Top-Tier Alternatives Exploring the Legacy of Jazz Monkey: Cult Guide

Dir: William Campbell

In Babyland the babies are made of clay and baked in ovens until done. When they are overdone they come out brown, and when they are burnt, as it sometimes happens when the elves play a little game of African golf, then the babies come out Black. But they all seem just as happy regardless of the shade of their skin. The master of the factory keeps a stock room and in each pigeon hole he has a child. They are classified, indexed, and ready for delivery, so that when a little boy asks his mother for a brother he can get permission to call up on the 'phone and the master will deliver by stork. But this time the stork makes a mistake and picks a Black one instead of a white, which causes much trouble. The master himself rides a high-wheel bike through the air, overtakes the stork, and sees that the right baby is delivered.

Dir: William Campbell

A young man asks his boss for a dollar which he needs to buy medicine for his sick mother. The old lady is nursed by the clever monkey, who sizes up the situation and steals a dollar from the pocket of the cashier. Then the bank is robbed and the boss is locked in the vault. The children, however, save the money and help rescue the boss who has now changed his mind about the man and shows his gratitude by giving him a penny reward.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of A Penny Reward perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: William Campbell

An uncle is cheated out of a heritage by his baby nephew. He and his conspirators plot to finish off the interloper.

Dir: William Campbell

A rare film from C.L. Chester Productions. The wealthy and now-dead Mr. P. Nutt, in revenge upon his, bequeaths estate to his lovely niece-on the condition she marry a genius whom the world calls crazy. The search is on for a crazy genius.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Four Times Foiled perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: William Campbell

Snooky lives with a family and when one of the children is carried off by an escaped bunch of balloons Snooky goes about rescuing the baby from multiple dangerous situations.

Dir: William Campbell

Jackie and Tom are assistants in a nursery. Their job is to take care of the babies which tired mothers leave there while doing their shopping. Their duties are numerous, for the nursery is equipped with cubby-holes in which each baby is stored and a machine which bathes and dresses the infants. -The Mayor lives next door to the nursery and the noise and the tricks which Jack and Tom play on him annoys him so that he decides to spend the rest of the summer at Restwell Springs. Hardly has he become settled there before the nursery forces, accompanied by a few of the babies, arrive on the scene. Jack and Tom don't lose any time in starting mischief. Finally the Mayor in desperation calls the council together and proposes an ordinance prohibiting babies being born under twenty years of age. Their deliberations are interrupted by the kids, who have succeeded In substituting a hornet's nest for a roast and the hornets successfully break up the meeting. The Mayor chases the kids into the woods. Determined on revenge they procure a bear skin and attempt to frighten the Mayor who sees through the trick and lays for them with his cane. But a real bear emerges from the woods and chases the Mayor back to the hotel. The sick guests of the sanitarium suddenly regain their health and discard wheelchairs and crutches in a wild scramble for safety. The bear follows and soon clears out the hotel. Jackie and Tom are enjoying the fun hugely when the bear catches sight of them. They climb into their daschund-o-mobile but the dog refuses to pull until he sees the bear headed for them and then he dashes off down the road at express-train speed.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Roars and Uproars perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: William Campbell

This comedy short is about two broken families on different sides of the track. A little girl played by three-year old Doreen Turner has a caretaker played by Pal the Dog, and a secondary caregiver, her grandmother. Pal wakes her up, taking her from her bed to the downstairs kitchen in hopes of starting her day with a full breakfast. Meanwhile, Mr. Race (Jack Cooper) is living in a freight train car depending on the 8A train to wake him up along with his nephew (Lawrence Licalzi) and their pet monkey (played by Joe the Monkey). A comic scene has Race taking a shower using the steam engine water trough at the water stop. The makeshift wall obscuring his shower is blown over revealing him fully clothed man with an umbrella as he waits for the proper water temperature. Meanwhile, Jimmy has gone to forage for food and try to get some work for needed money. Fate brings the upper and lower class together when the girl's baby buggy with her rag doll and morning bottle of milk are intercepted by a hungry baby goat. The goat steals the bottle of milk and in the process the carriage with doll rolls down a steep hill. Enter Jimmy who saves the day by stopping the carriage and returning the doll. Jimmy is repaid by the grandmother allowing him to assist with the laundry. Yet more reveal humor transpires as Jimmy is given fresh clothes and he tries them on behind sheets hanging from the clothesline. As the dog and monkey play around the clothesline, the sheets move revealing Jimmy in underwear and other garments to the delight of the young girl. But things take a turn when Joe steals the rag doll and Pal, trying to retrieve it, ends up tearing the leg off of the doll. To punish the pair, Jimmy assigns Pal and Joe to laundry detail. Pal operates the hand-cranked washer with Joe on line duty. The grandmother has the rent money for the landlord but Jimmy's Uncle swipes it to take to his homeless friends. Joe and Pal must retrieve the money and convince him that honestly is the best policy - also the original working title of the short. This brings the whole cast together in a Sunday evening revival in which the tramps meet the better-off characters and they have a happy ending with boy and girl, uncle and grandma, and monkey and dog all paired together in harmony.

Dir: William Campbell

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The One Best Pet perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: William Campbell

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

Dir: William Campbell

A father's accumulated funds for the payment of his mortgage vanish just previous to the landlord's collection call. The two desperadoes that steal the wealth are trailed by Snooky, and the funds finally are retrieved and the home saved.