This 1913 Mack Sennett effort is good enough to have been copied later in animation history. When you watch this film, put these into place place - Mack Sennett - the shy suitor who is a good guy (Dudley DoRight)
Mabel Normand - the damsel in distress (Nell Fenwick)
Ford Sterling - the mustached villain (Snydley Whiplash)
The plot pretty much follows the spoof of the cartoon but this is decades earlier. It is well done because it is short & the action is pretty much non-stop. It has the classic chase / race scenario which was used decades later in Smokey & The Bandit.
Throw in the Keystone Cops, Barney Oldfield and his race car, chaining the damsel to the rail road tracks, the hand car, & stealing a locomotive, & this has all the elements you want for 10 or 11 minutes of fun & suspense.
For 1913, it is well done. This is film making by the seat of your pants. It's a good thing that Sennett & company held onto theirs as this early film is one of the reasons film became a growing industry. This is a classic film but not a great film. It is the Keystone to a growing number of gems produced later & inspired a cartoon too boot.
Mabel Normand - the damsel in distress (Nell Fenwick)
Ford Sterling - the mustached villain (Snydley Whiplash)
The plot pretty much follows the spoof of the cartoon but this is decades earlier. It is well done because it is short & the action is pretty much non-stop. It has the classic chase / race scenario which was used decades later in Smokey & The Bandit.
Throw in the Keystone Cops, Barney Oldfield and his race car, chaining the damsel to the rail road tracks, the hand car, & stealing a locomotive, & this has all the elements you want for 10 or 11 minutes of fun & suspense.
For 1913, it is well done. This is film making by the seat of your pants. It's a good thing that Sennett & company held onto theirs as this early film is one of the reasons film became a growing industry. This is a classic film but not a great film. It is the Keystone to a growing number of gems produced later & inspired a cartoon too boot.