He Did and He Didn't is a 1916 American short comedy film starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and Mabel Normand. Production The dark plot, extremely sophisticated for its time, involves a corpulent husband who finds himself consumed by jealousy when his wife's dashingly handsome old schoolmate unexpectedly turns up for dinner. The film was also written and directed by Arbuckle. Because it was billed as a comedy, the ending attributes the assumptions of the husband, including the murder, to eating bad lobster. After several lighthearted comedies featuring Mabel Normand and Roscoe Arbuckle, this seemed to be an added dimension to film genre in general, in that it attributed serious jealousy fantasies to human nature, but still managed to maintain a cheerful demeanor overall in its approximate 20 minutes. It may be the first "dramedy" in existence. The film was shot when many early film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based in Fort Lee, New Jersey, at the beginning of the 20th century. Cast Roscoe Arbuckle — The Doctor Mabel Normand — His Wife William Jefferson (credited as Wm. Jefferson) — Her Schoolmate Al St. John — A Bounding Burglar Joe Bordeaux — The Burglar's Accomplice (uncredited) See also List of American films of 1916 Fatty Arbuckle filmography References External links Lantern slide: He Did and He Didn't 1916 films 1916 comedy films 1916 short films Silent American comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Roscoe Arbuckle Films produced by Mack Sennett Keystone Studios films Triangle Film Corporation films American silent short films Films shot in Fort Lee, New Jersey Films with screenplays by Roscoe Arbuckle Articles containing video clips American comedy short films 1910s American films