Series: Snub Pollard Director: Charles Parrott Producer: Hal Roach Titles: Photography: Editor: Stars: Snub Pollard, Marie Mosquini Company: Pathé Exchange Released: 07 August 1921 Length: 1 reel Production No.: H-74 Filming dates: Rating: 4/10

Teaching The Teacher

[from approximately 4 minutes 30 seconds of footage available for review:] Snub is riding to the schoolhouse on a bicycle that has its saddle about 8 feet off the ground before parking it outside the building. Marie (MOSQUINI) arrives shortly after him riding a horse. Snub calls the students indoors. NOAH YOUNG is called up to the front first, followed by ERNEST MORRISON, who procedes to hit Snub's hand with a hammer. Noah returns to the front of the class and is asked to solve a simple maths question. Noah grabs a shotgun, goes outside and sees four revenue officers sitting on a bridge. He takes aim and shoots one of them (JACK O'BRIEN) into the water. Feeling pleased with himself Noah returns to the classroom to give his answer but his stupidy earns him a 'dunce' hat on his head by the less-than-impressed Snub. Noah doesn't take his punishment too well and gives chase to Snub around the classroom until he corners the teacher and threatens to smack him. Snub gets out of the potential assault by ringing the bell to signify break time. As everybody rushes outside Marie stays in the classroom to eat her lunch. Snub pours what appears to be water all over a small flower Marie has in her hat as she sits eating. Snub can't resist looking at her meal until she eventually offers him some of it. The greedy bastard takes the lot. Outside the rest of the students dance around in a circle as Noah and WALLACE HOWE stray from the group to uncover a barrel of mountain dew hidden on the back of a wagon. They remove it and drag it into the schoolhouse leaving a trail of the drink behind on the ground. A revenue officer (CHARLES STEVENSON) ignites the ground and the the schoolhouse explodes when the trail left behind the barrel catches up to the building. Marie and Snub are last seen still sitting together inside (or rather now, outside) and the film closes with them sharing a kiss.

Favourite bit This is a personal joke for me that nobody else would understand. But there is a particular reason I found this scene of interest...

Trivia • Copyrighted July 29, 1921. • A fragment of the film (4m 31s) appeared on YouTube in July 2024 courtesy of Dave Glass. • Remade by Charley Chase at Columbia Pictures as Teacher's Pest (1939). • At one point Noah Young picks up Marie Mosquini and threatens to punch her in the face. A slight mis-match there, don't you think? • On the chalkboard, there is a drawing of "Fighting Bob Evans" -- wonder if this is an inside-joke reference to Owen, who was also known as Bob Evans. It certainly does look like a caricature of him. My opinion • Never thought I'd say this about a Snub Pollard film, but having seen approximately half of it, I would have liked to have seen the rest! Don't tell anybody I said so.

	Snub Pollard The teacher
	Marie Mosquini Student who arrives on horse
	Ernest Morrison Boy student
	Noah Young 'Dunce' student
	Charles Stevenson Student/Revenue officer
	Wallace Howe Revenue officer/Bearded student
	Jack O'Brien Revenue officer who gets shot
	Vera White Student
	Bob O'Conor Student
	Owen Evans Student
	Joe White Revenue officer
	UNIDENTIFIED Student #1
	UNIDENTIFIED Student #2
	UNIDENTIFIED Student #3
	UNIDENTIFIED Student #4

SHOT ON LOCATION (click any image to enlarge)

MISCELLANEOUS (click any image to enlarge)

Acknowledgements: Dave Glass (review copy) John Benson (additional material) Jesse Brisson (identification of Charles Stevenson, Wallace Howe, Jack O'Brien, Vera White, Bob O'Conor, Owen Evans) This page was last updated on: 02 August 2024