Minta: I’d just LOVE it. And don’t forget those pictures you want to send to me, I’ll be grateful for them.
Stephen: All right, I will. I’ll have copies made. You’d like to have the copies sent?
Minta: Yes.
Stephen: You want Mack Sennett; you want one of Mabel, by herself, and there’s another one I have, I don’t have it with me here, two of them I’d like you to see, there’s one, -- I didn’t bring them all with me, you can realize they’re pretty valuable, for traveling around. And my publisher’s very fussy, too. About copies and things like that. But for you, it doesn’t make any difference, but I wouldn’t give pictures to just anybody, see, as you know, when pictures are copied, it makes the rarity of them go down. Much less.
Minta: Yes. This Stuart Oderman that I know in New York City, rather he lives in East Orange, but I mean he plays for these museums and all, and he’s so nuts about this stuff, he buys only, he pays any price, he bought a new picture of Mabel that he found out here. I don’t know, I think he paid $25. for it. And things of that kind. And when you get back home, and get in touch with me, I’d like to have you get in touch with HIM. Because he likes to say (see?) things that you do, and --
Stephen: You mentioned someone else before that saw the play with you. Who saw the play with you? Julia was telling me about another fellow that was out here.
Minta: That’s Stuart Oderman. he is a teacher; his whole life is music and nostalgia and the theaters. And he has a friend by the name of Mr. Lee that was with WOR, and this man has such a collection, as you’ve never seen in your lifetime, and when he retired from WOR he took to his great garage and made a theater in it, and people come from all over.
Stephen: I was telling Don, if he gets to the East coast, stop by and say hello. (End of Tape REEL 6A)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Balshofer, Fred and Miller, Arthur. One Reel A Week.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967.
Berstein, Arnie (editor). “The Movies Are”: Carl Sandburg’s Film Reviews and Essays, 1920-1928.
Chicago: Lake Claremont Press, 2000.
Blum, Daniel.
A Pictorial History of the Silent Screen.
New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1953.
Bowser, Eileen, editor.
Biograph Bulletins: 1908-1912.
New York: Octagon Books, 1973.
Chaplin, Charles.
My Autobiography.
New York: Simon and Schuster, 1964.
Cooper, Graham C., Steven Higgins, Elaine Mancini, Joao Luiz Vieira.
D.W. Griffith and the Biograph Company.
Metuchen, NJ: Scarecow Press, 1985.
Dressler, Marie.
My Own Story.
Boston: Little Brown & Co., 1934.
Drew, William M. Speaking of Silents
Vestal, NY: Vestal Press, 1989.
Eyman, Scott.
Mary Pickford: America’s Sweetheart
New York: Donald I Fine, 1990.
Florey, Robert.
Hollywood D’Hier et D’Aujourd Hui.
Paris: Editions Prisma, 1948.
Fowler, Gene.
Father Goose.
New York: Covici-Friede, 1934.
Fussell, Betty H.
Mabel: Holywood’s First I-Don’t Care-Girl.
New Haven & New York: Ticknor and Fields, 1982.
Goldwyn, Samuel.
Behind the Screen.
New York: Geo. H. Doran, 1923.
Griffith, Mrs. D. W. (Linda Arvidson).
When the Movies Were Young.
New York: Blom, 1968.
Hampton, Vernon B.
Staten Island’s Claim to Fame: The Garden Spot of New York Harbor
Staten Island, New York: Richmond Borough Publishing & Printing Co., 1925.
Kirkpatrick, Sidney.
A Cast of Killers.
New York: E.P. Dutton, 1986.
Lahue, Kalton and Brewster, Terry. Kops and Custards.
Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1968.
Lahue, Kalton.
Mack Sennett: The Man, The Myth, and The Comedies.
South Brunswick, NJ: A.S. Barnes, 1971.
Lahue, Kalton.
World of Laughter: The Motion Picture Comedy Short 1910-1930.
Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1966.
Lahue, Kalton, and Gill, Sam.
Clown Princes and Court Jesters.
South Brunswick, NJ: A.S. Barnes, 1970.
Long, Bruce.
William Desmond Taylor: A dossier.
Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1991.
Loos, Anita.
