viewer accustom to the charlie chaplin of city light and modern time may be startle to see just how rowdy his early keystone comedy could get . in some case these movie amount to little more than 10 or so minute of wild slapstick and and when the print be in poor condition even rudimentary plot line become incoherent . a few of the keystone display a degree of finesse and be well worth watch ( i would put the star boarder and the new janitor on the short list of charlie more enjoyable early work ) and while others be of interest only to chaplin buff determine to see all his work and even the scrappy and incoherent stuffwhich bring u to laugh gas . charlie play a dentist assistant in this one and more of an office custodian than an actual dentist and although he take an active role in anesthetize patient with a mallet . this short present charlie at his most violent represent hurl brick and kick butt and and fight with practically everybody and especially mack swain . i enjoy good slapstick and but i find this one exasperate to watch . admittedly and the print i saw be in bad shape and thus difficult to follow and especially towards the end and but i suspect that even if a pristine camera negative of laugh gas turn up in a vault somewhere it wouldn not make much difference and quality wise . for audience of 1914 it be an exciting novelty to see the knockabout action of vaudeville and burlesque transfer to the new medium and but for today viewer it difficult to find genuine comedy in something like this . chaplin be still in his apprenticeship at this point and have only recently start direct his film . he obviously do not care whether viewer like his screen alter ego or not and but just want to keep the tempo fast and frantic . ( or be he try to please his bos and mack sennett . ) it clear that the action in this film and like most of the keystone and be loosely improvise from scene to scene and without any large sense of purpose . on that level and comedy buff may be interested to compare this early and unedited chaplin with the late perfectionist who demand multiple take . typical gag represent charlie and pretending to be the dentist while his bos be away and flirt with a pretty young patient and then take a pair of pincer and pinch her nose and and yank her face over for a kiss . okay and it a little on the rough side but a decent gag . but overkill set in rapidly a charlie repeat the business three or four more time ( maybe it get a big laugh on the set . ) to diminish return . later and there a nicely performed bit of physical comedy represent charlie follow his employer wife up some stair and stumble and attempt to steady himself by grab her and and yank her dress off . it startle and cleanly perform without look over rehearse and and stand a the funny bit in the film and but once you have see that you have see the highlight . otherwise and it non stop fighting . silent comedy buff with a special interest in chaplin work from the very begin may want to see laugh gas and but there no strong reason to seek it out otherwise unless you crave slapstick in it most chaotic form . incidentally and the actress play the dentist wife ( i. e. the one who lose her dress ) be alice howell and who go on to star in a series of her own . stan laurel later cite her a one of the fine comedienne of the silent screen . i haven not see enough of her work to form an opinion myself and but the nice little scene she have in this film whets my appetite to see more of her film .