'What the Doctor Ordered' is okay medicine

What the Doctor Ordered (1912)

Starring: Mack Sennett, Mabel Normand, Edward Dillon, Jack Pickford, Kate Toncray, and J. Jiquel Lanoe

Director: Mack Sennett

Rating: Five of Ten Stars

A wealthy hypochondriac (Sennett) is instructed by his doctor (Lanoe) to go up onto the mountains to benefit from the pure air. The man's wife (Toncray) and teenaged children (Normand and Pickford) come along for the trip. Snowball fights, illicit lovemaking between the daughter and her boyfriend (Dillon) ensue, with it all culminating with members of the family in mortal danger.

That's a long summary for a short movie, but I couldn't figure out a shorter way to put it. Which is odd, because that paragraph also describes almost everything that happens in the film. 

"What the Doctor Ordered" is a fast-moving film where not a second is wasted. In fact, it moves so fast that I wish a little more time had been spent on a few more transition scenes or character interactions to fill in the relationships a bit more. It would have made the film feel less choppy and the story more substantial.

That said, the film is full of raw energy and the actors all give excellent performances. Mabel Normand and Edward Dillon are particularly fun to watch, while Normand's scenes with Jack Pickford have a playfulness in them that will put a smile on your face. Frequent watchers of silent movies may be particularly fascinated to see Mack Sennett in a starring role, since he's usually behind the camera or in very minor parts. 

fdsa

'A Trap for Santa Claus' is a cute little drama

A Trap for Santa Claus (1909)
Starring: Marion Leonard, Gladys Egan, Henry B. Walthall, John Tansey, William J. Butler, and Mack Sennett
Director: D.W. Griffith
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

After a deadbeat husband and father (Wathall) abandons his wife (Leonard) and children (Egan and Tansey), the woman inherits a mansion and a fortune from her aunt. They are all unexpectedly reunited on Christmas Eve when the man tries to burglarize the home that, unbeknownst to him, his family is now living in.

"A Trap for Santa Claus" is a fast-moving short film from a filmmaker who helped create the visual language of cinema. Although less innovative than works that would follow later, this cute little Christmas film is full of scenes that are framed and performed by actors who are more effectively blocked and directed for film than was typical in films of this vintage. 

As should be expected, there are aspects that have not aged well. Among these are some pantomiming by adult stars Marion Leonard and Henry B. Wathall, as they successfully convey plot points and emotions with gestures. This aspect of their performances will not seem as annoying as it might in some films, because it's balanced out by the effective blocking and more natural gestures and subdued character interactions than was common during this period. The two child actors featured also give performances that feel less overblown than one might expect -- and they even server as effective comic relief as the story moves into its climactic sequence. (John Tansey even does a pratfall with a style that one wouldn't think an 8-year-old would possess!)

I was torn between assigning this film a Six or Seven Star rating. I eventually decided to go with the lower of the two, because, although I appreciate the quick pacing of the film and the universally good performances by the entire cast, the pat happy ending that arises from a Christmas Miracle of coincidences was just a bit much for me. I know this is a Christmas story, so I expected there to be redemption and forgiveness for the deadbeat dad before the film was over, but it felt unearned and too easy. The ending isn't terrible, but I think the century that's passed since this film was released, and the many Christmas movies that have followed, have upped expectations from fare like this. (Of course, with its running time of 15 minutes, there also wasn't a whole lot of time to fit in a proper redemption arc.)

In the final analysis, though, this is a film that's still worth watching, and we've embedded it below for your convenience. Pour yourself a glass of eggnog, sit back, and enjoy!

A high-flying early action/comedy!

A Dash Through the Clouds (1912)
Starring: Mabel Normand, Fred Mace, Phillip Orin Parmelee, Jack Pickford, and Sylvia Ashton

Director: Mack Sennett

Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Josephine (Normand) is more fascinated by airplanes and pilots than she is by her would-be boyfriend (Mace). After he jealously acts out and ends up being pursued by an angry, blood-thirsty mob, he comes to appreciate Josephine's love of aviation, as she and a pilot (Parmelee) come from the sky to rescue him.