A Girl as I,
New York: Viking 1966
Loos Anita.
, The Talmadge Girls,
NY: Viking 1978
Maltin, Leonard.
The Great Movie Comedians.
New York: Bell Publishing, 1982.
Marx, Arthur.
Goldwyn: Autobiography of the Man Behind the Myth.
New York: Norton, 1976.
Mathieu, Thierry Georges.
La Naissance de Charlot, Keystone – 1914 (“Chaplin at Keystone” series of film studies)
La Reole, France: Ars Regula, 2002-2005
Specific titles of interest:
Revue no. 2: “Kid’s Auto Race,” “Mabel’s Straneg Predicament”
Revue no. 6: “Mabel at the Wheel,” “Twenty Minutes of Love”
Revue no. 7: “Caught in a Cabaret,” “Caught in the Rain”
Revue no. 8: “A Busy Day,” “The Fatal Mallet”
Revue no. 9: “Her Friend the Bandit,” “The Knockout”
Revue no. 10: “Mabel’s Busy Day,” “Mabel’s Married Life”
Revue no. 18: “His Trysting Pace”
Revue no. 19: “Getting Acquainted”
McDonald, Gerald D., Conway, Michael and Ricci, Mark. The Films of Charlie Chaplin.
Seacaucus, NJ: Citadel Press, 1965.
Niver, Kemp. Motion Pictures from the Library of Congress Paper Print Collection.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967.
Normand, Stephen.
Mabel Normand: Her grand-nephew’s memoir
Films in Review, Aug-Sept. 1974:
Oderman, Stuart.
Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle: A Biography of the Silent Film Comedian, 1877-1933.
Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 1994.
Oderman, Stuart.
The Keystone Crowd: Mack, Mabel, the Kops and the Girls (1908-1915). Albany, Georgia: Bear Manor Media, 2007.
Parsons, Louella.
The Gay Illiterate.
New York: Doubleday, 1944.
Ramsaye, Terry.
A Million and One Nights.
New York: Simon and Schuster, 1926
Robinson, David.
Chaplin: His Life and Art.
New York: McGraw Hill, 1985.
Robinson, David.
Hollywood in the Twenties.
South Brunswick, NJ: A.S. Barnes, 1968.
Sennett, Mack, with Cameron Shipp.
The King of Comedy.
Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1954.
Sherwood, Robert E.
Best Moving Pictures of 1922-23, Also Who’s Who in the Movies.
Boston: Small, Maynard, 1923
Skretvedt, Randy. Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies.
Beverly Hills, CA: Past Times Pub., 1994.
Slide, Anthony and Wagenknecht, Edward.
Fifty Great American Silent Films: 1912-1920.
New York: Dover Publications, 1980.
Sobel, Bernard.
Broadway Heartbeats.
New York: Hermitage House, 1953.
Sobel, Raoul and Francis, David.
Chaplin: Genesis of a Clown.
New York: Quartet Books, 1977.
Spears, Jack.
Hollywood: The Golden Era.
New York: Castle Books, 1971.
St. Johns, Adela Rogers. The Honeycomb.
Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1969.
St. Johns, Adela Rogers.
Love, Laughter and Tears.
Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1978.
Vidor, King.
A Tree Is A Tree.
New York: Harcourt Brace, 1953.
Yallop David.
The Day the Laughter Stopped.
New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1976.
Walker, Brent E.
Mack Sennett’s Fun Factory
Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland Press, 2009
White, Wendy Warwick.
Ford Sterling: The Life and Films.
Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland Press, 2006.
FILMOGRAPHY
_________________________________________________________________
This filmography has been years in the making and has been complied from various and diverse sources, all of which have been checked against each other for accuracy. Some of the primary sources, other than viewings of the original films themselves, have included the following:
The Great Movie Comedians by Leonard Maltin
D. W. Griffith and the Biograph Company by Cooper C. Graham, et. al.
Kops and Custards by Kalton Lahue
Mack Sennett: The Man, The Myth and the Comedies by Kalton Lahue
Films from the Library of Congress Paper Print Collection by Kemp Niver
The Films of Mabel Normand, by Betty Fussell in Film History, Nov-Dec. 1988, Vol. 2, no. 4
Scripts for Mabel’s Goldwyn films contained in the MGM Archives of the University of Southern California’s Film Library, Special Collections
Biograph production records contained in The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Margaret Herrick Library, Special Collections
In recording the data on the films Mabel made with Arbuckle I have when in doubt referred to Sam Gill’s Arbuckle filmography found in David Yallop’s The Day The Laughter Stopped and Andy Edmond’s Frame-Up!: The Untold Story of Fatty Arbuckle. However, it should be noted that Kalton Lahue, in Kops and Custards, makes the comment that “Charles Avery is known to have directed thirty-one of the early Arbuckle Keystones,” a fact which, if true, is at odds with Sam’s listing.243
With regard to Mabel’s feature films, an effort has been made to identify which actor played which part. Yet as there are some gaps in the record, particularly with respect to some of the Goldwyn films, this has not always been possible. Fortunately, however, those feature films which do not list who played which part are the exception and not the rule.
Film with asterisks (*) indicate films known to still be in existence. The following are the codes for identifying their location. Films marked with asterisk without source location given are known to be in the possession of private collectors.
Archive code:
LC Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., MOMA Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, EG Em Gee Film Library, Los Angeles, CA, Blackhawk Blackhawk Films Collection, Killiam Killiam Films
OVER THE GARDEN WALL
Vitagraph
973 ft., released: June 10, 1910
cast: Maurice Costello, Florence Turner, Mabel Normand, Willie Marks, Kenneth Casey, Adele DeGarde
TWO OVERCOATS
Vitagraph
rel: June 24, 1911
Dir. George Baker
John Bunny, Flora Finch, William Shea, Kate Price, Mabel Normand (?)
WILFUL PEGGY*
Biograph
957 ft., rel: August 29, 1910
Dir. D.W. Griffith
cast: Mary Pickford, Henry Walthall, Claire McDowell, Kate Bruce, Verner Clarges, Robert Harron, Mabel Normand (extra)
BETTY BECOMES A MAID
Vitagraph
length: 957 ft., rel: Mar. 14, 1911
cast: Mabel Normand, James Morrison, Leo Delaney
TROUBLESOME SECRETARIES *
Vitagraph
1 reel, rel: Apr. 21, 1911
Dir.: Ralp Ince
cast: John Bunny, Mabel Normand, Ralph Ince, James Morrison, Alec B. Francis
* Blackhawk, about a split reel survives of this film.
PICCIOLA
Vitagraph
1/2 reel, rel: Apr. 29, 1911
cast: Mabel Normand
WHEN A MAN’S MARRIED HIS TROUBLE BEGINS
Vitagraph
1/2 reel, rel: May 6, 1911
Cast: James Morrison, Edward Philby, Mabel Normand?
HIS MOTHER
Vitagraph
1/2 reel, rel: May 9, 1911
cast: Mary Maurice, Maurice Costello, Mabel Normand
A DEAD MAN’S HONOR
Vitagraph
1000 ft., rel: May 23, 1911
cast: Maurice Costello, Mabel Normand, Julia Swayne Gordon
THE CHANGING OF SILAS WARNER
Vitagraph
1000 ft., rel: June 10, 1911
cast: Maurice Costello, Mabel Normand
THE SUBDUING OF MRS. NAG *?
Vitagraph
1000 ft., rel: July 14, 1911
director. Geo. D. Baker, author. Van Dyke Brooks
cast: John Bunny, Flora Finch, Mabel Normand, James Morrison, Mrs. B. F. Clinton
* Possibly David Shepard.
THE DIVING GIRL *
Biograph
502 ft., rel: Aug. 21, 1911
dir. Frank Powell, camera. Percy Higginson
cast: Fred Mace, Mabel Normand, Wm. J. Butler, Verner Clarges, Robert Harron, Donald Crisp, Eddie Dillon, Dell Henderson, Florence Lee, Guy Hedlund, Joseph Graybill, W. C. Robinson, J. Waltham
filmed: 7/5-8/1911
Location: Huntington, Long Island, NY
copyright: Aug. 23, 1911
* MOMA
HOW BETTY WON THE SCHOOL
Vitagraph
1/2 reel, rel: Aug. 22, 1911
cast: Mabel Normand?
