Don't Butt In

Paul Parrott's real name was James Parrott and he is famous for several things. First, in the 1910s and 20s, he appeared in tons of short comedies. Then, a bit later, he began directing and eventually became a much more successful director than actor--directing Laurel & Hardy (among others) in some of their more famous films. Additionally, he was the younger brother of Charles Parrott--otherwise known as "Charley Chase"--a very famous star of countless comedy shorts. Sadly, like Charley, James died very young--he was only 40 when he succumbed to a heart attack.

I've seen Paul/James in a few comedies and this one is about average for him. As a sort of "second string" comedian with Hal Roach, he had to be content with many of the lesser roles and so far I have yet to see one that is particularly outstanding. In this film, he plays a longshoreman who's incredibly lazy. Since there were no big gags in the film, the less said the better and it's mostly only of interest to fans of silent comedy and film historians.