Les Deux Rivaux

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Les Deux Rivaux

1re scène - Une jeune fille attend son amoureux, et celui-ci, habillé en marin, apparaît et l'embrasse. Ils sont surpris par la mère, qui chasse le marin ; celui-ci jure de se venger.
2e scène - La mère présente à son mari le jeune homme qu'elle destine à sa fille et va chercher celle-ci ; la petite sœur vient examiner le futur fiancé, et, pour lui jouer un tour, s'assied sur le chapeau haut-de-forme qu'il a laissé sur le canapé. Arrivée de la mère et de la jeune fille qui ne veut pas voir ce futur mari, et lui tourne le dos ; les deux hommes causent politique, et la jeune fille s'assoit auprès de la table sur laquelle le thé est préparé. L'idée lui vient de lui jouer aussi un tour : elle attache la nappe au bas de la redingote du jeune homme et s'en va ; dans la discussion politique, le futur mari, s'éloignant brusquement, entraîne la nappe et tout le service à thé. Le père, furieux du dégât, le poursuit autour de la table ; sa femme arrive et le poursuit également, lui lançant à la tête tous les coussins qu'elle trouve ; le jeune homme parvient à saisir son chapeau et s'enfuit.
3e scène - La jeune fille et le marin se sont retrouvés sur la porte de la maison et s'embrassent à plusieurs reprises. Arrivée du fiancé évincé qui, à leur vue, veut boxer le marin ; mais celui-ci lui enfonce le chapeau sur la tête, l'aveuglant ainsi. Le malheureux jeune homme, s'étant débarrassé du chapeau, revient encore faire une scène, lorsque arrivent le père avec sa canne, la mère avec un balai, et la petite sœur avec un marteau.
4 e scène - Le fiancé évincé s'enfuit à travers une prairie ; il est bientôt rejoint, il tombe et est roué de coups de pieds et de poings tandis que le marin et la jeune fille rient du bon tour qu'ils ont joué.

GAU 1904-03

GAU 1904-06


Jack’s Rival

SCENE I.
The outside of a picturesque country cottage showing garden steps, down which trips a pretty little maid of some ten or twelve years of age. She is signaling and waving to some one in the distance, and she is quickly joined by her elder sister, a pretty girl of some seven or eight years older. We are not long in doubt as to who they are waiting for, as sailor Jack in bluejacket uniform heaves into sight, and heartily embraces the elder lass, who is his sweetheart. Before they have time, however, to get in more than one brief kiss, the girl’s mother, a stout elderly woman of a practical turn of mind, appears upon the scene, roughly pulls her daughter away, and sends them both sharply indoors, at the same time giving Jack very plainly to understand that his attentions are very far from welcome. Jack shows his disappointment plainly, and is not backward in expressing it, but finding there is no help for it he moves off with a very dismal countenance.

Scene II.-INTERIOR OF THE COTTAGE
A comfortably furnished apartment in which the father of the girls appearing in the last scene, a stout and hearty-looking man, having the appearance of a farmer, is seen reading his paper at the table. The mother enters introducing ‘Jack’s rival,’ the suitor favoured by her for her daughter’s hand. This latter is a very fine young gentleman of the masher type, gorgeous in a light frock suit of a fashionable cut; in his hand he carries his stick and his smoothly brushed silk hat. The old man welcomes him and shakes him by the hand with such a grip that the unfortunate masher riser with agony, and when he gets his hand loose he is examining the bones to see that all are sound, when he is further agonized by a hearty smack on the back by the old man’s heavy greeting, the masher seats himself and proceeds to discuss the weather. While his attention is thus engaged, the youngest daughter quietly appears from behind a curtain, seizes his hat, punches it in, and then putting it on a chair jumps on it, and again hides. The mother returns followed by the unwilling daughter, who is then formally presented to her suitor. The masher greets her with many affectations and mannerisms, which only excite her further contempt for him, which she very plainly shows, even snatching her hand away while he is somewhat demonstratively shaking it. The mother, however, attempts to smooth things over, and induces her once again to shake hands with him. The masher’s failure to please the young lady is evident. The mother then leaves the room, and when the masher turns for a moment to congratulate the old man on having such a fine daughter, a happy idea strikes the rebellious girl, and producing a safety-pin she proceeds to attach the end of his frock-coat to the table-cloth, on which the tea-things are already set. Turning then quickly she calls him, and when he turns to follow her there is a disastrous smash of old family crockery. This infuriates the old man, who turns upon the unfortunate masher, chases him round the room, and tries to catch him. The Missus enters with further tea things, which are knocked out of her hands, and she joins her husband in hunting the unfortunate masher. The latter dashes round the room several times, even diving under the table in order to avoid the old man’s wrath, succeeding finally in seizing his hat, makes a bolt out of the door followed by various missiles.

SCENE III.-THE SIDE DOOR OF THE COTTAGE
Sailor Jack has returned to the charge, this time with more success, and is flirting violently with the daughter on the doorstep, when our masher, fresh from his encounter, turns up in a wild and disheveled condition, and commences to upbraid the girl for the trick she has played on him. Jack, however, is in no mood to stand this, and banging the masher’s already badly damaged hat over his eyes, seizes him by the scruff of his neck and kicks him out. The masher, however, feels that his wrongs and indignities are more than flesh and blood can stand. He once again returns to the fray. Jack is about to give him a further dose, when the girl’s father appears from the interior armed with a thick stick, followed by the mother armed with a broom, who in turn is followed by the youngest daughter armed with a heavy coal-hammer. The masher’s nerve gives way, he flees headlong, and in the next section we see him rushing across a field with the infuriated family at his heels. Unfortunately for him he slips, and before he can recover himself the three are upon him, the old man falling on top, the Missus belabouring him with her broom, while the little girl chips in with her hammer. The last section of all is Jack and his sweetheart arm-in-arm enjoying the fun from the cottage door.

This is a capital comic, full of go, and sure to raise roars of laughter; it is in fact a good story well told.

GAU 1904-GB

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1 Gaumont 783 L 153 (GAU 1904-GB)
2 n.c.  
3 <03/1904 76 m/250 ft
4 Grande-Bretagne   

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02/04/1904 Grande-Bretagne, Londres The Era  Jack's Rival 
23/11/1905 MexiqueMexico, Teatro Circo Orrin Enrique Rosas Los dos rivales

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