"Mr. Smith Wakes Up" is one of the earliest sound films made in the UK. Although sound films came out in 1927 in the States, they were a bit later in other countries...with the first British ones coming out about the same time as this film. And, the film has surprisingly good sound considering this.
The star of this film is a guy I've seen many times before...though he looks nothing like he did in later sound films. Moore Marriott specialized in playing a much older man than he really was and was in quite a few films with the Crazy Gang as well as Will Hay....famous British comics whose work is still enjoyable today. Here, Marriott plays a henpecked husband who has finally had enough!
The plot to this short film is simple. Mrs. Smith and her daughter (Elsa Lanchester) are waiting for Mr. Smith to return home from work. Normally, Mr. Smith is a mouse who is easily dominated by his pushy wife. However, today he's had enough. He's lost his job and he's had enough...and he soon explodes at the nagging wife.
The problem with this film is that it just isn't funny. It's more a historical curio...and not much more.
