Summary
Light Housekeeping is a frantic maritime farce that pits Lige Conley’s downtrodden assistant keeper against the twin forces of a tyrannical boss and a royal conspiracy. Lige, a man whose heroic nautical fantasies are constantly punctured by the reality of scrubbing floors, finds himself the accidental protector of Princess Estelle. Fleeing from the villainous Otto and a forced marriage, Estelle survives a plunge into the sea only to be swept up in Lige’s chaotic world. The film rapidly shifts from lighthouse drudgery to a high-stakes shipboard pursuit, culminating in a technically ambitious climax where a wedding ceremony is conducted within a cabin that literally rolls with the waves. It is a story of a dreamer forced to prove his mettle in a world where the floor is rarely level.
Synopsis
Lige is assistant lighthouse keeper, under Phil, the grouchy head keeper. Lige's life is miserable, but he has many dreams, not the least of which is that of himself as the gallant captain of a noble ship with hundreds of women as his admirers. On board a passing ship is Estelle, the Princess of Blahstark, who is endeavoring to escape from conspirators who are trying to abduct her and marry her to the pretender to the throne. The Princess overhears their plot and tries to escape by changing clothes with the Chinese steward of the ship. Then Otto, the pretender, forces his attention on the princess and soon discovers that the princess's clothes are on the Chinese steward. The real princess gets in his way and in his rage he throws her overboard, thinking she is a steward. Estelle swims to the lighthouse and is pulled from the water by Lige, who soon discovers that she is a girl. On board the ship, Otto, through his glasses, sees the rescue and tries again to abduct her. He lands at the lighthouse and Lige and Estelle again escape aboard the ship with Otto in close pursuit. Otto chases Lige into the hold where he hides in a sack. The sack is hoisted to the masthead and when Lige takes off the bag he finds himself on the spar. He gets down all right and lands in Estelle's cabin. The ship runs into a terrible storm at sea. In the midst of it, Lige sends for the captain to marry them, but the seas are so high and the ship rolls so that it is impossible to stand. Lige fixes that by pivoting the settee to the all, and while the ship turns hand-springs over and over, he and Estelle are married by the captain.
Review Excerpt
"Is Light Housekeeping worth watching today? Short answer: Yes, but only if you appreciate the mechanical ingenuity of silent-era slapstick. This film is for those who find joy in the physical geometry of a well-timed gag; it is not for viewers who require a coherent, grounded narrative or modern pacing.This film works because it leans into the technical possibilities of the 1920s film set, specifically the 'pivoting settee' climax that defies gravity.This film fails because the secondary plot in..."
