The Speed Kings

The Speed Kings (1913)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Mabel Normand and her Papa (Ford Sterling) are heading to the local race but with different men on their minds. Papa wants his daughter to marry Earl Cooper but Mabel has her eyes on Teddy Tetzlaff. Once at the race it's full of excitement as the men battle to win while Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle shows up to create even more damage.

Here's a Mack Sennett short that is mildly entertaining but for the most part I'd argue that there really weren't too many actual laughs. The main reason to watch this is that there are some real racing figures who appear and I think getting to see the old time racing styles. Of course, being a Sennett film, a lot of stuff comes off as if they're just making it up on the spot, which results in a rather crazy style and atmosphere but it just doesn't get the laughs needed to make the film better.

Max Sennett's Keystone Studio was contractually obligated to produce two two-reelers, about 40 minutes of film a week. When he did not have any ideas, he just dragged some of his comedians to a public event and made up a story on the spot. That is why there is no logic, but a great deal of silliness, hand waving, punching and kicking.

The racing scenes in this are a bit tiresome, but I'm sure it was interesting to an 1912 audience, many of whom had never seen such a thing before. The physical humor by Ford, Mabel and Roscoe is quite funny as they always are. One had to appreciate the acrobatics of Arbuckle, the enthusiastic expressions of Normand and the incredible monologue that Sterling has with himself and the audience. Together, they are a grand group capturing a unique and playfully surrealistic moment in time.

Be sure to watch a good and full print. There are many incomplete and poor prints circulating.

The opportunistic use of famous racing drivers of the day highlights the fact that director Wilfred Lucas had no plot to work with and simply winged it on race day. Desperately unfunny despite the efforts of Normand, Sterling and Arbuckle.

Ah, Mabel Normand, from the days when being a wild cokeheaded actress meant something. This is an early one from the Keystone days and the print I saw had some inexplicable stuff tacked onto the end, looked like Fatty and Laurel fighting for some reason.

The main film is a car race with a mean ol daddy who will give his daughter, the desirable Mabel, to the winner. She prefers one fellow, Teddy Tetzlaff, and her dad roots for Earl Cooper. It seems that is the names of the actors. The print carries no credits.

Oddly, the bad guy wins, and we have no reason to know why he is a bad guy, nor why Mabel seems unfazed. Its after the race that the unexplained tussle between two guys we haven't seen before occurs. There are crowd scenes, so this may have been one of those movies made on a day when a real race was run. The race footage might have been exciting for the times.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

The Keystone short comedy "The Speed Kings" served mostly as a pretext for showing extended footage of racing cars with their real-life drivers. Since automobiles and movies were both still rather new, this was probably fun and exciting to watch at the time. And it is still enjoyable to see extensive footage of Teddy Tetzlaff and Earl Cooper, plus a glimpse of Barney Oldfield.

It also features Mabel Normand as a fan watching a big race, and 'Fatty' Arbuckle in a small part, but in the actual story, that's about it. The plot is thin, and there is not much actual comedy, just a couple of worthwhile gags.

Because of the footage of some of the top racers of the day, it's certainly of historical interest, and that's really the main reason to watch it. But you could certainly do far worse with your free time than spending it watching Mabel Normand plus some rather interesting historical footage.