Series: Paul Parrott Director: Ralph Cedar Producer: Hal Roach Titles: H.M. Walker Photography: Editor: Stars: James Parrott, Marie Mosquini, Noah Young Company: Path Exchange Released: 23 September 1923 Length: 1 reel Production No.: D-6 Filming dates: March 6-10, 1923; retakes June 6,7 & 14, 1923 Rating: 4/10

Finger Prints

Review is from existing footage - approximately 3 minutes: Paul is the new postmaster, "who failed in his civil service examination, but licked the examiners". He sits at his desk with a pile of envelopes with his dog who licks the stamps for him. Paul takes the letters to the post box but finds they are too big to fit through the slot so he cuts them in half so they will fit. Paul returns to reading a book about how to become a detective when a young lady walks into the store. She finds him sitting at his desk with a mask on, which he explains is all part of the disguise. She is the daughter of the local sheriff - who laughs at Paul's attempts to become a detective and gives him the assignment of matching some finger prints for him. A bearded Paul observes two men getting into a heated argument at the counter, banging their hands down on the surface to amplify their points. So Paul places the inkpad underneath them to get their prints (which is nonsense because it would only measure their palm prints in reality). The sequence only comes to an end when one of the guys smacks his hand down on his hat which Paul has placed there. Paul then sees an ugly woman in the store who begins flirting with him. He encourages her more in an effort to grab her prints, which eventually he gets. The middle section of the film is missing, but the final seven seconds of the film shows Paul and some others in the middle of a lake as the camera pulls back.

Trivia • Copyrighted August 11, 1923. • Approximately 3 minutes of footage was available for review. • This was probably originally production C-96. • Owen Evans, Jack Ackroyd and Jack O'Brien were all identified by myself. I am happy to be challenged on any of these if anybody believes these are wrong. My opinion • Not enough of the film to adequately assess just how rubbish it probably is.

	James Parrott Paul, the postmaster
	Marie Mosquini Vermouth Ginn, the constable's daughter
	Noah Young [?]
	Owen Evans Constable Ginn
	Jack O'Brien Arguing man at counter
	Jack Ackroyd Arguing man at counter
	UNIDENTIFIED Woman

Acknowledgements: Dave Glass (review copy) Richard Ward (footage from end of the film) John Benson (help) This page was last updated on: 01 December 2018