. . . the first instance of "whack-a-bum" recorded in film? Since the subtitle for the "Glenroy Brothers'" vaudeville act was "The Comic View of Boxing: The Athlete and the Tramp," I would vote the former comparison as being more apt, for the "bum" here seems to be toying with his better-dressed "brother," tapping him on the cheek whenever he's not too busy doing cartwheels himself. Thankfully, GLENROY BROS., No. 2 only lasts 34.4 seconds, a far cry from "Brown Bomber" Joe Louis' later record reign of 120 consecutive months (1937 - 1949) as world heavyweight boxing champ. Before integrating the PGA golf tour, Louis (whose ex-slave parents were driven by the KKK from Alabama to Detroit in 1926) defended his crown 13 times in 29 months (between Jan., 1939 and May, 1941), a frequency of defense unmatched by any heavyweight champ since the end of the Glenroy Brothers' bare knuckle era. This period was tagged as the "Bum of the Month" club, though Louis' opponents did not wear bum outfits like the taller Glenroy Brother. The 18,908 spectators who watched Louis punish Abe Simon for 13 rounds in Detroit's Olympia Stadium March 21, 1941, probably could only have enjoyed themselves more if Simon had come out for the 13th in a bum suit, and tried a cartwheel like the bearded Glenroy brother.
7 Reviews
I'd watch show boxing events
Horst_In_Translation11 October 2013
Warning: Spoilers
It's pretty entertaining and a clever way of putting up a nice show without the violence, blood and drama that is always involved in the sport. Also, this is not the only film that shows the art of show-boxing. I found it fun to watch the two do somersaults and punch hard, but hit nothing but air. Their long dresses also add entertainment and make clear there's no real harm involved in this one. I'm not sure if these events exist today, but I'd be curious watch something like this one day. I never really heard of it though. It looks lots of fun and hard work for the protagonists and equally fun without the physical effort for the audiences. Good short film and it's always nice to see events portrayed that were common 120 years ago and are almost non-existent today. Almost an important historic document. Thank you, Brothers Glenroy.
Pretty Good Comedy, Especially For Its Time
Snow Leopard29 November 2005
The Glenroy Brothers' comic boxing routine works quite a bit better on the silent screen than most of the other vaudeville acts of the era did. Many popular stage acts of the 1890s appeared in early movies, and all are of interest historically, but this is one of the few that works well in its own right. On the stage, there were probably sound effects and/or dialogue that made it even better, but even just the visual portion is entertaining and is still worth seeing, even though only brief footage of it survives.
Their act is called 'The Tramp & the Athlete'. One brother dresses in all-white clothing, as 'the Athlete', and tries to fight in a classic boxing style. The other brother dresses in shabby dark clothing as 'The Tramp'. He performs cartwheels, twirls around, and generally makes himself completely unpredictable. It has some funny moments, and on a very rudimentary level it reminds you of the kinds of comic boxing routines that Chaplin and Arbuckle performed years later.
There is unfortunately a lot of confusion about the Glenroy Brothers' movies, because a number of films of genuine boxing matches from the same era have at times been erroneously titled by modern compilers or exhibitors as Glenroy Brothers movies. The only genuine Glenroy Brothers feature that appears to be readily available today is this second one, and this (or any other genuine Glenroy Brothers movie) is actually fairly easy to recognize, because it is impossible to mistake it for a real boxing match, due to the Tramp's antics.
In one of Kino's otherwise excellent compilations of early films, they included the movie "The Hornbacker-Murphy Fight" (1894), and erroneously titled it as "Glenroy Brothers (Comic Boxing)". The other review that is posted here to this title (at least as of the time of this writing) thus actually describes this other movie, not the Glenroy Brothers, who are much more entertaining. Many other sources, especially on the internet, also have this same misidentification, undoubtedly based on the same original mistake in the video collection.
This genuine Glenroy Brothers movie, titled "No. 2", is now included in a newer Kino DVD collection of Edison movies, which was compiled with the assistance of film historian Charles Musser, an expert on Edison films. The newer collection also includes the Hornbacker-Murphy footage under its correct title, which should help to clear up some of the confusion. The Glenroy Brothers were in some respects just a typical vaudeville act of the era, but they had some good comic skills, and they deserve to be given proper credit for their work.
