Mr. Jones at the Ball (1908)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Comedy from D.W. Griffith has the devious Mr. Jones attending a party where there's no problem until he rips his pants. He innocently goes into a room with a lady so that she can fix them but the men and women outside the room get the wrong impression and chaos breaks out. Griffith will never be known for his comedies and while a lot of them fall flat on their face, there are a couple that can stand out but this here isn't one of the best. I think this is simple enough of a comedy and considering the title cards are all lost on this short, it's still pretty simple to follow. I'm not sure if the cards introduced us to this character in a certain way or not but it's clear he's just the type of comic character who finds himself at the wrong place at the wrong time. I thought John R. Cumpson did a pretty good job in the role of Jones. I especially liked this comic timing when he becomes frantic trying to figure out a way to get out of the room while both doors are being blocked by people trying to break in to get him. Mack Sennett can be seen in a few scenes so fans of his will have a reason to check this out. At just under 8-minutes there's no really big laughs to be had but in the end the short is pleasant enough for fans of the director.
