I saw this film at the 1998 Cinema Muto festival in Pordenone; they screened a print from the Museum of Modern Art with the original intertitles missing. Fortunately, the action in this short comedy is simple enough to follow.
Mrs Jones receives a telegram announcing that her mother is coming to visit. Mr Jones expects the worst; sure enough, his mother-in-law forbids him to smoke and drink in his own home. In what seems to be reverse psychology -- those titles are missing -- he takes the harridan out on the town, buys her dinner and expensive gifts, and ultimately gets her drunk. The mother-in-law kisses Jones in front of his wife, prompting Mrs Jones to eject her own mother!
This is very crude domestic comedy, but it doesn't pretend to be anything higher. The fact that this sort of thing can still raise laughs is proof that the deadlock of wedlock hasn't changed very much in the century since this movie was made. Yes, dear. My rating for this: 5 out of 10.
Mrs Jones receives a telegram announcing that her mother is coming to visit. Mr Jones expects the worst; sure enough, his mother-in-law forbids him to smoke and drink in his own home. In what seems to be reverse psychology -- those titles are missing -- he takes the harridan out on the town, buys her dinner and expensive gifts, and ultimately gets her drunk. The mother-in-law kisses Jones in front of his wife, prompting Mrs Jones to eject her own mother!
This is very crude domestic comedy, but it doesn't pretend to be anything higher. The fact that this sort of thing can still raise laughs is proof that the deadlock of wedlock hasn't changed very much in the century since this movie was made. Yes, dear. My rating for this: 5 out of 10.
