This is indeed a strange, sad, and sweet little story to be the focus of Mack Sennett comedy short. Harry Langdon the bindle-carrying tramp accidentally joins the circus and almost misses being reunited with the love of his childhood, now a false bearded lady. It's true that there aren't many overt jokes here, just the outline of a charming but quirky story, and some very strange set-pieces.
At this point, Harry Langdon doesn't need over, constructed gags (though some situations are developed well enough to work like that such as when he shows off his stolen chicken in front of a cop -- but even there most of the laughs come from his sheepish reactions to being caught and attempts to hide). Instead, we see Langdon put in an unfortunate situation, and the comedy is in his response, whatever it be. The plot point is that he accidentally picks up a bee-hive, and hilarious things come from the fact that he doesn't even seem to know what bees are.
So the sweet story does what it does, and the bizarre set pieces -- many strangely appropriate, such as Langdon being a pied piper to a crowd of children. There's a great subtlety to this two-reel comedy, with wonderful laughs coming between the lines of something poignant and charming. Plus it's a lot of fun to watch. This is a great chance to see a representative Langdon film with the comedian at his best.
