Summary
In the whimsical landscape of 1920s slapstick, 'Checking Out' emerges as a masterclass in canine-centric picaresque, elevating Pal the Dog to a position of top-billed authority over his human counterpart, Harry Sweet. The narrative commences with a visual symphony of symmetry: a roadside hot dog stand where man and hound, dressed in matching sartorial splendor of aprons and caps, dispense frankfurters with vaudevillian precision. This domestic tranquility is shattered by the arrival of Al Alt, a rival entrepreneur whose competitive malice triggers a kinetic sequence of architectural annihilation, leaving both establishments in splinters. Transitioning from the wreckage of the street to the structured chaos of the grand hotel, the duo finds employment within a labyrinth of service. While Sweet navigates the treacherous waters of a budding romance with the hotel's switchboard operator, Pal assumes the Herculean burden of a dual-role servant, oscillating between bellhop duties and check-boy responsibilities with an anthropomorphic grace that borders on the surreal. The conflict reaches a fever pitch when Alt, now a common brigand, attempts a heist and physically ejects Sweet through a window in a moment of theatrical defenestration. The resolution, however, rests entirely upon Pal’s shoulders—or rather, his paws. Armed with the crooks' own confiscated firearms, the 'Wonder Dog' enforces a ballistic stalemate, maintaining order with a warning shot that resonates as a definitive assertion of his dominance. The film culminates in a matrimonial rite where Pal, acting as the ultimate arbiter of social cohesion, provides the necessary nod of approval, a gesture that encapsulates the film's subversion of the traditional human-animal hierarchy.
Synopsis
Pal, the Dog, gets top billing in the comedy short, "Checking Out." He's paired for the second time and row with Harry Sweet. Harry and Pal run a hot dog stand with both having matching costume of hat and apron. Trouble comes early in the form of a rival stand owner (Al Alt) who wants to put the hot dog stand out of business. By the time the scene finishes, both hot dog stands have been obliterated. With hot dog stand in ruins, Pal and Harry team up to work in a hotel. With Harry finding a love interest in the hotel operator, Pal comically has to perform both the bell hop and check boy's work. Rival Al Alt appears and forcibly removes Harry in a comical scene of defenestration. Fortunately, Harry gains knowledge that rival Alt is going to rob the hotel. In the film's comical high-point, Harry gets control of the crooks guns, entrusting Pal, the Wonder Dog, with both guns as the canine holds the crooks at bay. When one of the incredulous crooks tries to rush Pal, the dog fires a warning shot which keeps the crooks at bay until the police arrive. In the finale, Pal retrieves a minister so Harry and the hotel operator can be married. Comical flourish occurs as the minister asks anyone if there is an objection. With all eyes on Pal, the canine nods in approval ending the ceremony and the film. After having played the underling to Pal in a Mah-Jong film and this film, Sweet was probably pleased to move on from Century Comedies to other studios.
