Napoleon's Barber (1928)

Information from IMDb

Plot Summary
About an anarchistic French barber (Frank Reicher) who regales his customers with stories of his deep-abiding hatred for Emperor Napoleon (Otto Mattiesen). After telling his latest patron of the horrible fate that awaits Napoleon should the emperor ever enter the barbershop, our hero is somewhat taken aback to discover that he's been shaving "the Little Corporal" himself!

Full Cast
Otto Matieson ... Napoleon
Natalie Golitzen ... Empress Josephine
Frank Reicher ... Napoleon's Barber
Helen Ware ... The Barber's Wife
Philippe De Lacy ... The Barber's Son
D'Arcy Corrigan ... Tailor
Russ Powell ... Blacksmith
Michael Mark ... Peasant
Buddy Roosevelt ... French Officer
Ervin Renard ... French Officer
Youcca Troubetzkov ... French Officer
Joseph Waddell ... French Officer
Henry Hebert ... Soldier

Writing Credits
Arthur Caesar play
Arthur Caesar screenplay

Cinematography
George Schneiderman.

Napoleon's Barber is a 1928 short drama film,
and filmed in the Fox Movietone sound-on-film system.
From the play Napoleon’s Barber by Arthur Caesar
The film, Ford's first talkie, is now considered to be a lost film.

New York Times Review

Quote

Director John Ford made his talking-picture debut
with the 3-reel (32-minute) Fox "featurette"
Napoleon's Barber.
Faithfully adapted from a vaudeville sketch by Arthur Caesar,
the film is little more than a shaggy-dog story.

Napoleon's Barber was used to test the efficiency of the Fox Movietone system
in "exterior" dialogue sequences, a test which the equipment passed with flying colors.
The sound recording was less effective during the interior scenes,
moving one critic to remark that the characters' voices seemed to be emanating
from their vest pockets.
The film was the first in a series of Movietone short subjects
which were ballyhooed by Fox as "feature films in themselves";
the series came to an ignominious end in 1929
with a group of poorly received Clark and McCullough comedies
by Hal Erickson, Rovi

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