Mabel at the Wheel

Just watched this-a Keystone comedy short starring Mabel Normand and Charlie Chaplin-on YouTube. Ms. Normand is also the director and Chaplin does not play The Tramp but the comic villain. As such, he's the funniest thing here as he does overacting to a T which is such a standard technique in these silent movies whether melodrama or slapstick comedy. Mabel is quite an accomplished comic herself whether taking a fall, throwing bricks, or biting Charlie's hand. The race sequence doesn't really have any laughs but is quite exciting to watch as we see Ms. Normand do as the title says. Overall, Mabel at the Wheel is highly recommended. P.S. It would have been nice if any of the versions I checked out had a music accompaniment but I can't complain too much about the complete silent version I watched.

The plot of this movie is based on a Vitagraph movie from 1908: "An Auto Heroine" In that film, a woman's father gets kidnapped and she drives his car to win the race. In this film, a woman's boyfriend gets kidnapped and she drives his car to win the race, while her father cheers from the stands.

In an article called "Speeding Sweethearts of the Silent Screen," film historian William Drew notes that after Mary Pickford's car chase movie "A Beast At Bay" (Griffith, 1912), this is only the third movie to feature a woman's driving. It will only become standard in movies starting in 1915. Drew notes, "In fact, one can view Mabel at the Wheel as a kind of feminist parable with the heroine defeating the male competitors on the race course as well as the villainous Chaplin." Besides seeing Mabel Normand's feminist heroics, the other reason this film, directed by Ms. Normand, is noteworthy is Chaplin's unique performance. He plays the villain wearing a trench coat and whiskers. Through much of the film, he does what seems like a perfect impression of comedian Ford Sterling. At one point, Chaplin even crosses his eyes like Sterling. It should be remembered that Chaplin was hired at Keystone to replace Ford Sterling. In fact Chaplin's tramp costume uses Sterling's large size shoes, perhaps symbolizing the fact that he was hired to fill Sterling's shoes literally as well as figuratively.

The first five minutes of the film is quite different from the rest. Chaplin plays simply Harry McCoy's rival for Mabel Normand. This is exactly the same triangle we saw in Chaplin's first film, "Making a Living." The second five minutes of the film is different with Chaplin suddenly turning into a ridiculous villain caricature. He goes around jabbing people and tires with a pin.

There is a scene where Chaplin takes out a water hose to water a race car course. Apparently, Chaplin refused to do it. Chaplin probably did not see the humor in endangering people's lives. Slapping, punching, pricking and kicking people is one thing, but actually endangering people's lives is another. He worked off the set.

Famously, Mack Sennett threatened to fire him. He submitted and played the rest of the movie as Normand wanted him to, in Ford Sterling absurdist style. We should remember that Chaplin's humor was based on the funny drunk sketch he made famous. The drunk is funny, but not absurd. The absurd humor that Keystone dealt with was simply not something that Chaplin appreciated.

This is really a Mabel Normand film and it seems unfair to give Sennett credit for directing it when all he did was discipline Chaplin. Normand had her own problems with Sennett and was probably only staying with him at the time because he gave her the opportunity to direct.

There are some powerful images in the film: Mabel falling off a motorcycle, Mabel behind the wheel of the car with mechanic William Hauber, Charlie sitting next to Mabel and jabbing her with a pin and her jabbing him right back, and Mack Sennett as a country bumpkin in a cameo appearance. It seems possible that Mabel was expressing how she really felt about Sennett by having him act this way.

The original film was 1900 feet and the restored version is about 1400. Please keep in mind that over 25% of the film is still missing. Probably the jumpy, quick shots in the racing scenes were much smoother with longer shots in the original.

Sennett supposedly got a telegram from his partners in New York demanding more Chaplin films during the production of this film and only this telegram stopped him from firing Chaplin. I tend to think that it was the success of this movie that really put Chaplin on the map. While Chaplin was fine in his first ten films, there was nothing particularly distinguishing about him. This two-reeler would have established him as the real replacement for the popular Ford Sterling.

'Mabel at the Wheel' is more Mabel Normand's vehicle than Charles Chaplin's. She is the star in this one and a shining star. Chaplin is going against his usual on-screen persona and is a full-fledged villain, but he is still amusing to watch. He goes wonderfully over the top while scheming how to ruin the race first for Mabel's boyfriend and then for Mabel. Although his motivations seem to remain unclear. At first Chaplin's Villain seems to compete with the racing driver over the heart of Mabel. But when the competition is removed and Mabel takes the wheel, the Villain goes on and tries to sabotage her race causing many life-threatening moments for her. One can assume that when he wasn't able to win over the girl, his main motivation became to kill her. A pretty dark theme for slapstick comedy.

The story is clear, not overly confusing plus the racing sequences are very interesting. It seems that there was more effort put into this one than many other Keystone productions. It might be because Mable Normand directed this film together with Mack Sennet. Mable, being a star, wanted a more polished film.

'Mabel at the Wheel' is one of the best early Chaplin's movies and probably my favorite Mabel Normand movie. It was his eleventh film - imagine - making eleven movies within barely three months. What a schedule.

I hereby recommend reading wmorrow59 review which shares some light behind the scenes on how Mabel and Chaplin didn't get along.

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).

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