Mabel's Dramatic Career (1913) Online

It is quite easy to find several ways in which "Mabel's Dramatic Career" could have been much better, but even as it is, most of the time it's at least fairly enjoyable to watch. Its self-referential look at cinema and reality is really more interesting than the story itself. The film in itself is worth seeing mostly for the cast: Mabel Normand is always charming even when the material is not that good, Ford Sterling can be counted on to give an enjoyably exaggerated performance, and Roscoe Arbuckle gets a couple of good moments here. Mack Sennett's own performance is rather goofy, although that was at least partially determined by his fatuous character.

The story starts off slowly, and the first part is, honestly, neither especially entertaining nor very good. The feature would have been much better if this whole part had been considerably abridged. The second part is better, even if it too is exaggerated and unrefined. Sennett somewhat overplays his character, and the sequence would have been even more entertaining with a bit more restraint, but even so things hold together fairly well, thanks mostly to the cast.

The way that Sennett's character overreacts to the action in a movie seems at first just silly, but upon reflection, it's a little more interesting. For all that we today can smile at early cinema-goers who had a hard time distinguishing film and reality (a subject portrayed more ingeniously in, for example, the very early feature "The Countryman and the Cinematograph"), today's audiences are really no less impressionable. A great many viewers still form many opinions of history, public figures, current issues, and other subjects from movies or television shows that are based more on the film-makers' own emotions or pet beliefs than on anything with significant factual value. The details may be different, but this basic similarity makes long-ago features such as "Mabel's Dramatic Career" seem a little more interesting.

The humor of "Mabel's Dramatic Career", as typical of Mack Sennett's Keystone, is crude, very unsubtle and outdated knockabout slapstick, but it's nonetheless interesting to see the origins of screen comedy. This Keystone short in particular is worth viewing for its self-referential farce; it's the beginnings of a trend that continues to this day of movies where the jokes are based in making fun of movies, including itself.

The story has Mabel Normand becoming a movie star after leaving home and her former boyfriend, played by Mack Sennett. Sometime later, Sennett watches a Keystone film, titled simply "Keystone-Film", where he reacts rustically to Mabel's presence on screen, as though he doesn't realize it's just a movie. Making fun of a film's own viewers dates back to "The Countryman and the Cinematograph" (1901) and its American copy "Uncle Josh at the Moving Picture Show" (1902). It's worked out much better here. There's a lot going on in this scene of a film-within-a film, thus requiring active viewing. It's an ingeniously created scene, which Sennett also worked out in other films such as "Tillie's Punctured Romance" (1914) and "A Movie Star", (1916) and of which the basic mise-en-scène can be traced back to "Those Awful Hats" (1909), which starred Sennett and was made by D.W. Griffith, whom Sennett began his film-making career under and whose films Sennett would parody, such as in "The Bangville Police" and "Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life" (both 1913), thus further initiating self-referential screen comedy.

The scene-within-a scene in "Mabel's Dramatic Career" also involves "Fatty" Arbuckle trying to calm down (or, rather, telling him to shut up) the overreacting Sennett, who does seem to be almost provoked by Ford Sterling's villain--the sort he typically did play, such as in "Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life"--upon the screen. Sterling is taunting in his breaking down of the fourth wall within the film-within-the film, while Normand similarly describes her thoughts, including on a movie set where a scene is being filmed, in the outer film.

Arbuckle made similar guest appearances in other self-referential Keystone shorts that starred Charlie Chaplin ("A Film Johnnie" and "The Masquerader"), who would later direct his own, more refined, backstage parodies ("His New Job" and "Behind the Screen"). Additionally, Arbuckle would break down the fourth wall more effectively and comically in his own film "Moonshine" (1918), which costarred Buster Keaton, who would in turn make the early masterpiece of reflexive comedy, "Sherlock, Jr." (1924).

The history of screen comedy about itself, other movies and the business of movies, and, in fact, the entire history of screen comedy begins here--with Mack Sennett.

Mabel's Dramatic Career is pure Keystone: the players emote like kids in a school play, the humor is broad (i.e. Mabel falls down a lot) and the characters' emotions are as big as their gestures. Look elsewhere for Chekhovian nuance; in the Keystone universe, people laugh, cry, sneer, scream, and throw stuff at each other at a moment's notice. Relationships end suddenly, and new ones form moments later. Motivation is basic, and everything is operatic.

The plot of this film is rudimentary. Mack Sennett plays a vulgar country rube who is in love with pretty maid Mabel Normand, although his mother opposes the match. But when a sophisticated city woman shows up, Mack quickly becomes interested in her, and breaks off his engagement with Mabel. His mother seizes the opportunity to send her away. Plucky Mabel gets a job as a movie actress while, unbeknownst to her, the city woman has rejected Mack. Time passes. Mack comes to the big city, goes to the movies, and sees Mabel on screen threatened by a villain. (A funny scene!) But he's appalled to learn that she is actually married to the Bad Guy actor; who, as it happens, appears to be a nice enough guy, off-screen. Mack winds up alone, a pathetic chump who ruined his chance for happiness.

