Jes’ Call Me Jim
Will Rogers plays Jim “Jes’ Call Me Jim” Fenton, a carefree backwoodsman in love with Miss Butterworth (Irene Rich). When she informs Jim that his friend, Paul Benedict (Raymond Hatton), had been placed in a local asylum in a plot by the evil Mr. Belcher (Lionel Belmore) to profit from Benedict’s newest invention, Jim moves to free him and helps him win his case against Belcher. Jim marries Miss Butterworth. Costarring as Benedict’s son is Will’s own son, Jimmy. (Goldwyn Pictures, 1920; 62 min.; scenario and titles by Will Rogers)

Two Wagons, Both Covered
In this classic spoof, Will imitates J. Warren Herrigan and Ernest Torrence, the hero and scout in the western epic The Covered Wagon. A bearded Rogers leads a caravan of two wagons across the West. One eventually heads to southern California, where the occupants are besieged by the fearsome “Escrow Indians” armed with real estate contracts. The pioneers buy in and lose even their wagon. “It is as funny as anything we have ever seen”—New York Times, 1924. (Hal Roach Studios, 1924; 20 min.; screenplay by Will Rogers)

Hustlin’ Hank
Hustlin’ Hank (Rogers), resourceful at avoiding work yet eating well, takes up camera to assist the boss’s sister (Marie Mosquini) in photographing wildlife in the wide-open West. His efforts to get a picture of a bear are “hilarious,” one reviewer observed, “as are some of Rogers’ esthetic poses and his manner at the first tea party. . . . It is all very good entertainment.” (Hal Roach Studios, 1923; 20 min.)

Don’t Park There
A rancher in Kansas (Rogers) takes his wagon to town to buy some horse liniment for his wife (Marie Mosquini). One unfortunate incident leads to another, and he trades his horse and wagon for a new-fangled device known as an automobile, something he’s never driven. Despite his best effort to find a parking space, he’s out-maneuvered by other drivers while breaking every traffic law and accumulating citations. Finding no space in town, he travels the West looking for a parking place. He finally finds it in Seattle, but not the liniment. (Hal Roach Studios, 1924; 20 min.)

Black and white - NTSC format