A Natural Born Gambler (1916) | Bert Williams Silent Comedy
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- Опубліковано 7 жов 2018
- "A Natural Born Gambler" is a short comedy starring Bert Williams and featuring cinematographer Billy Bitzer, a star of Silent Hall of Fame.
Bert Williams was a major Broadway comedian. He was invited by Biograph to write, direct and star in two films, with "A Natural Born Gambler" being the better one by all accounts.
Bert Williams loves poker and is on the verge of winning big (with the help of cheating) when the police intervenes and he is thrown in jail. There he has a dream of playing a poker hand, but will he win or will he lose?
From the Internet Archive.
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Who’s here because Jeffrey Wright put this in his Letterboxd Top 4?
Thank you Jeffrey Wright for bringing me here and enlightening me on Bert Williams. Thank you for the upload!
…"He was the funniest man I ever saw, and the saddest man I ever knew." A quote from WC Fields about Bert Williams. Says it all. His story MUST continue to be told. Amazing dignity in the most trying of circumstances.❤❤
Thank you Jeffrey Wright for introducing this piece of cinema history!! What a magnificent film!
The great bert Williams never to forgotten pure genius.
Years ago read Mel Watkins book “On the Real Side,” and I went down a major rabbit hole of trying to find any other books, audio, and especially film of Bert Williams. It’s a shame not much of it survives. Also after reading Watkins’s book, I became a huge fan and admirer of Godfrey Cambridge, a huge talent that left us way too soon.
My great granddaddy was born in 1914 and he was 2yrs old when this came out. I couldn’t image what they had to go through
He was astonishingly talented.
Black actors and actresses in those days did what they had to do, whenever I see these old films i know if it werent for them, dealing with the obstacles that day, we wouldn't be where we are today, God rest their souls
Don't know how I missed this a year ago, but it came up in my recommendations today. Had many stereotypes from crap shooting, and chicken stealing, to being afraid of the grave yard (although I did laugh when Limpy Jones threw those crutches down and took off running)! Guess everything is about context. This was made over a hundred years ago. Bless the ancestors for paving the way. I did enjoy the music. Scott Joplin? Didn't see it in the credits.
Bert Williams is a great comedian and if he were alive today he would still perform in the same way. I don't mean the blackface and the racist overtones, but man the poker bit at the end is so good and it's just him carrying the entire scene. He was hugely influential in defining the American sense of humor and differentiating it from British humor and other cultures. He's just a funny guy and while a lot of the jokes and stereotypes here wouldn't be acceptable today for it's time it's a great piece. The Robin Williams of the early 20th century.
Limpy Jones
A great movie. Bert Williams is sensational. Thanks for posting!
I really enjoyed watching this movie. I am glad that these African American film stars and the movies they made are still available to watch. Thank you for uploading this.
Its shameful what black actors and actresses had to do back in those days but then again its shameful what they have to do these days too
Black Excellence shinning through the shame.
Hmmm. I'm still wondering how I feel about this.
Antiguan who knows about notable figures who helped pioneer comedy and film CHECKK
Great History
Cuanto tiempo estuvo cantando en COLUMBIA RECORD? Cuantos disco grabo?