Petticoat Camp (1912)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Nice mixture of comedy and a message has a group of men taking their wives along on a camping trip, which is also everyone's vacation. As soon as they get there the men are relaxing, resting and having fun while they expect the wives to cook, clean and do various other chores. The women grow tired of this and decide to leave and set up their own camp and soon the men realize how much work the women actually do.
PETTICOAT CAMP is a pretty good fifteen minute film from the Thanhouser company. The short obviously has a message to get across to men who use their women as slaves but thankfully the film never gets preachy or beats the viewer over the head. There's no over-the-top performances or zany moments but instead the movie plays out in a very natural way. The scenarios aren't anything outrageous but instead it's just a realistic view of how men treat women and what would happen if the slave days were over with. Fans of silent comedies will certainly want to check this one out.