Oils Well!

Set in the oil-soaked country of “Chilitina”—shot on location in San Diego’s Balboa Park—Oils Well! follows the travails of Monty, an everyman office clerk, who thinks only of his boss’s daughter. When Herbert Hester, an oilman “so crooked he cheats when counting his pulse,” schemes to cover up the company’s new gusher so he can claim it himself and get the girl, Monty swings into action. He eludes the hapless Chilitinan army, sidesteps the General’s amorous wife, thwarts Herbert, and saves the day.

Directed by Mark Goldaine, Oils Well! leans on a strong ensemble — Monty Banks, Robert Gray, Ena Gregory — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about comedy titles of 1923.