A man is reading the paper at breakfast and ignoring his wife. When she tries to get him to pay attention, he starts an argument and she stops out--going home to momma. He is far from sad, and begins to dance a sarcastic jig! But the last laugh is on him when he tries to do all the many jobs his wife had to do to keep house and he finally begs her to return.
For 1908, this is a very good comedy and it starred the first big film comedian, Max Linder. Chaplin and many of the later comics praised Linder's brilliance and give him credit for much of their work, but today it's darn near impossible to find any of his films. I've seen about a half dozen and that might be almost all that remains due to old nitrate film's habit of disintegrating or exploding. Additionally, the number of films he made isn't as many as some of the later comics because Linder killed himself when he was quite young. Both of these factors would explain why very few people would recognize his name today.
Now back to the film. The comedy is decent enough but because of when it was made, the writing and acting seems pretty broad and extremely simplistic. However, considering that few films of 1908 are watchable today, the fact that this one is still interesting is a tribute to Linder.
For 1908, this is a very good comedy and it starred the first big film comedian, Max Linder. Chaplin and many of the later comics praised Linder's brilliance and give him credit for much of their work, but today it's darn near impossible to find any of his films. I've seen about a half dozen and that might be almost all that remains due to old nitrate film's habit of disintegrating or exploding. Additionally, the number of films he made isn't as many as some of the later comics because Linder killed himself when he was quite young. Both of these factors would explain why very few people would recognize his name today.
Now back to the film. The comedy is decent enough but because of when it was made, the writing and acting seems pretty broad and extremely simplistic. However, considering that few films of 1908 are watchable today, the fact that this one is still interesting is a tribute to Linder.