Mabel Normand was hugely influential and massively successful
and she was undoubtedly one of the pre-eminent creators in the formative years
of silent film and comedy. Without her constant emotional momentum and
physicality Stan Laurel may never have developed that look of quiet
desperation and Charlie would have taken longer to develop his understanding of
cinematic direction and comedy action. A mentor to Chaplin, his director and
equal as well as a collaborator with Mack Sennett, Roscoe Arbuckle and many
more, she blew the box office in 1918 with Mickey,
the first and last film from her own production company and the biggest
Hollywood hit of the year.
There had been some debate on the ICO panel preceding this
screening about whether the “Big Four” silent comedy greats was merely a
creation of male cineastes after the fact – men being so fond of lists and
rankings – but whilst Mabel was a ground-breaker and undeniably great, it’s hard to make a case for her
superiority over Chaplin – the most famous man in the world then and not far
off it now – or Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd whose success in the twenties eclipsed
everyone. Harry Langdon certainly has not the cache now, despite his success
then, he’s been less durable perhaps because of the lack of a unique proposition? Still, even
Max Linder, Chaplin’s “Master” is broadly forgotten and he was undoubtedly as “great”
as almost anyone.
Mabel, as with Max, tragically never got the chance to develop her film making and this, along with many lost films, helps explain why, debates about primus inter pares apart, she is less well known. She should be revered though along with others.
Mabel, as with Max, tragically never got the chance to develop her film making and this, along with many lost films, helps explain why, debates about primus inter pares apart, she is less well known. She should be revered though along with others.
A clip was shown of Marie Dressler in Tillie’s Punctured Romance which remains one of my favourite silent
comedies featuring Mabel as well as Charlie at his nasty, snarling best; the
two riffing off each other as Dressler owns the central drama. She’s certainly
one of the very best comedic actors and she enjoyed a long career: nothing less than extremely good in everything she did. Worthy of memory without a doubt.
Without question, female silent comics have been less well remembered but,
aside from that, the women stars that do persist in memory are great versatile players
like Mary Pickford, Lillian Gish and Gloria Swanson… whilst even Norma Talmadge,
who had her own studio and many big hits, and sister Constance (herself no
mean comic) are less fashionable along with Viola Dana and a ton of others.
Tastes change, films get lost and history is not always fair.
Sometimes silent film fandom is like a celluloid Fahrenheit 451; we preserve in our minds those whose artistic impact has been
burned from public memory either at a much lower temperature in a nitrate fire or just
through revisionism and blind fashion. There’s a responsibility to highlight
what you learn and to rekindle the lost work and we are lucky that there are so
many enthusiasts archiving, programming and writing.
I loved discovering Mabel a few years back and watching
Mickey and Tillie’s PR enjoyed her every bit as much as Chaplin or the kind of
Pickford film the former most represents. Mabs is that bit harder than Mary and
that Lubitsch scene in Rosita where the Canadian eats the grapes was lifted
from this film when Mable stuffs her face with the cherries on a cake, milking
the scene for all its worth denying all knowledge as she tries and fails to
munch away the evidence and wipe the juice from around her mouth.
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| Minnie Devereaux and Mabel |
Mabel was intensely relatable, and so knowing in the way she emotes, sharing the joke with an audience quickly attuned to watching only her.
Charlie took that but no one’s ever going to accuse Normand of being soppy, she’s
a working-class girl who’ll work it out for herself and come to the rescue of
her man if he’s backed a losing horse.
Directed by F. Richard Jones, Mickey is ostensibly a straight-ahead comedy about a
hillbilly orphan made good but there’s plenty of subversive invention from
Normand who creates a feel-good cohesion that must have been worth its weight
in gold at the time: Mickey’s a girl who defies convention and makes good
against all odds. It’s 1918 and, frankly, women are on the march.
She is first seen extending an arm to surreptitiously steal
her adopted father’s hat – a carefully drawn-out reveal for a major star. The hat falls near the mine shaft and, amidst
some confusion, kicks off a rescue attempt at their mine as she is believed to
have fallen down but she emerges from a hole carrying their over-inquisitive cat. Fearing
a beating from her step-dad, Joe Meadows (George Nichols), she tries to hide
his belt and makes their donkey eat it, much to her “mother’s” delight – Joe’s
housekeeper Minnie as played by the stern-looking Minnie Devereaux (who has a belting smile to go with her bruiser arms).
