Charles R. Bowers
Director · 1889 – 1946 · Creco, Iowa, USA
Charles R. Bowers was a cartoonist and slapstick comedian during the silent film and early "talkie" era. He was forgotten for decades and his name was notably absent from most histories of the Silent Era, although his work was enthusiastically reviewed by André Breton and a number of his contemporaries. As his surviving films were rediscovery he has been one of the greats of the silent film era; along with Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd
Movies13
Movie7.7ComedyCharley asks for his girlfriend's hand in marriage, but her father, the police chief, angrily refuses to allow her to marry anyone who is not himself a policeman. Charley then decides to join the police force, so that he can win her. But when he applies, he is rejected because he is too small. Charley doesn't give up, and he soon thinks of a way to avoid the size restriction - but simply joining the force is only the first challenge that he has to face.
Nothing Doing
1927 · 3 votes
Movie5.8ComedyCharley is obsessed with learning the Charleston, so he can enter and win a local contest, which promises a large prize and the hand in marriage of a beautiful woman.
Fatal Footsteps
1926 · 6 votes
Movie9.0ComedyAnimationOnly a few minutes remain of this partially lost film. A scientist discovers a potion that restores things to their original form: pets, jewelry--endless possibilities. His assistant wonders about its applications, with comical results.
Hop Off
1928 · 1 votes
Movie6.3FantasyComedyCharley invents a machine that turns ordinary, breakable eggs into rubbery, unbreakable ones for transport. He builds a Rube Goldberg contraption of parts stolen from his neighbors. Rival egg companies want his invention, one of them stooping to sabotage to get it.
Egged On
1926 · 23 votes
Movie10.0Whoozit, produced in 1928 by Bowers Comedy Corp, was considered totally missing. This unique 16 mm print was discovered in 2008 in the collections of the Eye Film Institute. It is incomplete, and only retains the second half of the original production. It was restored digitally by Lobster Films, Paris, in November 2013.
Whoozit
1928 · 1 votes
Movie6.5ComedyCharles Bowers is once again an eccentric inventor. This time, he has only a matter of hours to debut his extraordinary new invention in order to collect a huge bequest from his deceased father. Along the way, his evil uncle tries to sabotage the machine, so the inheritance will go to him.
A Wild Roomer
1927 · 6 votes
Movie6.5FantasyComedyThe Liars Club is holding their contest to see who can tell the most unbelievable story, with a gold medallion waiting to be awarded to the winner. Disappointed with the other members' bland efforts, one member brings in Charley Bowers, who has an extraordinary tale to tell. Charley claims to have invented a magic potion that enables him to grow absolutely anything by a simple grafting process, and he proceeds to tell his story to the club.
Now You Tell One
1926 · 18 votes
Movie5.7Science FictionComedyWhen Charley asks a young woman whom he is in love with to marry him, she tells him that he needs to get her father's consent. But when Charley then goes to see her father, who owns a restaurant, he ends up getting hired as a dishwasher instead. The rest of the kitchen staff soon find out that Charley is not a member of their union, and they go on strike. Charley is left by himself, leading to a series of upheavals in the restaurant, and a great invention.
He Done His Best
1926 · 6 votes
Movie7.7FamilyAnimationPete Roleum, an oil droplet, narrates a presentation about the history and uses of oil: He starts by introducing some of his relations, with illustrations of the things that they have done throughout history. He then turns to the modern era, and shows that oil has a great many important uses, some of which might come as something of a surprise.
Pete-Roleum and His Cousins
1939 · 3 votes
Movie7.0ComedyAnimationCharlie, working on a junkjard, always trying to help people in the most impossible ways with junk from his work place, hears from a German professor, that there is a bird, a Belgish Kongo, that eats metal. Charlie sets out on a ridiculous hunting expedition to catch one. With some music - the birds love music - and a strange worm he is able to catch one, but even then the bird offers some even more over-the-top surprises.
It's a Bird
1930 · 15 votes
Movie7.3ComedyCharley has to find an ostrich egg in a hurry for a disgruntled visitor, but he doesn't count on the introduction of some surreal plot twists and turns that foil his every attempt.
Say Ah-h!
1928 · 3 votes
Movie6.5ComedyCharley attempts to invent a non-slippery banana peel.
Many a Slip
1927 · 6 votes
Movie6.9HorrorComedyWhen a mysterious figure appears to cause a series of disruptions at the Frisbie Home in New York, word goes out to Scotland Yard that the Fuzz-Faced Phantom is at work. Soon, Charley MacNeesha and his assistant MacGregor are sent across the ocean to investigate.
There It Is
1928 · 22 votes