Arrested for Life

Along with another Angela Murray Gibson comedy, which in its case is also available on the Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers home-video set, "That Ice Ticket" (1922), this was available for Silent Movie Day on YouTube from the State Historical Society of North Dakota.

Born in Scotland before emigrating to the United States and eventually settling in Casselton, North Dakota, Gibson ran her own production company, Gibson Studios, which although the program notes on the Pioneers set describe her as an amateur filmmaker, it's apparent that's not a knock on the quality of her films, at least the two shorts that I've now seen, and more of a statement on her recruitment of amateurs for productions, including her mother running the camera. They're competently made comedies with brisk pacing--better than a lot of slapstick from the era. Besides making her own films, Gibson was involved in the Chautauqua circuit and helped provide authenticity to Mary Pickford's Scotland-set "The Pride of the Clan" (1917).

This comedic short, "Arrested for Life" features Gibson fresh off the train in a new town and looking for work. The gags revolve around her incompetence in performing various jobs. The most amusing is when she delivers a ring and a letter containing a marriage proposal to the wrong woman, and the guy just goes along with it anyways. Inevitably, things escalate into a bit of a chase. Quite good for what it is.