Richard Talmadge has just been thrown over by the seventeenth only girl he'll ever love and his father, who has just invented a clockwork death ray says he needs excitement. So when his father's secretary, who is a spy, steals the key part and Richard has to rescue it and pretty Eva Novak, he thinks it's all an act to pep him up -- and goes along with the gag.
Talmadge started out as Douglas Fairbanks Sr.'s stuntman, and his comedies -- of which this is the best -- are peppered with Fairbanks-style physical gags. Later, after his career as a movie lead faded out, he returned to being a stunt man and stunt director, in many ways paralleling the career of Yakima Canutt. But while neither became a huge star, they turned out some good movies and this one is a heck of a lot of fun.
Talmadge started out as Douglas Fairbanks Sr.'s stuntman, and his comedies -- of which this is the best -- are peppered with Fairbanks-style physical gags. Later, after his career as a movie lead faded out, he returned to being a stunt man and stunt director, in many ways paralleling the career of Yakima Canutt. But while neither became a huge star, they turned out some good movies and this one is a heck of a lot of fun.
