The Global Archive For Devotees of The Fatal Marriage: Cult Guide

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 fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Jazz Monkey 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 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.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of A Rag Doll Romance perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: William Campbell

A fascinating piece of cinema that shares thematic elements.

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.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Beat It 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 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.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Monkey Stuff 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 group of children put on an imitation circus in the backyard.