The Day After

A couple holding a party fail to keep their promise to stay away from the punch and get absolutely slaughtered after welcoming each guest with a cup of the stuff. The next morning, there are the inevitable consequences to be faced. Slight but amusing - and just as relevant as it ever was.

Despite the success that Mary Pickford received as an actress, she didn't really cut it as a writer in the same way that D.W. Griffith and Charles Chaplin did. She was a pure silent actress directed by such giants as Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille. Needless to say, I didn't think much of her work here.

Arthur Johnson and Marion Leonard are hosting a costume party to celebrate the New Year -- this split-reel was released on December 30th -- and stand by the punch bowl in the foyer to welcome their guests. The punch is not for them, but as each pair arrives, they insist their hosts drink with them to welcome in the New Year. After all, we are best friends, each says. As the party goes on and the celebrants form a sort of Edwardian Conga line, the hosts behave perhaps a little more genially than seemly... until the next morning.

This short has Mary Pickford credited as the writer. It's her third in that role. Griffith directed 150 movies that year, and even if they were short subjects by modern standards, he had a lot of work to do and was ready to take ideas from anyone, and pay for them. The movie itself is very good for the year, which means unremarkable for Griffith. As he gained command and proficiency in his role of director, he reached the point where he could give his well-trained company of regulars instructions, send them into the costume department and have them come out ready to perform in the new style of pantomime that Griffith had settled on. The result is a silly little comedy with some typically Griffith-style finger-wagging.