Best Comedy Movies of 1910

Made by the Edison Manufacturing Company and directed by Edwin S. Porter, the film starred Gladys Hulette as Alice. Being a silent film, naturally all of Lewis Carroll's nonsensical prose could not be used, and, being only a one-reel picture, most of Carroll's memorable characters in his original 1865 novel similarly could not be included. What was used in the film was faithful in spirit to Carroll, and in design to the original John Tenniel illustrations. Variety complimented the picture by comparing it favorably to the "foreign" film fantasies then flooding American cinemas.

Funny how we think of the loutish behaviour of some of today's teens as a modern-day phenomenon. Here, in a short film more than one hundred years old, we see two tearaways terrorising a bed-ridden old lady, sabotaging a number of honest workmen as they go about their daily work, vandalising a bakery and taking a vehicle without consent - all in the space of six frenetic minutes.

Two spinsters on their way to church, are accosted by a couple of burly tramps. When Mabel is called to the church meeting with her mother, she sends Muggsy a note asking him to meet her after the service so he may walk home with her. Muggsy is there on time, however, the old ladies are afraid to make the return trip unaccompanied. The pastor asks that a man escort them home. Poor Muggsy gets chosen, and when the trio reach the deserted part of the road, the tramps again appear.

When Viola and her twin brother Sebastian are shipwrecked and separated, Viola dresses in her brother's clothes and becomes a page in the palace of the Duke of Orsino. Thinking Viola is a boy, the Duke sends her with a message to Olivia, whom he loves. A series of complications begins when Olivia falls in love with the page 'boy'

Mazie lends her necklace to Nellie, her guest. Nellie is asleep in a hammock when Sam, her sweetheart, arrives in his auto. He awakens Nellie with a kiss. As she starts up she drops the necklace in the grass and their efforts to find it prove futile. Sam promises to buy her one to replace it, thinking it was her own properly. He has her minutely describe it that he may get an exact duplicate. Meanwhile, the governess has found the necklace and given it to its owner, Mazie, who is unknown to Sam. He sees it on Mazie's neck and after a chase insists on purchasing it.

Two nice young people become acquainted at the beach; a romance develops.

Adonese is returning home from seeing the woman he is courting, and he is driving around a corner when his car accidentally brushes against the tramp 'Faithful' and knocks him over. Feeling sorry for him, Adonese helps him up and buys him a new suit of clothes. The naively innocent Faithful reads too much into this gesture, and he begins to follow his benefactor everywhere, expecting to receive future gifts.

A young man transforms his uncle's palatial residence into a sanitarium only to end up paying back the money his patients gave him.

Peggy is a high-spirited young woman from a poor family. One day she catches the eye of a wealthy lord, who proposes marriage and wants to introduce her into his social circle. But complications arise when the lord's nephew also becomes attracted to Peggy.

Mr. Bumptious insists on wallpapering the parlor himself, in order to save money.

Robinet is challenged to a duel, but owing to an overpowering fear, ludicrously depictd, the weapons are discarded, one by one, and two bottles of champagne subistituted. (Moving Picture world Synopsis)

This deft comedy about a foiled elopement and assumed identity shows the importance of a carefully worked out scenario for narrative flow.

A short Western. Ivi, the beautiful daughter of an Indian chief, has three suitors. A competition will decide who gets to marry her. The winner is not Panther, who was Ivy’s favourite. But after he manages to catch a horse thief, he does wind up marrying her after all.

Harry loved Betty, and vice versa, but Harry was very shy. No matter how he tried, he never could muster up sufficient courage to propose, despite the fact that Betty always endeavored to help him out. An idea! He writes his proposal, and invents a sentimental code of signals. The letter reads: "If you will accept me, wear red roses; if you are in doubt, the pink. If you do not love me and reject me, wear the white."

Mr. Hallate is leaving for a trip and his loving wife is helping him to get his belongings out with him. At last everything is ready and she goes on the stoop and watches him get into the rig. Augustus Slip, who happens to pass at this moment, sees her and, like other men of small stature, becomes deeply enamored with the ponderous Mrs. Hallate. He goes and purchases a bouquet and, returning to the house, walks into the parlor and forces his attentions on Mrs. Hallate. She, however, will have none of him, and as he refuses to leave, flies for revenge to the maid in the kitchen. The maid happens to be entertaining her friend, Officer O'Brien, and Mrs. Hallate is indeed glad to see a limb of the law, and requests him to eject the eloquent Augustus. Meantime, Mr. Hallate has missed his train, and accordingly returns to his home. Augustus hearing him enter, hides behind a curtain, and when the officer enters Hallate is the only man in sight.

Léontine -- to give her her due accent marks -- was a comedienne who played a young girl in a series of comedies about this time, in which she wreaked havoc. She does it here, as she helps the movers shift stuff downstairs.

Max is about to make his first call upon a young lady, the daughter of distinguished parents, and he wants to make a good impression. As he dresses to go out he stoops over to fix his shoe and, horrors! He tears his trousers. Where? Well, in a most embarrassing place. He fixes them hurriedly, trusting to have his coat tails cover it, but alas, the coat is too short for this purpose. Nevertheless, he takes a chance and, arriving at the house has the butler make a close inspection. He seems to be all right and enters, but when he bows to his hostess he hears the sickening sound of tearing cloth and knows that his patch has given way. Max hastily seats himself and during the rest of the evening performs the most astounding feats to hide his terrible secret.

