Wife and Auto Trouble (1916) User Reviews

Seems like a template for films to come

[knsevy · 6/10 · 24 February 2005]

Has strong elements of W.C. Fields' films 'Running Wild' and 'Man on the Flying Trapeze', especially within the family unit, but it predates both of them. Now. how this chronology covers Fields, or any of the other performers'/writers' skits performed on the live stage, can only be left to conjecture.

But this film does run very close to Fields' silent 'Running Wild,', though it leaves out the subplot of getting tickets to the wrestling match. And, as opposed to 'Man on the Flying Trapeze', our henpecked protagonist in this film IS having an affair with his secretary. In real life, Fields was having an affair with the actress who PLAYED his secretary in 'Man on the Flying Trapeze'.

This flows along satisfactorily, in the classic battleaxe/henpecked character flow, until the end, which I suspect was cut off in the version I have access to. It ends after Collier wrecks the new car, and he's trying to convince the cop not to arrest him, while his wife and mother-in-law shout for his incarceration. He lifts his lapel to the arresting cop, talks to him, and shows it to him again, then it fades out.

Did not keep me interested

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 19 September 2017]

"Wife and Auto Trouble" or "His Marriage Flivver" is an American short film from 1916, so this one is already over a century old and it is still from the days of black-and-white silent film. It runs for 14 minutes and even if you don't know any of the names working on this one in front of and behind the camera, this doesn't mean they weren't successful and prolific artists back in the day and a look at their body of work confirms it. Still after seeing this one, I must say that the production values were really low and that it suffers like so many others from lack of enough intertitles to at least understand the basic plot and story. Now I would say that also some of the most known silent films from back then suffered in terms of story-telling, but they had a guy like Arbuckle, Chaplin or Lloyd to elevate the material. You won't find an equivalent here and that's why the comedy, the core element, comes short. I suggest you watch something else instead.

FUN SHORT

[darren shan · 7/10 · 12 October 1999]

Amusing short film about a hen-pecked man who has to endure not only his mother-in-law living with him, but his brother-in-law too. When his wife overhears him bad-mouthing her to his secretary, sparks fly, leading to a chase involving the "Tri-stone Cops". Nothing special, but fast and funny, with an especially wry and enjoyable opening half.

Lively, Detailed Comedy

[Snow Leopard · 24 January 2006]

The free-wheeling Mack Sennett/Keystone style works well in this lively, detailed comedy. The story elements are familiar ones, but they are used in amusing ways that get good mileage out of the material. The cast and characters avoid trying to be too fancy, letting the comedy ideas do the work.

The setup is one of the silent comedy standbys, with a husband put-upon at home by his wife, mother-in-law, and brother-in-law, and seeking romantic comfort with his secretary (who is played by Mae Busch, in one of her earlier roles). The various entanglements and disputes that arise are filmed in a spirited style, with several of Keystone's familiar comic policemen getting in on the fun during the manic closing sequence.

In a movie like this, the less controlled approach leads to good results. The director and cast seem to have a good feel for how things should go, giving it an upbeat tone and a good pace. It's also worth watching for some of the details, since there are a number of clever ones thrown in. Although there's little here that you couldn't see in numerous other comedies of the era, it's put together in a good style that makes for an amusing short feature.

Pretty typical of the era--with a few clever moments

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 3 May 2008]

Before I start, I need to point out that I was a bit confused by who exactly made this film. When it begins, it says it's a "Tri-Stone Production" but Tri-Stone isn't listed on IMDb or Wikipedia. I do know that Tri-Star pictures is the name that was given to Keystone Studios after a merger and I assume that perhaps they had originally planned on calling it Tri-Stone and the name was quickly switched. More evidence of its Keystone roots (i.e., Tri-Star) is that during one chase scene, what looks like the Keystone Kops pass Keystone Studios!

As for the movie, it's typical of the era as there were a HUGE number of domestic comedies involving a cheating husband and a battle ax of a wife! In this case, a man is cheating on his battle ax with a secretary and the wife's brother finds out and rigs a phone up so the wife can hear the husband wooing the secretary and talking horribly about his spouse. He calls her a "dreadnaught" (i.e., a battleship) and says she should be in a freak show! This was pretty funny but what was funnier was her reaction! While purely slapstick, it was funny to see her come to work with guns blazing and see the secretary (Mae Busch) leap out of the way! Apart from this fight, there is also a dandy chase scene and this short is well worth a look. Silly, violent and fast-paced--this is better than average film but also one pretty typical of the era.

