Lovemania

Al St. John and Doris Deane have just gotten married when Al gets a telegram from his uncle -- or maybe his cousin; the French-language print on the Cinematek Youtube site refers to him as both. Uncle is on his way with a check for a million dollars, since Al has taken his advice and remained single. So everyone decides the way to deal with this is to pretend that Al is insane.

The logic may escape you as it does me. The point is to have Al jump around like a kangaroo on a pogo stick and make faces. It must have seemed like a good idea to the movie's director, who was also Al St. John with some uncredited help from his uncle, Roscoe Arbuckle. Once you accept the premise, it's amusingly done, even though the plot and Al's performance was duplicated in dozens of short subjects in the period. The net effect: no real surprises, but decently realized.

On the morning after his wedding, Al St. John receives note from his uncle that he's on his way to give him a small fortune - on condition that he isn't married. An elaborate plot to deceive the uncle is thought up. Al St. John was the nephew of Roscoe Arbuckle, who, after the scandal, directed many of St. John's films anonymously, including this one. Al St. John may not posses the immediate charisma of Chaplin, Keaton, or Lloyd, but he does have jaw-dropping acrobatic skills, which are in full display here as he falls, climbs, and jumps all over the frame in a series of gags choreographed with mathematically precision.