The Better Ole

Like his younger half-brother Charlie, Syd Chaplin was also a successful silent-film comedian and enjoyed a certain notoriety somewhat oversahdowed by his iconic sibling. Here he plays Old Bill, a World War I army private with the British Expeditionary Forces. The film derives its title from a beloved British cartoon strip, hopping from the comics to celluloid in a funny scene where a soldier stuck in a muddy foxhole complains and Old Bill replies in Cockney, If you knows a better 'ole, go for it! The plot involves unmasking a traitor in the ranks who, allied with the owner of a local inn, is responsible for the town falling under German control. The most classic scene finds Bill and his buddy sneaking through enemy lines disguised as a horse. Superb slapstick silliness doesn't come any better.