Specialty CollectionGenre: SILENT FEATURE FILMS
Description: SILENT COMEDY. MACK SENNETT'S PRODUCTION MUST HAVE SERVED AS A DELIGHTFUL REPAST TO AUDIENCES IN 1923, A YEAR SWAMPED WITH SUCH EXTRAVAGANZAS AS THE COVERED WAGON, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, ROBIN HOOD AND THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. MABEL NORMAND, LONG ASSOCIATED WITH SENNETT, ALONG WITH HER MAJOR SUCCESSES IN SLAPSTICK COMEDIES, MADE HER A NATURAL CHOICE AS STAR OF THEIR CHARMING FEATURE. IN THE FILM, NORMAND PLAYS THE IRREPRESSIBLE SUE GRAHAM: SMALL TOWN GIRL AND WOULD-BE STAR WHO WINS A BEAUTY CONTEST THROUGH A MIX-UP AND GOES TO HOLLYWOOD. SHE ENCOUNTERS A VARIETY OF MISADVENTURES BACK STAGE AND ON THE SETS OF A TYPICAL STUDIO OF THE 1920s. MABEL NORMAND'S CAREER IN FILM STARTED IN NEW YORK, WHERE SHE SOON BEGAN TO APPREAR IN SHORT FILMS DIRECTED BY THE LEGENDARY DW GRIFFITH. MABEL LEFT NEW YORK TO MAKE FILMS IN THE AS YET UNKNOWN TOWN IN CALIFORNIA CALLED HOLLYWOOD WITH FORMER GRIFFITH BIT PLAYER, MACK SENNETT. ALMOST IMMEDIATELY, MACK AND MABEL BEGAN TO TURN OUT SUCCESSFUL ONE-REEL COMEDIES FOR MACK'S NEW COMPANY, KEYSTONE. APPEARING WITH SUCH FAMOUS COMEDIANS OF THE PERIOD AS FATTY ARBUCKLE, FORD STERLING, CHESTER CONKLIN AND AL ST. JOHN. MABEL BECAME A STAR OVER NIGHT. NORMAND IS OFTEN REFERRED TO AS "THE FEMALE CHAPLIN," YET IT WAS SHE WHO HELPED CHAPLIN GET HIS START IN MOVIES FOR WHICH HE WAS FOREVER GRATEFUL. HER VARIOUS ATTRIBUTES RANGED FROM BEING THE FIRST ON FILM TO RECEIVE A CUSTARD PIE IN THE FACE TO BEING ONE OF THE FIRST WOMEN TO DEVELOP AND DIRECT MANY OF HER OWN FILMS. HER CHARACTER WAS A WINNING COMBINATION OF A SWEET YOUNG THING WITH THE WILDCAT SPIRIT OF A TOMBOY. NORMAND WAS ALSO AN INCREDIBLE ATHLETE. SHE COULD OUTRUN, FIGHT OR SWIM ANYBODY ON THE STUDIO LOT, AND WAS KNOWN AS A TRUE DAREDEVIL (PERHAPS A FEMALE KEATON?) WHO WOULD WILLINGLY PERFORM THE MOST DANGEROUS STUNTS WITH THE ATTITUDE OF "ANYTHING FOR A LAUGH." MABEL'S ON-AGAIN, OFF-AGAIN RELATIONSHIP WITH MACK SENNETT AND HER INCOMPARABLE ABILITY TO KEEP COMPANY WITH THE WRONG PEOPLE AT THE WRONG TIME, INVOLVED HER IN SOME OF HOLLYWOOD'S MOST INFAMOUS SCANDALS. YET, SHE PERSISTED UNTIL SHE FINALLY SUCCUMBED TO TUBERCULOSIS IN 1930 AT THE AGE OF 38. (1992 IS