Mickey

'Mickey', as all Mabel Normand films, has her at the centre of attention from the beginning till the end. The camera, the action, the entire plot, are all attracted to her like magnets. And Normand is excellent in this film, establishing her status as silent era's first lady of comedy.

And we do have a great comedy. Full of suspense, 'Mickey' is never tiring, never boring. We are to witness the adventures of a mine-owner young girl, who cares for mining as much as donkeys care for belts being pushed down their throats. She is a mischievous child who, even when she is brought in the rich household of her aunt in the East, never tires to be a child. Yet it is remarkable what love can do.

The supporting cast is all first rate, with Wheeler Oakman, George Nichols, Minnie Devereaux or Laura La Varnie, all delivering some great comedic performances that seem to be untouched by the axe of time. But they are all there for Normand, who does everything from jumping nude into the water to riding horses and some impressive high altitude stunts. She was one of a kind, and 'Mickey' is there to prove it.

I sure wish someone would restore the prints and create new soundtracks for these silent gems. This one, Mickey, a Mabel Normand - Mack Sennett comedy, is virtually screaming out for a restoration. It was extremely popular when it first came out in 1918, and a song "Mickey" sold a million sheets, and was recorded by many of the orchestras and singers of the day on 78 rpm records.

It's great fun, with Mabel (Mickey) playing a country miner's daughter who is sent East to live a privileged life in Great Neck, Long Island. Only the aunt who takes her in discovers that Mickey's mine is failing and so the poor girl is made a servant.

There is a sweet romance that brightens up the action, fight scenes, and a rather risque sequence where Mabel runs through the woods and dives from a rock into a lake stark naked. Definitely made before censorship came in!

Mickey is a great feature to watch if you are interested in what made Mabel Normand such a great star in her day. Drama queens in the silents are a dime a dozen, but true comedy stars, especially female, are rare and should never be forgotten.

Mickey (1918)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

When Mack Sennett and Mabel Normand's personal relationship took a hit (two stories are out there), he tried to bring some peace by forming the Mabel Normand Feature Film Company, a separate division of Keystone. This new studio only turned out one film but it was a hit for the studio even after a disastrous production. In the film Normand plays Mickey, a poor girl helping her uncle in a worthless mine. Feeling she's all grown up, the uncle sends her to New York to live with an aunt hoping that she will turn the young lady into a woman. MICKEY is pretty predictable from start to finish and I even though some of the 74-minute running time dragged in spots. Still, it's easy to see that everything going on was just done so that Normand could shine and I think she does just that. There's no question that it's Normand who makes the film worth seeing due to her very strong performance. She's pleasant no matter what situation is in front of her. It could be the early tomboy stuff in the mines, the scenes where she's trying to figure out you don't sweep dirt under a rug or the scenes where she must make decisions for the rest of her life. Mabel is clearly the star of this picture and without her the bland story would have killed any shot at an entertaining movie.

The adventures of a gold miner's daughter, Mickey stars Mabel Normand, who was one of the biggest film stars of the teens and 20s. In a series of episodes that are loosely connected, Normand plays a Cinderella-like character who goes to live with a relative (Laura La Varnie) but when it's discovered the gold mine is a bust, she is made a maid in the household. But she catches the eye of the old lady's daughter (Minta Durfee) and is eventually sent back to the country just as the mine strikes it big. The suitor (Wheeler Oakman) follows her. The plot seems to stray here and there without much narrative thread. At one point, a lecher (Lewis Cody) is chasing Mabel around a mansion, and then we're off to the horse races. But while the episodes are tacked together, Mabel Normand holds the viewer's attention throughout the 90 minutes.

This film was co-produced by Normand and Mack Sennett. George Nichols, Minnie Devereaux, Tom Kennedy, and Edgar Kennedy co-star. And yes Minta Durfee was famous for being the wife of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, a famous co-star with Normand in many short films. And the music by Neil Moret (who died in 1943) is absolutely great. I hummed the songs for days and learned to play them on the piano.

Mack Sennett and star Mabel Normand co-produced this 1918 silent comedy/melodrama which, surely, satisfied the era's moviegoers. Normand, a natural comedienne, plays "Mickey," an orphan raised by a rough and grizzled down-on-his-luck miner abetted by a corpulent, exasperated but loving woman-of-all-chores.

Back East, New York to be exact, Mickey's aunt, as impecunious as she is extravagant, skirts with ruin as she hopes her daughter will win the affections of The Decent Man. Scheming mom and grasping daughter hope an engagement will bring them real solvency.

Not too hard to guess what happens. As the piano music goes on - and on and on and on - the hero goes West to handle a mine boundary issue. He meets the sparkling Mickey and her menagerie before she leaves for the East with her miner guardian. But the seeds of love have been planted.

Mickey's been cordially invited to live with auntie under that harridan's very mistaken and soon to be blown belief that the young girl is the key to a rich mine's bounty. Finding that to be very wrong, Mickey is ordered into domestic service by nasty auntie. Yep, Cinderella story, sort of. And we all know - as did the Great War audiences - how such stories MUST end. A happy Mickey and her guy.

Sennett was a master at comedies that entertained without surprising. No dazzling or innovative cinematography here, just a guaranteed good hour and a half at the theater (or, now, in front of a TV).

Normand strayed off the reservation of both respectability and sobriety not that many years after "Mickey" when she was at the height of popular acclaim with a Goldwyn contract. Stars didn't have the bounce-back capability many seem to enjoy today and her close association with two lurid murders, neither of which she was implicated in, hastened a downward spiral already in freefall.

She died fairly young of tuberculosis, her career practically ended. But she remains alive in films that show the depth of comedic ability of a talented actress who could make audiences laugh without their ever hearing her utter a syllable. "Mickey" is one of her best efforts.

In 1970, Bernadette Peters, who just opened in a well-received Broadway revival of "Gypsy," played Mabel in "Maude and Mack," a musical about the director/star duo. The play didn't do well on the Great White Way but it's become something of a staple for amateur theatrical groups. Normand would have appreciated that.

Well worth renting or buying.

8/10.