Their act is called 'The Tramp & the Athlete'. One brother dresses in all-white clothing, as 'the Athlete', and tries to fight in a classic boxing style. The other brother dresses in shabby dark clothing as 'The Tramp'. He performs cartwheels, twirls around, and generally makes himself completely unpredictable. It has some funny moments, and on a very rudimentary level it reminds you of the kinds of comic boxing routines that Chaplin and Arbuckle performed years later.
There is unfortunately a lot of confusion about the Glenroy Brothers' movies, because a number of films of genuine boxing matches from the same era have at times been erroneously titled by modern compilers or exhibitors as Glenroy Brothers movies. The only genuine Glenroy Brothers feature that appears to be readily available today is this second one, and this (or any other genuine Glenroy Brothers movie) is actually fairly easy to recognize, because it is impossible to mistake it for a real boxing match, due to the Tramp's antics.
In one of Kino's otherwise excellent compilations of early films, they included the movie "The Hornbacker-Murphy Fight" (1894), and erroneously titled it as "Glenroy Brothers (Comic Boxing)". The other review that is posted here to this title (at least as of the time of this writing) thus actually describes this other movie, not the Glenroy Brothers, who are much more entertaining. Many other sources, especially on the internet, also have this same misidentification, undoubtedly based on the same original mistake in the video collection.
This genuine Glenroy Brothers movie, titled "No. 2", is now included in a newer Kino DVD collection of Edison movies, which was compiled with the assistance of film historian Charles Musser, an expert on Edison films. The newer collection also includes the Hornbacker-Murphy footage under its correct title, which should help to clear up some of the confusion. The Glenroy Brothers were in some respects just a typical vaudeville act of the era, but they had some good comic skills, and they deserve to be given proper credit for their work.
Glenroy Brothers box...
kobe14135 March 2014
William Heise and W.K.L. Dickson directed this short featuring the Glenroy brothers performing a small section of their vaudeville act. The two men perform a comedic boxing routine, including cartwheels and wild punches.
This film continues the Edison crew's search for comedic material to fill their theatres with. The brothers routine is not much to modern viewers as they do not do much besides some thrown punches and some acrobatic maneuvers. Without sound, there is not much to alert the viewer to what is supposed to be funny.
I give it 2 out of 10.
This film continues the Edison crew's search for comedic material to fill their theatres with. The brothers routine is not much to modern viewers as they do not do much besides some thrown punches and some acrobatic maneuvers. Without sound, there is not much to alert the viewer to what is supposed to be funny.
I give it 2 out of 10.
Boring!
jhaugh17 March 2003
Five men sit, or stand, in the background as two men in a rope ring fight before a referee. The fight is a charade and luckily the film is only 18-boring-seconds long. But this is 1894 and people were fascinated by watching movement; so I guess they felt they got their nickel's worth after viewing this in one of Edison's Kinetoscope parlours.
Edison Short
Michael_Elliott18 August 2010
Glenroy Bros., No. 2 (1894)
Entertaining Edison film runs just under 20-seconds but contains some nice smiles. The Glenroy brothers were a vaudeville act that managed to be fairly entertaining on their way to the movies. A lot of these early acts come off rather lame or simply unfunny but I think the comic timing of the two men is apparent even in these short seconds. I found most of the boxing, or shadow boxing as we'd call it today, to be well timed and I thought the two men knew exactly how to work off one another. Fans of early cinema will find some nice timing here but it's doubtful those unfamiliar with the films will find too much entertainment here.
Entertaining Edison film runs just under 20-seconds but contains some nice smiles. The Glenroy brothers were a vaudeville act that managed to be fairly entertaining on their way to the movies. A lot of these early acts come off rather lame or simply unfunny but I think the comic timing of the two men is apparent even in these short seconds. I found most of the boxing, or shadow boxing as we'd call it today, to be well timed and I thought the two men knew exactly how to work off one another. Fans of early cinema will find some nice timing here but it's doubtful those unfamiliar with the films will find too much entertainment here.