 

"A Dash Through the Clouds" is a fun little action comedy where Mabel Normand screen presence and more natural acting style than her fellow cast members combine with a sense of excitement and wonder over the still-new technology of flight to almost make up for the thin and somewhat poorly structured storyline of the film.

While watching this film for its entertainment value might be reason enough to check it out, an added bonus is to watch it for the scenes featuring the rickety, early airplane where pilot and passenger sat on the wings, in front of the engine, with nothing between them and the sky. It's even more remarkable to see that it's actually actress Mabel Normand who's taking to the sky onboard the plane. because she glances over her shoulder toward the camera as it is lifting off. 


All the bits with the plane, whether it's landing or taking off, or being shown in flight are fascinating lots of fun to watch--and I imagine viewers who are aviation buffs like our heroine will find it doubly so. While this wasn't the first film to feature the then-new technology of planes, I think it may be the first where a plane and a pilot is a central and indispensable part of the plot.

Click below and join Mabel Normand on a dash through the clouds!  

Trivia: "A Dash Through the Clouds" was Parmelee's first and only film appearance. He was a real-life aviation pioneer--exactly the sort of dashing daredevil he portrays in this film. He died at the age of 25 as his plane crashed on June 1, 1912, just days after completing his scenes for the film. (The film first appeared in theatres on June 26, 1912, almost 110 years to the day of this post appearing.)

Men, Women, and In-Between in the Workplace

Mabel's Stratagem (1912)
Starring: Mabel Normand, Fred Mace, and Alice Davenport
Director: Mack Sennett
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

A secretary (Normand) disguises herself as a man so she can get her job back after her boss's jealous wife (Davenport) insists he fire all female staffers and replace them with males.

"Mabel's Stratagem" is a straight-forward and silly comedy about sex, gender, and sexual harassment in the workplace.  The film is 110 years old, but pretty much all of the situational and gender-based humor works almost as well today, what with all the talk about how there's no difference between men and women, how the society is rotten with power imbalance with the hypocritical rich always abusing the workers, and so on.

While the acting styles are outdated, the film is so fast-moving that viewers hardly have time to notice the excessive pantomiming and emoting (except on the part of Fred Mace who really goes above and beyond). In fact, the only serious complaint I can mount is that maybe the film is a little too fast-moving; the story would be more effective if a little more time could have been spent developing the characters. 

"Mabel's Stratagem" is only five minutes, so I recommend you click below and check it out. I think you'll have fun. 

'Mabel's Strange Predicament' is worth witnessing

Mabel's Strange Predicament (1914)

Starring: Mabel Normand, Charlie Chaplin, Chester Conklin, Harry McCoy, and Alice Davenport

Director: Mabel Normand

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

A drunk (Chaplin) causes chaos in an hotel and generates romantic strife between couples staying there by making it appear as though a young woman (Normand) is having an affair with a married man (Conklin).

In addition to just being lots of fun, and therefore worth seeing for everybody, "Mabel's Strange Predicament" is a historical artifact that film history buffs need to see for a number of different reasons.

First, this is one of the early incarnations of what we now recognize at the sit-com. We've got characters of markedly different types and circumstances interacting  in a single space, and we have a situation that escalates due to misunderstandings and lack of communication between the characters. (This story structure and configuration has older roots--in French farces, for example--but every element of a sit-com is so clearly present here that it's worth checking out. (Personally, I also found the changes in social standards that have happened in the past 100 years fascinating. Much of the comedy here hinges on Mabel being locked out of her hotel room in pajamas--any time after 1950, I imagine a young lady dressed like that would be embarrassed about having to go to the lobby and ask for help, but she would have to be wearing a sexy negligee or less for the level of mortification that Mabel displays here.)

