The Joke They Played on Bumptious

Some club men worked upon Bumptious' imagination until they made him believe he was intoxicated. When he was apprised of the fact he turned the tables by appearing actually intoxicated and smashing all the breakable things in the place. The first part of the picture is funny. There is a delicate humor in making Bumptious believe he is intoxicated, and his actions, including his facial expressions, are funny. The last part is not so good. It partakes of the slam-bang order, quite out of harmony with the delicately humorous first part. It would have been quite as funny for Bumptious to appear badly intoxicated, emitting war whoops, and making the jokers care for him, as it is for him to smash everything in the place. That partakes too much of the rough house and does not add to the fun. In this picture the fun is in the acting, not in what the actor does. The film would be improved by changing the ending so as to eliminate the slapdash and break part. - The Moving Picture World, December 31, 1910