Ida Wonders Where the Dogs Are

I just saw the movie 'Sally of the Sawdust' which is a silent movie about a girl growing up amongst a traveling circus. One of the quotes from the movie goes something like "Sally was a strange and whimsy creature whose only friends were elephants". The movie was a comedy and there was a lot of slapstick. This got me thinking about the comical technique of slapstick. Modern day slapstick is either irritating or uncomfortable. Irritating because it seems like a cheap way to get a laugh. Uncomfortable because I really don't enjoy watching people get hurt. But in 'Sally of the Sawdust' I was actually laughing at the slapstick. Silent film slapstick seems clever to me. I know that 'slapstick' and 'clever' are two words that don't normally go together, but each move was so precisely choreographed. It was like watching and intricate and perfectly timed dance.
'Sally of the Sawdust' thematically reminded me of another old movie called 'Zou Zou.' The circus is always interesting.