Best Comedy Movies of 1912

A tragicomedy in which the suicide attempt of the character Bunny is seen by a neighbour, who quickly calls for help.

Sam the white-washer pines for the affluent Lindy, but she has dumped him in favor of another. Sam finds a large sum of money, and goes to New York to enjoy a shopping spree, buying new clothes, jewelry and a car with a driver. Back home, Lindy flips for Sam and his newfound wealth, and dumps the rival. Sam throws an engagement party where he indulges in a friendly game of cards with his former rival and another man, who unbeknownst to Sam, is a card shark.

Mack takes Mabel to Coney Island, only to have her stolen by slick Ford, who is temporarily out of sight of a watchful wife and children.

Girls dress in boys' clothes and trick boarders.

Set in a tenement, a lonely confirmed bachelor occupies a room across the hall from a dour spinster. Children run amok in the hallways playing pranks on the two. A little girl from the floor above, now alone in the world, brings the pair together and brightens their lives.

Percy and Harold are rivals and both take the object of their affections for an outing.

Several married couples go on a camp-out together, but the women soon realize that the men expect them to do all the dirty work.

A printer and his young assistant take over a local newspaper while the editor is away.

Jack must prove himself before Beatrice's father will allow him to continue seeing his daughter.

The Professor will not allow his daughter to marry a non-musician, but Billy, her would-be suitor, cannot play a single note. When he is about to give up, Billy’s roommate suggests bluffing his way into the Professor’s favor with the aid of a suitably musical disguise and a well-hidden phonograph player.

Max, awakening on his wedding morning, discovers that it is close on the hour when he should be at the church. He dresses hastily, and in struggling with a refractory collar, allows his boots to be burnt by the fire. There is no time to change them, and he hastens off to the bride's house. On the way his soles part company with their uppers, and poor Max enters into negotiations with a passing labourer for the purchase of his footgear.

A short comedy about a girl (played by Clara Kimball Young) who is in love with a movie star (Maurice Costello) and who follows him everywhere. Her parents want to teach her ??a lesson, and invite the actor to their home.

Veteran Warner and old gardener Burns vie for the hand of Widow Simpson, and the gardener steals the former's uniform and joins in the ranks of a parade, pursued by his rival. Utilizes footage shot during a Thomas Ince battle production at Inceville, the Grand Army of the Republic parade in downtown Los Angeles which commenced at 9:30am PST on September 11, 1912 (including starting area at 5th and Los Angeles and viewing stands near finish by Courthouse at Broadway and Temple), and other G.A.R. festivities at the National Soldiers' Home at Sawtelle in Los Angeles.

This film is unusual for an Edison film, in that the film crew actually went to Britain to take footage of their suffragettes in action. In particular, they are there to get footage of the militant suffragettes--the ones who handcuffed themselves to buildings or broke windows because of their rage over having no right to vote.

Noah Clayton, an old coster, who has made a bit of money, lives with his daughter Liza. He is very cranky and very gouty. Henry Hawkins, a young coster, and Bill Brown, a teacher of boxing, and an ex-pugilist, are both in love with Liza. Old Clayton favors Bill, because he is well off. Liza likes Henry, and they meet down near the old church and do their love-making. Bill lays siege to Liza, offering her presents, which she refuses. At last he offers to take her to a music hall and she yields and goes with him. There they are seen by Hawkins, who becomes furiously jealous and upbraids Liza. She loses her temper and claims the right to do as she likes. Henry on this swears he will fight Bill, and Liza tells him not to be a fool, that Bill could lick him with one hand, and they part in anger. Hawkins meets Bill and challenges him. The result is a foregone conclusion. Poor Hawkins is knocked out and laid up in bed for repairs, tended by his landlady.

When Algie Allmore asks to marry Clarice, the young woman's father gives him one year to prove that he's a man.

When Kitty's family adopts a homeless dog they couldn't guess how much it would be of help in her fathers detective work.

An old man tells his grandchildren about prehistoric man: Caveman Weakhands is unable to court a woman because of his physical weakness. Humiliated by Bruteforce, he bumps into Lillywhite, who has also been cowering in her cave in mourning. The two new lovers form a connection, but Bruteforce separates the couple and sends Weakhands scrambling. In his cave, Weakhands thinks up the design of a stone club. With this equalizer, he soon vanquishes Bruteforce and wins Lillywhite back again-- An early step in human progress.

A first-born baby girl is sent away and placed in the care of Gretchen, a trusted peasant woman, who is the widowed mother of a child about the same age. The two children grow up as sisters. Later, upon her deathbed, the noble lady repents and sends for her child to reinstate her. Gretchen takes this opportunity to make a great lady of her own daughter Lena, the goose girl, by sending her to court instead of the real heiress. Hence Lena is taken before the noble lady, happy in the belief that she has made reparation. Lena is now a great lady, but the title does not fit well-- She longs to be back with Gretchen and her "geeses".

