The Extra Girl (1923)

Sue Graham is a small town girl who wants to be a motion picture star. She wins a contract when a picture of a very pretty girl is sent to a studio instead of her picture. When she arrives ... See full summary »

Director:

F. Richard Jones

Writers:

Bernard McConville, Mack Sennett (story)

Stars:

Mabel Normand, Ralph Graves, George Nichols

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mabel Normand	...	Sue Graham
Ralph Graves	...	Dave Giddings
George Nichols	...	Pa Graham
Anna Dodge	...	Ma Graham (as Anna Hernandez)
Vernon Dent	...	Aaron Applejohn
Ramsey Wallace	...	T. Phillip Hackett
Charlotte Mineau	...	Belle Brown
Mary Mason	...	Actress
Max Davidson	...	Tailor
Louise Carver	...	Madame McCarthy - Wardrobe Mistress
William Desmond	...	William Desmond - Actor
Carl Stockdale	...	Director
Harry Gribbon	...	Comedy Director
Billy Bevan	...	Comedian
George Beranger	...	Actor in Wardrobe Line (as André Beranger)

Storyline

Sue Graham is a small town girl who wants to be a motion picture star. She wins a contract when a picture of a very pretty girl is sent to a studio instead of her picture. When she arrives in Hollywood, the mistake is discovered and she starts working in the props department of the studio instead. Her parents then come out to California and invest some money with a very shifty individual.

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Plot Keywords:

star | small town | motion picture | talent contest | swindler | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Penultimate feature film of Mabel Normand. She would not make another film for three years until her last feature Raggedy Rose (1926). Four shorts would follow in 1926-7 and she would pass away in 1930.

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Quotes

Sue Graham: That's some pussy cat.

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood (1980)

User Reviews

Charming Mabel Normand Comedy

Normand stars as a small-town girl who wants to be an actress. Through a trick, she wins a contest and goes to Hollywood to be a star. When the studio realizes the pictures sent in was not her, she's put in the wardrobe department. Choppy plot and rough transitions (heavy cutting?) don't help the story, but Normand is a winner. She's a cross between Harry Langdon and Giulietta Masina (especially in La Strada). Several very funny bits involving a lion and some gum. Her screen test is very funny. Ralph Graves is surprisingly good as a boy friend her follows her west. Graves didn't make it in talkies and usually played the stuffy best friend. But he's loose and funny here. Vernon Dent (from many Three Stooges shorts) is the jilted lover. The imposing Louise Carver is the wardrobe boss. George Nichols and Anna Hernandez play the parents. Normand remains a tragic Hollywood figure despite her huge stardom in the teens and early 20s and her work with Chaplin and Arbuckle. Her association with the still-unsolved murder of director, William Desmond Taylor, killed her career. She died in 1930 at 36 or 37. She made only a handful of films after this little gem. With Marie Dressler, Normand was one of the first cinema comediennes, and she is quite good in The Extra (as in screen extra) Girl. It sure looks like Normand in there with the lion and doing stunts off the back of a train. Remarkable. But Normand will be remembered by buffs for The Extra Girl and for the first comedy feature, Tillie's Punctured Romance.

Note: the grass widow, Belle Brown, was listed in the film credits as being played by Mary Mason. The IMDb lists her as played by Charlotte Mineau. Did Mineau use this other name?

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

None English

Release Date:

28 October 1923 (USA)

Also Known As:

Millie of the Movies

Filming Locations:

Mack Sennett Studios - 1712 Glendale Blvd., Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mack Sennett Comedies

Technical Specs

Runtime:

68 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1