Of all of
Buster’s late-career film work, this is probably my favorite, the best
combination of overall quality and worthwhile material/screentime for
Buster. It’s very unlike his typical
sort of comedy, but he takes to it well, and the film is a fair amount of fun
even when he’s not in it (premise spoilers.)
Done in
the style of a melodrama and morality play, this satire is centered about a
house occupied by sweet, virginal Mary and her widowed mother (played by
Margaret “Wicked With of the West” Hamilton.)
The pair are tragically alone in the world, and their tenancy is
threatened by the unscrupulous lawyer of the house’s late owner. When the owner’s son, virtuous young Edward,
swoops in to save the two women from their fate, it appears that a happy new
life is on the horizon. Edward and Mary
fall in love, but on the very day of their wedding, the lawyer uses his most
dastardly trick yet, convincing Edward to let a single drop of alcohol touch
his lips. The poor man is done for: addicted almost instantly, he swiftly turns
to lying, fits of rage, and all manner of sins under the influence of the demon
liquor. Mary only hopes there is some
kind soul in the world who can restore her husband to the man he once was.
With its
over-the-top send-up of cautionary temperance tales, this film reminds me,
weirdly, of Reefer Madness: The Musical. While that show is inspired by an actual old
propaganda film warning against the dangers of marijuana, The Villain Still Pursued Her, as far as I know, is just a general
parody of that style of sermon storytelling.
Still, both take great pleasure in cranking up the horrific effects of
the substance they’re decrying to ridiculous levels, all the better juxtaposed
by the ludicrous saintliness of the poor woman who loves the sadly misguided
soul who’s turned to weed/drink. The
film has a lot of fun winking at these conventions, and the lead actors do a
nice job of delivering dialogue that’s both stilted and overwrought at the same
time.
Buster
plays William Dalton, Edward’s good friend and the unassuming hero of the
piece. While it’s only a supporting
role, William plays an important part, both in trying to help Edward get back
on the straight-and-narrow and in trying to unmask the lawyer’s treachery. As I said, Buster gets into the spirit of the
proceedings, delivering knowing asides to the camera and waxing thoughtfully on
the dangers of alcohol. His character
has a few additional humorous touches, like his habit of always declaring his
full name directly into the camera and a goofy bit where he conceals himself
from the lawyer to spy on his misdeeds.
Also,
there’s a completely-random pie-throwing scene shoehorned into the middle of
the movie for no reason whatsoever. It’s
not so central to the plot that it had to go down as pie-throwing, and tonally,
it has no place in the film. I can only
assume that, because of Buster’s presence, they assumed they had to include
such a scene. And why pie-throwing in
particular? Either because there was
already a misconception that that’s all that silent comedians did, or because
that was the sort of thing practiced by the slapstick stars of the day? I don’t know – either way, it’s a weird
inclusion.
Warnings
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