Harry Conway “Bud” Fisher (1885- 1954) first introduced the characters of Mutt and Jeff in 1907 in a daily comic strip (still a novel concept at the time), while working as a cartoonist for the “San Francisco Chronicle”. Such was the popularity of the mismatched cartoon duo that a film spin-off was inevitable. A live-action comedy series (1911-12) by Al Christie proved short lived. Charles Bowers, later joined by Raoul Barre, began producing an animated Mutt and Jeff series in 1916, churning out nearly 300 shorts over the next ten years. The Big Swim is one of the last entries in the series and is considered one of the better efforts (though the punchline of the final Ellis Island gag gets lost in translation in this Dutch print). The series’ success helped it to endure despite conflicts between Fisher, Barre and Bowers, before it came to an end in 1926. That same year, Bowers started appearing in his own live-action comedies, applying the techniques and surreal humour he had honed as an animator to breathtaking effect.

Oliver Hanley