Should Husbands Pay?

• 1926

• Watchlist

Many of the comedies filmed at the Hal Roach studios involved domestic misunderstandings. This two-reeler, starring James Finlayson and Tyler Brooke, has a number of them. A husband (Brooke) is in court because of his flirting, and his neighbor, Mr. Krum (Finlayson), gets him out on bail and offers to take responsibility for his behavior. The two men haven't gone very far before they find a woman (Vivien Oakland) trying to cross a mud puddle. While trying to help her, they all wind up covered in mud. They go to her house to dry off, but her husband arrives and he tosses out Krum, who is in his underwear. He falls and lands on the judge's wife (Anita Garvin), who happens to be walking by. They are seen by a group of reporters who pull out their cameras and document the situation. The wives of the two men (Charlotte Mineau and Martha Sleeper) read the newspaper article and leave home. The judge's wife shows up at Krum's, angry because her husband has also seen the paper and tossed her out. She faints after seeing Krum in his underwear and his friend takes her upstairs. The judge shows up, looking for his wife, and then the other two wives show up and all mayhem breaks loose.