Second, this was the first film that featured Charlie Chaplin in his "Little Tramp" get-up. According to some sources, the character was conceived in collaboration between Chaplin and director/co-star Mabel Normand in order to give the drunk that Chaplin plays in in this film a unique flair while also emphasizing Chaplin's strengths as a performer. It was a move that saved Chaplin's film career, as Mack Sennett was getting ready to fire Chaplin because he was not adapting well to the differences between performing on stage and performing for cameras. Normand, who had spent most of her working life in front of or behind film cameras, convinced Sennett to give Chaplin some leeway, and over the several films they made together, she taught Chaplin everything she knew... and, eventually, the student became the master! In a quirk of fate that probably went a long way to helping Chaplin perfect the first, more obnoxious incarnation of the Little Tramp character, he ended up starring as the character in a mostly ad-libbed, last minute production. When work on "Mabel's Strange Predicament" was halted due to bad weather, Chaplin and a couple camera crews were dispatched by producer Sennett  to create a film in front of  a crowd attending a soapbox race who had no idea what was going on with Chaplin engaging in antics. (Click here to check out that very funny short film.) 

Of course, "Mabel's Strange Predicament" is also worth seeing for anyone who just wants a few minutes of fun. And you can do so, right here from this post by clicking on the embedded video below!

Before the Mustache There Was 'Love in Armor'

Love in Armor (1915)
Starring: Mae Busch, Charley Chase, Fritz Schade, Frank Oppermann, Billie Bennett, William Hauber, and Bert Hunn
Directors: Nick Cogley, Francis J. Grandon, Frank Griffin and Mack Sennett
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

A conman (Schade) snakes his way into the good graces of a young woman's wealthy parents (Bennett and Oppermann) - but he comes to regret his life's choices when he gets between her (Busch) and her true love (Chase).

I really wanted to like "Love in Armor" more than I do. It has some really cute moments in it, a handful of funny gags, and I don't recall seeing a film with Charley Chase or Mae Busch in which they weren't good. But, despite the presence of these good bits, the bulk of the film borders on tedious. 

As could be expected, the best parts of this film are scenes involving Busch, Chase, or both of them. Busch's parents don't approve of Chase seeing her, so the would-be young couple have to sneak off into the bushes which leads to cute bit of mildly sexy physical humor where Busch is unable to pull down her skirt because it's caught on a branch is a good example of this. Another is where Chase, hidden in a suit of armor, puts the film's villains in their place and ultimately gets the girl with pranks and straight-up violence. There is also a running gag involving the world's most inept and clumsy butler.

But each of these fun parts is either preceded or followed by sequences and gags that are either so poorly motivated or ineptly staged that they never quite reach their potential, or are dragged out to the point where they stop being funny. A sequence where successive characters end up sitting on a cactus embodies all these problems. It's got all sorts of potential--that it almost reaches when Busch and Frank Opperman (as her father) end up with their butts prickled--but its set-up is so weak it taints the entire bit, and it is allowed to go on just a little too long. Meanwhile, the film's climax is a tangled mess of slapstick that's so badly executed and so repeptative that I thought perhaps there was some bad editing in copy I watched and the same moment got repeated twice.

Sloppy writing (or perhaps direction) also hurts the film a bit. There is a great moment between Chase and Busch when he makes it known to her that he is hiding in the suit of armor; it's my favorite part of the whole movie. However, this revelation happens within full view and earshot of Busch's mother who remains oblivious to her daugher's weird interaction with a suit of armor.

Despite my complaining above, "Love in Armor" is entertaining and it's 13-minute runtime speeds by. If you're a fan of Mae Busch or Charley Chase, you'll definitely enjoy yourself. You may find yourself wishing Chase got a little more screen-time, but at least you'll get to see what he looked like before the mustache!

And guess what? You can watch it right here, right now! Just click on the arrow below to start the video!

'Getting Acquainted' is a film worth seeing

Getting Aquainted (aka "A Fair Exchange") (1914)
Starring: Mabel Normand, Charlie Chaplin, Phyllis Allen, Mack Swain, Edgar Kennedy, and Glen Cavender
Director: Charlie Chaplin
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

A day in the park turns chaotic when husbands (Chaplin and Swain) hit on each other's wives (Normand and Allen) and then up being chased by an increasingly irate police officer (Kennedy).