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| Mabel and George Nichols |
Mickey’s too much for the old man and he wonders if he
should send her to her aunt in New York to learn some manners “around female
company”. Mickey’s father died and left her in the hands of his business
partner in the hope that one day their Tomboy Mine (see what they did there?)
would make good… many years on it still hasn’t and he’s at his wit’s end.
We are shown a glimpse of Mickey’s fancy relations:
money-grabbing Aunt, Mrs Drake (Laura La Varnie) aiming to marry off her shrill daughter Elsie
(Minta Durfee) as profitably and as quickly as possible and her lush of a
brother (Lew Cody – such a good player and a future Mr Normand!) who spends
more on horses than his family.
Auntie Evil’s main hope is, co-incidentally, a mine-owner as
well, only a rich one; the answer to all the family’s prayers as they struggle
in their upper middle-class poverty trap. But, before he can pledge his troth, the
moneyed miner, Herbert Thornhill (Wheeler Oakman), has to go and sort out some
border disputes on his mine and as luck would have it, he discovers Mickey
hiding under the bed in his hotel room. She is on the run with her pooch who
has just mauled the local store-keeper’s legs and leaves an immediate
impression on the city guy.
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| Laura La Varnie and Minta Durfee |
Before things can really develop, Joe sends her off to
her aunt who is not so welcoming once she discovers that Mickey’s mine is
worthless and sets her to work as a maid and general dogsbody. Normand makes
merry with this city Cinderella situation: she has the same energies as
Pickford and an open honest charm that makes her an automatic ally for the
watching audience. Herbert, thinking that he’s lost her for good, agrees to
marry cousin Elsie but he is reunited with Mickey as she gate-crashes the
engagement party. He’s made a mistake and turns to his close friend and
attorney, Tom Rawlings (Tom Kennedy), for help… he wants the one he can’t have
and not the one he’s contractually obliged too.
Two reversals of fortune spice things up as Herbert’s
ownership of his mine comes under threat, leaving him potentially penniless and
imprisoned whilst Mickey’s mine finally strikes gold. The girl is unaware
though as she has already been jettisoned by her Aunt just moments before
she sneakily reads the telegraph intended for her niece… A desperate chase
ensues in which the family tries to over-take her train and secure the return
of their new meal ticket. It’s breath-taking stuff and the film is a real crowd
pleaser throughout as rotten Reggie’s rigged race runs its course and his rude
advances place Mickey in mortal danger…
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| Lew Cody as Reggie the Rotter |
Sadly for Mabel her career was not sustained and she was
impacted by both the Arbuckle and Desmond scandals and tragically by the onset
of tuberculosis which gradually led to her becoming addicted to her medication
as well as having an increasingly direct effect on her health. We should
remember her for the sheer joy and exuberance she bought: a talent that enabled
Mickey to become the blockbuster it
was even if its star was less than convinced of its quality. Now, that’s a true
professional at work: no second best.
John Sweeney’s accompaniment was a delight perhaps relaxed
in the presence of such a sure-footed performer as Mabel, from the chase scenes
to the dance and the dramatic conclusion his duet with the actress was pitch
perfect.
The BFI’s print was warm and atmospherically care-worn and
the whir of projector added to the delight. There’s a number of Mabel films on
the superb Kino Lorber Pioneers: FirstWomen Filmmakers… which is part of the joyous process of re-establishing
the gender balance of film history. Personally I’d rather watch a Lois Webber
film than a DW Griffith or Mabel rather than Ford Sterling: these films are there
on merit.
Meanwhile don’t forget that the BFI’s The Marvelous Mabel Normand: Leading Lady of Film Comedy pack of
four shorts - with ace Meg Morley score - is showing across the
country. Details here on their website.
Mabel Normand is one of my Big Six silent comics and mighty Mickey is one of her best.
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