No Pets (1923) watch online HD

This is a Paul Parrott short. Mr. Parrott was the brother of Charley Chase and later had a good career as a director (credited as James Parrott) for his brother and other comics who worked for Hal Roach, including some excellent Laurel & Hardy shorts. This particular edition survives in a Pathe Baby home market cut-down version that times at four and a half minutes. It can be viewed on Youtube under its Italian title, L'OSPITE IMPORTUNO.

Because it has been cut down so severely, little of the story survives. Paul offers to watch after a friend's pet in his walk-up apartment. It turns out to be a donkey. Meanwhile, landlord Noah Young has put up a "No Pets" sign and a séance is being run under Paul's apartment. The gags seem to be well timed, but given the lack of context, it is difficult to say with any surety.

Of some interest is how scene changes are handled in this print: a sort of slow-motion flash cut in which the new scene appears at one side of the frame and pushes the old frame out.