Sidney Smith

A young man joins the army to impress his girlfriend. He soon finds out that his sergeant is actually an enemy spy, but before he can take any action, he and his girlfriend are kidnapped by enemy soldiers, and devise an unusual method of escape from capture.

During World War I a vaudeville entertainer, Mickey, is helping to recruit officers for the army and finds himself in the service along with his female partner, who is also his girlfriend. At training camp he comes up against Top Sergeant Mulligan, who proceeds to make life miserable for him. If that wasn't enough, it turns out that Mulligan, the captain and a YMCA worker are all making a play for his girlfriend.

A sailor home from the sea sets off on a road trip to pick up his girlfriend from work. Unfortunately, he's a better sailor than he is a driver. Complications ensue.

Little Jerry elopes with a young girl whose parents have just divorced. The mother thinks the father (denied custody) has kidnapped her and, as it happens, the three (Jerry, girl and dog) do end up (along with the elephant and various zoo animals) stowing away on the same boat as the father (bound for Europe) and the other (in pursuit of father).

A boat race rivalry erupts into comical danger.

Adonis, the King of Bullomania's personal chauffeur, is in love with Princess Ernestine, the King's daughter. To win her heart, he accepts to fight bulls at the bullfighting school. But the princess is also courted by Manuel Risotto, a famous toreador who kidnaps her. The King chases after him in a car driven by Adonis. Unfortunately, the chauffeur lets Risotto run away. In a rage, the King condemns Adonis to the death penalty. But it is without counting a scientist who has invented a rocket, his assistant who falls down in the yard of Adonis's prison, a great escape featuring Adonis and the assistant disguised as bulls, a second abduction of the Princess - but, this time for the just cause of love -, a wild chase and a final flight to another planet!

The Cannon Ball Express is a 1924 comedy short.

Andy Gump is a clueless yokel that decides that he can run for President.

All the qualified men line up to be chosen, as an heiress advertises that she will marry the man with the most interesting mustache, that marriage which comes with a mansion. John Syrup Soother wins the marriage to who he believes is the heiress, Olive Palmer, a tank of a woman who has lost her beauty with age. But he learns that he his betrothed is not the heiress, Diana Palmer, but her mother. Howson Lotts, a shyster and one of Diana's other suitors, sells John a beach-front house for his new life, that house which is not all that it seems on the surface. In the meantime, others still will do anything to be Diana's betrothed, that choice in which John now has a different but still vested interest.

Wandering Waistlines is a 1924 comedy short.

CHEER UP - starring Cliff Bowes, with Virginia Vance, Eddie Boland, and Frank Alexander. Cliff vies for Virginia's affections with Eddie, but ultimately she chooses Cliff to be her groom. The newlyweds move in to their new home, but the spurned rival makes a shambles out of the house in retaliation.

There is no love lost between the Red Dog Garage and the Black Cat Garage, two auto repair shops on opposite sides of the street. A big cross-country auto race is announced, and it turns into a no-holds-barred contest as the rival garages go all out to win.

A bumbling bank custodian becomes an unlikely hero when he foils a robbery.

Louise gets hired as a maid for a swank society party, but the it's really a set up for a bunch of tough jewel robbers. She gets hold of the swag and a big slapstick chase along a highway and beach ensues.

Mack Sennett silent short comedy.

In this Mack Sennett comedy, a mother and daughter fear foreclosure because their mortgage payment is due and they're unable to pay it. Meanwhile, the family's son Jack, who's in prison, unexpectedly finds himself free of captivity.

Mortimer grabs an opportunity to take a truck driving job; Matthew intends to hang onto it.

In 1923, The Gumps moved up to two-reel live-action comedies, with former Keystone Cop Joe Murphy as the chinless lead, pioneering comedienne-producer Fay Tincher as Min, and Jack Morgan as the rascally Chester. In this episode, the comedy begins with the announcement of Min’s tenth anniversary gift from Uncle Bim—a “tin” flivver. Primping for a family outing in the new car, Min breaks a mirror due to her son’s shenanigans. “That’s seven more years of bad luck, Chester,” she scolds. The rest of the action—in a hotel, on the road, and at the beach—proves her right. Angelinos will take delight in the scenes filmed at Ocean Park’s Lick Pier, just months before it was destroyed by fire.

The Ne'er-Do-Well (1923)

Percy & Ferdie at the nursery minding their babies with the mentality of Safety Last.

The pair are elegant down-and-outs in a park where a mother and her baby are having a picnic. Their dog steals the picnic basket for them but when the woman complains to the policeman on duty, they have to hide their booty. Unfortunately the dog keeps giving the game away.

“At Your Service” (aka James Manages a Restaurant), 1921, starring Sidney Smith, is a nice and inventive silent comedy. James and George are seen driving down the street in an extremely dilapidated vehicle and they stop when they see a sign on a restaurant window asking for buyers OR someone willing to trade for the business. Well, given that the car is a mess, they figure to make a killing by trading it for the restaurant.

Jimmie Adams and Sid Smith comedy produced by Jack White and distributed by Educational.

Lovable buffoon Monty Banks tries to relax, but ultimately spends his day worrying about who is keeping company with his wife.

Hajj, a rascally beggar on the periphery of the court of Baghdad, schemes to marry his daughter to royalty and to win the heart of the queen of the castle himself.

Comedy short

Sid Smith plays a chauffeur to James Parrott who helps a vamp captivate his boss while foiling a bank robbery.

The one-reel movie I saw appears to be a version of TAMING THE WEST (1919), cut down for the Pathe show-at-home market. Percy (Edward Flanagan) and Ferdie (Neely Edwards) buy themselves a couple of cowboy suits, then head out west. They flirt with the pretty bar maids, knock out the local banditos with golf balls and play some poker. It's slight, low-key and amusing.

A crooked lawyer sells his car.

Amateur aviator Harold McNutt's hopes of taking flight result in an escalating series of high jinks.

An animator's dog gets the better of him