Ben Turpin is the piano player -- actually a one-man band in a saloon. In comes Edward Laurie, twenty-guns a-blazing, to tell him of how he loved his wife and she left him to go on stage with a tempter. When her company stops at the saloon and Ben falls in love at first sight, both men leave in pursuit of Gypsy Abbot.
Sources claim this is the best comedy that Turpin did for Vogue Comedies, where he spent some time between leaving Essanay and Mack Sennett getting through the Vogue switchboard to speak to him. Turpin's handling of the one-man band at the beginning is indeed quite funny, but the film is never shot to emphasize his goofy looks and crossed eyes. Instead, every shot is in medium or long distance, except for one medium close-up of Miss Abbot. That may be good for the flow of the story, but who on earth watches a comedy for the story?
Sources claim this is the best comedy that Turpin did for Vogue Comedies, where he spent some time between leaving Essanay and Mack Sennett getting through the Vogue switchboard to speak to him. Turpin's handling of the one-man band at the beginning is indeed quite funny, but the film is never shot to emphasize his goofy looks and crossed eyes. Instead, every shot is in medium or long distance, except for one medium close-up of Miss Abbot. That may be good for the flow of the story, but who on earth watches a comedy for the story?