THE BARON *
Biograph
619 ft., rel: Aug. 31, 1911
dir. Mack Sennett, auth: Edwin August, cam. Percy Higginson
cast: Dell Henderson, Grace Henderson, Mabel Normand, Joseph Graybill, Fred Mace, Kate Bruce, Alfred Paget, Wm. J. Butler, Kate Toncray
filmed: 7/24-28/1911
Location: Ft. Lee, NJ
copyright: Sept. 5, 1911
THE SQUAW’S LOVE *
Biograph
998 ft., rel: Sept. 14, 1911
dir. D. W. Griffith, auth. Stanner E. V. Taylor,
cam. G. W. Bitzer, Percy Higginson, John Mahr
cast: Mabel Normand, Dark Cloud, Dorothy West, Alfred Paget, Claire McDowell, Wm. J. Butler, Kate Bruce, Donald Crisp
filmed: 8/1-3/1911
Location: Cuddleback-ville, NY
copyright: Sept. 18, 1911
* MOMA
HER AWAKENING *
Biograph
1050 ft., rel: Sept. 28, 1911
Biograph, dir. D. W. Griffith, cam. G. W. Bitzer
cast: Mabel Normand, Kate Bruce, Harry Hyde, Vivian Prescott?, Fred Mace?, Robert Harron, Kate Toncray, Wm. J. Butler, J. Jiquel Lanoe, Frank Evans, Charles Hill Mailes, W. C. Robinson, Donald Crisp, Edwin August?, Marion Sunshine?
filmed: 8/21-22/1911
Location: Ft. Lee, NJ
copyright: Sept. 28, 1911
* MOMA
THE MAKING OF A MAN *
Biograph
1000 ft., rel: Oct. 5, 1911
dir. D. W. Griffith, auth. R. L. Bond, cam. G. W. Bitzer
cast: Dell Henderson, Blanche Sweet, Wm. J. Butler, J. Jiquel Lanoe, Frank Evans, Kate Toncray, Gladys Egan, Charles Hill Mailes, W. Chrystie Miller, Guy Hedlund, Eddie Dillon, Joseph Graybill, Claire McDowell, Donald Crisp, Frank Evans, W. C. Robinson, Charles Hill Mailes, Vivian Prescott, Mabel Normand, Harry Hyde, Wilfred Lucas, Grace Henderson, J. Waltham
filmed: 8/14-17/1911
Location: Ft. Lee, NJ
copyright: Oct. 7, 1911
* MOMA
THE UNVEILING *
Biograph
1035 ft., rel: Oct. 16, 1911
dir. D. W. Griffith, auth. T. P. Bayer, cam. G. W. Bitzer
cast: Mabel Normand, Robert Harron, Grace Henderson, Wm. J. Butler
filmed: 7/13, 8/26-28/1911
Location: New York studio
copyright: Oct. 17, 1911
* MOMA
THROUGH HIS WIFE’S PICTURE *
Biograph
530 ft., rel: Oct. 23, 1911
dir. Mack Sennett, auth. Geo. Hennessy, cam. Percy Higginson
cast: Fred Mace, Mabel Normand, Eddie Dillon, Mack Sennett
filmed: 9/10-17/1911
Location: Ft. Lee-Westfield, NJ
copyright: Oct. 25, 1911
* MOMA
A VICTIM OF CIRCUMSTANCES *
Biograph
389 ft., rel: Nov. 4, 1911
dir. Mack Sennett, auth. Mrs. Montayne Perry, cam. Percy Higginson
cast: Fred Mace, Dell Henderson, Mabel Normand, Lily Cahill
filmed: 9/23-30, 10/2/1911
