Mabel Normand
Actor · 1893 – 1930 · New Brighton, Staten Island, New York, USA
Mabel Normand (November 10, 1892– February 23, 1930) was an American silent film comedienne and actress, a popular star of Mack Sennett's Keystone Studios and noted as one of the film industry's first female screenwriters, producers and directors. Onscreen she appeared in a dozen commercially successful films with Charles Chaplin and seventeen with Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, occasionally writing and directing movies featuring Chaplin as her leading man as well as sometimes co-writing and co-directing with Chaplin in films in which they played the lead roles. At the height of her career in the late 1910s and early 1920s, Normand had her own movie studio and production company. Throughout the 1920s her name was linked with widely publicized scandals including the 1922 murder of William Desmond Taylor and the 1924 shooting of Courtland S. Dines, who was shot by Normand's chauffeur with her pistol. She was not a suspect in either crime. Her film career declined, possibly due to both scandals and a recurrence of tuberculosis in 1923, which led to a decline in her health, retirement from films and her death in 1930 at age 37. Mabel Normand has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to Motion Pictures, at 6821 Hollywood Boulevard. Her film Mabel's Blunder (1914) was added to the National Film Registry in December 2009. In June 2010, the New Zealand Film Archive reported the discovery of a print of Normand's film Won in a Closet (exhibited in New Zealand under its alternate title Won in a Cupboard), a short comedy previously believed lost. This film is a significant discovery, as Normand directed the movie and starred in the lead role, making it a showcase for her talents on both sides of the camera.
Movies23
Movie5.8ComedyCharlie is a clumsy waiter in a cheap cabaret, suffering the strict orders from his boss. He meets a pretty girl in the park and tries to impress her by pretending to be an ambassador. Unfortunately she has a jealous fiancé.
Caught in a Cabaret
1914 · 62 votes
Movie5.4ComedyA tramp gets drunk in a hotel lobby and, upstairs, causes some misunderstandings between Mabel, two hotel guests across the hall from her room, and Mabel's visiting sweetheart.
Mabel's Strange Predicament
1914 · 97 votes
Movie6.2ComedyA womanizing city man meets Tillie in the country. When he sees that her father has a very large bankroll for his workers, he persuades her to elope with him.
Tillie's Punctured Romance
1914 · 85 votes
Movie7.1DocumentaryThe first talkie was directed by Alice Guy, the first color film was produced by Lois Weber, who directed more than 300 films over 10 years. Frances Marion wrote screenplays for the Hollywood Star Mary Pickford and won two Oscars, Dorothy Arzner was the most powerful film director in Hollywood. And what do all of them have in common? They are all women and they have all been forgotten. Incredibly, it also took until 2010 for the first woman, Kathryn Bigelow, to win the Oscar for Best Director. Even if underrepresented women have always played a big part in Hollywood and it is this part of the film history left untold that this documentary sets out to uncover.
Movie4.3DocumentaryBefore the G, PG and R ratings system there was the Production Code, and before that there was, well, nothing. This eye-opening documentary examines the rampant sexuality of early Hollywood through movie clips and reminiscences by stars of the era. Gloria Swanson, Mary Pickford, Marlene Dietrich and others relate tales of the artistic freedom that led to the draconian Production Code, which governed content from 1934 to 1968. Diane Lane narrates.
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
2007 · 5 votes
MovieComedyThe manager of a small town hotel installs a cabaret in an attempt to achieve the standard set by restaurants in the large cities. His effort is ludicrous because of the fact that his talent is all recruited from the help in the hotel. Roscoe, the cook, is forced to appear in a dress suit and when Al St. John appears from the bar there is a lively rivalry between the two for the applause of the crowd. Mabel, the waitress, vies with a professional dancer from the city. Into this setting comes William Jefferson, a polished sharper, who takes the innocent Mabel by storm.
