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Recommendations
Senior Film Conservator
Exploring the cinematic excellence in Family Troubles is a journey into United States cinema, the thematic layers of this 1923 classic invite a wider exploration of the genre. If Eddie Barry impressed you, these next recommendations will too.
With Fred Hibbard at the helm, Family Troubles became to reinvent the tropes of Short cinema for a global audience.
Eddie is the head of a family who claims eight dependents, a wife and seven children when reporting his income tax. In papa's enthusiasm about purchasing an automobile, he forces sixty dollars on a mechanic engaged in "fixing" one, whom papa mistakes for the owner. Before the dumbfounded "fixer" can protest or explain, papa drives the flivver through somebody's back yard, en route for his home. The children are delighted and while their mother prepares for the first country drive, they nearly wreck the "lizzie." Finally, all are safely in and a drive in the country begins. So does the trouble. Meantime, a tribe of policemen pursue what they believe to be a thief. Their pursuit is interrupted repeatedly by laughable and gymnastic accidents. Eventually, papa comes to a closed bridge, decides to drive through the stream, but the bottom is quicksand. It is then a case of "women and children first" and with no help available, the family sees the newly acquired luxury sink out of sight. Every cloud has its silver lining, so when the police arrive, there being no evidence against the fugitive, he is allowed to go in peace, walking the family home - with mother.
Based on the unique cinematic excellence of Family Troubles, our vault has identified these titles as the most compelling follow-up experiences for fans of Short cinema:
Dir: Fred Hibbard
In Youthville, a specialist in everything is seeking patients by running around on the street with a huge sign under his arm with the legend "Doctor" in large letters. A millionaire's daughter is leaving home with her father to attend the fashion domestic science school conducted by Prof. P. Soop. She is forced to leave her beau, a tiddley-winks champion, behind but drops a note out of the train window giving him much courage. He drives behind the train on the track all the way. The ingenue is given her assignment to a bed in the girls dormitory and takes a fit on it at once. There is a chance for the doctor. He arrives and proceeds to look her over when several lions happen to escape from a wharf upon their arrival from Africa and they infest the dormitory. A terrible scramble takes place and there is more excitement than ever when the lions begin to attack the girls. They roll the bed together and save themselves temporarily by making cages of the bed springs. The doctor finds refuge in an ice box and the colored errand boy in a red hot oven. The doctor is overcome by the heat and the colored boy catches a cold in the oven. A wild chase winds up with general happiness and the love sick maiden'-marries the tiddle-winks' champion.
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: Fred Hibbard
Dr. Cutup paid so much attention to sport that his bank-roll was getting low and he was forced to devise an unusual means for getting business. Baseball was his great diversion and when the Female Giants hove into sight he deserted business for the ball grounds. But his wife and baby needed money so he hired Mrs. Joe Martin to carry out his pet scheme of filling the office with business. He made Mrs. Joe Martin dress up as office boy and sent her out for a dozen bananas. "Eat them and shatter the peels right in front of my door". The scheme was successful beyond even his expectations and the accidents which happened on banana paved side-walk brought a golden trickle into his till. Highly satisfied with the business Dr. Cutup put on his hat and decided to go out for an evening's entertainment, when kerflop. he went broke on his own business scheme.
Dir: Fred Hibbard
Sheriff Jim is an overgrown mother's boy who eats enormous meals and loves a girl named Susan.
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Dir: Ralph Ince
A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.
Dir: Edgar Jones
A mail-order bride arrives at a Maine lumber camp but doesn't like her prospective husband.
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Dir: Eduardo Notari
A crime drama in the Gennariello-series. The police detective in Naples that is confronted with modern gangsters and crime events.
Dir: Jerome Storm
Ne'er-do-well Homer Cavender ventures to the city from Mainsville in an effort to find fame and fortune. Both elude him, and after clerking for two years, Homer returns home for a vacation. Impressed by his flashy clothes, the townspeople assume that Homer has achieved success. Attempting to win Rachel Prouty from his rival, Arthur Machim, Homer continues the deception by announcing that his employer, Kort and Bailly, has dispatched him to enroll stockholders for a proposed new plant to be built in Mainsville. Machim discovers the sham and denounces Homer as a crook. Meanwhile, Homer returns to New York, convinces his employers of the merits of his plan and comes home triumphant, with a proposal for both the new plant and for Rachel's hand in marriage.
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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.
View DetailsAnalysis relative to Family Troubles
| Film Title | Atmosphere | Complexity | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Merry Jailbirds | Ethereal | High | 92% Match |
| African Lions and American Beauties | Gritty | Layered | 88% Match |
| His Royal Slyness | Gothic | Layered | 92% Match |
| A Jungle Gentleman | Tense | Dense | 85% Match |
| Oh, What a Knight | Ethereal | Dense | 90% Match |
This guide was algorithmically generated using the cinematic metadata of Fred Hibbard's archive. Last updated: 6/19/2026.
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