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Research dossier · Arts & Letters

Ex-Plumber

1931 film by Roscoe Arbuckle

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 13, 2026
Entity authorityQ5419118 ↗
Source-derived summary

Ex-Plumber is a 1931 comedy film directed by Fatty Arbuckle.

Plot Summary

A newlywed woman's ex-boyfriend, a Russian Grand Duke, comes to visit. Her husband is a jealous man, and her ex wants her back. Trying to keep the two from meeting, she enlists a plumber to play her husband. Shenanigans follow.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Ex-Plumber” as 1931 film by Roscoe Arbuckle. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Ex-Plumber, film and Roscoe.

Editorial reviewBest approached as a cultural-object dossier: authorship and date matter, but circulation and reception often explain the wider significance. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1931—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1931-01-01. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Ex-Plumber, film and Roscoe providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Ex-Plumber”, the useful work is to connect “1931 film by Roscoe Arbuckle” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5419118. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1931.

Critical limits

Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Ex-Plumber”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Ex-Plumber primary sources, Ex-Plumber archive and Ex-Plumber research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Ex-Plumber”?
  2. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
  3. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Ex-Plumber” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.