Cactus Jim's Shop Girl

Cactus Jim's Shop Girl (1915)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Cactus Jim (Tom Mix) places a singles add in a paper and gets a reply from a shop girl (Goldie Colwell) in Chicago. The cowboy goes to see her but she changes her mind so to avoid his friends making fun of him he decides to dress up a mannequin and bring it back as his bride. Yeah, you really do have to ask yourself if the friends would have made fun of him more for being shot down by a girl or sinking low enough to dress up a mannequin. Either way, I'm sure Mix wasn't expecting anyone to question a comedy so with that in mind this one-reeler isn't all that bad. Mix, the director, has a nice pace and keeps the film moving without it ever getting too boring. The story itself is pretty much a one-joke thing and this joke isn't all that funny. I thought the actor did a pretty good job in the role and managed to be quick on his feet during the comedy bits. I thought Colwell was incredibly charming and especially during the finale. At just 9-minutes this here is harmless enough for fans of the genre.