User Reviews

This Keystone comedy stars Mack Swain and Polly Moran. Moran later in life gained some notoriety for her films co-starring Marie Dressler and so it's interesting to see her here when she's a bit younger. Swain was often the foil in Chaplin films but here he plays a much more likable guy. And, you may not recognize Edgar Kennedy, as he is younger and has a bit more hair...just a bit.

Mack plays an amazingly strong guy who is a momma's boy. Not surprisingly, his mother is VERY protective and when she learns that their servant (Moran) has taken a liking to Mack, Momma rebuff's her. However, later when Polly learns she's gotten an inheritance, Momma's attitude changes considerably. But, so does Edgar who now wants the lady (and her money) for himself. What's next? See this one and find out for yourself.

This is a cute little film with one BIG problem. Although it's clearly supposed to be a comedy, there isn't much about it that's funny. Aside from seeing Swain do amazing stunts due to his size and Moran making goofy faces, it might be hard to see it was supposed to be comedy. Not terrible but it should have been better. Still, it is amiable and a decent time-passer--especially if you like films from the Keystone era.

There's a bit of Freudian tension in the gags that start this Keystone movie and a bit of Jungian symbolism. Mack Swain chops logs, some of which fly into the kitchen. Polly Moran bites off part of a plate, so enamored of him is she. Later, she falls over on a chair, her legs spread and he enters to dump the split kindling into her lap. I may be over-analyzing, but just because Sennett's staff was making movie for the working class is no reason to assume they weren't up on the still exotic theories coming in from Vienna.

Other than that, this is a fairly typical Keystone triangle comedy with Mack and city slicker Edgar Kennedy -- he still has some hair at this point -- disputing for the hand of Polly. When she inherits money from her uncle, Mack turns her down because of his manly pride. Not so the citified Kennedy. The usual ruckus ensues.

The story and costuming makes me think that this might have been planned as a property for Roscoe Arbuckle before he fled to New York to escape the country bumpkin roles that Sennett liked to cast him in. The gags are more elaborate than Roscoe would have performed. Still, the result is a good Keystone with several nicely turned gags.

Madcap Ambrose (1916)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Charming Keystone two reeler has Mack Swain playing Ambrose, a large, lovable mama's boy who happens to be the man a servant (Polly Moran) has a crush on. However, mama won't allow that until she learns that the woman has just won an inheritance. MADCAP AMBROSE really doesn't turn into a madcap until the very end of the picture but it remains a watchable film thanks in large part to the performance from Swain. If watching all of these Keystone films during TCM's festival has made me anything it's a fan of Swain who I had only seen briefly before. I really thought he was a fine comic actor but I really loved the way he just played that lovable, guy next door type. The actor would be incredibly charming when he's playing down the sweetness of his character but he also perfectly nails that tough guy size. There are a couple really good jokes about his strength including one where he breaks a log into two just by walking into it. The story itself really wasn't anything we haven't seen before but I thought Swain and Polly really helped carry it and make it much more than it deserved to be.