AND NOW — The return of Saturday Comedies! The Alice Howell Collection – # 1, “Shot in the Excitement” (1914) – reviewed by George

Begin with a bit of history:
After a few years in vaudeville Alice Howell and her husband Richard Smith settled in California for Richard’s health. So now, as the main breadwinner, Alice  began working as an extra at Mack Sennett’s Keystone Studio in early 1914. Impressing Sennett with her ability and willingness to “take it” in physical comedy roughhousing, she soon worked her way up to featured roles in shorts like “Laughing Gas” in 1914, opposite Charlie Chaplin.
The consensus seems to be that her best surviving Keystone short is “Shot in the Excitement” in which she and Al St. John star as slapstick-crossed lovers.
Released October 26, 1914 with Alice, Al, Rube Miller, Josef Swickard, Edwin Frazee, and Grover Cigon. Director uncredited but probably Rube Miller who had his own unit at Keystone.
Two people, a man and a woman, are painting a board fence. Her boy friend arrives and she cleverly sneaks away to join him. They are smooching and laughing when a second boyfriend shows up. He tries to peek through a hole in the fence and gets an eyeful of paint. Undeterred he moves to another hole and sees his girl with another guy. The gags go on and soon include Alice’s easily infuriated boss.
Very fast and very funny. And one strange and very funny thing: the cast members keep explaining the tricks they are playing to the audience. And soon a cannon is involved.
It’s very fast-paced (I laughed a lot) and Certainly Recommended.