Location: Ft. Lee, NJ
copyright: Nov. 4, 1911
* MOMA
WHY HE GAVE UP *
Biograph
706 ft., rel: Dec. 4, 1911
dir. Mack Sennett, auth. Elmer Booth, cam. Percy Higginson
cast: Fred Mace, Mabel Normand, Eddie Dillon, Wm. J. Butler?, W. C. Robinson, J. Waltham, William Beaudine, Kathleen Butler
filmed: 9/1, 9/8, 9/28/1911
Location: Huntington, NY
copyright: Dec 5, 1911
* MOMA
SAVED FROM HIMSELF *
Biograph
1037 ft., rel: Dec. 11, 1911
dir. D. W. Griffith, auth. Geo. Hennessy, cam. G. W. Bitzer
cast: Joseph Graybill, Mabel Normand, Charles Hill Mailes, Wm. J. Butler
filmed: 10/23-26/1911
Location: Englewood, NJ
copyright: Dec. 13, 1911
* MOMA
THE ETERNAL MOTHER *
Biograph
1044 ft., rel: Jan. 11, 1912
dir. & auth. D. W. Griffith, cam. G. W. Bitzer
cast: Blanche Sweet, Mabel Normand, Edwin August, Kate Bruce, Jiquel Lanoe, Guy Hedlund, Donald Crisp, Jeannie MacPherson, Charles Hill Mailes
filmed: 7/19, 7/22, 7/25, 8/11/1911
Location: Coytesville, NJ
copyright: Jan. 13, 1912
* MOMA
THE MENDER OF NETS *
Biograph
959 ft., rel: Feb. 15, 1912
dir. D. W. Griffith, cam. G. W. Bitzer
cast: Mary Pickford, Mabel Normand, Charles H. West, Marquerite Marsh Loveridge
filmed: 1/1912
Location: Santa Monica, CA
copyright: Feb. 15, 1912
THE FATAL CHOCOLATE *
Biograph
574 ft., rel: Feb. 19, 1912
dir. Mack Sennett, auth. Edna Alexander, cam. Percy Higginson
cast: Mabel Normand, Mack Sennett, Charles H. West, Dell Henderson
filmed: 2/19/1912
Location: NY
copyright: Feb 20, 1912
* MOMA
THE ENGAGEMENT RING *
Biograph
497 ft., rel: Mar. 11, 1912
dir. Mack Sennett, auth. Mabel Normand, cam. Percy Higginson
cast: Mabel Normand, Eddie Dillon, Dell Henderson, Kate Bruce, Fred Mace, J. Jiquel Lanoe, Wm. J. Butler, Charles H. West, Harry Hyde, William Beaudine
filmed: 1/1912
Location: CA
copyright: Mar. 11, 1912
* LC, MOMA
A SPANISH DILEMMA *
Biograph
1/2 reel, rel: Mar. 11, 1912
dir. Mack Sennett, cam. Percy Higginson
cast: Fred Mace, Mack Sennett, Mabel Normand, Dell Henderson, W. C. Robinson, J. Jiquel Lanoe
filmed: 1/1912
Location: CA
copyright: Mar. 11, 1912
* LC, MOMA
HOT STUFF *
Biograph
488 ft., rel: Mar. 21, 1912
dir. Mack Sennett, auth. Dell Henderson, cam. Percy Higginson
cast: Mack Sennett, Mabel Normand, Dell Henderson, William Beaudine, William J. Butler, Kate Bruce, Kate Toncray, Harry Hyde, Fred Mace, Eddie Dillon, Grace Henderson, Della Hall?
