Alice Howell Movies
With her fuzzy hairdo piled atop her dizzy head, a vacant stare, and a shuffling penguin walk as the finishing touch, Alice Howell is arguably the most unfairly neglected of the silent era's few female comedy stars. Howell, who plowed both vaudeville and burlesque with her husband as Howell & Howell, entered films with Mack Sennett's Keystone comedy factory in 1914. She was there during the time of Chaplin, which is the only reason her name has survived at all (they appeared together in Caught in a Cabaret and Laughing Gas, both 1914). But Mabel Normand received almost all the plum female roles at Keystone, and when the self-important Henry "Pathé" Lehrman left Sennett and failed to persuade Normand to come along, Howell joined the exodus. She became the Queen of the Lot at Lehrman's L-KO ("Lehrman-Knockout"), but was still considered a pale imitation of Normand. Still, Howell remained with L-KO for the duration of the company's existence before moving to the Stern brothers' Century comedies. Century released through Universal, and Howell saw her star rise dramatically. When Century suddenly changed gears towards child stars and performing animals, Howell left and signed with a new company, Reelcraft. It was a step down, and although frequently described as hilarious (if somewhat low-class), the Howell comedies played mainly the hinterlands. But Universal had never forgotten the dizzy dame with the hairdo, and Irving Thalberg, in one of his final decisions before moving over to MGM, teamed her with the debonair Neely Edwards and the rotund Bert Roach in an extremely successful series in which she and Edwards played a married couple, with Roach as their inept butler. Existing series' entries such as One Wet Night, in which the Edwards-Howell household is burglarized by a transvestite (leading Alice to suspect Neely of infidelity), are still mirth-provoking and do much to corroborate Stan Laurel's oft-quoted ranking of Howell as one of the screen's ten best "comediennes" of all time. Belonging thoroughly to the silent era, Howell retired with the advent of sound. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1923
This comedy-drama was just one of dozens made in the early '20s which cautioned against the evils of jazz while showing its wickedness in loving detail (by the middle of the decade, jazz baby Clara Bow made moralizing films like this one seem ridiculous). As Bessie Bowden, Marguerite de la Motte starts off as a nice, old-fashioned young lady. The equally nice, old-fashioned John Hargraves (Pat O'Malley) proposes to her and she accepts. But then Bessie becomes infatuated with jazz hound Austin Trull (Allan Forrest), and overnight she becomes a frivolous flapper. Hargraves, to his dismay, can't seem to get her attention. Bessie's father (William V. Mong) modernizes the family home and tries to keep up with Bessie's new pals in an attempt to keep his daughter around, and he encourages Hargraves to do the same. But Bessie only wakes up when she becomes the subject of a very risqué portrait. Realizing that she is at risk of losing her good name, she returns to Hargraves and respectability. Early silent comedienne Alice Howell adds comic relief as the family maid. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marguerite de la Motte, William V. Mong, (more)
- 1922
Because Owen Moore's biggest claim to fame is that he was Mary Pickford's husband before she fell in love with Douglas Fairbanks, his acting talents are generally overlooked. But he had a nice flare for farce, as he proves in this entertaining bit of fluff. Tony Churchill (Moore) has finally convinced Judge Griggs (Thomas Guise) that his past is squeaky clean and he is fit to marry the judge's daughter, Helen (Marjorie Daw). Just then Churchill's pal, Harold Wright (Arthur Hoyt), informs him that his old flame -- a chorus girl named Marion (Charlotte Mineau) -- is coming to town. Churchill had once made a not very sincere promise to marry her, but she plans to hold him to it. To get out of this dilemma, he convinces the wife (Alice Howell) of the building's superintendent (Snitz Edwards) to pretend she is married to Churchill. Since the super isn't aware of the arrangement, this causes some major complications; then Helen comes to believe that her fiancé is already married. She winds up waiting at the altar while Churchill dodges a process server and searches for some incriminating letters. He finally makes it to the church (though not on time) and the couple resolves the misunderstanding. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Owen Moore, Marjorie Daw, (more)
