Teddy at the Throttle

Many years ago both Gloria Swanson and Wallace Beery started their careers in short subjects like this one they did for Mack Sennett. At the time they did Teddy At The Throttle they were married, but that didn't last much longer than this Mack Sennett short.

Gloria is an innocent young heiress and her guardian is the grasping and greedy Beery who also has control of the fortune that young Bobby Vernon is coming into. He must prevent the two from marrying lest Vernon discover that Beery has been living off his inheritance.

His efforts foiled Beery in the true Snidely Whiplash tradition ties Gloria to railroad tracks. But he reckons without her trusty Great Dane Teddy who's so smart that Rin Tin Tin should go to remedial obedience school to catch up. What Teddy does to save Gloria from being pancaked by the locomotive is a feat that will leave you gasping as much as 1917 audiences must have.

Nice to see Beery and Swanson in their salad days working for Mack Sennett.

Teddy at the Throttle (1917)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Bobbie (Bobby Vernon), the good guy wants to marry Gloria (Gloria Swanson), the good girl but the evil Henry Black (Wallace Beery) wants to keep them apart so that he can keep stealing from their inheritance. TEDDY AT THE THROTTLE features a lot of familiar Keystone elements but I think the biggest is the fact that the majority of the running time is just padded out with boring stuff that doesn't make you laugh. Many people talk about the great action that this film has and it certainly has that but it doesn't happen until the final portion of the film. Once the action starts there's no question that the film picks up some speed but before you know it this segment is over and so is the film. This can't make up for the first fifteen or so minutes where nothing much is happening and the viewer just grows bored waiting for something to start. The one thing that keeps this movie watchable is being able to see some future stars just starting out. Swanson is good in her lead performance and I thought her then husband Beery was also very good in his role as the villain. I really didn't care too much for Vernon though. TEDDY AT THE THROTTLE is worth seeing for the stars but it's still far from a classic.

There are times where movie viewers can feel the tension between divorcing stars when they appear in the same film. Gloria Swanson said she knew from their marriage night that she wouldn't last with actor Wallace Beery. Citing abuse and infidelity, the 17-year newlywed bride soon filed divorce papers. However, in California law, it takes a year to make the spilt official. The two actors were employed by Mack Sennett's Keystone Studios and were obligated to appear in the April 1917 release of "Teddy At The Throttle." Any observer knowing the back story of the pair's marriage can easily detect the venom Swanson throws at Beery, and him right back at her.

As agonizing as it was for Swanson to be in this picture with her abusive husband, critics claim "Teddy At The Throttle" is the best short comedy the actress had ever been in. Beery plays a heel who in the film is overseeing the finances of Swanson and next-door-friend Bobby Vernon. A complex will, with a later addendum added, causes swindler Beery and his equally greedy sister, played by May Emory, to take action against the pair, including Beery tying Swanson to railroad tracks.

One of the greatest dance numbers to be caught on film is the one between Emory and Vernon. Bobby defies gravity with his agile steps. Also, Teddy The Dog puts in a performance that, if an Oscar for animals were rewarded at the time, would overwhelmingly go to him for his incredible role as both companion and rescuer.

"Gloria" (Gloria Swanson) and "Bobbie" (Bobby Vernon) live next door to each other and have the same, rapscallion guardian in "Henry Black" (Wallace Beery) who is systematically fleecing the youngsters so that he and his equally rotten sister May Emory can live the life of Riley. Their number might be up, though, when a codicil to a will is found suggesting that unless "Bobbie" marries "Gloria" - all his loot will go to her, and that could leave our dodgy executor exposed... If you are looking for a break-neck comedy adventure then look no further. It's got a cracking storm scene, Beery is superb as the cheating fraudster and, not for the first time, Swanson and Vernon work excellently together. She even get's tied to the railroad tracks - what more could one ask for? Well, actually there is the eponymous schnauzer "Teddy" for good measure, too... It's short enough not to have to repeat the comedic devices, and so keeps fresh and engaging for all of twenty minutes.

Here's one of the best known of the Keystone pictures, a favorite for decades in show-at-home prints, from Blackhawk and on dvd. Robert Youngson used clips in his compilation films, and it's a thorough delight.

Part of the issue is that people seem to think that tying the heroine to railroad tracks or a log going through a sawmill are from the silent moves. Actually, they are drawn from melodramas, like BLUE JEANS, in which the train would run onto the stage as a spectacular bit. This short, with Wallace Beery playing a top-hatted villain who wants to marry Gloria Swanson -- they actually were married at the time -- is a spoof of all those melodramas.

Gloria Swanson hated doing slapstick according to her memoirs. She also had a very bad marriage with Beery. Well, it's funny, particularly when Teddy the Great Dane cuts loose.