In outline it's not a funny plot, in fact the story told here is a sad one. And once you learn a few details about the actors and actresses who starred in the Keystone comedies, so many of whom met with tragedy in later life, the undercurrents we sense as we watch them perform can be genuinely moving, even in a breezy short comedy like this one. Something not unlike the basic plot of Mabel's Dramatic Career played out in real life: according to his autobiography, Mack Sennett was in love with Mabel Normand, and engaged to her, but when she caught him with another actress she broke off the engagement. Although it was intended as pure slapstick, Mabel's Dramatic Career is strangely touching, over and above what actually occurs during its brief running time.

Real-life sadness aside, there's an amusing moment during the sequence in the movie theater when Mack watches Mabel on screen. She's being threatened by the hilariously hammy Ford Sterling, who holds a bomb with a lighted fuse; Mack, horrified, attempts to blow it out. We're reminded of those stories of early cinema audiences frightened by the sight of oncoming trains, a reminder of the newness of cinema in 1913 that gives the film historical bonus points.

Mabel Normand was one of the top stars in the 1910s, only to see her reputation ruined by a scandal, which no doubt contributed to her early death. One of her movies was Mack Sennett's "Mabel's Dramatic Career". The most interesting thing about it is that it's one of the first movies to depict a movie-within-a-movie. Otherwise there's nothing really impressive about it. The following year, Sennett would direct "Making a Living", which starred a certain English immigrant who would don a bowler hat, ill-fitting clothes, fake moustache, and a notched cane.

Good humor and extreme vulgarity are closely intermingled in this. Much of the latter can be cut out. It is difficult to see why a company with such splendid opportunities for appealing to all houses should appeal only to the less particular ones. - The Moving Picture World, September 27, 1913

"Mabel's Dramatic Career" is a 14-minute live action short film from 1913, so this one is already considerably older than a century and as such, it is of course a black-and-white silent film. And attached to this one are several big names from this era, namely director Mack Sennett, who plays the central male character as well, as well as Mabel Normand, one of the biggest female stars back then despite her tender age, and Fatty Arbuckle also appears briefly in the earlier stages of his career. This one we have here is a prime example of film on film that was much more popular back then than it is today, even if we get occasionally stuff like "The Artist" too these days. Unfortunately, the story, especially the romance aspect, were not too convincing. It was all going for cheap laughs and there is also some overacting in this one. Quite a shame the script was so shallow with the big names attached to this project and Normand alone cannot save it either despite being a personal favorite of mine. I have to give this one a thumbs-down. Not recommended.

Mabel appears as her usual domestic 'slavey' and Mack as his usual awkward country boy in a dirty shirt. For a girl who was addicted to Parisian fashions, it's remarkable how Mabel is so often cast in rags by Sennett. However, in this film she appears to be wearing a kind of uniform.

There is some realism here, in the fact that the screen Mack is much enamored with Mabel and puts an engagement ring on her finger. In around 1912, the real Mack did in fact give the, then, Biograph Girl a two-dollar engagement ring, promising to replace it later with a 'proper' one. True to form, our country hick puts the ring on the wrong hand, and has to be shown by Mabel where to place it. Mack's mother (Mabel's employer), however, blows into the scene and is not amused. She banishes Mabel to the kitchen and berates Mack for his foolishness.

When a girl from the city arrives, Mack suddenly transfers his affections from Mabel the drudge, to the sophisticated, chauffeur-driven city girl (who is she, is she a movie star?). Mabel remonstrates with turn-coat Mack, pointing to the ring. When Mack and city girl retire to the garden, Mabel pursues them brandishing a handy stick. The glaring daggers of Mabel's Irish eyes (murderer's eyes according to Mary Pickford) are a sight to behold.

After lashing out at Mack and girl, Mabel pursues them into the house, where she whacks ma' and tries to strangle the city girl. Ma' orders Mabel out, and Mabel is next seen outside with a suitcase in her hand and what D W Griffith called 'one of those awful hats' on her head (it appears to have a garden planted atop). Enter Mack, who tears the ring from slavey's finger, and orders her away. Mabel demonstrates some good Biograph-inspired tragic crying then punches Mack in the mouth, Keystone style. Mabel trudges to the big city, where she stumbles upon Keystone studios (not the real 'poverty row' one, but a suave Wilshire Boulevard version). Mabel joyfully enters, thinking she can make it as an actress. She's in luck, Ford Sterling is totally smitten with the ex-slavey, and engages her, despite her hilarious but clumsy actions around the set.

