A man turns to look at a pretty girl. Another hits him on the back of the head and runs off with his wallet. A passing policeman leans over the victim and takes his watch.Wallace McCutcheon had been shooting movies for three years, but this is the third on which he is credited as a director -- a new job title and clearly indicating that it is a fiction film, not an actuality. Like most comedies of the era, it is a single joke. It does have the reasonable excuse that it is only 25 seconds long, and it is a good example of a set-up and pay-off joke; in this respect, McCutcheon was far ahead of his competitors and would remain a force in the business for several years.

This film is part of a collection entitled "American Film Archives: Vol. 3: Disc 1". The DVDs deal specifically with American short films that deal with various social issues. These are the sort of films that usually would be forgotten or lost had it not been for some film preservationists work. Now this set certainly isn't for everyone, as the content is a bit dry. However, for history teachers (like myself) and cinemaniacs (again, that would be me), it's an invaluable set.At only 25 seconds long, there isn't a whole lot I can say about the film. It consists of a guy getting brutally bashed over the head and robbed. Soon after, a cop happens by...and he, too, takes something from the fallen man! It's shocking and pretty funny. Unfortunately, the film is extremely faded and scratched.

How They Rob Men in Chicago (1900) *** (out of 4) Biograph film was made for their Mutoscope machines but eventually played in theaters after becoming a favorite of movie crowds. The film tells pretty much what the title says as we see a man get robbed and eventually a cop shows up. This is a pretty interesting short that takes place in front of a single cardboard set and lasts just 25-seconds. That's just long enough because the film plays two jokes, which I won't reveal, yet both are very funny with the final joke being downright hysterical. I've watched somewhere near a thousand of these early films the past several years and this one here is one of the gems of this era.