Dorothy and the Scarecrow are now in the Emerald City. They have become friendly with the Wizard, and together with the woodman, the cowardly lion, and several new creations equally delightful, they journey through Oz -- the earthquake -- and into the glass city. The Scarecrow is elated to think he is going to get his brains at last and be like other men are; the Tin-Woodman is bent upon getting a heart, and the cowardly lion pleads with the great Oz for courage. All these are granted by his Highness. Dorothy picks the princess. -- The Dangerous Mangaboos. -- Into the black pit, and out again. We then see Jim, the cab horse, and myriads of pleasant surprises that hold and fascinate.

It's more fun than a barrel of monkeys. Regular village "cut-ups" are those actor chaps and actresses.

A black man is introduced at a high society party, where he proposes to a débutante. He's refused because of his colour. He goes to an inventor who has a potion that turns him white. Now she's interested in him, but after he slips her some of the elixir, she's black and he gets to refuse her.

A boxer and a minister are mistaken by the parties expecting them.

Clément Mégé borrows the shotgun of a sleeping hunter and goes after big game, like ducks and a cat. Soon he gets caught up being chased by some policemen.

The quartet comprising this story are of ages as the months are to each other. June, a young college boy, finds his resources in depletion, and to improve his financial condition, proposes to October, a wealthy spinster of the "where-is-he" stage, and is accepted with avidity, and so these two soul "mis"-mates start their engagement inning. Later, December, a wealthy old bachelor, proposes to May, a pretty miss of eighteen, and the promise of fine gowns, jewels and automobiles, so dear to the heart of the fair sex, induces her to accept with half-hearted tolerance, hence they also start the engagement period. Everything goes finely until the quartet meet.

Rigadin pretending to be a doctor.

To the distress of his mother, the fisherman's son is a drunk. But when his father's boat capsizes, he has a chance to prove his worth.

Two next-door neighbors read the same article that makes them smile. They talk about it through the window. Shortly after, a peddler visits them successively and sells them, to one a uniform of peace officer, to the other an Apache costume. The two men come out in disguise.

Charles Prince's wife has been acting strangely lately, refusing him admission into her boudoir. She has been trying various methods to refresh her skin, including putting a piece of veal atop her brow while she sleeps. Then, in a clear case of waste not, want not, she has the cook prepare the veal for Prince's meal. He thinks it tastes odd and it makes him behave in a strange manner.

An actor in action that is not all acting is rather a remarkable sight, and when he loves both on the stage and off simultaneously, and when he is observed making love to the make-believe sweetheart on the stage, by the real, sure enough sweetheart who does not understand that love making in a play is only play, and very far removed from the sacred course of true devotion, there is quite a healthy complication. A young leading actor saves a youth's life, by catching him just in time to save him from what might reasonably he a fatal fall over a precipice, and to reward him the young man promises to intercede with the father of the girl who causes the actor chap sundry heart throbs and a little soul-anguish. But all good intentions do not materialize, and the young man falls in his ambassadorial mission.

Rival rustics run a race to win a girl.

Willie Nutt, an aspirant to athletic honors, thinks he sees some easy money when he reads Professor Brawn's notice in the lobby of a theater offering $100 to anyone who will put him on his back. Willie resolves to make a try, and passing a book store observes in the window a volume labeled, "How to Wrestle."

Pretty Molly is afflicted with a peculiar nervous disease and after having tried many doctors is finally referred to a certain great specialist, who has had success with cases similar to her own. To briefly describe Molly's ailment would be in stating that the muscles of her throat and neck were uncontrollable, causing her to throw back her head in a way resembling a person beckoning to another.

Perry Dudley, a rich eligible bachelor, is bored with his life and longs for a change. Nick, a penniless tramp, has received a letter from the town where he lived as a child, asking him to return home. Through a fluke Perry finds the letter, takes Nick’s place and goes to the little town himself. The townspeople accept him as Nick, he falls in love with a farmer’s daughter, and all is going well until the real Nick shows up. When the farmer finds he has been duped he orders Perry to leave; Perry not only leaves but takes the girl with him. The farmer follows in angry pursuit, but when he learns that his daughter’s abductor is rich and has marriage in mind, he becomes much more agreeable.

The story of Honus, an itinerant vendor of frankfurters.

Ernesto Vaser gets a job as a shop assistant in a draper's, where every bolt of fabric must be examined before the lady chooses the first one she looked at. Vaser's erratic and weird course of actions indicate he is the only employee in the store, so he has to do everything himself, including serenading the clientele.

Max Linder is out of sorts and bad-tempered. He is rude to his wife, who tells him she will leave him. He sees an advertisement for pills which promote universal love and good fellowship and goes out to buy a box. However, he leaves it on the table and his wife helps herself, with the consequence that she feels impelled to kiss all the men she meets, leaving Max with three duels on hand.

When a letter from another woman falls from her boyfriend's pocket, she and her friends form the Men Haters Club. The boys quickly arrange into the Follow the Girls Club in the hopes of winning them back.

Pierot - or are least a man dressed in a Pierot costume - stumbles remnants of a bottle of wine through a park. He looks at a statue of a statuesque young woman, Leeds at her, and collapses onto a bench. While he dreams in sodden splendor, she comes off her plinth to show him what he's missing.

But when he refuses to tip the assistants at the fancier's sales room they lay a scheme for revenge, which takes the form of a practical joke and supplies the onlookers with much merriment.

Paul and Jeanne are devoted lovers and meet on the balcony of their homes, which are side by side. The affair does not meet with the approval of Jeanne's papa, a retired colonel, who drags his daughter from the balcony. Balked of a personal meeting with his divinity, the young man tries to convey a note to her, and drops it, as he imagines, in her shoe. Unluckily the note falls into the colonel's boot by mistake, and the latter is amazed by the sudden affection of his daughter, who tries to persuade him not to go out. He insists, and accompanied by the girl, ventures into the street. The lover's efforts are now all directed towards getting hold of the boot with its incriminating contents.