Series: Toto Director: Hal Roach Producer: Hal Roach Titles: Photography: Editor: Stars: Armando Novello, Clarine Seymour, Bud Jamison, Margaret Joslin Company: Pathé Exchange Released: 24 November 1918 Length: 1 reel Production No.: T-14 Filming dates: May 7-15, 1918 Rating: -/10

An Enemy Of Soap

[from an excerpt of the film I was able to review:] Toto is a vagabond sleeping rough by the railroad tracks. As he is perched up on the undercarriage of a stationary train he is accosted by a cop (BUD JAMISON) and a railroad worker. A jostling match takes place which Toto escapes from. The burly cop chases Toto into some bushes and discovers some discarded clothing which have been left there by a woman (CLARINE SEYMOUR) who is bathing nearby in a lake. She calls for assistance and Toto comes over and after seeing her predicament he wanders into a nearby field and hides behind a fully clothed scarecrow. Only problem is there is a gardener (DEE LAMPTON) raking leaves so Toto has to play "statues" with him. After grabbing the scarecrow, Toto finds the girl and offers her the clothing, scaring the gardener in the process [see favourite bit]. The woman puts on the pants but one leg is notably longer than the other. Together they enter a barn where a donkey constantly kicks Toto from behind a hidden screen. At first Toto thinks it is the woman but when he sees the donkey he engages it in magic tricks to impress the girl. But when the cop enters the barn he also gets the donkey-kick treatment. The cop chases Toto around the barn, believing he to be the culprit but Toto and the girl escape him. They don't get far because the cop catches up with them outside. [That is where the footage ends in the print I was able to view.]

Favourite bit Toto grabs and hides behind a scarecrow in order to avoid being detected by gardener Dee Lampton, as he attempts to steal its clothes.

Trivia • Copyrighted July 23, 1918. • This film probably included leftover footage from previous productions. • Also listed for October 20, 1918, and November 6, 1918. • A cut-down version of the film has surfaced on YouTube. Having removed all the foreign title cards, the actual footage runs 5 minutes 46 seconds. • Toto uses a small handful of straw for his bedding, though sleeping on an iron frame of a set of train wheels and axles isn't really going to make a lot of difference... or do his back any favours! • The opening confrontation with Bud Jamison is so painfully bad to watch for its soft timing. The way he and the railroad worker attempt to club Toto with their batons is just too obvious! Mind you, it could just be due to the cranking speed of the print I viewed? • The scene in the barn involves Toto bouncing on a concealed trampoline.

	Armando Novello Vagabond
	Bud Jamison Burly cop
	Clarine Seymour Bather
	Dee Lampton Gardener
	Margaret Joslin [?]
	Billy Armstrong [?]
	Lige Conley [?]

Acknowledgements: Jesse Brisson (identification of Dee Lampton) This page was last updated on: 24 March 2022