Directing
The worthless son of a rich man spends most of his time in jail. His father throws a pen at a map telling him wherever the pen sticks he must go and make his fortune. The pen lands on the kingdom of Guatamazela. He arrives and is attracted by a pretty girl, who turns out to be the Princess. A revolution breaks out and Al takes refuge in the room of the Princess. When he hears men coming he dons her clothes. But the revolutionists succeed and come to hang the Princess. His identity is discovered when the Palace Guards see him, and thinking he is the Princess, rescue him. The captain recognizes him and wants to shoot him. He finally eludes them all, rescues the Princess and all is well.
Nominally about attempts to steal a gold mine, the movie starts out with the air of a realistic comedy, then immediately descends into a series of perfectly timed gags which made me goggle at their improbability -- not the sort of thing you normally think of in a slapstick comedy. Very quickly the unerring ability of ropes to loop themselves around tree roots, stopping Al from plummeting to his death or an explosion to drop him on a bull came to make me goggle again.
Karel Novak is an incredibly naive Czech immigrant who is taken under the wing of streetwise New York chorus girl Sylvia. With the help of lovable cop-on-the-beat Murphy, Sylvia hides Karel from the immigration authorities and ultimately falls in love with him. In addition to Karel's illegal-alien status, the plot is complicated by a crooked lawyer and a group of well-meaning welfare workers who endeavor to place Sylvia's kid brother Frank in a foster home.
Life is just one thing after another for AI, the hard-working clerk in the grocery store. He waits on customers, settles disputes and "pinch-hits" as barber in the store's shop. He is busy waiting on customers when an inebriated gentleman comes in and demands attention. He asks whether Al has any dry herring, and when Al admits having some, he tells Al to give them a drink. Then he walks out, leaving Al amazed. In a few minutes the same customer enters again and wants to see some canned peaches. Al hands him a can but he insists upon seeing the can that forms the keystone of a big and wonderful looking pile of cans. Al takes this can out of the pile which falls in a wreck on the floor-and the customer then decides that it is the wrong brand. The village smart aleck enters and tries to mooch a few cookies out of a barrel. But Al has had experience with grocery store loungers before and fixes up a mousetrap which discourages the cookie-mooching habit.
Sea captain "Hurricane" Hardy searches for treasure in the Sahara Desert and encounters Helen Maitland, the last remaining member of a missionary group. He offers her protection and carries her to the coast, with the intention of claiming her for himself when she recuperates. At a rundown seacoast hotel, Helen befriends Ralph Alden, a young man fighting off addiction and despair, as well as a three-year-old orphan named "Peroxide" whom Leon Roche, the proprietor, is rearing.
An elderly business tycoon, believed to be dying, decides to give a million dollars each to eight strangers chosen at random from the phone directory.
Warren Quimby manages a drugstore while trying to keep his volatile wife, Claire, happy. However, when Claire leaves him for a liquor store salesman, Warren can no longer bear it. He decides to assume a new identity in order to murder his wife's lover without leaving a trace. Along the way, his plans are complicated by an attractive neighbor, as well as a shocking discovery that opens up a new world of doubts and accusations.
A doctor is driven into an investigation of sinister goings-on at a horse race track by his mystery writer ex-wife.
In Mexico, a former bandit settles down and picks out a beautiful young dancer to be his wife. His younger brother also comes home after having spent years in the U.S., and falls in love with his brother's intended fiancé. Rather than cause problems, the younger brother goes to Mexico City to become a matador. While there, he gets word that the police, who have been hunting his brother, have finally captured him.
CHEER UP - starring Cliff Bowes, with Virginia Vance, Eddie Boland, and Frank Alexander. Cliff vies for Virginia's affections with Eddie, but ultimately she chooses Cliff to be her groom. The newlyweds move in to their new home, but the spurned rival makes a shambles out of the house in retaliation.
Comedy starring one of the most prolific but underrated comedians of the silent era, Al St John.
Two reel comedy starring Al St. John
Life and activity at a hotel. Slapstick-style.
A Russian prince goes to Monte Carlo just after World War I with money supplied to him by Parisian Russians. He wins but the casino operators want him to honor the tradition of returning to the tables.
Two reeler served as Jean Arthur's screen debut.
First National gala celebrity banquet with stars.
When a dancer disappears from a theater, Clay Dalzell is asked to investigate, leading him on a trail of murder and deception.
The coquettish granddaughter of a respected small-town judge is stranded at a bootleggers’ hide-out, subjected to an act of nightmarish sexual violence, and plunged into a criminal underworld that threatens to swallow her up completely.
A mechanical brain is programmed to sabotage the government's secret lab while working on the first space station.
A homeowner takes delivery of his new radio. The crate is so big that the front door needs to be widened by about a yard. No problem when you've got a saw! In spite of the size of the crate, the radio turns out to be regular tabletop size. Further installation requires punching a big hole in the roof. That's when the downpour starts, filling the bungalow with water. Finally, the radio is working in spite of the torrent falling from the ceiling. The weather broadcast announces clear skies today. Let the fisticuffs commence!