Variations on a Theme
Tornado_Sam2 November 2017
Through the years 1894-1895 and earlier, the Edison company had a variety of film genres which they used to cash in on the popularity of popular performers at the time. Often, to promote said performers and get in on the profits to boot, they would simply have vaudeville sensations and famous actors come down to the Black Maria, have their acts filmed, and release them to the public where those who could not view the act in person could get a brief 20-second or so sneak-peek. There were a variety of acts: you had the comedy pair Phil Doretto and Robetta and their Chinese Laundry Scene skit, you had Eugen Sandow and his jaw-dropping muscles, and you had dancers like such as Annabelle Moore, Amy Muller and Carmencita who became big hits. And then there was the boxing. Never forget the boxing. Popular boxers like James Corbett, Michael Leonard, and Billy Edwards were also hired, in this same fashion, to come down to the studio and perform a boxing championship before the camera, to be filmed in five or six rounds (tops). The biggest reason these were hits also was mainly because of the censorship and indecency surrounding the sport during the period.
Thomas and William Glenroy's vaudeville act was similar in many ways to the actual matches filmed in the Black Maria at the time, only different. Instead of an actual championship, the Glenroy Brothers' form of boxing was comedic, acrobatic and intentionally full of slapstick. The act was called "The Comic View of Boxing: The Tramp and the Athlete" and from watching this short performance excerpt, it's easy to see who's who. The one brother, dressed in white, plays the role of the athlete; the bearded brother in the overalls is the tramp. Furthermore, the stunts are pretty much nothing like the authentic championships shot at this time. At the beginning, you see the tramp turn a somersault before landing on his feet and boxing with the athlete, who throws punches at his head only for them to be ducked by his opponent. None of that may not sound funny nor comical today, but at the time audiences were probably both amused and entertained by this type of performance. It just goes to show how gradually the world has gone from slapstick to crass humor in just a hundred short years.
If you don't believe my claim that this kind of thing was considered hilarious at the time, I suggest you just look at the title. The 'No. 2' in the title actually signifies that this short Glenroy Brothers movie was one of two such films, released the same year around the same time. It was actually very common with the Edison company to do several versions of one performance, due to the eventual wearing out of the camera negatives after it was copied too many times. (Such was the case with Phil Doretto and Robetta, Eugen Sandow and Annabelle Moore). If the original (which was titled "The Glenroy Brothers (Comic Boxing)") had to be remade again, it no doubt already states how much of a demand for prints there was during 1894 to where the film was remade. I wouldn't argue that the original movie (now a lost film) was probably quite similar to this, featuring the same excerpt and the same studio location, which would thus show how much the company strived to continue production of the same act in the same way as before.
Thomas and William Glenroy's vaudeville act was similar in many ways to the actual matches filmed in the Black Maria at the time, only different. Instead of an actual championship, the Glenroy Brothers' form of boxing was comedic, acrobatic and intentionally full of slapstick. The act was called "The Comic View of Boxing: The Tramp and the Athlete" and from watching this short performance excerpt, it's easy to see who's who. The one brother, dressed in white, plays the role of the athlete; the bearded brother in the overalls is the tramp. Furthermore, the stunts are pretty much nothing like the authentic championships shot at this time. At the beginning, you see the tramp turn a somersault before landing on his feet and boxing with the athlete, who throws punches at his head only for them to be ducked by his opponent. None of that may not sound funny nor comical today, but at the time audiences were probably both amused and entertained by this type of performance. It just goes to show how gradually the world has gone from slapstick to crass humor in just a hundred short years.
If you don't believe my claim that this kind of thing was considered hilarious at the time, I suggest you just look at the title. The 'No. 2' in the title actually signifies that this short Glenroy Brothers movie was one of two such films, released the same year around the same time. It was actually very common with the Edison company to do several versions of one performance, due to the eventual wearing out of the camera negatives after it was copied too many times. (Such was the case with Phil Doretto and Robetta, Eugen Sandow and Annabelle Moore). If the original (which was titled "The Glenroy Brothers (Comic Boxing)") had to be remade again, it no doubt already states how much of a demand for prints there was during 1894 to where the film was remade. I wouldn't argue that the original movie (now a lost film) was probably quite similar to this, featuring the same excerpt and the same studio location, which would thus show how much the company strived to continue production of the same act in the same way as before.
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