His Wife's Mistakes

19161916

IMDb RATING

7.1/10

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POPULARITY

435,485

101,186

Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle and Minta Durfee in His Wife's Mistakes (1916)

Comedy Short

Roscoe begins work on his new job as janitor of the Shortacre Building in New York. While performing his duties he enters the offices of a broker, I. Steele. The broker is out, but his wife,... Read allRoscoe begins work on his new job as janitor of the Shortacre Building in New York. While performing his duties he enters the offices of a broker, I. Steele. The broker is out, but his wife, who knows that her husband expects a rich customer in with a check for $10,000 to close a... Read allRoscoe begins work on his new job as janitor of the Shortacre Building in New York. While performing his duties he enters the offices of a broker, I. Steele. The broker is out, but his wife, who knows that her husband expects a rich customer in with a check for $10,000 to close an option, mistakes Roscoe for this Mr. R.U. Stout of Showme, Missouri. Thinking to be of a... Read all

IMDb RATING

7.1/10

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

435,485

101,186

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3User reviews

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Featured review

8/10

A family affair!

"His Wife's Mistakes" is a film that is directed by Fatty Arbuckle. He also stars in it, as does his wife (Minta Durfee) and his nephew (Al St. John)....making it truly a family affair. I must admit, however, that Al isn't given much to do here except collect a paycheck.

When the story begins, Fatty is hired as a janitor though he is a complete incompetent and makes a mess of most everything. Amazingly, the boss' wife is waiting to see Mr. R. U. Stout and when Fatty arrives, she asks him if he is R. U. Stout and he thinks she's making a remark about his poundage. Soon, she invites him to lunch and they go to a very strange restaurant...and soon the boss arrives...along with his gun!

In some ways, this film is definitely a product of its times...filled with pratfalls and slapstick. By the early 1920s, silent comedies became a bit more sophisticated...with little of the mindless shooting, punching and kicking you associate with slapstick. But here, it's a film by Keystone and was when slapstick was king...so of course it will have all that. I generally don't like slapstick BUT was amazed at Fatty's ability to take a fall or tumble. However, despite being light on plot and being filled with slapstick, it also manages to have some nice moments...and Fatty is quite nice in them.

For a slapstick Keystone film, this one is really good. While I prefer some of Fatty's more plot-driven and less slapsticky films (such as his great "Mabel and Fatty Adrift"), this one is very good and is well worth seeing....even if some of the humor is really yucky! See what I mean...you'll see what I mean by yucky!

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