Normand, Mabel

The Extra Girl (1923) / The Gusher (1913)

In 1923, slapstick pioneer Mack Sennett conceived and produced a feature-length film designed to showcase the homespun appeal and comedic prowess of Mabel Normand, who had been a fixture on the madcap screen for more than a decade. THE EXTRA GIRL follows the misadventures of Sue Graham, a small-town lass who escapes her romantic entanglements by heading for the green pastures of Hollywood. Sue quickly discovers that the dream factory is just a factory like any other, as she is assigned to duty in the wardrobe department. But through pluck and ambition, she manages to overcome every setback, including one hair-raising sequence in which she accidentally unleashes a man-eating lion on the studio backlot.

This Kino DVD also includes the rare 1913 short THE GUSHER, mastered from an archival 35mm print with the original color tints. Set in the oil fields of California, it follows the efforts of a wily con artist to defraud a yokel (Ford Sterling) and his bride-to-be (Normand). This short also stars The Keystone Cops.

Slapstick Festival - 35 Shorts

Hilarious slapstick skits from comedy's golden age! This collection includes such legendary performers as Laurel & Hardy Our Gang Fatty Arbuckle The Keystone Kops Buster Keaton The Three Stooges. W.C. Fields and Charlie Chaplin!Included:1. Bad Boy (Silent)2. Baloonatic The (Silent)3. Bangville Police The (Silent)4. Bear Shooters5. Blacksmith The6. Boat The (Silent)7. Brideless Groom8. Cure The9. Daydreams (Silent)10. Dentist The11. Disorder In the Court12. Easy Street (Silent)13. Electric House The (Silent)14. Fatal Glass of Beer The15. Fatty's Suitless Day (Silent)16. Follies of Our Gang17. Ghost Parade18. Golf Specialist The19. Her Painted Hero20. Just Ramblin' Along21. Love Speed and Thrills (Silent)22. Mabel & Fatty's Married Life (Silent)23. Malice in the Palace24. Mud and Sand25. My Wife's Relations (Silent)26. Oranges and Lemons (Silent)27. Paleface The (Silent)28. Playhouse The (Silent)29. Rink The (Silent)30. Schools Out31. Sing a Song of Six Pants32. Stolen Jools The33. That Little Band of Gold (Silent)34. Waldo's Last Stand35. Wife and Auto Trouble (Silent)System Requirements:Running Time: 665 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY/SLAPSTICK UPC: 683904505965 Manufacturer No: MV50596

What Happened to Rosa

The best-known of the three surviving films from Mabel Normand's Goldwyn period, What Happened to Rosa features what may have been the most impressive performance of her career. It's a whimsical romantic comedy about a mousy shopgirl who hopes to get her man by masquerading as the glamorous Rosa Alvaro, a captivating Spanish dancer. It's a grown-up role for Mabel, a leap beyond the sort of roles she played at Mack Sennett's Keystone studio, but her charm and plucky determination are still there, as always. A slightly twisted polite comedy, it's a showcase for one of the silent screen's most beloved actresses. Musical score by Ben Model. An Unknown Video release.

BONUS: The DVD also includes a photo gallery of cover girls: silent stars and starlets, as they appeared on the covers of movie magazines of the 1920s. Also included is Mabel's early Keystone comedy Hide and Seek (1913), featuring Ford Sterling and Nick Cogley. Musical scores by Ben Model.

Mickey

Keystone star Mabel Normand was tiring of the slapstick grind by 1916, but Mack Sennett managed to keep her on board by setting up a new production company for her. Personal problems, filming delays and distribution hassles held up the release of the company's first film, "Mickey," until the summer of 1918.

It proved to be a smash hit on the states-rights circuit. It's still pretty irresistible today, because it's a pure showcase for Mabel's unique charm. You just can't take your eyes off her. No wonder this film was known in the trade as "the mortgage lifter!" Organ score by Bob Vaughn.

Supplemental material: Also featured is one of Mabel's last and best Keystones, the two-reel comedy "He Did and He Didn't" (1916), co-starring Roscoe Arbuckle and Al St. John. Plus: a giant photo gallery of Mabel Normand portraits, movie posters, sheet music and production stills, accompanied by Henry Burr's 1918 recording of "Mickey," the popular theme song written as a tie-in for the film.

A Film Johnnie (1914)

Mabel's Busy Day (1914)

Suzanna

The star attraction of this disc is Mabel Normand in her feature film "Suzanna" (1922). It reunited the team that had made "Mickey" a great success a few years earlier: producer Mack Sennett, director F. Richard Jones and Mabel herself. Even George Nichols came back to play the father. Unfortunately, the film was still in production when the William Desmond Taylor murder scandal hit, and Mabel's career was never the same.

Long out of circulation, "Suzanna" now exists with two reels missing, but the gaps have been bridged by explanatory titles. Although the source material was a 35mm print, the image quality is a bit lower than Unknown Video's usual standard. Still, it does look pretty good, and the rarity of the film (and Mabel's enduring popularity today) make this a must for fans of the silent cinema.

Supplemental material: Also presented is the only surviving footage (about a reel's worth) of William S. Hart's feature "Riddle Gawne" (1918), feauring Lon Chaney as the villain! Also presented is a Harold Lloyd rarity, the one-reel comedy "A Sammy in Siberia" (1918).

Bonus: There's also a magnificent collection of vintage coming-attractions slides, in gorgeous color, collected expressly for this DVD. Included are over 40 images, featuring stars like Douglas Fairbanks, Norma Shearer, Tom Mix, Clara Bow and many more!

The Speed Kings (1913)

Charlie Chaplin Marathon

Includes:
The Rink
The Immigrant
Tillie's Punctured Romance
The Vagabond

Menus: English • Spanish • Chinese • Japanese
Subtitles: Spanish • Chinese • Japanese

B&W
Silent
133 min.

Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914)