A widower with four grown daughters remarries and brings his new wife home to meet them. The girls set out to make life as difficult as possible for their new mother.

Mr. Bolten is hoping to woo the dancer Céleste and invites her for coffee. Her answer is that she will wait for him in hotel "Des imbeciles' in New York. He obviously cannot find the hotel, and to make matters worse he is robbed by a pickpocket. As a consequence he cannot pay his restaurant bill and is arrested. Luckily for him, a friend pays his bill so he can return home. There he picks up a dictionary and sees what "imbécile" means.

In this one, Mabel Normand plays the title role, a wild child who keeps tormenting people and getting into scrapes. Mack is courting Kate Toncray, who plays Mabel's aunt and William Butler plays Mabel's father and Kate's brother, who tells Mack he may marry his sister if he amuses his daughter. This consists of letting her torment him and of setting a local chicken farmer on them all.

A poor young girl finds a purse and returns it to its owner, who decides to reward her honesty.

This domestic comedy depicts a woman who stops her husband's gambling habit by having her cousin stage a fake police raid on the weekly poker game.

Mabel and her sweetheart go to the beach and play a trick on the boyfriend's father.

Ford arranged for lazy Brown to be kidnapped and dynamited by thugs, so that he can move in and marry Mrs. Brown. Locations include Rambo's Hotel, First Street in Coytesville, New Jersey, and Ford Lee, New Jersey area, probably in July or early August.

A send-up of Griffith's THE LONELY VILLA and other movies of that sort, such as THE GIRLS AND DADDY, THE LONEDALE OPERATOR and many others, as the heroine, thinking that burglars are trying to break into her home phones her husband at the office, who rushes home.... well, who tries to rush home in his chauffeur-driven automobile.

A comedy in which the unattractive young woman De Roseville loses her handbag. The bag is found by a pretty girl, but then she also forgets about it. When a young man brings the bag back, he expects to find the cute girl, instead of the ugly Ms. De Roseville.

A group of tourists spend too long checking out the Indian Arts and Crafts at the station and miss their train. While waiting, Normand in a picture hat and black outfit, wanders off and takes an interest in Chief Evans, precipitating the usual chase, here by ax wielding Indian wives.

A parson arrives in the midst of a bunch of wild cowboys. Expecting a male parson, the boys set out in full force to receive him, but on the road when they suddenly run into the one-horse shay of a female parson, they keel over in surprise. Right after her arrival the boys begin to lay plans to get in right, while the parson loses no time in starting a campaign for the defeat of Satan. She begins by posting a sign near the town horse trough to the effect that "Cleanliness is next to Godliness." Of course the boys see the sign and immediately there is a sudden disposition among them to make use of soap, water and brush. One cowboy in particular is very much in love with the parson. He shows his affection only too plainly, and so the boys decide to play a trick on him. Their practical joke unintentionally is not only the means of frustrating a plot against the parson, but it brings the parson and her lover together.

A Mack Sennett comedy short starring Dell Henderson & Mabel Normand.

An older man wants to propose to a young woman. However, her family decides to form a plot so that she won't get engaged.

Short comedy about a arguing couple in which the man is doing everything to make up with his girlfriend. Henri has a fight with his girlfriend, Dora. He tries to make excuses by phone and by mail, but his girlfriend wants to know nothing about him. Henry tries dressed as parcel delivery and as a woman, but even then it does not work. Eventually the opinion of his girlfriend changes, and the quarrel is over.

A romantic comedy in which two new neighbours initially cannot get along, but their staff get along just fine.

Old Bob Langfall guarded two pretty daughters carefully. When Jim and Charley Bradley met them by accident, old Bob showed them the butt of his gun and bade them adieu. But Jim and Charley had a widowed mother, and old Bob was a widower.

A short silent comedy in which Billy, who has lied to his wife so that he can go out on the town with a friend, gets caught by her.

Cud McGiven applies for employment in a Bowery restaurant. The restaurant is conducted by a German, who engages Cud. Whenever Cud finds himself alone in the pantry he exercises his mania for juggling plates with disastrous results to the crockery. Every time the proprietor bears a crash he is Johnny-on-the-spot and takes out his little book to jot down the damage and charge it to Cud. At last the proprietor loses all patience and decides to discharge Cud. Accordingly he summons him to his private office and demands a settlement of the broken dishes and spoiled food. Cud is unable to see the situation this way at all. The disagreement waxes hot and furious and Cud in revenge breaks all the dishes in the pantry. The riot brings the frightened guests to their feet, where they stand spellbound at seeing a half of the waiters flee before the burly Cud, who is flinging plates after them with the accuracy of a baseball pitcher.

