The Egg Crate Wallop

Jim Kelly is the punchy right hand for freight express agent Dave Haskell in the small town of Pitt's Junction. He spends his days hefting egg crates onto the daily train and earning smiles from the locals. Jim also falls for Kitty Haskell, Dave's daughter, though he worries she might be drawn to the city slicker Perry Woods. When a burglary rattles the station safe, Jim's sense of duty and his feelings get tangled in a tangle of mistaken motives. The situation kicks off a comedy of errors where pride, loyalty, and a bashful heart collide in a town that thrives on humor. The comedy leans on timing and physical gags that were a staple of the era.

Directed by Jerome Storm and written from Julien Josephson's script, The Egg Crate Wallop arrived in 1919 as a light silent comedy headlined by Charles Ray and Colleen Moore, two rising stars of early Hollywood, and a snapshot of postwar American cinema.

Box office data for this title is not readily available, a common issue with many silent era films. Scholarly preservation of box office records from 1919 is spotty, and long term grosses for such titles were not consistently preserved.

No major awards or nominations are documented for The Egg Crate Wallop. As a small town comedic vehicle from the late silent era, it sits among the early career milestones for its leads rather than in the trophy cases. In that period, awards were scarce for light fare.

Reception at the time leaned on easy humor and charm rather than bold satire. The film still hints at themes like honesty versus pride and the pull of home in romance, while showcasing the era's gentle physical comedy and on screen chemistry. Its pace and performances reflect the era's preference for uplifting humor.