''The Adventures of Shorty'' is the name of a 1914 American

short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

silent

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film featuring

Shorty Hamilton Shorty Hamilton (September 9, 1879 – March 7, 1925) was an American actor and silent film comedian who appeared in more than 80 films, mostly westerns, from 1909 to 1925. His birth name was William John Schroeder, and he was also known as "Ja ...

, and the general name for the series of similar short films it started. More than 30

two-reel A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

"Shorty" titles were released between 1914 and 1917. All featured Hamilton as the "Shorty" character, a cowboy with a trained horse—his "remarkably intelligent horse, Beauty." The films were initially produced by

Thomas H. Ince Thomas Harper Ince (November 16, 1880 – November 19, 1924) was an American silent film - era filmmaker and media proprietor. Ince was known as the "Father of the Western" and was responsible for making over 800 films. He revolutionized the mo ...

, many were written by the veteran screenwriter C. Gardner Sullivan. The 1915 "Shorty's Ranch" was the last entry from the original producers, and after a year the series was revived by

Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...

in January 1917. Directors in the series included Francis Ford and Jay Hunt. Aside from the trained horse, Hamilton's co-stars in the "Shorty" pictures included

Enid Markey Enid Markey (February 22, 1894 – November 15, 1981) was an American theatre, film, radio, and television actress, whose career spanned over 50 years, extending from the early 1900s to the late 1960s. In movies, she was the first performer ...

Betty Burbridge Elizabeth Burbridge (December 7, 1895 – September 19, 1987) was an American screenwriter and actress, best known for her Western screenplays. Biography Elizabeth Burbridge was born in San Diego, California on December 7, 1895, the grandd ...

, and Charles Ray. The films placed "Shorty" into a series of improbable comic adventures: inheriting a

harem Harem (Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A hare ...

, posing as a judge, joining the

Secret Service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For ...

, going to college, and confronting a wide range of characters including

loan shark A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high interest rates, has strict terms of collection upon failure, and generally operates outside the law. Description Because loan sharks operate mostly illegally, they cannot reasonably ...

s, ghosts, and

moonshine Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...

rs. In March 1917, a newspaper reviewer of the latest "Shorty" film wrote the following about Hamilton:

''Shorty Hamilton is a fascinating little chap who makes you want to clasp him by the hand and call him friend. He is a gifted actor who can make you laugh or lift you to the extreme pinnacle of nervous anticipation in the same breath. He never over-does anything and his extreme naturalness is refreshing. 'Shorty in the Tiger's Den,' is with us today and you will shake with laughter as Shorty tries to ride a motorcycle, which proves more uncontrollable to Shorty than a bucking pony.''

Episode list

* ''The Adventures of Shorty'' (1914) * ''Shorty's Sacrifice'' (1914) * ''Shorty Escapes Marriage'' (1914) * ''Shorty's Strategy'' (1914) * ''Shorty's Trip to Mexico'' (1914) * ''Shorty Gets Into Trouble'' (1914) * ''Shorty Turns Judge'' (1914) * ''Shorty and the Aridville Terror'' (1914) * ''Shorty and the Fortune Teller'' (1914) * ''Shorty and Sherlock Holmes'' (1914) * ''Shorty Falls Into a Title'' (1914) * ''Shorty's Adventures in the City'' (1915) * ''Shorty's Secret'' (1915) * ''Shorty Among the Cannibals'' (1915) * ''Shorty's Troubled Sleep'' (1915) * ''Shorty Turns Actor'' (1915) * ''Shorty Inherits a Harem'' (1915) * ''Shorty's Ranch'' (1915) * ''Shorty and the Yellow Ring'' (1917) * ''Shorty in the Tiger's Den'' (1917) * ''Shorty Goes to College'' (1917) * ''Shorty Joins the Secret Service'' (1917) * ''Shorty Turns Wild Man'' (1917) * ''Shorty Promotes His Love Affair'' (1917) * ''Shorty Hooks a Loan Shark'' (1917) * ''Shorty Traps a Lottery King'' (1917) * ''Shorty Bags the Bullion Thieves'' (1917) * ''Shorty Trails the Moonshiners'' (1917) * ''Shorty Lands a Master Crook'' (1917) * ''Shorty Solves a Wireless Mystery'' (1917) * ''Shorty Reduces the High Cost of Living'' (1917) * ''Shorty Lays a Jungle Ghost'' (1917) * ''Shorty Unearths a Tartar'' (1917)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adventures of Shorty, The 1914 short films 1914 Western (genre) films 1914 films Film series introduced in 1914 American silent short films American black-and-white films Films directed by Francis Ford Films directed by Scott Sidney Short film series Silent American Western (genre) films 1910s American films 1910s English-language films