Summary
In an era where honor was measured by the speed of a draw, Colonel Amos Blackwell—a man whose reputation as a marksman is only rivaled by his stubbornness—finds himself locked in a deadly dispute with Major Wimpett. The catalyst? A poker hand consisting of five aces, an absurdity that serves as the perfect springboard for the chaotic energy of Lupino Lane. As the duel looms, the Colonel’s son, played with rubber-limbed desperation by Lane, intervenes in a sequence of mechanical hilarity. Riding a high-wheeled cycle with the grace of a falling piano, he intercepts the lethal lead with nothing but his pocket watch. This 'Waterbury' becomes a talisman of survival as the boy ventures into the urban wilderness with a single dime and a heart full of hope. His journey through the 'cold, cruel city' is a gauntlet of misfortune, involving swallowed currency, accidental head trauma from falling lamps, and a predatory adventuress who views the boy’s watch as a ticket to a hidden inheritance. The film culminates in a dizzying display of Lane’s signature acrobatic escapes, transforming a simple quest for fortune into a kinetic ballet of survival.
Synopsis
Action gets under way with a duel between Colonel Amos Blackwell - the deadliest shot of his day - and Major Wimpett, the latter furnishing the cause for a combat which is to settle an argument as to whether a "full house or five aces" is the better hand. News of the duel is carried to the Colonel's family and to prevent the demise of the Major, the Colonel's son mounts a trusty high wheeled cycle and crashes into the field of battle in time to effect a cessation of hostilities - the bullet having hit the boy's watch when he appeared in the line of battle. Beholden, the Major presents him with his own "Waterbury." Time passes and in the meantime the boy - after bidding his sweetheart good-bye - reaches the cold, cruel city to build his fortune from a capital of ten cents. Hovering around a lunch counter where a customer is drinking a cup of coffee, the lone coin is accidentally dropped in the cup and disappears down the drinker's throat. Disheartened, the boy seeks a country road and meets a repulsed lover who is attempting suicide with a harmless gun. However, the gun suddenly goes off and hits a lamp globe which drops on the boy's head. He is taken to the home of an adventuress who tries to vamp him after linking up the "Waterbury" with a newspaper article which seeks to locate a missing heir to a fortune. The other suitor appears and at this point Lane displays a lot of his tricks in his endeavors to dodge his pursuer. The boy escapes the scheming pair and with his "Waterbury," returns to claim the fortune and his sweetheart.
