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Recommendations
Archivist John
Senior Editor
Since its 1928 debut, A Home-Made Man has maintained a cinematic excellence status, the legacy of A Home-Made Man is a beacon for those seeking the unconventional. Our criteria for this list were simple: only the most cinematic excellence and relevant titles.
The 1928 landscape was forever altered by the arrival of to sustain a sense of mystery that persists after the credits roll.
The burly proprietor of the Business Man's Gymnasium and Cafe is in a hole. Among all his strong-arm pupils there isn't a soda mixer in the lot and the patronage of the soda fountain is suffering. He hangs out a "man wanted" sign and awaits results. A knock comes on the door and in walks an old lady. With her is her son Lloyd, who applies for the job as soda-jerker. He is accepted, dons his apron and starts mixing the drinks. As a soda-counter man, Lloyd is a total loss with no insurance. He tries to copy the artful style of his fellow workers at the fountain but only succeeds in spilling the drinks all over the place. He has little better luck serving the food orders. A patron orders a stuffed tomato and Lloyd, watching his co-worker tries it himself. He stuffs it with everything behind the counter until it is stretched all out of shape. When the customer sticks it with his fork, it explodes in his face. For this Lloyd is taken from behind the counter and set to work in the gymnasium as an instructor. He tries to teach the class a lesson in Indian.club work but makes a mistake with his orders and the entire class is knocked out. When he tries to show them how to perform on the flying rings, he puts them all into a state of horror by his healthy swings which carry him out of the window high over the city below. The proprietor comes in just in time to see Lloyd do something more foolish than ordinary. He gets sore and tells Lloyd that he is going to give him boxing lessons. On the floor above a lady is taking exercise and jumps up and down. Her weight dislodges one of the globes on the light in the ceiling below, just above the head of the gymnasium proprietor. Just as Lloyd swings, the globe hits the proprietor on the head, knocking him out on his feet. Other globes fall until the burly instructor is completely out, and Lloyd is hailed as the gym champion.
Critics widely regard A Home-Made Man as a cult-favorite piece of Short cinema. Its cinematic excellence is frequently cited as its strongest asset, solidifying its place in United States's film legacy.
Based on the unique cinematic excellence of A Home-Made Man, our vault has identified these titles as the most compelling follow-up experiences for fans of Short cinema:
Dir: Vernon Stallings
Krazy Kat is held in jail and Ignatz finally bails him out after encountering "guilt".
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Dir: Hal Roach
An American book salesman (Lloyd) is persuaded to go to the kingdom of Thermosa to impersonate the Prince. He is greeted by a peasants' revolt before the real prince shows up to claim his throne and princess. The revolution succeeds, and the American is elected president of the new republic.
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Dir: Unknown Director
The village youths are rivals for the hand of the local belle. Their battles lead them to the village store, where chaos soon reigns, terminating in the place being blown up, leaving Bobby a happy victor.
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Dir: Malcolm St. Clair
A dancing instructor gets involved with a newly rich family.
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Dir: Lloyd Ingraham
While walking along the street one day, Arthur P. Hampton, an impoverished young doctor, and his chums, Stub Masters and Johnny Stokes, are persuaded to part with their last remaining funds by tag day solicitor Mary Jane Smith, with whom the doctor promptly falls in love. Doc's friends then hit upon a get-rich-quick scheme. Knowing that his Uncle George has promised a large sum of money upon his nephew's marriage, they persuade Doc to send out fake wedding invitations naming Mary Jane as the blushing bride. Uncle George, elated at the good news, writes to Mary Jane's aunt, Angelica Burns, an old sweetheart, to invite Mary Jane and Angelica to be his guests on an ocean voyage. Meanwhile, Mary Jane pays a visit to the doctor's office and, upon seeing the wedding invitations, becomes so flustered that she trips and sprains her ankle. Doc comes to her rescue and then begs her to pose as his wife. She agrees, but at ship-side, Stub and Johnnie confess all to Uncle George, who flies into a rage until Doc announces that he and Mary Jane have chosen a wedding at sea.
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Dir: Mason N. Litson
Edgar and his chum try to amass a fortune in one day by cornering the fan market on a hot afternoon when the circus comes to the small town where they are spending their vacation.
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Dir: Richard Smith
Two female candidates for Chief of Police live across the hall from each other, and their political rivalry follows them home, leading to plenty of hi-jinks.
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Dir: Maurice Campbell
Carver Endicott, a young sophisticate, is rejected by his fiancée for being too foppish and dull. When she feigns an interest in his father, Carver attempts to disgrace his family name by working as a farmhand and later as a busboy in a hotel. However, the newspapers only praise him for his self-sacrificing principles; and finding that he cannot bring shame to the family through menial labor, he takes up with a notorious actress. But when this maneuver also fails, he returns to his former fiancée, who has no further complaint about his being an inexperienced dullard.
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Dir: Edgar Jones
A mail-order bride arrives at a Maine lumber camp but doesn't like her prospective husband.
View DetailsAnalysis relative to A Home-Made Man
| Film Title | Atmosphere | Complexity | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Great Cheese Robbery | Surreal | Linear | 87% Match |
| His Royal Slyness | Gothic | Layered | 92% Match |
| New Ralgia | Ethereal | High | 85% Match |
| Don't Weaken! | Tense | Dense | 89% Match |
| Mary's Ankle | Surreal | High | 86% Match |
This guide was algorithmically generated using the cinematic metadata of Norman Taurog's archive. Last updated: 5/13/2026.
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