- 1919
Judging from existing footage, this comedy, featuring Alice Howell and a pre-Stan Laurel Oliver Hardy, may be a combination of two different films. It was shot long before its April 1920 release date, probably at the lot where L-KO studios and Century Comedies were shot (Hardy was working for L-KO at the same time Howell was at Century). Howell plays a milkmaid who works for a colorblind artist. The artist is arrested for moonshining, even though the real culprit is one Peeble Ford, a con artist (Hardy). The maid finds a baby, and the artist's wife, believing that it really is Alice's, kicks her out. Alice teams up with Ford, dancing in the streets for spare change with Ford grinding an organ. The revenue agent who arrested the artist sees Alice and invites her to his home. In spite of her crude, low-class behavior, the revenuer falls in love with her. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alice Howell, Oliver Hardy, (more)
This Keystone comedy, Charlie Chaplin's 33rd, is the first feature-length comedy ever made and contributed to making Chaplin and his co-star Marie Dressler major stars. Chaplin plays a con artist (not the Tramp) who talks Tillie, an innocent country lass, into taking her father's savings and running off to the city with him. Once there, he re-establishes his affair with the beautiful Mabel Normand, abandoning Tillie, who must begin working at a restaurant, while Charlie and Mabel spend her father's money for new clothes. Meanwhile, Tillie's millionaire uncle is reported to have died in a mountain-climbing accident. When the opportunistic Charlie learns that Tillie has just inherited three million dollars, he immediately rushes over to propose. She joyfully accepts, but is suspicious when she learns of her inheritance. Later, at a wedding gala at Tillie's new mansion where Normand has begun working as a maid, Charlie sneaks off for a little tete-a-tete with the latter. Trouble erupts when Dressler catches them smooching. Suddenly all the slapstick craziness for which director Mack Sennett is famous erupts as Tillie grabs a pistol and begins chasing Charlie and Mabel, firing randomly. Just as the wayward Charlie is to be strangled to death, the "late" uncle suddenly appears and ejects all the celebrants. Charlie and Mabel, chased by Tillie, race out of the ruined mansion to a pier where they are followed by the ubiquitous Keystone Kops whom the uncle has summoned. Tillie ends up in the drink, and when rescued after numerous attempts, she rejects Charlie while consoling Mabel, saying, "He ain't no good to neither of us," as the Kops drag Charlie away. ~ Phil Posner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Dressler, Charles Chaplin, (more)
- 1914
Charlie Chaplin's musical career is as a piano mover for a music store in this, his 31st comedy for Keystone. The film was a direct inspiration for Laurel and Hardy's 1932 short, The Music Box. His Little Fellow is not a tramp but a hard-working laborer. Charlie is first seen applying for his job, being examined, muscles and even teeth, by Mack Swain. In the showroom, we see Mr. Rich (Fritz Schade) deciding to buy a piano from salesman Charley Chase, and a few moments later, Mr. Poor being threatened that his piano will be repossessed if he can't make his payments. Mack and Charlie are sent to deliver the one piano and pick up the other, for which, of course, they will mix up the addresses. As they take the piano outside, Mack pulls Charlie along the showroom floor, as Charlie smiles to the camera, expressing his delight in a free ride. They load the piano onto the horse-drawn wagon. At one point the slope is so severe that when Mack leans to the back of the wagon, the donkey is lifted right off the ground. Arriving at Mr. Poor's house the residents are delighted that they seem to be receiving a free piano, as Charlie carries the piano on his back and must be straightened out by boss Mack. Next, the movers proceed to Mr. Rich's house and proceed to take his piano, over the objections of Mrs. Rich Cecile Arnold. Mr. Rich arrives as Charlie and Mack get the piano out to the sidewalk. A kick to Mack's backside sends Charlie, Mack, and the piano skidding down a steep hill, and to Mr. Rich's horror, into Echo Lake in Westlake Park where Charlie plays some last notes before they begin to sink. ~ Phil Posner, All Movie Guide
- 1914
