Summary
In a dizzying dance of familial discord and farcical fate, Muriel Ashley and Ferdie Walton find their marital aspirations ensnared in an intricate web of comedic misfortune. While Muriel’s parents champion the union, Ferdie’s father vehemently opposes it, setting a tempestuous stage for their impending nuptials. A peculiar clergyman, seemingly a divine intervention or a mere wanderer, materializes within the Ashley household to officiate the ceremony, bestowing upon the eager couple what they believe to be the sacred bonds of matrimony. Their honeymoon, however, quickly devolves into an odyssey of chaos when Ferdie’s father, driven by an inexplicable suspicion, uncovers the officiating minister’s supposed criminal past, prompting a swift and humiliating expulsion from their hotel. Returning clandestinely to their bridal suite through a window, they are plunged into further pandemonium as the hotel erupts in flames, forcing a dramatic escape. Seeking refuge back at the Ashley residence, the beleaguered pair confronts a devastating revelation: their marriage is null and void, rendered illegitimate by the dubious credentials of their officiant. Yet, the narrative, ever prone to whimsical reversals, delivers a final, astonishing twist. The very 'clergyman' who initiated their plight, now a captive after breaking into the Ashley home, is unexpectedly identified by the esteemed Rev. Dr. Jenkins not as a charlatan, but as a genuine man of the cloth afflicted by amnesia. Thus, the turbulent journey concludes with the reaffirmation of their initially beleaguered vows, their marriage, against all odds, declared legally binding.
Synopsis
Muriel Ashley is engaged to Ferdie Walton. Ferdie's father opposes the marriage; Muriel's parents favor it. The couple are married by a strange parson who wanders into the Ashley home, then after they leave for the honeymoon, Ferdie's father discovers that the clergyman is a crook. He notifies the hotel and the young couple are ordered out. They return to the bridal suite by way of a window, but the hotel catches fire and they escape. They go to the Ashley home where they learn they are actually not married. The "clergyman" who married them breaks into the house and is captured. Rev. Dr. Jenkins identifies him, however, as a genuine clergyman who has been suffering loss of memory; thus the marriage turns out to be legal after all.
Review Excerpt
"
Stepping into the effervescent world of early 20th-century cinema often feels like unearthing a forgotten treasure, a vibrant echo from a bygone era. Among these cinematic artifacts, Please Get Married, a 1919 silent comedy, emerges as a delightful, if somewhat tumultuous, romp through the anxieties and absurdities surrounding matrimony. Directed with a brisk pace that belies its age, and penned by the collaborative talents of Lewis Allen Browne, Finis Fox, and James F..."
