For such a simple, knockabout slapstick feature, the cast list for this movie contains a surprising number of well-known silent movie performers, even in the minor roles. Roscoe Arbuckle, Charley Chase, and Mack Swain all give it an over-the-top effort that makes the material work about as well as it possibly could have. The story and the comedy ideas are nothing special for the most part, so it relies on the cast's energy and talent to make things work.
Arbuckle plays the kind of likable rube figure found in a number of his earlier movies, and here he has to protect his fiancée (Minta Durfee) from a smooth operator who wants to take her to the city. It starts with a flat tire sequence that has some remarkable similarities to the sequence in the classic "Mabel and Fatty Adrift", and it's a good scene. After that, most of it is broadly played slapstick. Swain and Chase show up a little later, as two boisterous miners who add an extra dose of chaos to the conflicts between the main characters.
The supporting cast also includes Edgar Kennedy, Al St. John, and several others in smaller roles. They all have plenty of energy, and while it's nothing remarkable, this is the kind of feature that is enjoyable to watch simply as a taste of its era.
Arbuckle plays the kind of likable rube figure found in a number of his earlier movies, and here he has to protect his fiancée (Minta Durfee) from a smooth operator who wants to take her to the city. It starts with a flat tire sequence that has some remarkable similarities to the sequence in the classic "Mabel and Fatty Adrift", and it's a good scene. After that, most of it is broadly played slapstick. Swain and Chase show up a little later, as two boisterous miners who add an extra dose of chaos to the conflicts between the main characters.
The supporting cast also includes Edgar Kennedy, Al St. John, and several others in smaller roles. They all have plenty of energy, and while it's nothing remarkable, this is the kind of feature that is enjoyable to watch simply as a taste of its era.