In one of his few extant films, Johnny Hines breezes through this Florida-lensed comedy in typical silent-era style, constantly performing sight gags or "speaking" in titles filled with puns like "Uncle, it's terrible! I'm going to give your pickle business an awful jar." Although not a slapstick comedian, Hines is far from subtle and spends an inordinate amount of time gallivanting about in a horse-drawn carriage festooned with a giant pickle. Yet the film is never dull and although a modern audience may object to arch villain Bradley Barker playing his South American revolutionary in what can best be described as "brownface" -- not to mention the stereotypical bits of business awarded African-American sidekick Fred Miller (whose character name is "Ignition Jones") -- most of the laughs are genuine. A cross between Ford Sterling and William Haines, the nearly forgotten Johnny Hines deserves rediscovery.
by Hans J. Wollstein
review
