Walter the Prodigal

Walter comes home drunk from a fancy dress ball he has attended as a convict. His father announces that he has been a wastrel long enough and throws him out. After sleeping it off in the bushes, he learns that a convict has escaped and the cops are after Walter.

Walter Forde began on the stage, went into short films for a few years and moved behind the camera as a director for a couple of decades, with some solid success in comic thrillers like the Inspector Hornleigh series. This short prefigures that move. It's a bit of a thriller as Walter tries to elude the authorities with a few familiar gags thrown in. Given the murky print I saw and the lack of a supporting score, it's hard for me to be impressed, but this short has all the hallmarks of a competent production.