The Matrimaniac

This is one of my favorite early comedies starring Douglas Fairbanks, mostly, I think, because it wastes no time in getting to the action, which is within the construction of a journey/adventure plot. And, the action is fast paced without appearing choppy, as was the case of many early silent films. (Keystone slapstick comedies were often at fault there, but also were some of Fairbanks's other vehicles, as well as many other films due in part to editing handicaps back then.) In the opening sequence, we're introduced to the loony voyage that is a couple running off to elope and the ensuing chase as her father and his preferred suitor try to stop them. The rest is comedic mayhem and plenty of opportunities for Doug to show off his athleticism, pep, and smile.

"The Matrimaniac" is another of Fairbanks's several collaborations with scenarist and title writer Anita Loos, who provides him with a tight, humorous, no-exposition, no-filler romp this outing. A new addition is Constance Talmadge as the leading lady, fresh off her career-making turn as the ingénue Mountain Girl in D.W. Griffith's "Intolerance". Unfortunately, Fairbanks and Talmadge never teamed up again, probably because of the Hollywood standard practice back then of one star to a picture; both stars were top comedians in their day—starring in feature-length comedies while the supposedly less-refined clowns and Keystone-types were stuck making short films. Although Talmadge is mostly overshadowed by Fairbanks here, she does more with and gives her comedic touch to the usually rather thankless role of Doug's leading lady.

Doug and Constance Talmadge want to get married, but her father, Wilbur Higby objects. So they elope by train to Jazzville. Complications ensue.

It's another occasion for Doug to show off. He climbs buildings and bridges, walks across wires, and even wrestles with a donkey who only goes backwards. Miss Talmadge also gets to do some very amusing things like insulting would-be husband Clyde Hopkins and escaping from a locked hotel room. Except for a very brief preface, it's all a series fo chases carried out at speed by Doug, and a slower, deliberate pace by those who oppose him.

Victor Fleming is Doug's cameraman, as he would be for another three years. He and director Paul Powell clearly understand how to create excitement. We are treated to constant motion in Doug's solo scenes. Either Doug, or something in the background, is in constant motion, or it's a setting shot and no more than a second and a half is expended on it. Titles are likewise brief. There's no need for long establishing shots in a movie like this.

This is a very neat and well-delivered comedy. It is not as wonderful as the more surreal The Mystery of the Leaping Fish (the same year) or When the Clouds Roll By (1919) but it is still very enjoyable.

There is a 9.5mm Pathescope version of the film (just ten minutes) available on youtube and, although it is terrible condition, it is very interesting to observe the changes made from the original in abbreviating the film from the original 45 minutes. Jimmy, who, in the original, film is Douglas' rival and the father's chosen son-in-law is here changed into the brother, presumably because all of the business between him and the girl is cut (as is the part of the maid, whom he flirts with by mistake in the original after she has changed clothes with the heroine). Quite a neat little edit (since the final scene is cut) is to transpose a scene from near the beginning where the overs kiss to the end, thus providing an alternative punch-line.

There is however a third change that has nothing to do with the abbreviation and is a shocking reminder of a rather unpleasant change that had taken place in US society between the time when the film first appeared in 1916 (with its sly reference at the beginning to pre-wartime slogans "preparedness" and "watchful waiting") and the early to mid-1920s when this Pathescope version would have appeared. In the original the father has Douglas and the priest arrested as "escaped lunatics". In this Pathescope version they are arrested as escapees from Ellis Island. In 1921 the Quota Act had been passed in response to growing anti-immigrant sentiment and, from being the place where immigrants were welcomed to the US, Ellis Island had become essentially a detention centre for (now) illegal immigrants....

This is a pretty familiar topic for silent films and it came up later in films by Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton (among others). A guy and his girl are trying to elope but the controlling father and the jilted fiancé are in hot pursuit. However, despite it being a pretty complex and well-made film for 1916, I can't rate the film any higher because the film just forgot to be funny. Maybe some of this is due to it being a Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. film--and he wasn't all that well-known for comedy but for action and adventure. But most of the blame is probably the fault of the writers and director. It honestly looked almost like they weren't sure if they were making a comedy or a romantic drama and this hybrid result just isn't all that compelling. The film needed more sight gags and stunts or else it should have tried much harder in the romance department. As it is, it's just an interesting historical curio--one you don't need to see but one that is pleasant enough if you do give it a chance.

By the way, this film is included on the same videotape from Kino Video as THE NUT--another Fairbanks comedy. Unlike THE MATRIMANIAC, THE NUT is an exceptional comedy and really surprised me by how adapt Fairbanks was with comedy. Plus, in THE NUT, you get to see a very amusing BRIEF cameo by Fairbanks' buddy, Charlie Chaplin--as Charlie himself plays a Chaplin impersonator!

Well, you'll REALLY have to watch "The Matrimaniac" in order to see literally EVERYTHING that can go wrong during the elopement of a loving couple - you won't believe your eyes... Jimmie Conroy and his girl Marna (played by none other than Constance Talmadge, who at the time was just as famous as her sister Norma!) take the train, followed by Marna's father and the guy he'd chosen for her husband, both steaming with rage; and at the station where Jimmie wants to get a reverend to marry them on the train, the two men are being detained, while the train rolls on with the fiancé Marna doesn't want aboard, and Jimmie and the reverend chasing after them...

And more complications lead to the reverend being locked up in jail as a 'hobo', and Marna being locked up in a hotel room by her 'fiance' - but that, of course, doesn't stop Jimmie: he just climbs out onto the telephone wires and... But see for yourself! You'll get LOTS and LOTS of laughter and unbelievable chase scenes; and of course, MAGNIFICENT displays of Doug's GREAT acrobatics - don't miss it for ANYTHING in the world!!