High, But Not Handsome

In this 1920s comedic scramble, Al Cooke plays a man desperately attempting to maintain a facade of high-society elegance while his inherent clumsiness and a series of unfortunate social hurdles conspire to reveal his true, disheveled nature. Set against the backdrop of jazz-age expectations, the narrative follows Cooke and his companion, played by Kit Guard, as they navigate a world where appearance is currency. Alberta Vaughn provides the necessary romantic tension, acting as the prize for which Cooke's character is willing to endure endless physical humiliation. The film is less a linear story and more a choreographed descent into chaos, where the 'high' aspirations of the protagonists are constantly undercut by the 'not handsome' reality of their situation. It is a quintessential example of the era's fascination with class mobility and the inevitable failure of the common man to ape the aristocracy without falling over a rug.