Father Gets in the Game

19081908
10m

IMDb RATING

5.1/10

120

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

512,591

124,058

Short Comedy

"You have got to keep up with the bandwagon or quit." This never impressed old Wilkins so forcibly as when his son and daughter give him the go-by, stamping him as a "has-been," and away out... Read all"You have got to keep up with the bandwagon or quit." This never impressed old Wilkins so forcibly as when his son and daughter give him the go-by, stamping him as a "has-been," and away out of the game. Even Mrs. Wilkins, who is as vivacious as a widow, snubs him. He keenly feel... Read all"You have got to keep up with the bandwagon or quit." This never impressed old Wilkins so forcibly as when his son and daughter give him the go-by, stamping him as a "has-been," and away out of the game. Even Mrs. Wilkins, who is as vivacious as a widow, snubs him. He keenly feels his condition and resolves to alter it. With this in view, he enlists the services of Pr... Read all

IMDb RATING

5.1/10

120

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

512,591

124,058

Top credits

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5User reviews

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Featured review

5/10

proto-Keystone slapstick

A previous IMDb reviewer has stated that Jeanie Macpherson, who appears in this film, was Cecil B. DeMille's wife. That's not correct. Macpherson had a long and significant career as DeMille's favourite scenarist; she wrote or co-wrote the scripts for many of DeMille's most important films and quite a few of his obscure films. Macpherson (who appears in this movie as a young flirt) was quite attractive in her younger days, and there are rumours that she and DeMille had a long sexual relationship. But she was definitely never married to him.

'Father Gets in the Game' features Mack Sennett -- the future king of Keystone -- in unconvincing makeup and whitened hair as Wilkins, an ageing man who watches enviously as his adult son courts the pretty young ladies. Wilkins goes to a hairdresser for a dye job: the hairdresser is named Dyem, which tells you what sort of comedy this is. Conveniently youthened (and looking much more like Sennett's actual appearance at this time), Wilkins goes forth with lecherous intentions. He flirts with various young ladies (including Macpherson and Linda Arvidson), some of them more friendly than others. Slapstick complications ensue, with a few proto-Keystone pratfalls.

The most interesting aspect of this early comedy is the inclusion of some exterior sequences shot in Central Park, with some genuine pedestrians caught by the camera. I'll rate 'Father Gets in the Game' 5 out of 10, mostly for its historical significance.

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