I was surprised both by the quality of the print and of the acting in this very early comedy; the former was in really excellent condition (possibly due to receiving far less wear than, for example, Cecil Hepworth's contemporary work!), while the performances are far less frenetic than the Keystone-Kops-type antics of later Hollywood film. It's also fascinating as a glimpse into what is essentially still the street-scene of Victorian England, in an era before the Great War was even a shadow on the horizon. One of the Hove Corporation water-carts makes a starring appearance as its drowsy driver is taken by surprise, while the grocer's shop sports special-offer placards in the window; some things never change! It is strange to see chase comedy played out in such very English surroundings; the policeman in truncheon and helmet, the suburban villas and hedges of Hove, and even the little bit of street furniture that provides the characters with their step down from the fence -- I've no idea what those grated boxes are for, but they still exist! -- rather than the more familiar cops and dusty roadways of early California.
As Kevin Brownlow observes, when you watch both this film and the French Pathé film "A Pastrycook's Practical Jokes", it is quite obvious that one or the other is a straight remake, for the same episodes occur scene for scene. Again, however, it is fascinating to see the same story so effectively 'translated' into what then becomes in turn a very French environment....
As Kevin Brownlow observes, when you watch both this film and the French Pathé film "A Pastrycook's Practical Jokes", it is quite obvious that one or the other is a straight remake, for the same episodes occur scene for scene. Again, however, it is fascinating to see the same story so effectively 'translated' into what then becomes in turn a very French environment....