The last of the Charlie & Mabel pictures. After suffering the indignity of playing second fiddle to Marie Dressler in 'Tillie's', the pair get together in this movie, which is slightly reminiscent of The Fatal Mallet. Unfortunately, as there are no mallets in this film, the story is somewhat weaker, although there is a Terrible Turk who enjoys sticking his dagger in Charlie's backside. The Terrible Turk is a throwback to Charlie's vaudeville days.
Mabel is married to her umpteenth screen husband in the picture – this time it's Mack Swain. However, Mack is being very foolish when he helps a stranded car driver, and leaves gorgeous Mabel unguarded in the park (silly man). Who should happen along but lecherous Charlie, who's left his own, less than pretty, spouse sitting on a park bench. Having failed to secure the affections of Cecile Arnold (she's the Turk's flame) he wastes no time in lifting Mabel's dress and generally interfering about her person. After manoeuvring the Keystone Girl into a position where he can kiss her, Mabel tells the lecher to get lost, and gives him a slap in the face. The vulnerable maiden then shouts for help from Mack, who returns, but merely introduces Charlie to Mabel! Unsurprisingly, Mabel is flabbergasted, and is left alone with Charlie when Mack goes off again. Expecting to be rummaged once more, Mabel shouts 'Police, Police' and a cop arrives on the scene. This is the cue for the inevitable series of Keystone chases, in the middle of which Mabel is introduced to the over-amorous Charlie by his wife. Of course, Mabel has already had experience of Charlie The Lustful.
We can imagine that Charlie and Mabel would have been able to conjure up something better than this film for their final collaboration. The two had been getting along fine since Mabel At The Wheel, and Mabel seems to have devoted much time to cultivating the Englisher as an ally (she negotiated all his pay rises with Sennett). It seemed clear that Charlie was going places, and could be Mabel's route out of the madhouse that was Keystone. Furthermore, it seems certain that when Charlie was made a director at Essanay for $1,200 a week (he told Mabel it was $1,000) the starlet expected a call from The Tramp asking her to be his co-star. The call never came. However, Mabel never gave up, and for some time afterwards used to shout across restaurants at him 'Charlie, I'll be your leading lady yet!' Mabel being Mabel, she had miscalculated as usual, and failed to realize Charlie was not looking for an established, big-money star, but a cheap-jack newcomer who he could mold into his kind of leading lady. In addition Charlie was a rather nasty piece of work, who would certainly have planned to get his own back for Mabel's rejection of his amorous advances. We may like to think that Mabel and Charlie making their own films together would constitute a dream team, but their personalities were such that only disaster could have ensued. Charlie was no Mack Sennett, and Mabel was no Edna Purviance.
It has often been stated that Mabel contributed to Charlie's tramp character, but it is difficult to quantify this contribution. However, note that Mabel, in this film and others, pushes her hat aside and ruffles her hair when flustered, Stan Laurel style. Stan Laurel was a serial mimic, and after lacklustre performances as Charlie Chaplin's tramp, and a bland Keaton-like character, he ended up at Hal Roach studios. It was here, as a scenario writer, that there happened along a certain Mabel Normand, the naive character who was none too careful about which actions she let people see around the lot. It is clear that the classic Stan Laurel dumb face is also the face Mabel demonstrates early on in The Extra Girl. Armed with these assets, washed-up Stan was able to extend his career as the fool in the Laurel and Hardy pictures. Fortunately (for Laurel) Mabel was cold and in the ground by the time the L & H movies appeared.
