Don't Be Foolish

The whole world knows him. Burlesque comedy genius, popular actor, author, director, producer, composer, choreographer, Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) used his talent to serve an ideal of justice and freedom. But his best scenario was his own destiny, a story written into the political and artistic history of the 20th century.

A runaway heiress makes a deal with the rogue reporter trailing her but the mismatched pair end up stuck with each other when their bus leaves them behind.

A New York tramp falls in love with the mayor's amnesiac girlfriend after rescuing her from a suicide attempt.

When all Broadway shows are shut down during the Depression, a trio of desperate showgirls scheme to bilk a repugnant high society man of his money to keep their show going.

A sleazy lawyer's female assistant sets out to end his cheating ways.

The Palmers, an apparently wealthy family, move into the house next door to the Lazarres. However, the Palmers are actually a gang of thieves plotting to rob the Lazarres.

An ex-con uses his street smarts to become a successful photojournalist.

A safecracker goes straight after doing a stretch for a bum rap. He agrees to do one last job for his "pals". He then flees from killers with a San Francisco fisherman's fiancee.

An unpolished racketeer, whose racket is finding heirs for unclaimed fortunes, affects ethics and tea-drinking manners to win back the sweetheart who now works for his seemingly upright competitor.

Although free spirit Helen Bauer does not believe in marriage, she consents to marry Don, but his infidelities cause her to also take on a lover.

A paperhanger and his helper arrive at a sanitarium to do a job. The chubby paperhanger leaves most of the work to his thin assistant, who tries gamely but usually makes a mess. Various patients at the asylum interrupt and complicate the work, and, to the dismay of the lazy boss, a nurse is attracted to the helper. Amidst all the paste, ladders, brushes, and the images of circus and jungle animals on the wallpaper, is there any way this job gets done to the satisfaction of the sanitarium's director?

Two nutty bellhops raise havoc at a posh hotel.

The Hero is a 1917 silent comedy film featuring Billy West & Oliver Hardy.

In The Villain, Billy attempted something a little different. He's still imitating Chaplin, but this time he's playing the wicked, top-hatted Charlie found in some of his earliest Keystone appearances (e.g. Mabel at the Wheel), the ones where Charlie himself seemed to be imitating the studio's recently departed Ford Sterling. Throughout this short there is much spoofing of old-time melodramas, a frequent motif of Sterling's comedies.

A clumsy fiddler plays at an audition with a grouchy teathrical impresario, played by Oliver Hardy.

The Eagle uses sky writing to make threats against a corporation. Nathan Gregory owns a travelling fairground and is thought to be the Eagle. Craig McCoy is a pilot who goes looking for the Eagle when Gregory turns up missing.