Summary
A feverish artifact of the silent era's penchant for the bizarre, 'The Good Ship Rock 'n' Rye' unfurls a nautical tapestry woven from gender-bending subterfuge and simian slapstick. The narrative centers on 'Milt'—a character whose identity fluctuates between a young sailor lad and a 'jazz baby' ukulele virtuoso—navigating a vessel commanded by a captain obsessed with maritime baseball. This captain, a man of singular athletic fixation, utilizes an ebony head as target practice, held precariously by a whip-wielding mate. The plot thickens upon landfall, where romantic rivalries ignite between the captain and a cadre of suitors vying for the hand of Edith Roberts. An elopement gone awry lands the lovers on an enemy ship, leading to a culinary catastrophe involving gunpowder-infused cake dough and an explosive climax. As the pirate vessel founders under the barrage of a naval cruiser, Milt retreats to the primal sanctuary of the jungle, shedding the vestiges of civilization in a surreal rejection of the human condition.
Synopsis
We'll call the lady Milt for short because she impersonates a young sailor lad. Milt's captain was a baseball fiend and had to have his ball games on board. For a target he used an ebony head, but the target was held in place by the first mate who had a whip in hand. Milt was a regular jazz baby. He shimmied and jazzed and played his ukulele all day long. Landing Day arrives and Milt is as signed to tie up the ship at the dock. The captain, as all sailors do, had a sweetheart in every town. In this particular town, Edith Roberts was his sweety. But she had more than one suitor. There were three, four and five hanging around her door at all times, and dad kept his shotgun busy chasing them. She falls in love with a dude and they elope; but little do they know they escape on an enemy's ship. Her sweetheart's rival was no one else but the captain and when he discovers who is on board, the fun begins. The sweetheart is thrown into prison, and the girl is put on K. P. Milt was the chief chef and Edith was made his assistant. While Milt has his back turned, Edith puts some gun-powder in the cake dough, and blows poor Milt to smithereens. She helps her lover to escape and they both jump overboard. They are picked up by a cruiser and the guns are trained on the pirate ship. The boat sinks with all the bad men, but Milt manages to escape in a rowboat. He takes off his civvy clothes and swears never to leave the jungle again.
Review Excerpt
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The Anarchy of the High Seas: A Primate’s Odyssey
To witness The Good Ship Rock 'n' Rye is to succumb to a hallucinatory vision of 1920s comedy that defies the linear logic of modern cinema. Directed and written by the prolific Fred Hibbard, this short film serves as a chaotic intersection of maritime adventure, romantic farce, and the peculiar subgenre of 'monkey comedies' that briefly captivated audiences during the silent era. At the heart of this storm is 'Milt,' a role t..."