Charlie Chaplin's 12th film for the Keystone company was also his directorial debut, receiving co-directing credit with co-star, Mabel Normand. Chaplin plays a waiter in a seedy cabaret who is always in trouble with his boss, Edgar Kennedy, and at odds with another waiter, Chester Conklin. While walking his dachshund in a park during his lunch break, he rescues rich-girl Mabel from the clutches of a thief who has chased away her boyfriend, Harry McCoy. Charlie introduces himself as O.T. Axle, Ambassador from Greece, (the first of Chaplin's "impersonation" roles) and is brought home to meet her parents and receive their thanks, much to the chagrin of Mabel's boyfriend. He receives an invitation to return later for a garden party. The suspicious boyfriend follows Charlie back to work and discovers the truth. Back at work Charlie deals with a bullying customer, Mack Swain, by serving him a drink and knocking him out with a large mallet when Swain tilts his head back to drink. Later, at the garden party, Charlie misbehaves, getting drunk, flirting with Mabel and singing loudly along with the band. The boyfriend, watching from a distance is now determined to expose him. When Charlie takes his leave to return to work, Harry suggests that the party go slumming to the very cabaret at which Charlie works. When the upper-class guests arrive, they are treated like royalty by the workers and other patrons. When Charlie discovers them at his table he hides the apron he's wearing and sits down next to Mabel, pretending that he's another guest. When the boss scolds him for sitting down on the job, Charlie is exposed as a lowly waiter, much to the shock of Mabel and her father. A melee then ensues between Charlie and his pistol-wielding Boss, whom Charlie knocks out while Mabel hides under a table. Charlie protests his love for Mabel, but she responds with a final knockout blow. ~ Phil Posner, All Movie Guide
- 1914
In his 19th film for Keystone, Charlie Chaplin plays a somewhat more sympathetic role as the husband of comedienne Mabel Normand. As so many of his Keystone comedies do, it begins in a park where Mack Swain, dressed in a sporty outfit and carrying a tennis racquet, leaves his wife seated on a bench and goes off to a neighboring saloon. Charlie and Mabel are seated on a nearby bench arguing about the state of Charlie's worn out shoes. Charlie goes off for a drink in the saloon, passing Mack on the way in, who returns to the park and begins to flirt with Mabel. She is first bemused by his attentions but then is outraged when Charlie returns and is unable to rescue her. In fact he isn't even able to get Mack's attention despite increasingly hard kicks to Mack's posterior, anticipating Charlie's confrontation with the bully in Easy Street. Mack eventually flings Charlie's top hat off in the direction of the bench where Mack's wife is seated. While Charlie retrieves the hat, Mack takes Mabel over to the lake shore where, despite her protestations and calls for Charlie to help her, he persists in mashing her. Mack's wife hears the commotion and, with Charlie, she confronts Mack and Mabel, accusing Mabel of flirting with Mack. Charlie, angry with Mabel, sends her home. Mabel, angry with Charlie for his weakness in not defending her, buys a prizefighter's dummy, which is dressed just like Mack, from a sporting goods store. Meanwhile, Charlie has returned to the saloon where he is harassed by the other patrons including Mack. Finally, Charlie is drunk enough to defend himself which he does by felling all four patrons with one well-placed kick. The dummy is delivered to Charlie and Mabel's apartment, and when Charlie comes home, he drunkenly believes the dummy to be Mack. He is intimidated by the dummy and tries to pacify it, offering it a drink. Whenever he pushes it, it rebounds and knocks him to the floor. Finally, Mabel enters from the bedroom and shows her soused husband that he's been afraid of a dummy. ~ Phil Posner, All Movie Guide
- 1914
