John Cumpson has developed an interest in spiritualism. His friends make fun of him for this and play tricks on him. Can he get his revenge on them in this split-reel comedy from Universal?
Like many comedies of this era, the humor arises from practical jokes, a precursor to the slapstick comedies that Mack Sennett would begin producing the following year at Keystone. To the modern eye, these comedies seem obvious, their punchlines too easily predictable. Part of this is due to the short length of these comedies; there is no time to develop anything more elaborate and although the editing of this short is sufficiently advanced to get its plot across, it can't do anything more.
Despite these shortcomings, Cumpson was a popular comedy star of the era. He had already appeared in several films for D.W. Griffith and had created the "Bumptious" series at Edison before joining Carl Laemmle's burgeoning operations. He career would not last much longer. Thirteen months after this film was released, he would die of a heart attack at the age of 46.
If you wish to take a look at this comedy, a poor copy of it has been posted on the Eye Institute site on YouTube.
Like many comedies of this era, the humor arises from practical jokes, a precursor to the slapstick comedies that Mack Sennett would begin producing the following year at Keystone. To the modern eye, these comedies seem obvious, their punchlines too easily predictable. Part of this is due to the short length of these comedies; there is no time to develop anything more elaborate and although the editing of this short is sufficiently advanced to get its plot across, it can't do anything more.
Despite these shortcomings, Cumpson was a popular comedy star of the era. He had already appeared in several films for D.W. Griffith and had created the "Bumptious" series at Edison before joining Carl Laemmle's burgeoning operations. He career would not last much longer. Thirteen months after this film was released, he would die of a heart attack at the age of 46.
If you wish to take a look at this comedy, a poor copy of it has been posted on the Eye Institute site on YouTube.
