Film
The Marvellous Mabel Normand (U)
Dir. Various, US, 1913–27, 78 mins.
Cast. Mabel Normand, Charlie Chaplin, Oliver Hardy.
Everyone knows Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, but where are the women in silent film comedy? The trailblazing Mabel Normand who starred in 167 shorts and 23 features gets her long-overdue moment in the spotlight in the BFI Comedy Genius tour. Normand was the irrepressible spirit of early Hollywood, an extraordinary performer and the first lady of silent comedy. She directed her own films, ran her own production company and worked with the best – including Chaplin, Fatty Arbuckle and a young Oliver Hardy. But make no mistake: Mabel was always the star.
This is a package of four short films from the BFI National Archive, including Mabel’s Blunder (1914), Mabel’s Dramatic Career (1913), His Trysting Place (1914) and Should Men Walk Home? (1927). The package also features a newly commissioned score by The Meg Morley Trio.
Cast. Mabel Normand, Charlie Chaplin, Oliver Hardy.
Everyone knows Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, but where are the women in silent film comedy? The trailblazing Mabel Normand who starred in 167 shorts and 23 features gets her long-overdue moment in the spotlight in the BFI Comedy Genius tour. Normand was the irrepressible spirit of early Hollywood, an extraordinary performer and the first lady of silent comedy. She directed her own films, ran her own production company and worked with the best – including Chaplin, Fatty Arbuckle and a young Oliver Hardy. But make no mistake: Mabel was always the star.
This is a package of four short films from the BFI National Archive, including Mabel’s Blunder (1914), Mabel’s Dramatic Career (1913), His Trysting Place (1914) and Should Men Walk Home? (1927). The package also features a newly commissioned score by The Meg Morley Trio.
