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This two-reel comedy was the final entry of a 1916-7 series which cast young Gloria Swanson opposite boyish Bobby Vernon, but it also holds the melancholy distinction of being the one of the last comedies produced by Mack Sennett for Keystone, the company he founded. By the time The Sultan's Wife was finished, and well before it was released in September of 1917, Sennett had departed to set up a new studio under his own name. For a few more months, other hands attempted to run the studio and hoped to profit off the well-known Keystone name, but the new arrangement obviously didn't work out, and eventually they threw in the towel and shut the place down.

So much for background. Is The Sultan's Wife a good comedy, still worth a viewer's time? Well, in my opinion, "No." It's slapdash and perfunctory, perhaps reflecting the low morale of a studio on the verge of disbanding. There's very little here for anyone seeking laughs, although this movie may be of interest for historically-minded viewers, not because it's one of Sennett's last Keystone productions but because of the rather ugly picture it paints of American attitudes towards foreigners at a time of world crisis, six months after the U.S. had entered the Great War.

The story concerns a young couple, Gloria and Bobby. Bobby is in the Navy, and Gloria is the daughter of his commanding officer, who disapproves of the relationship for unexplained reasons. There's no explanation for Gloria's presence on this voyage with hundreds of sailors either, but then, the plots of Keystone comedies were never their selling point. As swiftly as possible it's established that Gloria and Bobby have landed together in India, where the rest of the U.S. Navy promptly vanishes until they're needed later on. It's too bad the filmmakers didn't concoct a more appropriate name for the exotic, sinister-looking place where the action is set -- something along the lines of Sylvania or Klopstokia -- because calling it "India" would be insulting if the movie weren't so lightweight. Let's just say that the story is set in Hollywood's idea of the Mysterious Orient, an imaginary land that looks as if it was designed by Dr. Seuss, where evil rajahs keep harems and the girls dance a lot. Bobby is immediately interested in flirting, and calls what the girls are doing "the Hindoo hop." The homely, buck-toothed rajah who is the villain of the piece sees Gloria and, of course, wants to add her to his collection, so he has one of his henchmen capture her by throwing a switch which opens a trapdoor underneath the bench where she's sitting. The switch is located inside a bust of a Buddha. That's right, a Buddha. Do you suspect that the people who made this movie didn't know much about India?

Eventually the plot goes out the funny-shaped window as the rest of the running time is taken up with chases, mistaken identity, and weak gags based on illogical behavior. Teddy the Keystone Dog, who was so memorable coming to the rescue in Teddy at the Throttle, reappears here to considerably less effect. It's typical of the sloppy film-making on display that when Teddy is shown running past the cyclorama, i.e. the familiar revolving background of trees seen in so many Sennett comedies, nobody cared that it looked nothing at all like the "India" where our story is supposedly set. But the most striking thing here is the depiction of the natives: "India," it seems, is made up of filthy beggars, sexy dancing girls, evil rulers and their henchmen. The second most striking thing here is that the story quickly becomes incoherent. Finally, as things get completely chaotic, American sailors show up with guns firing in all directions, mopping up the situation in customary fashion.

So, in short, The Sultan's Wife is hackwork. I suppose one shouldn't read too much into it, but considering the historical period when it was made it's hard not to draw parallels with contemporaneous American attitudes towards the outside world. After resisting for almost three years, the U.S. had been drawn into a "foreign" war, and our boys were being trained and sent Over There in large numbers. To a lot of Americans, the outside world was a nebulous concept -- vague, and scary. It's difficult for us to recapture the cultural isolation of that era, long before T.V. or the Internet or even radio were bringing information from around the world into most American homes. The "India" of this film wouldn't have looked at all ridiculous to a lot of unschooled viewers, and it may be worth pondering just how much misinformation about other cultures Americans have absorbed from the movies, even inconsequential short comedies such as The Sultan's Wife.

