Series: Snub Pollard Director: Alfred J. Goulding Producer: Hal Roach Titles: Photography: Editor: Stars: Snub Pollard, Marie Mosquini Company: Pathé Exchange Released: 15 August 1920 Length: 1 reel Production No.: H-40 Filming dates: June 5-12, 1920; and also the week of June 19, 1920 Rating: -/10

Run 'Em Ragged

"In a tough town where the crooks have done everything but steal the court house and spank the chief of police".... a patrolling cop walks by a railway depot and stops to see an open-top trashcan moving. As he stares on in disbelief, several hoboes climb out it in front of him (with some clever editing in the film). Two of the men (SNUB POLLARD, HUGHIE MACK) come to a corner of the street where they both see a coin on the ground but a woman picks it up before they get a chance to pounce on it. Snub and Mack sit down on a bench where yet another woman approaches and appears to search for something she has lost. She searches over near another bench where an old geezer is sitting, with Mack following her every move. After returning to the first bench, she finds her purse - with $1000 and two milk tokens inside. Having twice lost an opportunity to sieze some money, Snub punches himself in the face before Mack drags him off. On a nearby street corner an armed robber has just mugged a gentleman but as he proudly shows off his haul Snub blindsides him and steals the gun from him, causing the mugger to run off. Snub tries to entice Mack into becoming bandits and after a little persuasion, they agree.

Shopkeeper WILLIAM GILLESPIE is sitting outside his store reading a newspaper when old friend CHARLES STEVENSON walks by. After their initial embrace, Gillespie reminds Stevenson that he is owed $50 by him. Gillespie pursues his friend down to the street corner where Snub is about to stick them both up at gunpoint. Realising this, Stevenson pays Gillespie off the money he owes and leaves. Gillespie is then held up for the money by Snub and Mack. Easy come, easy go! A policeman sees the robbery and chases after Snub into the Hollenbeck Park. Snub evades the cop and jumps into a canoe and rows off with a woman (MARIE MOSQUINI) on a boating lake with the cop and the woman's enraged husband (BOB O'CONOR) following close by. Snub takes to the ground and picks up a bonnet and gown and dropped by a female picnicker. Mack sees the food and begs for some but gets more than he bargains for when Snub (now dressed to look like a woman) socks him in the kisser. The girl from the canoe is reunited with her fella and the two of them mistake Snub for the guy's auntie. After kissing Snub full on the face, the boyfriend realises his mistake and throttles Snub. The policeman reprimands the boyfriend and tells him "it is against the law to choke any woman except your wife".

Snub leads the cop (which quickly turns into cops) onto the lake as he gets into another canoe and rows away; the cops do likewise. When Snub reaches the bank of the lake he gets out and reveals his boat actually had no bottom to it (which poses some interesting theories on the practicality of it!) The cops split up and formulate their plan to capture Snub by jumping off a bridge spanning the lake both two officers jump straight through Snub's bottom-less canoe. Elsewhere in the park, a man (GEORGE ROWE) stands guard over a pram and baby but when the child starts crying George walks off to fetch a bottle of milk for it. Snub finds the pram and takes the baby out, handing it to a conveniently placed nursemaid who is sitting in the vicinity and then gets in the pram himself to avoid capture. When George returns to the pram he aimlessly pokes the bottle of milk into the "baby's" face whilst talking to the cop who asks if he has seen Snub. George turns round to find that Snub has substituted his baby with himself (there is a humorous moment where he points the bottle at Snub to highlight his presence to the cop). The policeman clonks Snub over the head with his baton and marches him off in the pram. The film cuts to an extremely short clip of the cop walking the pram towards the camera in long shot but this is where the film abruptly ends on the print I have been able to review.

Favourite bit Snub Pollard at the beginning of the film pops up from inside the barrel, sees the policeman nearby and quickly ducks back down again.

Trivia • Copyrighted October 2, 1920. • Also listed for August 1, 1920. • This film was previously thought to be "lost", but the Library of Congress have restored and cleaned the film, also making it available for public viewing on line. • Six people get out of the trashcan in the opening scene.  #1 is Sunshine Ernest Morrison; #5 is Hughie Mack and #6 is Snub Pollard.  Also, there is clearly some sort of elevated step inside the trashcan.  Watch as the fat guy (Hughie Mack) gets out; he steps up onto a platform mounted inside the can before he gets out. • Somebody has scratched "AJ 1920" on the wall where Snub makes his stick-up with William Gillespie. • That is one corrupt cop we see when Snub is holding up William Gillespie.  He not only takes (and keeps) the money which is accidentally passed to him but also takes Snub's gun as well (even though technically the gun was stolen to begin with!) • The boating lake scenes were filmed in Hollenbeck Park.  A total of seven boats are seen at any one time.  It is possible due to the elevated camera angles looking down onto the lake that some of the shots may have been filmed from the arched bridge? • Filming location: 300 N. Los Angeles Street - Cashier Cash Register Company. • For the final canoe chase sequence a total of ten canoes were used, with thirteen (I think) policeman in pursuit. • As Snub Pollard gets out of his canoe in the final chase on the lake he accidentally puts his leg into the water.  This looks like it was not meant to happen. • I don't know where to start with that jump off the bridge the cop makes at the end.  He jumps into the water but in the next shot he is jumping into a canoe?

	Snub Pollard Tramp
	Marie Mosquini Girl in canoe
	Bob O'Conor Girl's husband
	Hughie Mack Second tramp
	William Gillespie Shopkeeper
	Charles Stevenson Murphy
	Ernest Morrison Boy in trash can
	George Rowe Man with baby carriage
	Wallace Howe Elderly man/Robber
	Mark Jones Cop
	Chris Lynton Man being robber

UNIDENTIFIED CAST

INTERTITLES (click image to enlarge)

SHOT ON LOCATION (click any image to enlarge)

SHOT ON LOCATION: HOLLENBECK PARK (click any image to enlarge)

Acknowledgements: Library of Congress/Rob Stone (print) Chris Bungo & John Bengtson (locations confirmation) David Glass (help) Jesse Brisson (help and identification of Chris Lynton, Mark Jones) This page was last updated on: 15 August 2023