Chafed Elbows (1966)

(On Cable TV, October 2022) As a movie, Robert Downey (Senior)’s Chafed Elbows is quite unlike anything else: It’s a still-picture film where most of the content consists of black-and-white photos, with narration tying it all up. If that sounds like the dullest thing in the world, let me correct you right away, because you haven’t heard the film. Yes, it’s an experimental movie, but the narration is going right for a surrealist’s funny bone. Transgressive material, oddball concepts, deadpan delivery and clever wordplay all combine for a surprisingly laugh-out-loud experience that could probably work just as well as an audiobook. (It’s been a while since I’ve read some Mark Leyner, but there’s a strong kinship there.)  I’m up to maybe an amputated handful of Downey Sr. films, but my favourites are clearly the ones he intended as comedies. Utterly offbeat, memorably zany and constantly entertaining, Chafed Elbows makes for a great trailer for Downey’s masterpiece Putney Swopes.