DVD Review: John Bunny – Film’s First King of Comedy

At long last, a documentary exploring the work of comedian John Bunny, and containing restored footage from several of his existing films.

For anyone interested in cinema’s history, the name John Bunny should certainly resonate. Although sadly forgotten today, with only a fraction of the 150-odd films he made still existing in any form, Bunny is, as the title of this documentary states, the first king of screen comedy. Before Keystone, before Charlie Chaplin, John Bunny entered moving pictures from the theater and became one of its first international stars. His passing in 1915 was front page news throughout the world.

Producer Tony Susnick takes an interesting approach to the biographical portion of the documentary. Using archive footage and photos, the story is partially narrated by an actor (Mark Sawyer Dailey) portraying Bunny, describing some events in the first person (from the actor’s actual interview quotes). Bunny’s early work in theater during the 19th century is fascinating in how it leads to his entry into the very new medium of motion pictures. Unlike most theater people, Bunny foresaw a lot of possibility in “flickers,” believing them to have significance beyond their limited status as a mere novelty.

Despite being trained to perform the sweeping movements and florid gestures necessary to reach the back row of the theater from the stage, Bunny adapted quickly to the more intimate move camera. As historian Steve Massa, one of the documentary’s interviewees, indicates, Bunny was a physical comedian but not a slapstick comedian. He quickly learned the subtle nuance in his facial expressions that could enhance the inherent humor in his performance so greatly. His films were situational, his comedy was in response to these situations.

Much is made about the rotund John Bunny’s frequently playing opposite the very skinny Flora Finch in films that were so popular, they were referred to by moviegoers as Bunnyfinches, despite the fact that their on screen chemistry did not translate to real life. As early as 1913, Bunny starred in a cinematic version of “The Pickwick Papers,” shot on location in England. His stardom allowed him extra money through endorsements, and even the marketing of a doll in his image.

In 1915, John Bunny took a sabbatical from the movies and toured in the stage show “Bunny in Funnyland,” which received a mixed reaction from audiences and critics. When he closed the show and attempted to return to movies, his health had deteriorated from kidney disease of long standing. John Bunny died on April 26, 1915. His obituary in the New York Times stated that his name would always be linked to the movies. Sadly, that has not been the case. The Keystone comedies and Charlie Chaplin would move screen comedy forward, and as early as the 1930s, the John Bunny films would be dismissed as archaic.

Along with the insightful documentary, the DVD contains several short films from the Library of Congress as examples of Bunny’s work. While it is lucky we have anything from these early years of narrative cinema, the fact that such striking prints are available on some titles is especially remarkable. “Bunny’s Dilemma” (1913) looks especially magnificent. Both this movie and “Kitty and the Cowboys” (1911), feature Bunny in a female masquerade. “The Feudists” (1913) is significant for its being the only teaming of Bunny and another pioneer Vitagraph comedian, Sidney Drew. "Kitty and the Cowboys" is another film that is breathtaking in its pictorial clarity, especially when one considers the age of the footage.

Perhaps the best short is “Hearts and Diamonds” (1914), which features Bunny meeting a wealthy woman (Flora Finch) at a baseball game, and joining the team in order to attract her. Along with being one of the funniest of John Bunny’s comedies, it offers a historical look at baseball fandom and preserves this on film. All of the films on this DVD benefit greatly from Ben Model’s brilliant score.

One other extra is an enlightening interview with film historian Sam Gill, who always clearly puts things into perspective and offers a learned appreciation of cinema’s early development. Any film enthusiast can learn a great deal from this portion of the DVD.

One cannot really overstate the importance of John Bunny to the motion picture’s early history and his foundation to a lot of comedy that came later. There are elements of his character and presence that can be seen to have inspired anyone from Roscoe Arbuckle, to W.C. Fields, to Jackie Gleason. This DVD goes a long way in claiming Bunny’s significance, backing it up with an informative documentary and several examples. It is most highly recommended to anyone interested in silent movies, comedy history, and a must for libraries and research centers.

The DVD is available here.