The Alice Howell Collection #6: “In Dutch” (1918) – reviewed by George

Hulda (Alice Howell), a little Dutch girl, longed to go to America. One day, wearing her only dancing costume, she stowed away aboard a large ship. She found comfortable but cramped quarters – she was in a shipping crate with a small hinged “door”. So in the morning when two crew members sat down to eat, she could lift the “flap” and sneak food and drink.
It’s not really funny, but it’s involving – eventually the three are fighting over the food, and the sailors take her to the Captain for imprisonment.. Well, he doesn’t want to do that, but she is put to work in the galley. She will work for the cook (Simon Seafoot), an old sea lion and a sourpuss sweet on Hulda. So most of her time is spent heading off his advances.
And there’s Tommy Little (Hughie Mack) who fancies himself irresistible to the weaker sex.
Then Hulda becomes a maid in the upper class dining room, and when the pianist starts up, she starts dancing. Reminder her background: she’s wearing clogs and she does a spirited clog dance to everyone’s approval. Except the Captain, who is outraged and sends her back to the kitchen, But Tommy follows her and says, “You can do better. Marry me!”
Then they hit a storm and the title card says, “The waves did a fox-trot with the storm while the boat danced a cakewalk.”
And during the storm Tommy proves himself a hero (kind of accidentally).
On this ship the Shipboard Cabaret is called the Smiling Fairies Cabaret. I’m not sure how to take that, but I apologize to everyone – I’m laughing as I type. And the lovely chorus girls were probably laughing too. Hulda joins the Chorus and is a hit again.
And we get a slide: “Captain Galish was a man of letters. His heart’s wish was to be a mailman.” And “Harry Hash followed a professional career – but never caught it.”
This short subject is funny and fun and Recommended.
But I do apologize to the performers’s descendants – I found more actor’s names, but I couldn’t find out which parts they played. They are Billy Armstrong, Eddie Barry, Neal Burns, James Finlayson, who actually played five roles, and Russell Powell.
Written and Directed by John G. Blystone.