This sparkling satire on the bourgeoisie is a masterpiece of pure visual wit, and moves with a rhythm and fast-paced grace unseen in the silent cinema up to its time. The setting is 1895; on the way to a wedding, the groom's horse stops for breakfast, which consists of one straw hat belonging to a lady out for a stroll with a young officer. As she is married, but not to the officer, it is strongly recommended that the hapless groom produce an identical straw hat in order to allay the suspicions of the lady's husband. He attempts this while going through with the day's festivities, which are farcical enough in their own right. “This comedy is constructed in the manner of a well-wrought machine. A series of objects, including the famous hat, a lost glove, an ear trumpet, and several clocks, provide material for visual gags, represent characters, and serve as symbols of bourgeois respectability” (Eileen Bowser, Museum of Modern Art).