The Sex Life of the Polyp (1928)

Name: The Sex Life of the Polyp
Genre: Comedy
Released: 1928-07-25

11m

Running Time

July 25, 1928
Release Date

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Plot.

Dr. Benchley is addressing the Ladies Club on the subject of the reproductive habits of the polyp, a small aquatic organism. Although he is not able to display his live specimens, he has prepared a series of pictures of his subjects. He explains that the subject is made more complicated by the fact that polyps are able to change their sex from time to time. Then he presents some of the pictures of his specimens and the experiments that he has done with them.

Where to Watch.

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Cast & Crew.

Robert Benchley

Lecturer / Writer

Thomas Chalmers

Director / Producer

Details.

Release Date
July 25, 1928

Status
Released

Running Time
11m

Content Rating
NR

Genres
Comedy

Last updated: 2025-02-11

This Movie Is About.

short

Wiki.

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.

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".