Villain Still Pursued Her / (B&W)

Victorian melodrama gets a big send-up in this spoof production of that old play THE DRUNKARD or THE FALLEN SAVED, directed by Edward F. Cline (THE BANK DICK, MY LITTLE CHICKADEE). The play within the movie is the old one where evil villain Cribbs (Alan Mowbray in a black top hat) schemes to get his lusty clutches on the heroine (Anita Louise) by driving her naive husband (Richard Cromwell) to alcoholic ruin. Luckily, a temperance lecturer (Hugh Herbert) is on hand to set things straight, as is the great Buster Keaton as the drunkard's brother. Regulars like Margaret Hamilton, Franklin Pangborn, and Joyce Compton round out the cast. Billy Gilbert is the announcer who urges the viewing audience to hiss the villain and applaud the hero.