On The Front Page - 1926

Country: United States

Language: English (intertitles)

Director: James Parrott

Writers: Stan Laurel, James Parrott

Stars: Stan Laurel, Lillian Rich and Tyler Brooke

Release Date: 28 November 1926 (USA)

Filming Locations: Hal Roach Studios - 8822 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Production Co: Hal Roach Studios

Sound Mix: Silent

Color: Black and White

Plot Keywords: Countess | Butler | Scandal | Newspaper | Mansion  | Two Reeler | Hal Roach

Genres: Comedy | Short

After being beaten to a story of scandal involving Countess Polasky, James W. Hornby assigns his son 24 hours to find an even more scandalous story about the countess. After spending the night in the wrong street looking for the wrong countess, he comes up with a plan: the butler will be seen in a comprimising situation with the countess, and then photographed. The countess, who is sick of reporters, has other ideas...

Continuity

The sign on the door of James W. Hornby's private office reads "James W. Hornsby".

The Caretaker's Daughter - 1925

Country: United States

Language: English (intertitles)

Director: Leo McCarey

Writer: H.M. Walker (titles)

Stars: Charley Chase, Katherine Grant and George Siegmann

Release Date: 11 October 1925 (USA)

Also known as: La fille de l'aubergiste (France)

Production Co: Hal Roach Studios

Runtime: USA: 20 min (2005 alternate version)

Sound Mix: Silent

Color: Black and White

Plot Keywords: Mistaken Identity | Disguise | Cabin | Farce | Taxi  | Marriage | Gunfire | Flirtation | Revenge | Used Car | Brake Failure | Caretaker | Infidelity | Mustache | Used Car Salesman | Sock On The Jaw | Automobile | Actor Shares First Name With Character

Genres: Comedy | Short

It starts with an excellent sight gag of a car sliding up and down a hill due to its bad brakes, made many times funnier by its transformation into a characteristic Chase gag about frustration. Katherine Grant plays very well opposite him and helps carry the great sequence where each realizes the other is smeared from blowing on the engine. The topping gag to the sequence is much enhanced by what come before it -- Charley's use of the principles of comedy in order to be actually funny is pretty much unmatched.

After Charley gets himself in trouble with a gangster by pawning off his wrecked car on him, and if wife by accidentally agreeing to drive the girl who's married to the gangster and dating his boss to a cottage, what follows is a very Charley Chase variation on the silent comedy canard of the car chase. Instead of actually watching the car chase we find out that five cars full of people angry at each other for mistaken reasons are following each other -- and meet up with them at their destination.

Here, Chase takes the absurd possibilities engendered by this embarrassing situation and draws them ten-times life size for maximum effect. Chase's brother James Parott, himself the star of a previous series at Hal Roach, is here in an outlandish costume as the titular caretaker, and advantage is taken of their resemblance when Charley disguises himself in the same walrus moustache, round glasses, long trench coat, and Chinese hat for a brilliant gag (recalling a somewhat similar situation involving Charley disguised as his mad-looking brother in his earlier short "Sittin' Pretty") in which the two seem to be the same person serving dinner lightning fast but with endless schizophrenic errors.

Crazy credits

Except for Charley Chase, whose name appears above the title, there is no cast list. Actors are introduced by an inter-title frame just before they appear on the screen. The IMDb cast list therefore uses this "order of appearance" sequence.

Flirty Four-Flushers - 1926

Country: United States

Language: English

Director: Edward F. Cline

Writers: Al Giebler (titles), Carl Harbaugh, Mack Sennett, Jimmy Starr (titles), Phil Whitman               

Stars: Madeline Hurlock, Billy Bevan and Vernon Dent

Release Date: 26 December 1926 (USA)

Production Co: Mack Sennett Comedies

Sound Mix: Silent

Color: Black and White

Genres: Comedy | Short

With her winnings from an essay contest, a waitress gets dolled up and goes to a swanky resort to snag a millionaire husband. 

Somebody's Fault - 1927

Country: United States

Language: English

Director: Norman Taurog

Stars: Lloyd Hamilton, Estelle Bradley and Bob Kortman

Release Date: 13 March 1927 (USA)

Production Co: Lloyd Hamilton Corporation

Sound Mix: Silent

Color: Black and White

Genres: Short | Comedy

Figures Do Lie - 1928

Country: United States

Stars: Frank Alexander, Jack Cooper and Violet Palmer

Release Date: 1 April 1928 (USA)

Production Co: J.R. Bray Studios

Sound Mix: Silent

Color: Black and White

Genres: Short | Comedy

There is a series of silent comedies out on DVD called "Old Time Comedy Classics" and it consists of lesser-known comedies by mostly forgotten comedians. A few of these are excellent, but unfortunately many are pretty bad. In Volume 7, the only decent comedy short is FIGURES DO LIE. While it's nothing exceptional, it is worth seeing--even if it is in very many ways a copy of Harry Langdon's PICKING PEACHES, though "borrowing" from other films was relatively common at that time.

The very beginning of this film is missing and it stars Violet Palmer and Jack Cooper. Cooper is sneaking out to judge a beauty contest. When his wife finds out, instead of getting angry, she goes along in disguise along with the husband and a bevy of beauties. Once at the contest, she enters while wearing a mask and piques Cooper's curiosity.

The film is okay--mostly because it doesn't seem to stick to the main plot too well. After the wife wins the contest, the film should have then ended with her revealing who she really was. However, another side plot was added and it really tended to dilute the message. Plus, the comedy just wasn't all that well done, though it was worth seeing.

By the way, when you see the film, look at the beauty contestants. Standards of beauty sure have changed since 1928.

Please Excuse Me - 1926

Country: United States

Language: English

Director: Sam Newfield

Writer: William Anthony (story)

Stars: Charles King and Constance Darling

Release Date: 10 November 1926 (USA)

Production Co: Century Film

Sound Mix: Silent

Color: Black and White

Genres: Comedy | Short

This is one of a million comedy shorts of the 20s showcasing so-so pratfalls in the middle of Los Angeles, then a very pretty city. The comedy -- involving a collection agency employee who makes up wild excuses to explain his tardiness -- is better when the jokes are on the road, and involve how cars can be smacked into each other, flipped around, and seem to have mischievous minds of their own. The lead comic has no particular personality, though it is a little unusual that our nebbishy hero is employed as a repo man.

Trivia

Sixth release in the 'Excuse Makers' 2-reel comedy series.

Connections

Follows Love's Hurdle (1926), Which Is Which? (1926)

Followed by A Second Hand Excuse (1926), What'll You Have? (1927), What's Your Hurry? (1927), Some More Excuses (1927), Be My Wife (1927), She's My Cousin (1927), Keeping His Word (1927), That's No Excuse (1927), My Mistake (1927), What an Excuse (1927), Please Don't (1927)