The Extra Girl / The Gusher

Arguably the most gifted comedienne of the silent era, Mabel Normand was one of the popular stars in the talent pool of pioneering slapstick writer-producer Mack Sennett. The pair had a close relationship (and nearly married) during their productive partnership at Sennett's Keystone company, and as Normand's comedy skills developed, she directed (or co-directed) several shorts, including some in which she co-starred with fast-rising star Charlie Chaplin. Presented as part of Kino's Slapstick Symposium series, this DVD offers two films from the early and late stages of the Sennett/Normand partnership. The Extra Girl (1923) was Normand's final feature-length showcase, released at a time when her career was in decline due to connections to Hollywood scandals and her diminished popularity. Yet, this energetic feature finds Normand in fine form playing Sue Graham, a small-town girl who chooses Hollywood over a pair of would-be suitors, convinced that she has what it takes to be a movie star. Sue is joined in California by her hopeful parents, after which The Extra Girl flirts with serious melodrama when a scheming oil-company investor tries to bilk her family out of their hard-earned savings. Of course, all ends happily, and along the way Normand proves her pluck, especially in some genuinely hair-raising scenes involving a foul-tempered lion (scenes that would be unthinkable for the well-insured, well-protected actors of today). The decade-earlier companion short The Gusher (1913), produced and directed by Sennett as Normand's star was rising, finds the actress paired with frequent Keystone costar Ford Sterling in a 14-minute romp set on the oil fields of California. Again, Normand has two would-be suitors, one cheating the other during an oil-well transaction, but when the well unexpectedly turns out to be a gusher, Normand and Sterling are all smiles as the happy and rich couple-to-be. Think of it as the comedic flip-side to There Will Be Blood! Recommended. (J. Shannon)