Burn 'Em Up Barnes

Johnny Hines, a popular light leading man of the early 20s, starts as Burn 'Em Up Barnes -- even his parents call him Burn 'Em Up', so I suppose odd baptismal names were popular back then -- in this racing car comedy, a popular genre of the era (Wallace Reid starred in a series of them for Paramount). The script is fast and furious until the plot kicks in, with funny titles and sight gags galore.

"Burn 'Em Up" Barnes is the son of a rich automobile magnate. When his car breaks down, he is mugged and tossed aboard a freight train. There, he befriends a hobo named King Cole. The pair end up in the town of Westwood, PA, where they get mixed up in various situations. Barnes falls for a local girl named Madge. Barnes and Cole are later falsely accused of kidnapping, and jailed. When the bank is robbed, Barnes' father and Madge help him escape from jail, whereby he enters the local auto race and speeds after the crooks.

This film got better as it went along. The early scenes were okay, but didn't seem to interest me too much. The action then picked up and things seemed to move along faster. I particularly liked the relationship between Hines and Breese; they create some funny sight gags, and Breese lends some dignity to the role of hobo. There is also some funny byplay between Barnes and Harry Frazer, who plays Carpenter's effeminate fiancé. The action scenes are well-staged, especially the rescue of a baby boy wandering along railroad tracks ahead of an oncoming train.

The title cards contains plenty of puns and wisecracks.