I Never Forget a Face (1956)

This short film was produced and directed by Robert Youngson--a man known later for his film compilations of early comedies. These films (such as "When Comedy Was King" and "The Golden Age of Comedy") discuss the work of the silent comedians of cinema--such as Chaplin, Keaton and Laurel & Hardy and are good overviews for modern audiences. However, in the case of "I Never Forget a Face", early comedians have nothing to do with the film. Instead, it's a film about the 1920s. However, if I was asked what was the theme of the short, I really couldn't say. Considering that this film is about an entire decade and it's only a short, you'd think it would have a tighter focus...but it didn't. At first, the film seemed to be about the politics of the 1920s--but then it changed focus and discussed elderly inventors and modern aviators. But, nothing was mentioned about life in the 20s--and the film began, oddly, to discuss British leaders--after discussing only Americans for most of the film. I just don't get this. Some interesting old film clips are shown and a bit of 20s history is discussed but there just isn't any coherent message and, as such, there isn't a lot of reason to watch this short.