Run, Girl, Run

New starlet Carole Lombard, just nineteen in 1928, made about two dozen comedy shorts for producer Mack Sennett in the late 1920's. In most of these films her roles are quite small, but she has the lead in RUN, GIRL, RUN a charming and rather fascinating spoof of women's collegiate athletics during the 1920's.

Tiny character actress Daphne Pollard is the coach for the college's team of girl athletes, and she has her hands full given most of the girls spend more time chasing boys than training or taking sports seriously. With her job on the line, Pollard vows to watch over her best runner Lombard who alas appears the most boy crazy of the bunch.

RUN GIRL RUN is one of the better Sennett comedies of the late 1920's and it's nice to see a silent comedy short where the girls dominate it and the guys are the ones in bit parts. Teenaged Carole doesn't get many gags to handle but obviously, she already had a flair for comedy and had star potential. The delightful Miss Pollard hams it up expertly and gives an excellent performance. Madalynne Field as the lone fat girl on the team manages to deftly play up the caricature with good humor and appeal and is a very good sport and clearly had the makings of a good comedienne. (Field and Lombard became best friends and Madelynne became Carole's personal assistant when her career petered out.)

This little comedy short doesn't have much of a plot but it is funny and rather racy for its era (Carole sneaks back in the dorm on a ladder but is unaware she has entered the male dean's room and is undressed down to her slip when Pollard barges in, same dean is said to "keep an eye on the girls" and is then shown peeping through a keyhole). The screen titles are often quite amusing (Carole's track team hasn't won "since the Dead Sea turned sick" and coquette Carole "once ran a mile in almost nothing and was nearly expelled because of it"). This movie was a very popular title on the Super 8mm home movie market back in the 1970's but hasn't been seen much since but you can still find it online or on dvd if you look for it.