THE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF NORMAND'S BIRTH!) SADLY, THE EXTRA GIRL WAS TO BE NORMAND'S LAST FEATURE. YET THE PICTURE'S SUNNY QUALITY, ALONG WITH HER SPUNKY PERFORMANCE (DESPITE SERIOUS PERSONAL PROBLEMS AND PHYSICAL AILMENTS) MAKE THE FILM A TRUE COMIC GEM. PACKED WITH PERIOD AMERICANA HARKENING BACK TO A SIMPLER AGE, THE EXTRA GIRL INGENIOUSLY WEAVES ELEMENTS OF MELODRAMA INTO A TRADITIONAL SLAPSTICK COMEDY SCENARIO. ITS CINDERELLA STORY OF MOVIE GLAMOUR AND WISH FULFILLMENT SET THE PATTERN FOR LATER FILMS WITH SIMILAR THEMES. IN FACT THE FILM'S HIGHLIGHT - MABEL'S MADCAP ESCAPADE WITH A WILD LION SHE ACCIDENTLY LETS LOOSE ON THE SET - BECAME A CLASSIC AND WAS FREQUENTLY IMITATED. SHOOTING THE EXTRA GIRL BEGAN IN APRIL 1923 WITH DIRECTOR F. RICHARD JONES, WHO ALSO DIRECTED ALL OF MABEL'S PREVIOUS FEATURES WITH SENNETT. THE LIKEABLE RALPH GRAVES PLAYS DAVE, THE HANDSOME HOMETOWN BOY WHO FOLLOWS SUE TO HOLLYWOOD WHILE RELIABLE SENNETT PLAYER, VERNON DENT, APPEARS AS SUE'S LESS THAN DESIRABLE WOULD-BE SUITOR; MR. APPLEJOHN. GEORGE NICHOLLS AS SUE'S ORNERY, YET PATHETIC FATHER HELPS TO ROUND OUT A COLORFUL SUPPORTING CAST. MABLE NORMAND WAS VIRTUALLY THE ONLY SKILLED SLAPSTICK COMEDIENNE OF THE SILENT ERA, AND HER SUCCESS IN FILMS LIKE THE EXTRA GIRL PAVED THE WAY FOR ALL HER SUCCESSORS, SUCH AS MARTHA RAYE, LUCILLE BALL AND CAROL BURNETT. SIDE 1 1 INTRODUCTION; RIVER BEND 2 SUE GRAHAM: WOULD-BE STAR 3 ANSWERING TO MR. APPLEJOHN 4 APPLES AND ONIONS 5 SUE'S LETTER, A FOILED ELOPEMENT 6 THE DECEITFUL WIDOW 7 "ALL HOPE GONE. HER WEDDING DAY" 8 SUE'S LAST CHANCE: ESCAPE AND FAREWELL 9 HER NEW JOB: THE COSTUME ROOM 10 CHRISTMAS WITHOUT SUE 11 DAVE ARRIVES AT THE STUDIO 12 SUE'S SCREEN TEST 13 REUNION, HACKETT'S SCAM SIDE 2 14 THE BIG MIXUP: SUE AND THE LION 15 SUE IS DISCHARGED, MORE BAD NEWS 16 HACKETT GETS HIS; THE MONEY IS SAVED 17 "FOUR YEARS LATER - LOOKING BACKWARD" 18 COLOR BARS SUE GRAHAM: MABEL NORMAND DAVE GIDDINGS: RALPH GRAVES MR. APPLEJOHN: VERNON DENT] MA GRAHAM: ANNA HERNANDEZ BELLE BROWN: MARY MASON PROP MAN: MAX DAVIDSON PHILIP HACKETT: RAMSEY WALLACE WILLIAM DESMOND: WILLIAM DESMOND THE DIRECTOR: CARL STOCKDALE COMEDY DIRECTOR: HARRY GRIBBON BILLY BEVAN: BILLY BEVAN TEDDY (THE DOG): TEDDY PRODUCED BY: MACK SENNETT DIRECTED BY: F. RICHARD JONES
