Horst_In_Translation Review of Mabel's Dramatic Career

Mabel's Dramatic Career (1913)

Not particularly memorable, despite the big names

[4/10 · 25 January 2017]

"Mabel's Dramatic Career" is a 14-minute live action short film from 1913, so this one is already considerably older than a century and as such, it is of course a black-and-white silent film. And attached to this one are several big names from this era, namely director Mack Sennett, who plays the central male character as well, as well as Mabel Normand, one of the biggest female stars back then despite her tender age, and Fatty Arbuckle also appears briefly in the earlier stages of his career. This one we have here is a prime example of film on film that was much more popular back then than it is today, even if we get occasionally stuff like "The Artist" too these days. Unfortunately, the story, especially the romance aspect, were not too convincing. It was all going for cheap laughs and there is also some overacting in this one. Quite a shame the script was so shallow with the big names attached to this project and Normand alone cannot save it either despite being a personal favorite of mine. I have to give this one a thumbs-down. Not recommended.