Mabel al volante

Mabel at the Wheel (1914)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

The behind the scenes issues with this movie are pretty interesting but from what I've read Chaplin hated being directed by a woman and his constant battles with Normand almost got him fired. For whatever reason Keystone decided to keep him and Chaplin's hatred of "other directors" finally caused him to be directed by himself from this point on in his career. In the film Mabel and her boyfriend (Harry McCoy) have a falling out so she takes a ride with his rival (Chaplin) but she eventually gets knocked off his bike and into a puddle of mud. Later she's back with the boyfriend who's at a race track when Chaplin kidnaps him forcing Mabel to race the car. This is a mixed bag as far as the film goes because the first half is pretty funny but the second half dealing with the race falls apart. Seeing Chaplin and Mabel slap one another makes you wonder how much they both enjoyed it but these early scenes are certainly the best in the film. The actual auto race wasn't too thrilling or funny to me but things do pick up towards the end and Chaplin's final scene is very funny.

The background to this movie is interesting. Mabel and Charlie had not appeared together since Mabel's Strange Predicament. Sennett brought the petulant pair together again in this film after 2 months, but when Charlie arrived for the shoot he was enraged to find Mabel behind the camera. Charlie felt women were best kept in the kitchen - he later had his many young and foolish wives locked up at home. While Mabel wanted to follow a script set by Mack Sennett, Charlie thought the new film needed gagging up. As the proposed gags would boost Chaplin's standing, Mabel refused to entertain them. Charlie immediately went on strike. On hearing this Sennett flew into a rage, storming into Charlie's dressing room shouting 'You'll do as you're told or get out!' However, the balance of power at Keystone was changing. The Englishman was a rising star, and his popularity could eventually equal or eclipse that of the lovely Mabel. Sennett had to keep the two together, or risk becoming the knucklehead who sacked the world's greatest comedian. He decided the two should bury the hatchet, and he directed the film himself (Sennett/Chaplin autobiographies).

Mabel was all sweetness after the furore, although she was unsure about riding pillion with Charlie on the Keystone motorbike – a type of machine he claimed to have ridden before. According to Mabel, the crazy Briton crashed the bike into a ditch before they'd gone twenty yards. He'd lied! Once he'd mastered the technique, all was set for a mad ride along a muddy track, where the hapless Mabel would be dumped in a mud pool. This was the cue for the usual Keystone battle of bricks between Mabel plus boyfriend and Charlie. Interesting how there are always some handy bricks lying around to be thrown by inmates of Sennett's 'University of Nonsense'. Charlie becomes a Ford Sterling- type villain for this film, and initiates various dastardly deeds, such as sticking a pin into Mabel's leg, thumping her in the face, and tying her boyfriend up. Without wishing to give the whole plot away, Mabel ends up taking over her boyfriend's racing car drive. The whole film is clearly based around a famous race filmed in Santa Monica, where a front wheel breaks off a car at Dead Man's Curve, causing it to overturn in spectacular fashion. Mabel openly enjoys the adulation she receives from the spectators and team at the conclusion of the race. Oh, how the cast adored their Keystone Girl!

Things to Note: [1] Charlie's motorbike is a chain drive 1912 Thor IV model. [2] The No. 4 racing car could be Sennett's own Stutz. [3] It is amusing to see the startled old fellow in shirtsleeves and braces,standing in his garden watching Charlie restart his motorbike – he thinks the Hell's Angels are in town. [4] Many roads around Hollywood in those days were seemingly rutted, muddy tracks. [5] When Mabel and Charlie have a fight, a seated spectator looks bemused,then positively scared.[ 6] The entire Keystone company appears to be in this film. [7] The race team's toolkit consists of one spanner, a file, a hand drill, and a bucket. High-tech that. [8] Mabel thinks race preparation comprises taking out a compact and powdering her nose. [9] The mechanic is in the race car to pump fuel and oil (furiously). [10] When the actual race car crashes, the mechanic is thrown out onto his feet. In the faked keystone crash scene the mechanic ends up under the vehicle.[11] There are plenty enough gags for Charlie in the film, and the lack of the standing on the hose gag (which caused the two stars to fall out) does not detract from the film. [12] Charlie reverts to a type of Ford Sterling costume for this film. Could it be that Mabel refused to work with the Tramp, as she feared being upstaged by the scruffy character? She might also have been fearful of the filthy Tramp outfit (Mrs Arbuckle claimed that Mabel used to buy Charlie new clothing, as he never washed his attire).

Charlie Chaplin went from tiny bit player to the top comic for Keystone in less than a year. "Mabel at the Wheel" is one of his earlier films and as the title suggests, it's a Mabel Normand vehicle and he's playing second to her.

Charlie takes Mabel for a ride on his motorcycle but ends up accidentally dumping her in a giant mud puddle. Not surprisingly, she's not happy and she soon goes off with another guy in his race car. Oddly, while this happens right AFTER the mud puddle incident, she's 100% clean...and not a trace of mud.

Charlie is angry he lost her, so he now plots revenge (as you can tell with a bit of overacting by Charlie). He even ends up slugging poor Mabel (which isn't very funny)! This isn't the end to Charlie's nasty behavior--which also includes rock throwing and popping the car's tire. In fact, Charlie is such a jerk you really are rooting for her to run off with Charlie's rival.

In the second part of the comedy, there is a big race and Charlie and his goons kidnap the rival so that he cannot race. So, it's up to Mabel to save the day.

While slapstick comedy is supposed to be violent, seeing Charlie slugging Mabel is terribly unfunny and I cannot imagine audiences of the day liking this, as I've seen hundreds of slapstick films and never recall this sort of behavior. Usually it's more exaggerated and oddly funny. You also see no sign of Charlie's sweet and likable Little Tramp character here...he's just a nasty jerk. Clearly not among Chaplin's best and seeing him behave this way isn't exactly endearing. Fortunately, Chaplin soon stopped playing villain roles and went on to far better things.

Mabel Normand "gets over" finely in this two-reel comedy. It abounds in funny situations and is characterized throughout by that swiftness of action which has made Keystone comedies so popular. - The Moving Picture World, April 25, 1914

Am a big fan of Charlie Chaplin, have been for over a decade now. Many films and shorts of his are very good to masterpiece, and like many others consider him a comedy genius and one of film's most important and influential directors.

He did do better than 'Mabel at the Wheel', still made very early on in his career where he was still finding his feet and not fully formed what he became famous for. Can understand why the Keystone period suffered from not being as best remembered or highly remembered than his later efforts, but they are mainly decent and important in their own right. 'Mabel at the Wheel' is a long way from a career high, but has a lot of nice things about it and is to me one of the better efforts in the 1914 Keystone batch and one of the better Chaplin and Mabel Normand collaborations.

'Mabel at the Wheel' is not as hilarious, charming or touching as his later work and some other shorts in the same period. The story is flimsy and the production values not as audacious. Occasionally, things feel a little scrappy and confused.

For someone who was still relatively new to the film industry and had literally just moved on from their stage background, 'Mabel at the Wheel' is not bad at all.

While not audacious, the film hardly looks ugly, is more than competently directed and is appealingly played. Chaplin looks comfortable for so early on and shows his stage expertise while opening it up that it doesn't become stagy or repetitive shtick. Not one of his most likeable characters though.

Although the humour, charm and emotion was done even better and became more refined later, 'Mabel at the Wheel' is humorous, sweet and easy to like, though the emotion is not quite there. It moves quickly and doesn't feel too long or short.

Overall, far from one of Chaplin's best but pretty good and perhaps one of his better efforts from the early Keystone period. 7/10 Bethany Cox