Summary
Within the charmingly anachronistic confines of the Slippery Elm Picture Palace, a rural cinematic haven, audiences are treated not just to a film, but to a performative act of storytelling orchestrated by the establishment’s charismatic proprietor, Theo Bender, affectionately known as 'His Nibs.' Flanked by his son, Elmer, the local newspaper editor Mr. Percifer, the meteorological prognosticator Wally Craw, and the melodious Miss Dessie Teed at the organ, Theo assumes the mantle of live narrator. He audaciously strips the intertitles from the feature presentation, 'He Fooled ‘Em All,' opting instead to vocally guide his patrons through its unfolding drama. The on-screen narrative follows 'The Boy,' an ingenuous youth who ventures from his idyllic hometown to the bustling metropolis, only to be swiftly dispossessed of his meager wealth and even his attire by a cunning city swindler. Reduced to a dishwasher to subsist, fate intervenes when the very same urban charlatan attempts to ensnare 'The Girl' and her unsuspecting father, luring them to the city with deceptive promises. Providentially, they alight at the very hotel where 'The Boy' toils, setting the stage for the young hero to ingeniously thwart the villain’s nefarious scheme. Despite the film’s original, more ambiguous conclusion, 'His Nibs,' in a delightful flourish of authorial intervention, assures his captivated audience of a traditional, romantically satisfying resolution: the boy and girl, against all cinematic odds, achieve their matrimonial bliss.
Synopsis
At the Slippery Elm Picture Palace, an old-fashioned movie house, various comical rural types are seen: theater owner "Theo Bender" (also known as "His Nibs"); his son, "Elmer Bender;" newspaper editor "Mr. Percifer;" "Wally Craw," who predicts the weather; organist "Miss Dessie Teed;" youthful tenor Peelee Gear, Jr.; and on the screen, a protagonist known as "The Boy." Standing at his projection machine, Theo informs the audience that he has removed the titles from the film he is about to show, but will explain the action as it unfolds in the story, He Fooled 'Em All. The Boy leaves a small town to get rich in the city, but he is swindled out of his money by a city chap, after which his clothes are stolen, and he is forced to become a dishwasher to pay his rent. The city chap persuades The Girl and The Girl's Father to visit the city, hoping to swindle them as well, but they stay at the hotel where The Boy is working, and the young hero foils the swindler's plot. Although the customary happy ending has been removed, "His Nibs" tells the audience that The Boy and The Girl get married just the same.
