Wife and Auto Trouble

Wife and Auto Trouble is the now old hat story of a meek man, his wife and mother-in-law, his brother-in-law, and the secretary he's having an affair with. It was a nice surprise seeing Mae Busch, long before her appearances with Laurel and Hardy, playing the secretary. Dig her jumping several feet in the air when the mother-in-law and wife appear in the office! There's also some hilarious shooting involving all the main characters there! Then there's the chase involving the Tri-Stone Cops (formerly Keystone Kops) that brings everything to an exciting climax and you have the typical Mack Sennett flourish. Another highly amusing effort worth seeing for silent movie buffs.

Wife and Auto Trouble (1916)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Decent Keystone comedy has a poor husband (William Collier) being abused at home by his wife, her mother and her brother. The husband is having an affair with a woman (Mae Busch) he works for and when the brother finds out he calls his sister and soon a war is on. WIFE AND AUTO TROUBLE isn't going to go down as a comedy masterpiece but there are enough good moments to make it worth sitting through even if it's not the most original film out there. I actually thought the best stuff was at the beginning when we see the husband sitting at the breakfast table where his no-good brother-in-law gets all the attention as well as the bigger egg and the bigger cup of coffee. This entire sequence contains some pretty funny stuff including a clever joke on how the husband tries to get the bigger coffee. The stuff inside the office is where things start to get rather silly but there are still a few interesting moments from here. It's also fun to see that the cheater is actually the good guy, which I'm sure had some moral police in 1916 in an uproar. For the most part Collier does a very good job in the lead and Blanche Payson is great as his evil wife. Joseph Belmont is fun as the brother-in-law. The film ends with a chase and just the kind that you'd expect from the studio.

Mack Sennett always felt that a good film must be incorporated with a steady to fast pace to keep the viewer busy. And in this production of his(which includes some self promotion in one sequence)is the perfect example. And if you thought special effects were in the dark ages during the silent era, think again. You will be reminded of the amazing mobility scenes in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon(2000) when watching Mae Busch leap up to a ten foot high ledge on a wall behind her. And the fire hydrant scene in "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World(1963) was done here first! The first rate cast includes former Broadway star William Collier, Sr., who would later be a major influence on John Ford's "Up the River"(1930). And Laurel and Hardy fans will need no introduction to Mae Busch, here playing a flirt. Last, but not least, the famous Keystone Kops turn up in the latter half of the movie. The plot concerns a dominant mother, her favored son, the disliked son-in-law, and his wife. The pretty secretary who attracts both men is thrown into the works, as well as a new car that was ordered for her, but taken by the wife. A frantic chase scene, that was always carried out to perfection in a Mack Sennett production is the highlight. Worth watching over and over again.

Comedy Format: Standard, B&W Directors: Dell Henderson and Mack Sennett Starring: William Collier Sr. And Blanche Payson

A slightly jumbled and hectic story, in the slapstick style of comedy, using Keystone Kops-type of action, is presented here with plenty of classic silent-era comedy stunts. Then there is the story inside, between our hero, his abusive wife and the mother-in-law, that tends to get a little too silly. The wife shooting off the gun, chasing the husband around an apartment building, was way too cartoonish, but that is how they did things in the silent era.

Using speeded up action, because of the 18 frames per second, the blurring images sometimes helped hide some of that stuff, but not here. That was the only problem with slapstick too. Sometimes it went too far or too long and became too cartoonish, but slapstick would be a genre that would last for over 65 years and that is a good thing. It's good clean comedy. The current DVD version I saw has mediocre canned music complete with vocals that are an obvious cheap add-on by the DVD company. The problem is, I don't think it hurt the film at all. It may have helped. It still was fun to watch and short enough not to be brutal.

7.3 (C+ MyGrade) = 7 IMDB.

Amusing short film about a hen-pecked man who has to endure not only his mother-in-law living with him, but his brother-in-law too. When his wife overhears him bad-mouthing her to his secretary, sparks fly, leading to a chase involving the "Tri-stone Cops". Nothing special, but fast and funny, with an especially wry and enjoyable opening half.