Unusually for a comedian known for domestic comedies, this film finds Arbuckle playing a tramp on the hunt for whatever free food and liquor he can get his hands on--even an alcohol-soaked rag will do in a pinch. After saloon-keeper "Ambrose" (Mack Swain) shows him the door, reports surface of a bomb-throwing vagrant who takes explosive revenge on establishments that deny him lunch. Ambrose starts to worry that the tramp might be the mystery bomb-chucker--and soon he finds his employees quitting in fear. Enter Fatty, with a "bomb"--or, wait, is it just a giant mound of cheese?
Best-known today for playing Charlie Chaplin's fellow prospector in
The Gold Rush (1925), Mack Swain was once a Keystone topliner himself. Along with playing supporting roles for Arbuckle and Chaplin, Swain co-starred in his own series of "Ambrose and Walrus" shorts alongside Chester Conklin (whose "Walrus" character was named for his prodigious moustasche). Like Arbuckle, Swain found it hard to shake his Keystone nickname, and continued to play "Ambrose" even after he left the studio.
by David Kalat
