This is one of Stan Laurel's early starring roles, and while he shows a comic adeptness and energy there's little here to indicate the type of comic character he would become once he teamed up with Oliver Hardy. There's none of the hilarious tearful faces or dumb stares and he seems to be attempting to develop a brash go-getting type of character along the lines of Harold Lloyd.
The story is a typical silent comedy story. Stan's a salesman hawking Napoleon's biography who happens upon a young lady in danger of eviction by a villainous landlord if she doesn't come up with the rent by midday. By a circuitous and coincidental set of circumstances the landlord ends up being paid his own money in settlement of the arrears. It's quite a neat comic idea when you think about it, but the structure of this film is too loose and the payoff loses some of its impact as a result.
Stan clearly isn't the finished article here, but it's interesting to see him in the early stages of his career and there are a few mild laughs.
The story is a typical silent comedy story. Stan's a salesman hawking Napoleon's biography who happens upon a young lady in danger of eviction by a villainous landlord if she doesn't come up with the rent by midday. By a circuitous and coincidental set of circumstances the landlord ends up being paid his own money in settlement of the arrears. It's quite a neat comic idea when you think about it, but the structure of this film is too loose and the payoff loses some of its impact as a result.
Stan clearly isn't the finished article here, but it's interesting to see him in the early stages of his career and there are a few mild laughs.