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

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

The town of Beer Bottle Bend is so tough that the babies chew tobacco. It is run in a high, wide, and handsome manner by the owner of Riley's Saloon. There is a little church in the town that was built in haste many years ago when there happened to be a lull in the festivities; it has been securely boarded up for years. Mr. Riley intended that it should remain so for his Sunday business was booming. A traveling evangelist who learned his profession as a circus performer arrives in the town with Charles Bullephant, a peevish elephant; Joe Martin, a highly-cultured orang-outang; and Buster, a famous trained horse. With help from his friends he sets out to make Beer Bottle Bend a church-going community. Riley realizes that he has strong competition and tries to upset the sky pilot's plans by having his favorite dancing girl vamp him. The preacher, who is somewhat of an athlete, takes the toughest of the bar-beetles down the line for a sound thrashing and begins work with his animals. Charley Bullephant stampedes them into the church. Joe Martin dashes around and drags in delinquents. Buster hauls off and flattens out the unruly with his last two feet. Within a fortnight Beer Bottle Bend enjoys a change of heart. On Sunday morning the little church is filled to the brim. The minister hands out large slices of the gospel, the animals stand by for more service, and right again triumphs over might.

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

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.

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 A Penny Reward perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: William Campbell

A little girl and her chimp foil a plot to fix a horse race. When the crooks figure out who spoiled their plan, they set out to get revenge, only to be outsmarted by a kid and a monkey.

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.

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 An Overall Hero perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: William Campbell

Two schoolmates, a boy and a girl, experience a variety of adventures with a dog, a horse, a monkey, and various other animals.

Dir: William Campbell

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.