Doctor Cupid

When his pretty daughter is smitten with poet Carlyle Blackwell and vice versa, poppa forbids the banns. When the daughter goes into decline, the father calls in physician John Bunny, who recommends another doctor.... Carlyle Blackwell in disguise.

Vitagraph was a studio where everyone did everything, unless you were Maurice Costello asked to do stage carpentry, so John Bunny got a lot of screen time, and a chance for his Pickwickian charm to emerge on the screen. Here as the go-between of the young lovers, he offers a nice little performance.

A father (John Bunny) has some friends over for dinner with him and his daughter. The younger man professes his love for Bunny's daughter and reads a long poem to her about this. Father is not pleased and forbids the daughter from seeing him. As a result, she falls ill and the father is concerned. A 'doctor' (the girl's lover in disguise) agrees to see her and the dopey dad has no idea it's the guy he hates. Fortunately, the father relents and agrees to give them his blessing.

Like so many early films, the acting is a bit over the top, with various gesticulations by Bunny at times. This is pretty normal for 1911...so I just advise you to bear with it and accept it for what it is. However, despite John Bunny being a comedian, I wouldn't really consider this a comedy in the traditional sense...and has none of the usual slapstick you'd associate with comedies of the era. Instead, it's a mildly comedic situation. And because of this, I actually appreciate it more than the silly and over the top slapstick films of the era (which features a lot of meaningless violence and little in the way of story).

By the way, the other current review on this site says that John Bunny plays a doctor. This is a mistake...he plays the father. I am sure I have made a few mistakes here and there with my reviews, so I am not trying to be critical...just trying to make sure it's correct.