''Mabel's Busy Day'' is a 1914 short

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

starring

Mabel Normand Amabel Ethelreid Normand (November 9, 1893 – February 23, 1930), better known as Mabel Normand, was an American silent film actress, screenwriter, director, and producer. She was a popular star and collaborator of Mack Sennett in their K ...

and

Charles Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

; the film was also written and directed by Mabel Normand. The supporting cast includes

Chester Conklin Chester Cooper Conklin (January 11, 1886 – October 11, 1971) was an early American film comedian who started at Keystone Studios as one of Mack Sennett’s Keystone Cops, often paired with Mack Swain. He appeared in a series of films with Ma ...

Slim Summerville Slim Summerville (born George Joseph Somerville; July 10, 1892 – January 5, 1946), was an American film actor and director best known for his work in comedies. Early life Summerville was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where his mother d ...

Edgar Kennedy Edgar Livingston Kennedy (April 26, 1890 – November 9, 1948) was an American comedic character actor who appeared in at least 500 films during the silent and sound eras. Professionally, he was known as "Slow Burn", owing to his ability to por ...

Al St. John Al St. John (also credited as Al Saint John and "Fuzzy" St. John; September 10, 1892 – January 21, 1963) was an early American motion-picture comedian. He was a nephew of silent film star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, with whom he often performed on ...

Charley Chase Charles Joseph Parrott (October 20, 1893 – June 20, 1940), known professionally as Charley Chase, was an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director. He worked for many pioneering comedy studios but is chiefly associated with pro ...

, and

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'. Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the ...

Synopsis

Entrepreneur Mabel (Mabel Normand) tries to sell

hot dogs A hot dog (uncommonly spelled hotdog) is a food consisting of a grilled or steamed sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced Hot dog bun, bun. The term hot dog can refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener (Vienna sausag ...

at a car race. She bribes a policeman with one of her treats to gain access to the race course but does not do a very good business once she is inside. Meanwhile, Charlie tangles with another police officer but still crashes the gate. He is pursued by the policeman. Mabel sets down her box of hot dogs and leaves them unattended for a moment. Charlie finds the box and freely gives the hot dogs away to hungry spectators at the track. Mabel finds out that Charlie has stolen her box of hot dogs and sends the police after him. Chaos ensues.

Reviews

''Motion Picture News'' commented, "Any comedy with Charles Chaplin and Mabel Normand as the leads is sure to be an immense success. There is no plot at all, but the events that transpire in the one reel are side-splitting." A reviewer from ''Bioscope'' wrote, "The business in question consists of selling sausages on a racecourse, and...it may be imagined that pretty Mabel's business is strenuous and mirth-provoking. The fun never flags, and is well up to the Keystone average." The review in ''Motion Picture World'' stated, "In this comedy, the usual strenuous work of the Keystone artists, headed by Mabel Normand and Charles Chaplin, almost makes the screen on which it is thrown visibly wobble."

Cast

External links

* * * 1914 films 1914 comedy films Silent American comedy films American silent short films American black-and-white films Films directed by Mabel Normand Films produced by Mack Sennett 1914 short films Articles containing video clips American comedy short films 1910s American films 1910s English-language films {{1910s-short-comedy-film-stub

Synopsis

Reviews

Cast

See also

External links