"Getting Acquainted" is a comedy of manners--mostly bad manners--with a healthy helping of slapstick thrown in. The comedy grows in equal amounts from the bad behavior of the husbands, the reactions of their wives, the threat to the husbands when the wives meet each other, and the various beatings doled out by the cop, a random guy (whose girlfriend the husbands also hit on), and even the wives. There's also some slight humor in the fact that physically you'd think Chaplin's character would be Normand's husband, while Allen and Swain's characters seem like they'd a better match, too.

This film may also be of historical interest to Chaplin fans, as it features one of the earliest appearances of his "Little Tramp" character--at least as far as the costume goes, since I don't think I've ever seen Chaplin's signature character being quite this much of a caddish horndog in any other films. Meanwhile, it's also easy to see why Normand was such a big star in her day; she all but leaps off the screen she has so much presence. It's also helpful that she keeps the Cuteness Meter pegged at Maximum in every scene.

You can get acquainted with "Getting Acquainted right here in this post, because the film is embedded below, via YouTube. Take a few minutes and watch it right now!

'Picking Peaches' isn't the Pits

Picking Peaches (1924)
Starring: Harry Langdon, Alberta Vaughn, Ethel Teare, Alice Day, Dot Farley, Vernon Dent, and Kewpie Morgan
Director: Erle C. Kenton
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

When the wife (Vaughn) of a philandering shoe salesman (Langdon) enters a beach-side beauty contest to show him up, and wins, his jealousy puts him on a path to a well-deserved fate.

Any readers around my age surely remembers the Fox series "Married With Children", which featured a bitter shoe salesman, Al Bundy, who was married to a hot wife, Peggy. As soon as the lead character's profession was established, and it was shown that he had a testy relationship with his wife (who, like Peggy Bundy, is quite attractive), I immediately thought of Al Bundy. Unlike Al, however, who ultimately always remained faithful to his wife, the cad portrayed by Harry Langdon is anything but faithful to his. Not only goes he cheat on her, but he's such a horndog that one of his wife's friends thinks she can flirt her way into convincing him to buy the wife a new hat.
Aside from the generally unlikeable nature of Harry Langdon's character--not to mention his taste in women; the lady he cheats on his wife with isn't nearly as pretty nor as personable as she is--and a single completely out-of-place and ill-executed stunt involving a ladder, "Picking Peaches" is a lot fun.

One of the fun aspects of the film is how animation is integrated into the live action, sometimes subtly, sometimes very obviously, but always to great humorous effect. (I won't go into specifics for risk of ruining a couple of the gags, but the preview for the embedded copy of "Picking Peaches" below shows one of the mixed bits of animations and live action.)

Of course, many people might also find the film appealing for the same reason those "beach party" movies are appealing--it's got plenty of beautiful women in tight little outfits. Here, those outfits are one-piece bathing suits rather than bikinis but the same principle applies. I have seen references to the "bathing beauties" in Max Sennett pictures (the great Sybil Seely was one, for example), but I hadn't imagined how integral they might be to the plots of the films in which they appeared, nor how funny the gags they performed would be. While the girls in their bathing suits are great eye candy, this film would be far less funny if they weren't in it, not just because of the trouble the main character gets into by playing around with them, but also because of the gags during the bathing suit and high-dive competition that he attends.

One thing that makes this film noteworthy is that it was Harry Langdon's very first film appearance... and he went straight from starring on the stage to starring on the screen. The character he plays here is nothing like the white-faced, simple-minded clown that would become his signature once he teamed up with Frank Capra, but it's still clear to see why he is considered one of the great comedians of the silent era. (Even if you're familiar with Langdon's work and know he's not usually your cup of tea, "Picking Peaches" might still be worth your while to check out.


(THE FILM WAS EMBEDDED HERE FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE, BUT IT IS PRESENTLY NOT AVAILABLE. HOPEFULLY, IT WILL RETURN SOON.)