This is the second short comedy Lloyd Hamilton starred in for boy wonder producer Jack White and it's a fairly standard slapstick work for the era. It's a quiet day at the gunpowder factory, with the boys tossing cannonballs around, when in comes a union organizes who leads them in a strike. The factory owner calls in his brother and nephew (Ham) to help him out. The usual assortment of explosive-based gags ensue, ending in a chase with a thrill gag.
Considering the sort of character and beautifully set-up gags that Hamilton would excel at in a few years, I looked for signs of future greatness, but they were largely lacking. Some of the gags have not aged well, although his extended reactions are amusing -- in one, he is caught in an explosion, which leaves him in blackface; however, when he sees himself in a mirror, he thinks he is someone else; in another, a chicken eats gunpowder and immediately lays exploding eggs. Ham would have a way to go to make himself stand out among the crowd of short subject comedians. Still, he would get there.
Considering the sort of character and beautifully set-up gags that Hamilton would excel at in a few years, I looked for signs of future greatness, but they were largely lacking. Some of the gags have not aged well, although his extended reactions are amusing -- in one, he is caught in an explosion, which leaves him in blackface; however, when he sees himself in a mirror, he thinks he is someone else; in another, a chicken eats gunpowder and immediately lays exploding eggs. Ham would have a way to go to make himself stand out among the crowd of short subject comedians. Still, he would get there.
