The Nickel-Hopper

Mabel Normand was the darling of the teens, starring in scores of short films with the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Roscoe Arbuckle, Buster Keaton, and Marie Dressler. Of course she co-starred with Dressler and Chaplin in the first feature-length comedy, Tillie's Punctured Romance, in 1914.It was a smash hit.

In 1918, Normand had the biggest hit of her career as the star of Mickey. In the early 20s she was peripherally involved in a few scandals and her career dried up. Despite the superb film, The Extra Girl in 1923, Normand was basically washed up. She tried Broadway; she went to Europe.

In the mid 20s she tried for a comeback and this 1926 short film, The Nickel-Hopper, was an attempt to return to her comedic roots. She was also backed by some major talent.

She plays a taxi dancer at a nickel a dance and supports her family. The dance scenes, thought brief, are very funny as she is hauled around the dance floor by a number of ridiculous men (including Boris Karloff as a masher). At home her father is a deadbeat, and poor Mabel doesn't even have a boy friend.

There are several terrific bits in this 37-minute film, and Normand is very good. She had a great deadpan delivery and made great use of her large eyes. The lady knew comedy.

Oliver Hardy (at the drums), James Finlayson, Margaret Seddon, Gus Leonard, Theodore von Eltz, and Michael Visaroff co-star. Stan Laurel co-scripted.

Partially written by Stan Laurel and Hal Roach, produced by Hal and directed by F. Richard Yates who also directed THE EXTRA GIRL (1923) this is a fabulously funny film. What a cast! Mabel Normand as the title character, a girl who works in a nickel-a-dance dive. She is described by a title card as "A girl who chased the bluebird of happiness but never caught a feather." Her good for nothing father is played by Michael Visaroff, who in 1931 would be the nervous innkeeper who tried to prevent Dwight Frye from going to Count Dracula's castle. The guy pounding the drums in the dancehall is Oliver Hardy, still one year away from his official teaming with Stan Laurel. Also in the cast, under a porkpie hat and behind a set of false teeth is Boris Karloff. Yes, I said Boris Karloff! Introduced as a "big bohunk" (an antiquated derogatory term for an unskilled labourer from Eastern Europe) Karloff tries to impress Mabel by flashing a ten dollar bill (admittedly a lot of money in those days) but she tosses the bill to a blind beggar. Karloff tries to steal the bill back but is spotted by a cop and chased out of the picture. A rich guy (Theodore von Eltz) spots Mabel but before they can live happily ever after there is a case of mistaken identity, a mad chase involving Mabel, her dad, the rich guy and his father (James Finlayson!). Since this is a comedy you KNOW there has to be a happy ending but there are a lot of laughs before we get to it! This is not an easy film to find on video (probably due to the 3 reel 37 minute running time) but it is well worth looking for. All these years later it is still just as hilarious as when it was new.

Mabel Normand was the leading lady in slapstick comedies at Mack Sennett's Keystone movie studio, and also Sennett's lover (and a talented director in her own right). After they quarrelled over Sennett's philandering, Normand left Keystone and tried her luck at other studios, including Goldwyn and Hal Roach. At the same time, she dropped her custard-pie slapstick technique, and evolved into a comic actress of genuine subtlety. But drug addiction, a tendency to squander her money, and some unfortunate personal habits all took their toll on Mabel, and she died at age 35. She never made a sound film.

"The Nickel-Hopper" stars Mabel Normand (post-Keystone) as a dance-hall girl. She dances with lonely men for five cents a time, which makes her a "nickel-hopper". This film is excellent: the plot is realistic, and Normand gives a believable performance. The comedy elements are strong, and well-balanced with touches of pathos. Normand's heroine is a working-class girl whom we actually care about. But this movie is stolen by two actors who were not yet famous: Boris Karloff and Oliver Hardy.

Karloff, looking young and handsome, plays a "masher" who persuades Mabel to leave the dance-hall with him. We can tell by the look on Karloff's face what sort of "date" he's got in mind for Mabel. When Mabel finds out what Boris is planning, she comes up with a brilliant (and brilliantly funny) way of getting rid of him. Watch the hilarious scene involving Mabel, Karloff, a blind man and a policeman. When the cop shows up, Boris Karloff does an "away we go!!" piece of physical comedy which is totally unexpected from this dramatic actor.

Oliver Hardy gives the most energetic performance of his career (and one of his funniest) as a jazz drummer in Mabel's dance hall. Stan Laurel doesn't appear in this film, but Laurel & Hardy fans will be intrigued to note that Laurel worked on the script of "The Nickel-Hopper", along with perennial Laurel & Hardy scriptwriter H.M. "Beany" Walker. James Finlayson, another favourite of Stan & Ollie's fans, makes a brief appearance in this movie. Years later, Karloff's ability to speak French earned him a chance to work with Laurel & Hardy, as the villain in the French-language version of their first starring feature, "Pardon Us". He's good in that film, but he's hilarious here. Make an effort to view "The Nickel-Hopper", a very funny comedy which hints at the career Mabel Normand might have achieved as a dramatic actress.

As someone who's enjoyed both Laurel and Hardy's and Boris Karloff's work for years, it's a fun novelty to see this film where, by chance, Stan Laurel directs and Oliver Hardy and Karloff both play small roles. It's Mabel Normand's starring comedy, though, of course, and she fills the star's shoes admirably. She signed on at Hal Roach from features and shorts, and though this was one of the shorts Mabel's was a big name it was given a longer-than-usual three reels at forty minutes.

This was made as her career was nearing it's end but she is still attractive, cute, and magnetic -- an automatic star and natural comedian. The three reels and a simple story allow this comedy to take its time and develop scenes and characters; this allows for plenty of humor to be drawn from character jokes about Mabel's loafing father, &c., and for her to utilize her subtle acting and comedy skills for laughs and substance in a way that wouldn't always have been possible in the fast-paced output of Mack Sennett's studios.

This means we get the full benefit of her never-dull reactions and expressions, in a demure yet feisty and also ironic performance with plenty of perfectly-timed eye-rolling. One delightfully minimalist scene that consists entirely of Mabel sitting on her front porch next to a boring date who says almost nothing becomes hilarious due to the time given her to react.

Oliver Hardy gets a good amount of screen time without much specific to do as a wildly enthusiastic drummer at the club where Mabel works as a dime-a-dance "instructor." He seems to be having a blast, though, and it's fun to see him so ridiculously animated. Karloff gets the chance to be creepy in a different way than we are used to see him, appearing in a couple of very funny scenes as an overly forward "masher" who forces himself on Mabel. In a great sequence she shakes him by tricking him into stealing from a blind beggar, then demurely tries to steal his car.

A sequence with a baby eating soap features some interesting early animation on live action and doesn't have much to do with what else is going on but is too charming not to like. In all this is a great showcase for its star and, like the best Hal Roach comedies, pure ebullient fun.

The Nickel Hopper is a true museum piece. It hearkens back to a time and place which have no relevance in todays' world. Old values and customs fairly make this film creak, but it is a chance to see first-hand the comedic genius of Mabel Normand. She had a true gift for comedy, with superb timing and subtle facial and body gestures - and she was in her element in this picture.

I haven't seen a lot of her films but having read about her career and judging from comments in discussions with others, I imagine this is pretty typical of her style. There is a humorous bit or two in almost every shot and here she is backed up by some Hollywood heavyweights in Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson and Boris Karloff. Stan Laurel is also given a writing credit for this one.

It may be dated but it's great fun.