Wife and Auto Trouble is another Mack Sennett short featuring a young Mae Busch

[tavm · 7/10 · 30 July 2007]

Wife and Auto Trouble is the now old hat story of a meek man, his wife and mother-in-law, his brother-in-law, and the secretary he's having an affair with. It was a nice surprise seeing Mae Busch, long before her appearances with Laurel and Hardy, playing the secretary. Dig her jumping several feet in the air when the mother-in-law and wife appear in the office! There's also some hilarious shooting involving all the main characters there! Then there's the chase involving the Tri-Stone Cops (formerly Keystone Kops) that brings everything to an exciting climax and you have the typical Mack Sennett flourish. Another highly amusing effort worth seeing for silent movie buffs.

Title sums up story set at breakneck speed

[Gblakelii · 8/10 · 18 January 2006]

Mack Sennett always felt that a good film must be incorporated with a steady to fast pace to keep the viewer busy. And in this production of his(which includes some self promotion in one sequence)is the perfect example. And if you thought special effects were in the dark ages during the silent era, think again. You will be reminded of the amazing mobility scenes in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon(2000) when watching Mae Busch leap up to a ten foot high ledge on a wall behind her. And the fire hydrant scene in "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World(1963) was done here first! The first rate cast includes former Broadway star William Collier, Sr., who would later be a major influence on John Ford's "Up the River"(1930). And Laurel and Hardy fans will need no introduction to Mae Busch, here playing a flirt. Last, but not least, the famous Keystone Kops turn up in the latter half of the movie. The plot concerns a dominant mother, her favored son, the disliked son-in-law, and his wife. The pretty secretary who attracts both men is thrown into the works, as well as a new car that was ordered for her, but taken by the wife. A frantic chase scene, that was always carried out to perfection in a Mack Sennett production is the highlight. Worth watching over and over again.

Could Also Be Auto and Wife Trouble.

[PCC0921 · 7/10 · 1 June 2021]

Comedy Format: Standard, B&W Directors: Dell Henderson and Mack Sennett Starring: William Collier Sr. And Blanche Payson

A slightly jumbled and hectic story, in the slapstick style of comedy, using Keystone Kops-type of action, is presented here with plenty of classic silent-era comedy stunts. Then there is the story inside, between our hero, his abusive wife and the mother-in-law, that tends to get a little too silly. The wife shooting off the gun, chasing the husband around an apartment building, was way too cartoonish, but that is how they did things in the silent era.

Using speeded up action, because of the 18 frames per second, the blurring images sometimes helped hide some of that stuff, but not here. That was the only problem with slapstick too. Sometimes it went too far or too long and became too cartoonish, but slapstick would be a genre that would last for over 65 years and that is a good thing. It's good clean comedy. The current DVD version I saw has mediocre canned music complete with vocals that are an obvious cheap add-on by the DVD company. The problem is, I don't think it hurt the film at all. It may have helped. It still was fun to watch and short enough not to be brutal.

7.3 (C+ MyGrade) = 7 IMDB.

Keystone 101: Violence and a Chase

[Michael_Elliott · 18 September 2012]

Wife and Auto Trouble (1916)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Decent Keystone comedy has a poor husband (William Collier) being abused at home by his wife, her mother and her brother. The husband is having an affair with a woman (Mae Busch) he works for and when the brother finds out he calls his sister and soon a war is on. WIFE AND AUTO TROUBLE isn't going to go down as a comedy masterpiece but there are enough good moments to make it worth sitting through even if it's not the most original film out there. I actually thought the best stuff was at the beginning when we see the husband sitting at the breakfast table where his no-good brother-in-law gets all the attention as well as the bigger egg and the bigger cup of coffee. This entire sequence contains some pretty funny stuff including a clever joke on how the husband tries to get the bigger coffee. The stuff inside the office is where things start to get rather silly but there are still a few interesting moments from here. It's also fun to see that the cheater is actually the good guy, which I'm sure had some moral police in 1916 in an uproar. For the most part Collier does a very good job in the lead and Blanche Payson is great as his evil wife. Joseph Belmont is fun as the brother-in-law. The film ends with a chase and just the kind that you'd expect from the studio.