A common device in wedding comedies is the bride or the groom struggling to get to the church in time for the ceremony. In Arkaša ženitsja, however, it’s not timeliness but consciousness which creates the dramatic tension and the laughs. Despite various attempts to sober up, the groom is still completely drunk and – to the consternation of his bride-to-be through scene after scene – keeps passing out. Eventually her perseverance pays off and she manages to drag the reprobate to the altar, but it’s the journey and not the destination which you’ll most enjoy. The clip is extremely fragmented, with frequent jump cuts and no intertitles, but it is a real discovery nonetheless – because it is one of very few Russian comedies from the 1910s which we can still enjoy today.

Karl Wratschko