director: James Davis
year: 1920
country: USA
history notes: Unidentified Film No. 265

This film has been identified thanks to contributions from members of the Lost FIlms community.

Tinted mos print, Kodak 1920 edgecode, French titles and intertitles, footage missing at both heads and tails. Opening credits: UN COUP DE PINARD.

Plot synopsis: The police seem to have their eyes locked on a house with weird goings-on: a little boy glues on a beard, a "barber" shaves an unsuspecting man's head, and girls walk around with sheets over themselves to scare each other. The girls then strip down to their underwear outside to exercise as the police again sneak up behind them. The man teaching the exercises flees and very "Keystone" like cops take off after him.

Source notes
Nitrate Film Interest Group

I think this is the 7/26/1920 Century Comedy A BIRTHDAY TANGLE. Here's a review from the 7/24/1920 issue of Universal Weekly (pg. 40):

“A BIRTHDAY TANGLE (Century Two-Reel Comedy)
Old Crow, proprietor of the best hotel in town, was trying to get in touch with the spirits, when real spirits all draped in bedsheets appear and scare him half to death. He promises his daughter not to touch another ‘drop.’ But Billy Monday, a member of his circle comes to stop at the same hotel, they get in with the cook who serves them with ‘tea’ ever so often.

The daughter has a birthday and invites all her girlfriends; she also invites Billy Monday who comes there in a new kind of a Ford. However the cook sees him first and serves him with ‘tea.’ He gets a bit dizzy and hides from the party – He falls asleep hanging on a hook attached to the door in a bedroom – the girls dress up in sheets and decide to frighten him to death – A lot of fun ensues when Billy awakens to see all the pretty ‘spirits’ dancing around him.

Old Crow makes a barber out of Billy at his hotel and when a gypsy comes in to get her dog’s hair clipped – he refuses to cut the hair at first – but after being bribed into it – he starts to trim the dog – a cop enters the barbershop and wants to arrest Billy for cruelty to animals. Billy switches the clipping machine to the man who is holding the dog and shaves all his hair off – then the chase begins with a lot of funny stunts following.”

The info for the film is:
A BIRTHDAY TANGLE (7/26/1920) Century Comedies. Produced by Abe & Julius Stern. Directed by James Davis. Two reels. Cast: Charles Dorety, Connie Henley, Marvin Lobach (some sources cite Bud Jamison, but he doesn't appear in any of the scans).