Triangle Pictures, with the massive losses to one of its partners, D. W. Griffith, who incurred much red ink in his 1916 "Intolerance," was quickly dissolving the relationship with its three superstar directors, Griffith, Thomas Ince and Mack Sennett. The later was leaving the company with his beloved Keystone Studio behind to form an independent production company by himself. During the breakup, which caught Swanson and Vernon in the middle, the September 1917 "The Sultan's Wife" was produced. The movie would be the last between the very popular pairing of Swanson and Vernon.

The plot is still madcap Keystone trademark, with Gloria kidnapped by a devious sultan while touring India with Bobby. The sultan wants to make the actress one of many wives he has, whom are the Keystone Beauties. But Bobby and Teddy the dog come to the rescue in a wild chase with switched identities.

Also known as "Caught in a Harem," this last effort by the two concluded a nine-film collaboration between Swanson and Vernon, which broke the hearts of their fans. After the movie, the actress would graduate to feature films, eventually working with director Cecil B. DeMile, while Bobby enlisted in the Navy during World War One before resuming his career in comedy shorts.

Typical no-plot comedy short from 1917 boasts the great Gloria Swanson as a teenager yachting to India with her family and beau, Bobby Vernon. While ashore they run into trouble and Gloria is kidnapped by the Rajah. Hilarious doings as La Swanson is expected to dress up in a harem outfit while the other "wives" don 1917 bathing suits (it's a Mack Sennett film) and go swimming in a pool.

Things really start to pop when Bobby calls on the yacht crew to help him form a human ladder so that he and Teddy (dog star of the teens) can broach the palace walls to save Gloria. Much physical comedy with Swanson scolding everyone in sight and batting the Rajah with anything she can find. At one point the kids switch clothes and while Gloria tries to escape Bobby does a belly dance to distract the Rajah. As they are about to lop Gloria's head off, the dog and marines arrive to save the day.

Fast and funny. Swanson was, even in her teens, a terrific actress and natural comic. She and Vernon made 9 short films together and are a memorable team. I found this on a DVD with TEDDY AT THE THROTTLE and THE DANGER GIRL... all starring Swanson and Vernon.... Much fun!

Bobby Vernon (as Bobby) and Gloria Swanson (as Gloria) sail to India ("The land of elephants, and little clothes"), where they plan to elope. Upon arrival, Harem girls tempt Mr. Vernon, while a Rajah nabs Ms. Swanson. The Rajah has hundreds of wives, and wants Swanson in the group. Indians are upset, because only "toothless hags" are left for marriage. Vernon tries to rescue Swanson by switching clothes with her… becoming a temporary "Harem Girl" himself, but his mission fails. So, it's up to canine Teddy, can the dog save Bobby and Gloria from the Indians?

"The Sultan's Wife" or "Caught in a Harem" is notable as the last Keystone Comedy. They didn't go out in style.

** The Sultan's Wife (9/30/17) Clarence G. Badger ~ Bobby Vernon, Gloria Swanson, Joseph Callahan

Bobby Vernon and Gloria Swanson star in this short comedy. They are visiting a Muslim country where an evil Rajah takes an interest in pretty Gloria and kidnaps her to add to his harem. So, it's up to Bobby to come to the rescue. Unfortunately, he's in way over his head, so he sends for help via Teddy the dog--a rather standard plot point of the day (such as in FATTY AND MABEL ADRIFT).

Compared to other comedy shorts of the day, this one is better in regard to production values--with nice sets, costumes and it looks almost as if it was filmed abroad. The only trouble is that Keystone-Triangle Films forgot to add the humor--a severe problem for a film purported to be a comedy.

I recently have rented several DVDs from Netflix that fall under the title "Old Time Comedy Classics". I know they have at least eight DVDs, as this is volume 8. The previous DVDs were earlier issues and were a good bit funnier than those in volume 8, though I still haven't been all that impressed with any of the entries. It seems that these are all lesser-known silent comedies and I can easily see why they aren't as well known--most just aren't that funny. Sadly, the not especially exciting SULTAN'S WIFE is far from the worst film in this collection.