Name: Mixed Babies
Genre: Comedy, Short
Duration: 2 min
Rating: 3.6
Cast: Lenore Fisher, Mabel Strickland

'Mixed Babies' is a fast-moving silent film that is still quite funny today. Early film audiences must have cringed at the spectacle of live babies being flung about onscreen, but it's obvious to modern viewers that the 'babies' are actually dummies.

Two prams are parked outside a shop, with a baby sleeping in each pram. A mischievous boy switches each baby into the other's pram. A man emerges from the shop and walks away with one pram, not noticing that he's got the wrong baby. A woman comes out of the shop, and notices straight off that her pram has got the wrong baby. The boy points to the departing figure of the man, indicating that the man made the switch intentionally. Pushing her pram with the wrong baby in it, the woman chases the man uphill and belabours him. Thinking he's being attacked by a crazy woman, the man rushes off with 'his' baby. Eventually the woman enlists the aid of a bumbling constable, of the 'what's all this then' sort. A Mack Sennett-style chase ensues. The constable manages to trip over one baby's pram while carrying the other baby.

Eventually the constable finds himself holding one baby too many. Glancing round to make sure nobody's watching him, he casually throws the baby over a nearby wall ... but somebody on the other side of the wall immediately throws the baby back.

This movie is so funny I fell about laughing hysterically while I watched it. It seems to be inspired by the French film 'The Gardener Watered', but this is a much funnier and much more imaginative effort.

The comedy genre refers to a category of entertainment that aims to amuse and entertain audiences by using humor, wit, and comedic situations. Comedies are created with the primary intention of eliciting laughter and providing lighthearted enjoyment. They encompass a wide range of styles, tones, and themes, appealing to various tastes and audiences.

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The short form refers to creative works characterized by their brevity and concise storytelling. Unlike full-length feature films, short films have a running time of less than 45 minutes, while TV shorts have a running time of less than 22 minutes.

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Mixed Babies

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