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Strictly Private
(1916) United States of America
B&W : One reel
Directed by Louis Myll
Cast: Harry Watson Jr. [Musty Suffer]
George Kleine Productions production; distributed by Kleine-Edison Feature Service. / Released 26 July 1916. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Comedy.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? Musty hunts wild horses in the bad lands of New Jersey, and by putting salt on one’s tail, he catches a fine specimen. He sells it to a farmer after recommending the animal as an educated horse. But the animal refuses to stay in the stable in which it is locked, and breaks away to join the fascinating Musty. Now that Musty has a horse he begins to have ambitions. He wishes for a cabby’s suit and a nice sea-going hack, and behold, who suddenly appears but the fairy tramp, Musty’s guardian genius. The fairy’s wand causes the wished-for raiment and vehicle to become Musty’s. At nightfall comes rest for the weary. Musty appropriates a stable over which is a room designed for human occupation. He retires in the latter, but awakens to find his trusty steed in bed with him. In answer to Musty’s inquiries as to how he got there, the faithful animal shows how he rigged up a pulley with a plow for a counter-weight. He descends to the ground floor in the same way and Musty soon has him in the harness. Musty gets a slightly inebriated customer, whom he drives almost a quarter of a block to what he assumes is the customer’s home. He carries him to the second floor, opens a door and pushes the customer through. The door, it seems, is a false door opening into space, and the customer falls to the ground. Consequently, when Musty comes out of the house he finds the man outside again. He repeats the operation several times, but finally becomes disgusted and hangs the alcoholic one on a telegraph pole, after accepting all his money as remuneration for his services. When the horse finally becomes mutinous and balky, Musty has a brilliant idea and builds a fire under him. The horse moves all right, but only far enough to draw the cab over the flames. Then he balks again. But Musty is undismayed. From the recesses of his cab he fishes a fireman’s suit and a hose and extinguishes the blaze. The horse finally starts, and when Musty reaches a convenient point of observation, he mounts to the upper deck of his sea-going hack and sweeps the horizon through his spyglass. While he is thus occupied, a careless autoist strikes the cab, carrying vehicle, horse and all out from under Musty and leaving our hero hanging in a tree. Musty, however, has had the presence of mind to grab the wireless apparatus attached to the hack, and as the picture fades sends out the call of “S.O.S.”
Survival status: Print exists.
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 8 July 2025.
References: Website-IMDb.
Home video: DVD.
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