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The Sex Life of the Polyp

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The Sex Life of the Polyp
The full film
Directed byThomas Chalmers
Written byRobert Benchley
Produced byWilliam Fox
StarringRobert Benchley
Distributed byFox Film Corporation
Release date
  • July 25, 1928 (1928-07-25)
Running time
11 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Sex Life of the Polyp is a 1928 short film written and performed by Robert Benchley, based on a routine he first did in 1922. The short, which was adapted from an essay by Benchley, documents a dim-witted doctor attempting to discuss the sex life of a polyp to a women's club. This was the second of Benchley's 46 comedy short films, with six made for Fox, one each for Universal Pictures and RKO Radio Pictures, 29 for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and nine for Paramount Pictures.

The film, made in the then-new Fox Movietone sound-on-film process, was a success and was later included in the compilation Robert Benchley and the Knights of the Algonquin.

Robert Benchley

In 2007, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[1][2]

Further reading

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  • Maltin, Leonard, Selected Short Subjects. (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015) ISBN 1511644893
  • Billy Altman, Laughter's Gentle Soul: The Life of Robert Benchley. (New York City: W. W. Norton, 1997) ISBN 0-393-03833-5
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References

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  1. ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  2. ^ "Librarian of Congress Announces National Film Registry Selections for 2007". Library of Congress. Retrieved May 8, 2020.