This is the best feature that Mack Sennett produced. In it he combines most of the standard tropes of the melodrama turned on their heads -- the faithful wife, the vile landlord who will forgive the mortgage in return for the pretty daughter's hand, the strong-thewed husband -- played by the always unlikely Ben Turpin -- the Mysterious Stranger, the baby rescued from the raging river and so forth, punctuated with straight comedy gags. It combines them with bits rooted firmly in realistic situations -- the cat that eats the pie, Marie Prevost trying to get a pie out of the oven onto a cooling rack when it is tangled up in her skirts.
The movie works brilliantly, because Sennett made use of some great talent in front of the camera and behind it, particularly in the editing department -- always his strength throughout the silent era. The focus goes back and forth between rustic comedy, and melodramatic excess at a speed that should keep every viewer pleased.
The rip-roaring melodrama was a dying form by this time, but still popular in rural America, and this was the audience that Sennett aimed this comedy at. It turned into a financial problem because Sennett was involved at the time in getting his own releasing organization set up and it never really worked properly -- distributors required a steady stream of product to operate efficiently. Nonetheless, this comedy survives, and in very good condition too, so you can see it in all its glory. Good hunting.
The movie works brilliantly, because Sennett made use of some great talent in front of the camera and behind it, particularly in the editing department -- always his strength throughout the silent era. The focus goes back and forth between rustic comedy, and melodramatic excess at a speed that should keep every viewer pleased.
The rip-roaring melodrama was a dying form by this time, but still popular in rural America, and this was the audience that Sennett aimed this comedy at. It turned into a financial problem because Sennett was involved at the time in getting his own releasing organization set up and it never really worked properly -- distributors required a steady stream of product to operate efficiently. Nonetheless, this comedy survives, and in very good condition too, so you can see it in all its glory. Good hunting.