Back in the 1910s and 20s, Mabel Normand was a hot property in silent comedies. She was such a bit force in the industry that she had much more control over her films than most actors or actresses and soon moved from her original studio, Keystone, to others offering her more money and more prestigious pictures. One of these more prestigious pictures was "Raggedy Rose"--a film which actually hasn't fared very well over the years. I also assume it's from Hal Roach Studio (since it's their style of film and features some Roach actors and Stan Laurel assisting the director) but the film is so grainy you cannot tell who made it in the opening titles and the end titles are mostly missing.
Rose is a poor lady working for a stingy and VERY stereotypical Jewish boss (Max Davidson). She hears from an old co-worker that her life improved when she was hit by a car! Yes, the lady got a lot of money for her trouble and loved going to the hospital, where they fed her as much as she wanted! When the nasty boss fires Rose, she is determined to get hit by a car--or at least pretend to. Eventually, folks think she's been hit and instead of taking her to the hospital, they take her to the home of a nice rich guy, Mr. Miller. Carl Miller is being actively pursued by a greedy lady and her equally greedy mother--and they worry that Rose and Miller might be an item, so they decide to get rid of her. What's next? See the film.
The film has a few gags that work. Unfortunately, the 'big laugh getter' isn't the least bit funny but is actually quite stupid. James Finlayson's character simply makes no sense and as the film progresses he begins to behave and talk more and more insane. I think this was intended to be funny but isn't and actually got in the way of the story. All in all, while this should have been a great Normand film, it's far from her best work.
Rose is a poor lady working for a stingy and VERY stereotypical Jewish boss (Max Davidson). She hears from an old co-worker that her life improved when she was hit by a car! Yes, the lady got a lot of money for her trouble and loved going to the hospital, where they fed her as much as she wanted! When the nasty boss fires Rose, she is determined to get hit by a car--or at least pretend to. Eventually, folks think she's been hit and instead of taking her to the hospital, they take her to the home of a nice rich guy, Mr. Miller. Carl Miller is being actively pursued by a greedy lady and her equally greedy mother--and they worry that Rose and Miller might be an item, so they decide to get rid of her. What's next? See the film.
The film has a few gags that work. Unfortunately, the 'big laugh getter' isn't the least bit funny but is actually quite stupid. James Finlayson's character simply makes no sense and as the film progresses he begins to behave and talk more and more insane. I think this was intended to be funny but isn't and actually got in the way of the story. All in all, while this should have been a great Normand film, it's far from her best work.