A gem of a comedy, and quite possibly Griffith's best, a wonderful welding of pantomime, farce, satire, and superb sight-gag material. Even without its ending, it's superb. The original film has a two-pronged chase climax. The first, better, and more inventive half has Griffith and Betty Compson escaping from Los Angeles and heading for the border. The second chase provided a change of heart, as they decide to race back again, encountering the same obstacles they had just overcome. I did see this final, impossibly decomposed reel before it was decided that it was pointless to try to print it. No question about it, it was funny, but not as funny as the reel it followed. As it is now, the film comes to a close with the couple about to escape the law scot-free. Incidentally, the film was remade-same plot, far less visual comic inspiration-in the '40s as Hold That Blonde with Eddie Bracken and Veronica Lake. -William K. Everson