged as well as some of the other comedy from back then and with this statement I am for example referring to the (sound and silent) short films by Laurel and Hardy, that are still worth seeing today. This one here is not and I give it a thumbs-down.
zetes
Personally, I like Fields' features much more than the few short films he made. The Bank Dick, You Can't Cheat an Honest Man, You're Telling Me, The Old-Fashioned Way, It's a Gift, Never Give a Sucker an Even Break, and The Man on the Flying Trapeze are some of the funniest films you're ever likely to see. But most of his shorts are somewhat lame. My favorite is The Golf Specialist, which is nothing more - nor should it be - than Fields' infamous vaudeville routine. The Dentist is famous for its sexual innuendo of the woman wrapping her legs around Fields while he pulls a tooth, but it's not very funny after that. The Barber Shop is the second funniest of these shorts. Fields is very funny in it, and so are the supporting cast members. Here Fields is in henpecked husband mode, taking it from his evil vegetarian wife. His little son likes to tell him the lamest riddles in history. The slight plot is a prelude to The Bank Dick, with a criminal on the run and Fields bragging that he'd throttle him good if he got a hold of him. A lot of good jokes here. See it on the Criterion disc of his short films. 8/10.
Schlockmeister
W. C. Fields had done a few silent shorts in the "teens" but it really did take sound to capture him at his best. He is not only a physical comedian, capable of broad slapstick, he is one of the best verbal comedians around, especially when allowed to ad-lib, as he does here. The story follows the adventures of barber Cornelius O'Hare through his extremely busy day. It has the look of a vaudeville routine, which no doubt it was based on. Fields' almost constant patter makes all his movies worth rewatching, just to catch his subtle remarks, often made under his breath and very quickly. I have read that, at the beginning of the short, as Fields is sitting out front of his shop, making rude comnents about people as they go by, that this is a tribute to his mother, who acted just like this as Fields was a boy, commenting cuttingly on the neighbors. If you like sardonic humor, Fields is the man for you. Recommended highly along with any of his other shorts as in these shorter films, much more is packed in and nothing is allowed to lag.
Marta
W.C. plays the title role of the Barber. He gets to flirt with the manicurist in his shop all day, and go upstairs to his unadoring wife at night. His shaving technique is truly frightening, and his steamroom is truly amazing. He even manages to babysit for a neighbor and to capture a criminal in his shop, through no fault of his own, during his very full day. And you haven't lived till you've heard Fields play the bass fiddle!Fields is good as usual in this film; it's not as hilarious as others of his but is fairly even.
