Author Archive: Retro

Mr. Harding, a fussy old fellow, has a daughter; he also has a private secretary, an attractive young fellow, who falls in love with the daughter and gets his “walking papers.” Later he employs a female secretary, who proves to be an old schoolmate of his daughter. She drives the old gentleman to desperation by using perfumery extravagantly on herself and everything else about his office; so he decides to get a secretary over sixty years of age. In the meantime, Ralph, the first secretary, disguises himself at Betty’s suggestion as an old man and makes an application with the rest of the would-be secretaries. The apparent feeble and antique secretary at once starts to work, but his employer has no sooner turned his back when the ancient secretary becomes very spry and active in his attentions to Betty, and proves very strenuous in his embraces and kisses. Mr. Harding is apprehended of Ralph’s identity, [...]

This Keystone-Triangle three-reeler, produced by silent comedy maestro Mack Sennett’s company and the shorter-lived major studio that briefly flourished in the late-1910s, features a cast of lesser-remembered players. It’s a sunny day, which some choose to spend at the park kissing babies or flirting inappropriately with their nannies. Others take in a movie matinee, where the on-screen action is outpaced by the outrageous behavior of certain theater patrons. Marital strife between a restauranteur and his hoity wife contribute further to one chaotic afternoon whose ever-increasingly craziness culminates in much farcical gunplay, mistaken identity and general property damage.

Errol plans on giving his wife a doll for her birthday, but she mistakes his intentions and accuses him of infidelity.

An obese cooks’ lover succeeds in escaping the police after an incident involving her masters.

Leon’s boss buys a racehorse, but doesn’t want word to get out that he is the owner, so he has the papers filled out showing Leon as the owner of record. At first, Leon is excited, but the arrangement soon creates difficulty for him. First, he knows nothing about horses except how to bet on them, and second, when his wife finds out, she is furious.

Out west, some bad guys have Dorothy Earle tied to a tree while they duel with their 20-shooters to see who gets her. The sight of the helpless Dorothy drives Marcel Perez wild; he rescues her. Her father tells them they can keep each other, just empty one of the gold mines up in them thar hills. However the bad guys incite the local Indians to attack Our Heroes in this funny comedy.

Not wishing to see their nephew marry a hotel manucurist, Leon and his wife decide to stop the wedding plans. At the hotel, Leon mistakes Maizie (Dorothy Granger), the gold-digging girl friend of the house detective (Tom Kennedy), for his nephew’s intended. He invites her up to his room and promises her a trip to Havana if she will jilt the nephew. Enter Maizie’s boy friend, followed by Leon’s wife, both of whom are sure Leon is up to hanky-panky and Leon, as usual, is up to…and in it.