''Poor Jake's Demise'' is a 1913 American silent short

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Allen Curtis Allen Curtis (1877 – November 24, 1961), was an American film director of the silent era. He directed 278 films between 1913 and 1922. He was born in New York, New York and died in Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes inform ...

featuring Max Asher, Louise Fazenda, and

Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor and makeup artist. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often gr ...

. The film focuses on Jake who finds his wife in a compromising position with another man and later takes his revenge with a

seltzer bottle Carbonated water is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, either artificially injected under pressure, or occurring due to natural geological processes. Carbonation causes small bubbles to form, giving the water an effervescent qualit ...

. It is one of several slapstick comedy films Chaney made for

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at the start of his career and is also his first credited screen role. The film is partially lost, but a fragment of the film (running almost 8 minutes) was discovered in England in May 2006 and restored by Lobster Films of Paris.

Plot

Jake comes home and finds his wife and Willy ("The Dude") Mollycoddle in a compromising position. Enraged, Jake throws Willy out of the house and scolds his wife and threatens to kill himself. Fearful that Jake will commit suicide, the wife calls the police and three officers are sent out to find Jake. Stopping at a bar before he commits suicide, Jake finds the Dude who is drowning his sorrows. Jake takes his revenge on Willy with a seltzer bottle. Later Jake drunkenly walks down to a park fountain where he is mugged and knocked out by some ruffians. The police find Jake unconscious and carry him home to his wife, who thinks Jake has really killed himself. She contacts the Dude who comes over to help her prepare Jake's funeral arrangements, but when Jake suddenly revives from his stupor, the Dude runs out of the house in terror. Jake and his wife make up and decide to repair their marriage.

Cast

* Max Asher as Jake Schultz * Daisy Small as Jake's wife *

as Willy (The Dude) Mollycoddle *

Louise Fazenda Louise Fazenda (June 17, 1895 – April 17, 1962) was an American film actress, appearing chiefly in silent comedy films. Early life Fazenda was born in her maternal grandparents' house in Lafayette, Indiana, the daughter of merchandise bro ...

as the servant

Production

''Poor Jake's Demise'' was directed by

and produced by Independent Moving Pictures Company (IMP) and distributed by

Universal Film Manufacturing Company Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American film production and distribution company headquartered at the Universal Studios complex in Universal City, ...

. The screenplay author was not credited. The film is notable for having been the first billed appearance of Lon Chaney, and perhaps the debut of Louise Fazenda as well.

Release and reception

The film was released on August 16, 1913, and had viewings in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

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Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. A contemporary review of the film in ''

Moving Picture World The ''Moving Picture World'' was an influential early trade journal for the American film industry, from 1907 to 1927. An industry powerhouse at its height, ''Moving Picture World'' frequently reiterated its independence from the film studios. ...

'' described it as "simply horse play without any special appeal, though it is harmless and lacks vulgarity." The film was presumed lost, but a fragment of the film was discovered in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in May 2006. It has since been restored by the Haghefilm Laboratory of Amsterdam and Lobster Films, Paris. The restored fragment is 7 minutes and 52 seconds long. In 2006, the film was shown at the

Pordenone Silent Film Festival Le Giornate del cinema muto (referred to in English as Pordenone Silent Film Festival) is an annual festival of silent film held in October in Pordenone, northern Italy. It is the first, largest and most important international festival dedicated ...

. The film would also be shown at the 31st Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival on the evening of March 19, 2011. In 1957, an article by Jim Neal of the ''Denton Record-Chronicle'' cited this as the first of Lon Chaney's films. Don G. Smith's book, ''Lon Chaney, Jr.: Horror Film Star, 1906-1973'', also claims this film as Chaney's first. Rosemary Guiley would also refer to this claim in ''The Encyclopedia of Vampires, Werewolves, and Other Monsters''. Chronologically, this is the first released film with a confirmed credit for Chaney and also the first billed release. According to Blake, Chaney did not appear in ''

The Honor of the Family ''The Honor of the Family'' is a 1912 American silent short drama film produced by the Rex Motion Picture Company. The film is a melodramatic one between two brothers and a woman named Marja. Gerald admires the girl and warns his visiting ...

'', ''

Suspense Suspense is a state of anxiety or excitement caused by mysteriousness, uncertainty, doubt, or undecidedness. In a narrative work, suspense is the audience's excited anticipation about the plot or conflict (which may be heightened by a viol ...

'', or ''

The Ways of Fate ''The'' is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the ...

'', three earlier films sometimes credited to him.

References

External links