The fun and games occur when Mack goes into a picture-house to see a Keystone film. He vaguely recognises the girl on the poster outside, but cannot believe his eyes when Mabel appears on the screen with a lover. More disturbing is the fact that the villain on the screen is Ford Sterling, who for some reason recognizes Mack, and taunts him, indicating that he'll have Mabel for his own. Ford abducts Mabel and ties her to a barrel of gunpowder, whereupon Mack gets agitated, telling her to blow the fuse out. When the villain realizes the fuse is out he pulls a gun on Mabel, whereupon Mack also pulls a gun and starts to shoot at the screen. Pandemonium breaks out in the picture-house and even the projectionist almost gets his head blown off.

Mack runs outside declaring 'That villain must die'. Amusingly, he only goes a few steps before he spies the aforesaid villain, with plug hat, entering his house (the usual one on the Keystone lot). Mack goes to the window, and seeing the nasty guy with two children, prepares to fire. However, before he can shoot, who should enter the room, but Mabel with yet another child. Mack counts the kids on his fingers and makes it four, then prepares to blast them all, but fails due to a bucket of water tipped from on high.

There are several intriguing points about this film. Firstly, it is simply amazing how Mabel slips easily from Biograph tragedienne to Keystone comedienne and back again. What the film demonstrates is that someone was combining pathos and comedy in movies, long before Chaplin blew onto the scene. It makes you wonder, then, where the latter got his particular brand of comedy from.

Secondly, this movie makes W.D. Taylor's murder (in 1922) look like déjà vu. Mack Sennett knew Taylor personally, and was a prime suspect in the case, so it does seem a coincidence that the Mack in this film would attempt to kill his ex-girlfriend, and the tin-type who lured her away. Mack once told his literary agent that he had shot Taylor, and cleared the house of any letters between Mabel the director (the missing 'Blessed Baby' letters). If this is true, then the murder was not for love, but because he believed Taylor was going to lure his cash-cow away to Paramount – damn them, they had plenty enough stars of their own! Chaplin was lucky he did not himself lure Mabel to his new studio. Perhaps he had the premonition of a gun barrel coming through the window one dark night. The film could, in fact, have been a warning to the young and virile Chaplin, who had signed to Keystone at about this time. Mabel had only a cameo role in the second part of the film, which suggests she had no idea of the shock ending.

The city girl is played by Virginia Kirtley, often a leading lady, but never a star. She remained an actress until the advent of talkies. Alice Davenport is Mabel's adversary in this film, as in many others, although on numerous occasions she had played Mabel's mother.

This is one of the better Keystone shorts--and, incidentally, it's actually a bit long for one of these films at a whopping 15 minutes. It begins with a young man (the director, Mack Sennett) falling for the family's maid (Mabel Normand). However, his mother is NOT pleased and reminded him that she is beneath them and encourages him with another lady. However, after driving Normand out of the house, the other relationship falls apart.

Years pass. Now Mabel is a famous movie star and the dumb ex-boyfriend sees her movie playing in the theater. However, when he sees it, he thinks it's all real and thinks Mabel is in trouble--after all, a wicked villain is pursuing her in the movie! During this time, he makes an insane nuisance of himself and the guy sitting next to him turns out to be Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle in an early small part. While the humor is VERY broad, for 1913 it's quite good and it's also a chance to see Arbuckle before he was a mega-star.

Mack Sennett's numbers of early films are astounding as he produced over 1100 films, directed over 300, & did lots of other film work. He started producing in 1911 & by the time in 1913 he did this one, he was already worked on more than 75 films here. This is the second Mabel film of 1913 as he had already done another one with pretty much the same cast a little bit earlier in 1913.

The cast with Mabel Normand is pretty good. The film starts with a romancer cheating on his girl. After the girl scorned gets to hit & spank everybody involved, the cast invades the movie set of another Keystone Comedy. We see in this scene one of the film cameras they were using to shoot these films. It is pretty much a box on a tripod. The cast of the completed film is on the set.

Then we move to the front of a movie theater. In the theater is Arbuckle, Sennett, & a group of movie goers, a piano player, & a projection man who is cranking a hand crank projector. With the hand crank, you understand why most films were still so short. Can you imagine hand cranking an hour movie?

Senett does a lot of emoting about the Keystone film being shot on the screen, then reacts angrily to the bad guy in that film & tries shooting him off the screen. Once he is out of the theater he then spots the villain he is mad at in the film, & then plots to shoot him. It doesn't come off as Senett winds up on the receiving end of a bucket of water.

It is simple comedy, & one of Arbuckles smaller roles. Still there is fun here with the honing of early silent comedy films still being formed. Keystone had a lot of talent on their lot, & Senett starting with 2 types pages & then improvising produced some amazing films in later years. This one shows some of the foundation.