Charlie Chaplin's 20th film for Keystone marks a turning point in his career. From this point on, with one exception, he was to write and direct all his future films. In Laughing Gas Chaplin plays a dentist's assistant who is first seen entering the office officiously. The patients are fooled into thinking he is the dentist himself, until he picks up the spittoons and exits to a back room. He confronts a midget-size co-worker there. The Dentist finally arrives and the first patient is admitted. Laughing gas is administered, and the extraction performed, but the dentist is not able to awaken the patient. He sends Chaplin out to the pharmacy for an antidote. Chaplin encounters Mack Swain who is standing in front of the pharmacy, blocking the entrance. Chaplin gains entrance by performing some of his famous hat tricks, which non plus Swain. Exiting the pharmacy Chaplin gets into a fight with Swain which evolves into brick throwing, during which Swain and an innocent bystander, Slim Summerville, are both hit in the face, turning them both into dental patients. On his way back to the office, Chaplin encounters and flirts with the dentist's wife and accidentally tears off her skirt. When Chaplin arrives with the medicine, the patient has left, and the dentist has been called away to attend his distraught wife. Chaplin admits a beautiful female patient who he pretends to examine but with whom he flirts by grasping her nose with a pair of pliers and kissing her, to her apparent amusement. Summerville and Swain then arrive at the office and Swain catches sight of Chaplin in the back room. The dentist and his wife arrive and a melee ensues in which everyone is literally kicked out onto the pavement, except Chaplin and the wife who collapse in the waiting room. ~ Phil Posner, All Movie Guide
- 1914
Charlie Chaplin's 13th film for Keystone marked his first solo effort as writer and director. It follows the well-trodden path of the classic Keystone park/hotel farces with a few twists added in. The film opens in Westlake Park where a couple (Mack Swain and Alice Davenport) are seated on a bench. When hubby gets up to buy refreshments at a nearby stand, we first see the Tramp by a drinking fountain as he flirts with Alice. Mack returns and chases Charlie off, fighting with Alice all the while, and the arguing couple return to their hotel, while The Tramp goes off to a saloon. Later arriving at the hotel, where it turns out, they are all guests, Charlie wreaks a bit of havoc in the lobby, flirting with the ladies and upsetting the desk clerk. His acrobatic efforts to mount the stairs in his inebriated condition anticipates his classic short One A.M. When he finally makes it upstairs, he enters the wrong room, interrupting the now reconciled Mack and Alice. Mack, jealous again, ejects the interloper from the room and Charlie returns to his own room across the hall where he comically prepares for bed. Meanwhile Mack has gone out for a drink, and his sleepwalking wife now enters Charlie's room, sits on his bed waking him up, and begins searching his pants for money. Just as Charlie wakes her up and is about to escort her back to her room, Mack appears in the hall. Panicked, Alice pushes Charlie, still in his pajamas, out the window and onto the balcony, in the middle of a drenching deluge. The suspicious Mack again takes up the fight with his wife. Spotting Charlie on the balcony, a Keystone Kop on the sidewalk below assumes he's a burglar and begins firing his pistol, forcing Charlie to burst back into the room. A melee ensues in which the cops are scared away, Mack collapses in Charlie's room, and Charlie and Alice pass out on the hallway floor. ~ Phil Posner, All Movie Guide
- 1914
Although better known as Charlie Chaplin's 17th appearance in a Keystone comedy, The Knockout is really a Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle film. The big event in Fatty's town is a prizefight in which champ Cyclone Flynn will meet all comers. Fatty is tricked into accepting the fight by two hobos who are making book on the fight. Through a note ostensibly from Flynn, they offer Fatty a split if he throws the fight, but Fatty, thinking one of the hobos is Flynn, refuses. The real Flynn arrives and dispatches the impostors. The match proceeds with heavy betting going on and Fatty's girlfriend dressed as a boy in order to gain entrance to the arena. Charlie is the referee who is constantly being knocked down by the fighters because he keeps getting in between them. Angered by losing after a short count, Fatty grabs two six-guns from a gambler at ringside and begins firing in all directions. Cyclone takes to his heels and a classic rooftop Keystone chase ensues, with the Keystone Kops in pursuit of Fatty, in pursuit of Cyclone. When the Kops lasso Fatty, he drags six of them along the ground by the rope until he leaps off a pier taking them all with him. With everyone treading water, the Kops surround Fatty as the film ends. ~ Phil Posner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Minta Durfee, (more)
