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Although Mack Swain is mostly forgotten today, those who recognize the name associate him with roles as movie villains...particularly Chaplin's rival in "The Gold Rush". But before this, he made quite a few Ambrose comedies for Keystone Pictures...and "Ambrose's Nasty Temper" is one of them.

The story begins with Ambrose being yelled at by his ill-tempered boss. But his boss isn't Ambrose's only worry...it seems that the woman who owns the company has a foul disposition as well. What's to become of poor Ambrose? How does he try to get his revenge after he gets fired? And, how does this backfire?

As you would expect from a Keystone film during this era, there is an emphasis on slapstick. In this case, it means folks kicking and hitting each other with little provocation. Folks in the 1910s thought this was hilarious...though today this sort of crude humor is rather dated and unfunny.

As for the story, it's very good for 1915. This is because quite a few Keystone films of the era were practically plotless and the director would literally tell the comics to 'be funny' or other vague directions.

Overall, not a great comedy but a very good one for its day.

In the 1910s, Mack Swain starred in a few silents with Keystone Pictures. He also played heavies in a few films as well as in Chaplin's masterpiece "The Gold Rush".

"Ambrose's Lofty Perch" finds Ambrose (Swain) the kind of some country long ago. In the beginning, he mostly sits around doing very little apart from watching some godawful women trying to dance seductively for him. He picks one of these untalented women to be his queen...though she seems quite unimpressed by all this. Later, an admirer tries to steal her away from King Ambrose...something which is sure to enrage the King.

While this is a far from hilarious film, it is quite good for its time. Most Keystone films of the era were light on plot and heavy on folks bonking, kicking and shooting at each other. This one has much more plot...a major plus. But there also just aren't all that many laughs either...making it mildly interesting but far from a must-see picture.

In the 1910s, Snub Pollard had a lot of work, as he was nearly always paired with Harold Lloyd and Bebe Daniels in a wide variety of comedy shorts. However, in the 1920s, Harold became so popular that he went off on his own and the team was no more. As for Snub, he continued to make shorts for the Hal Roach Studio...a few of which are absolute classics (such as "It's a Gift").

The print for "Hale and Hardy" that I found on YouTube was pretty blurry...not surprising since the movie is over a hundred years old.

The story begins with Snub an old man. When an old friend arrives, they reminisce about the good old days...and you soon flash back to these days. You also then learn that the pair were rivals for the affection of a young woman...and wow did that rivalry get nasty! And, ultimately, Snub wants revenge for the rival's actions

This is a moderately enjoyable Pollard film. I've seen better...but I've also seen much worse. Overall, an enjoyable short...one that shows with decent material, Pollard could be quite fun to watch.