This is much more interesting comedy than the existing reviews suggest. It starts with a rather fine car-chase, whose purpose is not entirely clear to the viewer - is it two cars chasing to a wedding (the couple are dressed for that occasion) or one car pursuing another to prevent a wedding? In fact we soon discover it is the latter and that the par are an eloping couple.
The second feature of interest is that the wedding is not prevented and the two are duly married. The girl's parents remain however determined and whisk her off to Reno to get a divorce. There would incidentally be no difficulty in annulling an unconsummated marriage provided the parents are able sufficiently to twist the arms of their daughter or even, regardless of her views, if she is still a minor.
This marks the film from most familiar elopement comedies and is a reminder that, even before it passed legislation to make divorce easier in 1931, Reno in Nevada already had a reputation as the US "divorce capital", a trade that was of considerable economic consequence to both the town and state. Its role in this respect goes right back to 1908 when when the wife of William Corey, president of United States Steel Corporation, came there to get a particularly scandalous and well-publicised divorce. The key to the quick divorce was a short residence requirement and this had been reduced from six months to three months by 1927 (and was reduced to just six weeks in 1931). Perhaps however it is true that Reno judges could easily be persuaded to waive the residence requirement altogether as the film suggests (the Reno judge who "makes more money out of the fight game than Jack Dempsey" - a very neat title).
Since his new bride and her family done gone to Reno, our hero has no choice but to pursue in his very zippy little motor. The subsequent battle against the combined forces of the family, corrupt judge and the entire Reno police force is genuinely thrilling in a way slapstick chases rarely are and lead to his being returned across the state-border to California.
After failing to overpower his rival at the railway station where the latter is about to embark on "the alimony special, he is arrested for assault but escapes and heads across the desert to Reno in the detectives' car. When this car breaks down, the police catch up with him but this time he escapes in the police-car (this films is a real feast for motor-fanatics, arriving just in time to prevent the remarriage of the girl to his rival.
How he finally manages to force the family to agree to her remarriage to him I leave viewers to see for themselves.....
