Here we have the fairly typical Billy West comedy co-starring Oliver Hardy as head of a traveling theater company. West, as usual, plays Charlie Chaplin and causes problems and panic for Hardy at a hotel. As typical in this period, Hardy plays the Eric Campbell type heavy role. I think there are some good slapstick sequences and it's always interesting to see how well West imitates Chaplin. There's an interesting scene at the train station when Hardy and his wife arrive. Real travelers can be seen in the background which give you a small peek at the lifestyles and social behaviors in 1917. The story isn't very funny, but you'll laugh at the crude attempts at special effects. However, I think that's acceptable considering this film's age. You would never realize from the performance that a comic icon was developing in Hardy. So much of his early work has been lost. For these reasons I highly recommend this film for it's historic value.
