In most of Leon Errol's shorts, he plays a carousing husband who is caught or nearly caught by the wife as he chases other women and drinks. Here, however, he actually tries to be a good husband....and is treated every bit as bad as when he's actually been carousing!
When the story begins, Leon (called 'Harry' in this short) sees a friend on the street. The friend soon recommends that Leon buy his wife a surprise gift in order to keep her happy. So, he goes to buy a gift for her. Oddly, his awful mother-in-law sees him in the shop talking with the sales lady and then phones Harry's wife to tell him that he is cheating on her!! Also, as he leaves the store after paying for the umbrella, a guy accuses him of stealing it....and soon cops are chasing him. When he arrives home, the wife physically assaults him and announces they are getting a divorce!! Things only get worse when the wife's lawyer gets involved and when he's hauled in to court for shoplifting!!
The humor in this is watching lawyers abuse and berate Leon...a completely innocent man. I thought this all felt rather mean-spirited and unfunny as it went on way too long. By the time the film was over, the lawyers made him look like a combination Bluebeard, Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan! I also think the whole thing came off as ridiculous and poorly done...and a bit of subtlety would have helped. Overall, a film that is different but not necessarily better from Errol's other shorts.
By the way, it is rather weird how in many of Leon's films (this one included) the wife physically assaults Leon and it's supposed to be hilarious. In one, she gives him two black eyes, in this one she smashes him over the head with an umbrella. I do wonder how all this would have played if Leon had been the one hitting her instead...then or now. I should add that at the end, Leon hits his friend as well.
