Out of Place

This is a rare bird in the field -- a Fox short comedy from the early 1920s in pristine condition -- although the print seems to be a trifle dark -- and you can find it on Youtube.

It is directed by and stars Al St. John and the first half is a little below average. It's a variation on the sort of rustic comedies his uncle, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, used to star in with Mabel Normand almost a decade earlier. The gags, while reasonable and appropriate, are, like the cows, milked too much. The pretty girl is swinging on a swing, reading a newspaper and knocks four of her suitors and her father into the water, with a long, slow-motion shot of them plunging into the depths. Al's ability to do things around her without getting kicked is a standard, if well-executed gag that speeding up the film permitted, but the only excuse I can see for five iterations of the set-up instead of the usual two is they needed to pad the film.

The second half, however, is much better and I wish it were the entirety. There's a fine variation on people plummeting into a puddle that seems bottomless. Al does a fine eccentric dance, there is a series of gags about flimsy silverware... well, there's no need to tell you everything. Just be assured that the second half more than compensates for any weakness in the first and take a look.