'Mabel at the Wheel' is more Mabel Normand's vehicle than Charles Chaplin's. She is the star in this one and a shining star. Chaplin is going against his usual on-screen persona and is a full-fledged villain, but he is still amusing to watch. He goes wonderfully over the top while scheming how to ruin the race first for Mabel's boyfriend and then for Mabel. Although his motivations seem to remain unclear. At first Chaplin's Villain seems to compete with the racing driver over the heart of Mabel. But when the competition is removed and Mabel takes the wheel, the Villain goes on and tries to sabotage her race causing many life-threatening moments for her. One can assume that when he wasn't able to win over the girl, his main motivation became to kill her. A pretty dark theme for slapstick comedy.
The story is clear, not overly confusing plus the racing sequences are very interesting. It seems that there was more effort put into this one than many other Keystone productions. It might be because Mable Normand directed this film together with Mack Sennet. Mable, being a star, wanted a more polished film.
'Mabel at the Wheel' is one of the best early Chaplin's movies and probably my favorite Mabel Normand movie. It was his eleventh film - imagine - making eleven movies within barely three months. What a schedule.
I hereby recommend reading wmorrow59 review which shares some light behind the scenes on how Mabel and Chaplin didn't get along.
The story is clear, not overly confusing plus the racing sequences are very interesting. It seems that there was more effort put into this one than many other Keystone productions. It might be because Mable Normand directed this film together with Mack Sennet. Mable, being a star, wanted a more polished film.
'Mabel at the Wheel' is one of the best early Chaplin's movies and probably my favorite Mabel Normand movie. It was his eleventh film - imagine - making eleven movies within barely three months. What a schedule.
I hereby recommend reading wmorrow59 review which shares some light behind the scenes on how Mabel and Chaplin didn't get along.