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Cult Review
Archivist John
Senior Editor
Is this worth watching today? Honestly, yeah, if you’ve got an hour and you like watching people in the 1920s act like total lunatics over money. If you’re looking for some deep artistic statement, you’re definitely going to hate this.
It’s a silent comedy from 1928 and it feels like it was filmed in about three days. Maybe four. But it has this weirdly frantic energy that I kind of loved.
The whole plot is about Ed and May. They’re married, but they only get this huge pile of cash from a dead relative if they stay married for a full year. It's the classic 'inheritance trap' that you see in a lot of old movies like Fools for Luck.
But then there is the cousin, Claude de Brie. What a name, right? He’s the one who gets the money if they fail, so he’s basically the villain of the week.
George Beranger plays Claude and he looks like he hasn’t slept in a decade. He’s got this thin mustache and he spends the whole movie skittering around corners. It’s so over the top it becomes funny.
Claude hires this lady, Miss Pfeffe, to be a 'vamp.' That’s such a funny 1920s word. Her whole job is just to walk into a room and make May think Ed is cheating. Margaret Livingston plays her and she’s doing the absolute most with her eyes.
There’s one scene where she’s trying to flirt with Ed and she keeps adjusting her hat in this really aggressive way. It’s like she’s trying to hypnotize him with her headwear. I found myself staring at the background of that scene because the wallpaper was so distracting. It looked like someone just threw ink at the walls.
The pacing is all over the place. Sometimes things happen so fast you miss the joke, and then other times a character will just stand there making a face for 10 seconds too long. It reminds me of the weird timing in Smile Please, where you’re just waiting for the next physical gag to start.
Audrey Ferris is May, and she’s mostly there to look worried. She does 'worried' very well. Her eyes get huge. Like, really huge.
The movie is way better when it stops trying to tell a story and just lets people fall over things. There’s a bit with a doorway that made me chuckle, mostly because the actor looked genuinely surprised to be hit by the door.
I think I liked this more than Youthful Cheaters because it doesn’t try to teach you a lesson. It’s just about being greedy and messy. Which is more relatable, let’s be honest.
Some of the title cards are pretty sassy too. Whoever wrote them was having a good day. They don't just explain the plot; they kind of make fun of the characters as they go.
The whole thing feels a bit like a stage play that someone decided to film at the last minute. The sets feel thin. If someone leaned too hard on a wall, I’m pretty sure the whole house would have fallen over.
It’s not as polished as Down to Earth, but it has more heart in a weird, sweaty way. Everyone is trying so hard to get that money. You can almost feel the actors’ desperation to make the audience laugh.
Miss Pfeffe’s 'vamping' eventually gets so ridiculous that you start rooting for her just because of the sheer effort. She’s like a professional marriage-wrecker who is bad at her job but loves the hustle.
I did notice that the lighting in the indoor scenes is super inconsistent. In one shot it’s bright as day, and then the next cut looks like they’re in a cave. It’s 1928, so I guess we can forgive them for not having everything figured out yet.
There's a scene near the end where everything descends into total chaos. People are running in circles. It’s peak silent comedy. No one really knows what’s going on, but they’re moving fast, and that’s what matters.
If you're into those old-school 'will they or won't they' plots mixed with a lot of frantic hand-waving, give it a look. It’s a nice little time capsule. Just don’t expect it to make total sense.
Oh, and the cousin's outfits? Absolutely ridiculous. He wears these suits that look two sizes too small. It makes him look even more like a frantic bird.
Anyway, I’m glad I watched it. It’s a good reminder that people have always been stressed out about money and annoying relatives. Some things never change, even after 100 years. 🎥
IMDb —
1926
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