Supposed to be funny; not funny. Is it just that the fashions and mechanics of comedy change so much, and so quickly?
I don’t think so, actually. I’ll bet we needn’t connect this overly to the soul of the 1890’s, but there starts to be evidence that many films of the 1890s, at least out of the Edison combine, take delight in what are essentially hooligan stunts. Badly done!