The Nickel Snatcher

One reel of this Hank Mann comedy has turned up. It was one of the unlabeled films that turned up at the Library of Congress, shown at one of their occasional Mostly Lost showings and identified by the members of the Silent Comedy Mafia who lurk at such events. If you like, you can see it on the FOUND AT MOSTLY LOST DVD from Undercrank Productions.

It's easily followed, despite missing half of its length. Hank Mann is the conductor of a horse-drawn trolley that carries a motley assortment of passengers to the beach at Venice in California, where the plot becomes involved with a bank robbery. Mann pulls off his gags with his usual air of mild befuddlement consistent with his soupbowl haircut and walrus mustache. He was a highly skilled comedian who worked well in ensemble, but whose dumb bell character never sustained a leading career.

Still, it's a well-made short comedy from director Charley Chase, who can be spotted as a member of the gang of robbers. It definitely is worth your time to give this one a look.