After visiting the first Cubist exposition in Paris, Rigadin (Charles Prince) is struck by his discovery: A egg is a rhombus, the earth a cube! Unfortunately, he is engaged to Miss Rondebosse (Gabrielle Lange), whose father is head of the Tradition...

After the overthrowing of Duke Senior by his tyrannical brother, Senior's daughter Rosalind disguises herself as a man and sets out to find her banished father while also counseling her clumsy suitor Orlando in the art of wooing.

A silent comedy in which a jealous woman wants to catch her husband in the act of infidelity.

Naughty children steal an anatomy-class papier-mâché skeleton and use it to play pranks on people around town.

Jennie, a coquettish housemaid, flirts with the grocer's delivery boy and thereby incites the jealousy of her sweetheart, Frank, the butler. Frank goes to his station in the hall and, in his anger, tells the marble statue that is a part of the furnishings of the handsome home, that his sweetheart is as cold as the stone of which it is made. He quiets down, and as he is not very busy, soon becomes drowsy, and dreams that the statue comes to life and goes with him to a ball. While they are walking along the street, a policeman meets them and questions Frank. He gets frightened, they run and as they rush back into the hall, the statue falls and breaks into a thousand pieces. His sweetheart comes down the steps and wakes him up and tells him to answer the bell. Frank's surprise at seeing the statue whole is plainly shown and his delight that is has all been a dream causes him to make up with his sweetheart.

Andre Deed sees Valentina Frascaroli shoot a man who annoys her in the street and is enchanted. He decides the way to win her affection is to swap clothes with the guy who cleans his apartment, and swagger about the cheap Montmartre saloons. Miss Frascaroli likes it, but the apaches who make up her friends don't, and proceed to torment the lovestruck fellow.

A pasha invites a photographer to his harem. A belly dancer performs for him, and then seduces him, getting him into trouble There are two versions of this film, one with a fully clothed dancer, and a second where she is scantily dressed.

In order to get a job as a cook on a ranch, a young girl disguises herself as a boy. Problems arise when several of the young women at the ranch fall in love with "him".

A farce in which Dick Edna wants to learn the art of seduction, and takes lessons for this from the brother of his beloved.

Amos Bentley was up against it in more senses than one. Times were so hard with him that he had to part with the furniture of his little apartment in order to pay his debts. However, things were inclined to take a better turn for him. He was invited to be a guest of some friends of his. And between him and the daughter of the family some sort of heart interest was supposed to exist. Disinclined to accept the invitation at first, he yielded to the persuasions of his friend, the brother of the girl, and made his way to the host's house. Unfortunately his nether garment gave way in a somewhat conspicuous place and in his attempts to conceal the tear while the evening party was in progress, poor Amos suffered a great deal of torture. Finally, he was shown into the room of his probable fiancée. And while in the act of searching for a needle and thread, was discovered by her father, who had not yet made the acquaintance of Amos.

Newly married Thomas and Mary MacGregor attend the village fair on their honeymoon. The balloon ascension is advertised for the afternoon. Everything is in readiness and Mary induces Thomas to enter the basket of the balloon. Some mischievous boys cut the ropes holding the balloon and it rises, taking the pair on a honeymoon trip entirely unexpected. They travel fast and long until the balloon collapses upon a desert island, among a tribe of cannibals, who think the couple are gods descended from the skies. Thomas deposes the king and runs things with a high hand. The natives, however, as they become better acquainted with Thomas and Mary, realize that they are only human beings like themselves. They decide to put an end to their reign and begin preparations for their execution and cooking. The night before the day they are to be put to death, Thomas and Mary escape to the seashore, where they hail a passing vessel, which lands a boat loaded with men, who rescue the terrified couple.

Daniel Lyttell is very ill, but Doctor Bozel assures Clara that the crisis is over and that her husband will eventually get well. In the dead of the night, a burglar enters the Lyttell home. His silent footsteps reach the ear of the sick man. Clara, too, hears mysterious noises. She pacifies Daniel and tells him to rest and sleep. Softly she steals out of the room to investigate and soon discovers the burglar. Quickly rushes to the telephone, but finds that the wires have been cut. For a moment she hesitates and fears, fears for her husband. Goes to his bedside and rejoices to find him asleep. Hastily dons a wrap and envelops her head in a black veil, leaves the room and busies herself rummaging in the drawers of a desk. The burglar comes upon her but is unable to intimidate the brave little woman. Clara tells him she, too, is a thief; only she came to steal very important letters. When the man attempts to go into the bedroom for his "haul," she commands him to stay where he is.