Bright Lights
1916
- Movie8.0DocumentaryCrime
One way or another, the Hollywood police have been kept busy with murders on their ground. There are numerous theories about the killings of Thelma Todd, Jack Healy (Three Stooges), Elizabeth Short, alias The Black Dahlia, Bugsy Siegal and Johnny Stompano. The files of William Desmond Taylor, Raymond Navarro and Sal Mineo are also re-opened. Femmes fatales are often deadly for the man's wallet or reputation -- these ladies killed for real. From Calamity Jane, gang boss Ma Baker and New York madame Polly Adler to axe-murderess Winnie Ruth Judd and others, we look at the Black Widow Spider syndrome. Rare archival footage and many hitherto unseen interviews, film, video clip tapes, and photographs are included in this hour-long program.
Movie8.0DocumentaryThe whole world knows him. Burlesque comedy genius, popular actor, author, director, producer, composer, choreographer, Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) used his talent to serve an ideal of justice and freedom. But his best scenario was his own destiny, a story written into the political and artistic history of the 20th century.
Movie5.7ComedyCharlie plays an actor who bungles several scenes and is kicked out. He returns convincingly dressed as a lady and charms the director, but Charlie never makes it into the film.
The Masquerader
1914 · 75 votes
MovieComedyA Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle & Mabel Normand comedy short. The film is considered lost.
The Alarm
1914
Movie5.8ComedyA villain, competing with his rival's race car, kidnaps the rival before the race. Mabel decides to take the wheel in his place.
Mabel at the Wheel
1914 · 47 votes
Movie6.5DramaComedyA compilation featuring comedic stars of the silent era including Fatty Arbuckle, Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Charley Chase, and Laurel and Hardy.
When Comedy Was King
1960 · 11 votes
Movie5.7ComedyMabel tries to sell hot dogs at a car race, but isn't doing a very good job at it. She sets down the box of hot dogs and leaves them for a moment. Charlie finds them and gives them away to the hungry spectators at the track as Mabel frantically tries to find her lost box of hot dogs. Mabel finds out that Charlie has stolen them and sends the police after him. Chaos ensues.
Mabel's Busy Day
1914 · 45 votes
Movie5.9ComedyMabel goes home after being humiliated by a masher whom her husband won't fight. The husband goes off to a bar and gets drunk.
Mabel's Married Life
1914 · 76 votes
Movie4.8ComedyA frustrated, protective father tries to stop his secretaries from falling in love with his charming daughter, Betty. He hires two secretaries— only for them to be in on the practical jokes Betty plays on her father.
Troublesome Secretaries
1911 · 2 votes
Movie5.5ComedyThe Tramp, a film Johnnie (someone who loiters near theaters or studios to meet stars or get a job), attempts to meet his favorite movie actress at the Keystone Studio, but does not win friends there.
A Film Johnnie
1914 · 78 votes
Movie5.3ComedyHello, Mabel (also known as On a Busy Wire) is a 1914 American short silent comedy film directed by Mack Sennett.
Hello, Mabel
1914 · 3 votes
- MovieComedy
A short silent comedy starring Mabel Normand and Ford Sterling.
Baby Day
1913
Movie4.4Mabel seems to be working ironing dresses in a dress shop when something catches her attention in a newspaper. Apparently, it is an ad on becoming a detective. Mabel goes rushing off to a Detective school run by Fred Ward.
Katchem Kate
1912 · 4 votes
Movie5.5ComedyThree men compete for the attentions of a pretty girl. One of them, a little tramp, plays dirty.
The Fatal Mallet
1914 · 49 votes
Movie4.9DocumentaryHistoryFirst National gala celebrity banquet with stars.
Seeing Stars
1922 · 18 votes
Movie6.4ComedyRomanceSue Graham is a small town girl who wants to be a motion picture star. She wins a contract when a picture of a very pretty girl is sent to a studio instead of her picture. When she arrives in Hollywood, the mistake is discovered and she starts working in the props department of the studio instead. Her parents then come out to California and invest some money with a very shifty individual.
The Extra Girl
1923 · 18 votes
Movie4.1ComedyAlthough Mabel’s parents disapprove of Roscoe and Mabel’s relationship, the two still secretly court. When a rivaling suitor named Reddy appears, the men fight for Mabel’s hand. Although successful, Roscoe witnesses Reddy fall into a well and instantly calls for help. As the police fish Reddy out of the well, the young lovers see their chance at freedom and run off to elope.
Those Country Kids
1914 · 9 votes