A Bankrupt Honeymoon (1926)

movie

(32)

Country: USA
Genres: Comedy, Short
Release: 1926-02-07
Director: Lewis Seiler
Writers: Murray Roth
Language: None | English
Stars: Harold Goodwin (I) (1902–1987) , Shirley Palmer , Frank Beal , Harry Dunkinson , Oliver Hardy , Sidney Bracey
Runtime: 20 min
Awards: N/A
AKA: A Bankrupt Honeymoon (United States of America) , A Bankrupt Honeymoon
Plot: The copy I saw of this film comes from the only source which still exists, which was found in the Netherlands, and nobody had translated the subtitles. I don't speak any Dutch, but Google Translate graciously helped me get through this short nonetheless. This is from the Fox Imperial series of shorts, in which it seems the studio invested a lot of money and resources. Their memory is hindered today by the fact that they went with a policy of not using specific star comedians, but casting each comedy on its own. Oliver Hardy, who worked almost everywhere in the silent era, has a large role as a taxi driver (with his best bits in the first part of the movie), and the short is actually quite a funny and enjoyable one on the whole. It take crazy premise (a groom must do everything in his power to avoid paying anybody -- including the increasingly frustrated Hardy-- on his honeymoon), develops it with good gags and situations, then proceeds naturally into another crazy premise (a combination bus/restaurant company that immediately becomes wildly successful) and does the same. In all it leads to some very amusing bits of business, although there are some gags thrown in the end up not seeming very connected to the rest of the action, like a digression involving stealing chickens from another bus and frying them on the spot for dinner. Overall though a very slick and legitimately funny short, with a good pre-Laurel and Hardy role for Oliver Hardy.
IMDB:tt0271391