Along Came Auntie

It's surprising how many silent comedies rely on the hoary old plot of warring couples having to pretend to be happily married in order to inherit a fortune from a wealthy relative. This one was co-written by Stan Laurel apparently but there's little up there to indicate so. Oliver Hardy has a fairly large part as Vivien Oakland's first husband, from whom she is divorced (although there's still a spark there). Ollie is Vivien's rich Auntie's favourite and her inheritance depends on Auntie believing they're still happily married. Vivien's real husband, played by Glenn Tryon, therefore has to pretend to be the lodger for the duration of Auntie's stay, a situation which he is not at all pleased about.

Tryon is a rather bland leading man and comic actor. It's no surprise his name has now largely been forgotten. Hardy certainly outshines him in every scene and provides the only few amusing moments the film contains. The story pretty much relies on the pair of them coming to blows every couple of minutes. It's not particularly funny in the first place so, when their frantic wrestling is repeated over and over it quickly begins to wear thin. It is interesting to see Ollie in an early role without Stan Laurel though.