The Naggers


The Naggers was a series of 18 film short films produced by Warner Brothers at the Vitaphone studio in Brooklyn, New York. These featured Jack Norworth and Dorothy Adelphi as an arguing husband and wife in a variety of domestic settings. This basic premise predated the popular radio series The Bickersons and many future TV marital comedies.

Overview

Often listed in the trade magazines as either part of the Vitaphone Varieties or “Pepper Pots”, these black and white comedies averaged 7 to 10 minutes in length.
Jack Norworth was a songwriter and ex-husband of the famous Nora Bayes, both subjects of a later Warner feature, Shine On, Harvest Moon. He teamed with his then-wife Dorothy Adelphi in a pilot film, Odds and Ends, released in May 1929 as part of the Vitaphone Varieties. Norworth also had appeared in a few other films for Warner-Vitaphone, starting with 1928’s Songs and Things.
The little Nagger comedies were played before the main features in 1930-1932, along with the latest Looney Tune or other accompanying Vitaphone short subject, and were generally well received by the critics. Today, much of the humor may seem a bit milder to viewers. A few have been shown on Turner Classic Movies.

List of titles (with director and release or review dates)

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