Gus Visser and His Singing Duck

[humanfizix]

I'm an a**hole and I find pressing the duck offensive!

[LEDanimator]

DEAR LORD WHAT.

[MattTheSaiyan]

This guy is probably more famous now than he was then.....and there's no other film out there quite like this one!

[TheHalloweenHead]

What the god am I watching

[mkahmed89]

Duck brought me here

[UberMan5000]

It's tempting to say "People were really easily entertained in 1925," but it's hard to say that with a straight face in the age of YouTube...

[onthenext23rd]

Wow what an Original.

[MattTheSaiyan]

I heard somewhere this wasn't a commercially released film, but a test of the equipment. Either way, it's cool to see this glimpse of vaudeville.

[heine71]

One of the first talking movie shorts?

[WinstonSmith6079]

Ooo, ooo! I'd been looking for this! Oh, thank you, thank you for uploading this here and bringing this to us!

I gave it a Thumbs Up and marked as a Favorite! A kazillion thanks to the uploader!

[MrJoshy910]

thats my great great grandfather my names jimmy visser

[Parkyacar]

Is that really you great great grandad? I'm a ventriloquist and a big fan of the old vaudevillians. I had a friend that was a vaudevillian that i kept in touch with and passed away in 1992. If you really are his great great grandson do you have any photos or more info on him... All the Best, Greg

[cinematone1]

Gus Visser......my new #1 hero!

[murielsartre]

Did anyone tell that lad that he has a face just made for radio?

[rickoshaycomics]

Awesome, ducks as musical instruments

Reminds me of Steamboat Willie

[donho57]

Well at least we now know how the Aflac duck got his start...

[qwerti666]

So silly it could as well have been an act by Hans Teeuwen. :D

I feel sorry for the duck.

[CalamityKessel]

I want that 92 secs of my life back :(

[clownboy3333]

Does ANYONE know what he says at the end!!!!!

[appeasedsouls]

What is he doing to that duck to make him quack on cue?

[bulletproofcourier]

I have a sneaky suspicion he is pressing his thumb against the duck's sphincter. Wouldn't want to shake his hand after that performance...

[Axxl66]

That clip would fit good in a horror movie.

it really gave me the creeps

=S

[DiskPidge]

This perplexed me beyond all possible realms of comprehension.

[Hals]

duidelijk een Nederlander dit :D

[Gorillamydreamz]

Where exactly is his hand?

Never mind. i don't really want to know.

[Alire1]

NOW THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT!!!!

[jpbalkenende]

Don't be fooled his right hand index finger is operating the ducks quacks!

[ByTheBewks]

He's killing him!

[dj4ever007]

AFLAC!

[NightAire]

And little Lily was oh so silly & shy

And all the fellows knew

She would not bill & coo

Every single night some smart fellow would try

To cuddle up to her

But she would cry:

[NightAire]

Oh Ma, he's making eyes at me

Ma, he's awful nice to me

Oh Ma, he's almost breaking my heart

I'm beside him

Mercy! Let his conscience guide him!

Ma, he wants to marry me

And be my honey bee

Every minute he gets bolder

Now he's leaning on my shoulder

Ma, he's kissing me

[pjfanny]

Wow! Back in the days when 'having a part in you hair' really meant 'having a part in your hair'!

[Zorn101]

5 dollers says he is squeezing that ducks gonads!?!

[snowbaljr]

Whats he pullin to make that duck quack? lol

[xsecretfiles]

haha I don't think I understood what he was singing about. I caught couple of words here and there, but it didn't make sense.....

[WinstonSmith6079]

@xsecretfiles He and the duck are singing a tune that was very, very popular at the time called "Ma, He's Making Eyes at Me!"

Hehehe the duck says "WAAAACK"! LOLOLOLOLOL :D

[jeexbit]

what an odd fellow...

[helmski]

thumbinaduckbutt

[axlrose16]

tell this guy to stop putting his finger in the duck's asshole

[GB570]

I'm pretty sure hes dead.

[Arlo003]

Yeah, ducks don't live that long.

[briedude]

I wonder what he would think if he knew a whole new generation of people was seeing him on a totally new (relatively speaking) medium.

[oversoulx]

his brain would explode.

[RRaquello]

that duck is amazing. it quacks at the perfect pitch.

[dostoevsky1864]

Uh, no, definitely "he wants to marry me" (43-45 seconds). He's singing the song from a girl/woman's perspective ("and she would cry: Oh ma! He's makin' eyes at me"). Anyway. I've answered my own question now.

[dostoevsky1864]

I'm sure he's just grabbing that poor duck's ass to make it go AWK!

And why is he singing "HE wants to marry me"? Lol. It's only funny cuz it's so silly.

[Yuregenu]

He's singing "Ma, he's making eyes at me", but because of the very thick Dutch accent and the old crackling noise it's really hard to make out :P

The only thing I heard was the accent, but nothing else :D

[WinstonSmith6079]

@dostoevsky1864 It was a very popular tune at the time. And yes, he's singing it because it's funny and silly that a man should be singing that song...with a duck hehehehe LOL :D

[azqrlaf]

This guy is doing a typical ethnic parody vaudeville turn, common in the time period, but the duck is a good gimmic. He is also probably laying it on a little thick. Case might have wanted something that would generate a laugh no matter what, and the comic said "sure, I know what you need, no problem". and we all should be grateful to this guy, because it still gets a laugh no matter what!

[RobotArm3]

It's a good gimmick, and if they bomb he can always eat the act.

[CactiFlowers]

This guys is my idol!

[johnmcclatchy]

a lol was had

[Kqvic]

Wikipedia: Theodore Case Sound Test: "Gus Visser and his Singing Duck"(1925)was an early attempt by Theodore Case (1888-1944) to perfect a sound-on-film process. Case began work on his process in 1916. From 1926 to 1927, Case worked with Earl I. Sponable and movie studio boss William Fox to develop the Fox Movietone process. In 2002, the film was selected for the National Film Registry.

[Jeff251257]

Personally I prefer Owl Jolson but still, it's hilarious.

[JesusKrispies]

That's such a coincidence - I used to play the duck scrotum in high school. Great technique...

[Lauren8391ashley]

I hear that's a tough instrument to master.

[gui577b]

There's something bad going on with that right hand.

[ldge]

brcp4321: The film was made by Theodore Case, an engineer who had been working with the American radio pioneer Lee de Forest to develop a working film sound system in the late teens and early 20s. The two fell out (probably over patent assignments and royalties) in 1924 and went their separate ways. This film was made by Case (in late 1924 or early 1925) as a sort of advert to try and sell his technology to (among others) the major Hollywood studios.

[adobtan]

It is a clip from 1925 that I got on a Film Archives DVD.

[brcp4321]

where on earth does this wonderful clip come from and what age is it