filmed: 1/1912
Location: CA
copyright: Mar. 21, 1912
* LC, MOMA
OH, THOSE EYES *
Biograph
506 ft., rel: April 1, 1912
dir. Mack Sennett, auth. Juanita Bennett, cam. Percy Higginson
cast: Mabel Normand, Eddie Dillon, Dell Henderson, J. Jiquel Lanoe, William J. Butler, Frank Evans, Kate Toncray, Edwin August, Harry Hyde, W. C. Robinson, W. Christy Cabanne
filmed: 1/1912
Location: CA
copyright: Apr. 1, 1912
* LC, MOMA
HELP! HELP! *
Biograph
1/2 reel, rel: Apr. 11, 1912
dir. Mack Sennett, cam. Percy Higginson
cast: Mabel Normand, Fred Mace, Eddie Dillon, Dell Henderson, Alfred Paget, W. C. Robinson, Frank Evans
filmed: 2/1912
Location: CA
copyright: Apr. 10, 1912
* LC, MOMA
THE BRAVE HUNTER *
Biograph
1/2 reel, rel: Apr. 22, 1912
dir. Mack Sennett, cam. Percy Higginson
cast: Mack Sennett, Mabel Normand, Dell Henderson, William J. Butler, Kate Bruce, Charles Avery, J. Jiquel Lanoe
filmed: Jan-Feb 1912
Location: CA
copyright: Apr. 22, 1912
* LC, MOMA
THE FICKLE SPANIARD *
Biograph
456 ft., rel: May 2, 1912
dir. Mack Sennett, auth. Dell Henderson, cam. Percy Higginson
cast: Mabel Normand, Fred Mace, Claire McDowell, Wm. J. Butler, Eddie Dillon, Dell Henderson, J. Jiquel Lanoe, Harry Hyde, Kate Bruce, Kate Toncray, William Beaudine
filmed: 2/1912
Location: CA
copyright: May 3, 1912
* LC, MOMA
THE FURS *
Biograph
1/2 reel, rel: May 13, 1912
dir. Mack Sennett, cam. Percy Higginson
cast: Mabel Normand, Dell Henderson, Kate Bruce, Mack Sennett, Wm. J. Butler, William Beaudine
filmed: 3/1912
Location: CA
copyright: May 13, 1912
* LC, MOMA
WHEN KINGS WERE THE LAW *
Biograph
1049 ft., rel: May 20, 1912
dir. D. W. Griffith, auth. Wilfred Lucas, cam. G. W. Bitzer
cast: Wilfred Lucas, Harry Hyde, Dorothy Bernard, J. Jiquel Lanoe, Claire McDowell, Kate Toncray, W. Christy Cabanne, Frank Opperman, Alfred Paget, Charles Gorman, Frank Evans, Charles Hill Mailes, William J. Butler, Kate Bruce, Mabel Normand, Mae Marsh
filmed: 3/19
copyright: May 20, 1912
* MOMA
HELEN’S MARRIAGE *
Biograph
425 ft., rel: May 23, 1912
dir. Mack Sennett, auth. Earl Hodge, cam. Percy Higginson
cast: Mabel Normand, Eddie Dillon, Frank Opperman, Grace Henderson, Fred Mace, Dell Henderson, Wm. J. Butler, Charles H. West, Frank Evans, J. Jiquel Lanoe, Mack Sennett, William Beaudine
filmed: 3/1912
Location: CA
copyright: May 22, 1912
* LC, MOMA
TOMBOY BESSIE *
Biograph
521 ft., rel: June 3, 1912
dir. Mack Sennett, auth. William E. Wing, cam. Percy Higginson
cast: Mabel Normand, Mack Sennett, Kate Toncray, William J. Butler, W. C. Robinson, Frank Opperman, Charles Gorman?
filmed: 4/1912
Location: CA
copyright: June 8, 1912
* LC, MOMA
NEIGHBORS *
Biograph
363 ft., rel: June 13, 1912
dir. Mack Sennett, auth. Dell Henderson, cam. Percy Higginson
cast: Mabel Normand, Fred Mace, Frank Evans, William J. Butler, J. Jiquel Lanoe, Frank Opperman, Kate Toncray, F:Sylvia Ashton?
filmed: 4/1912
Location: CA
copyright: June 25, 1912
* LC, MOMA
KATCHEM KATE *
Biograph.
636 ft., rel: June 13, 1912
dir. Mack Sennett, auth. Dell Henderson, cam. Percy Higginson
cast: Mabel Normand, Fred Mace, Jack Pickford, Vivian Prescott, Tony O’Sullivan
filmed: 4/1912
Location: CA
copyright: June 25, 1912
* LC, MOMA
A DASH THROUGH THE CLOUDS *
Biograph
742 ft., rel: June 24, 1912
dir. Mack Sennett, auth. Dell Henderson, cam. Percy Higginson
cast: Mabel Normand, Fred Mace, Phillip Parmalee, Kate Bruce, Grace Henderson, Jack Pickford, Eddie Dillon, William J. Butler, Harry Hyde, Charles Gorman, J. Jiquel Lanoe, Alfred Paget, Sylvia Ashton
filmed: 4/1912
Location: CA
copyright: June 28, 1912
* LC, MOMA, Blackhawk