Anything Once!
About Anything Once!
Mrs. De Puyster is recovering from a face-lift her manager, Granville, hopes will land her the Prince of Poronia. Mabel, pressing clothes for James Finlayson, drinks gasoline by mistake and sets his cigar, and then his hair, alight. She ruins De Puyster's gown on the way to a costume ball and goes in her place. The prince takes her for the bride, asks about a northern or southern exposure, and gets the answer 'southern' when the back of her dress rides up. The real De Puyster storms in. When she curtsies, her new face slips. The prince abdicates, tells his chancellor to marry her, and leaves with Mabel. The men carrying their chair dump them in the road.
Cast & crew
More about Anything Once!
Hal Roach presented the short, production number H-12. F. Richard Jones and Hal Yates directed. It was shot from September 21 to October 12, 1926, copyrighted on December 31, 1926, and released by Pathé Exchange on January 2, 1927.
Themes
Making
Roach shot the two-reeler in about three weeks in the fall of 1926. Pathé Exchange distributed it.
Preservation
A print exists. In the United States the short is in the public domain.
Notes
- Mabel Normand is billed only as the little girl. On the marriage papers she signs the name Susie Smaltz.
- Max Davidson plays Granville. Theodore von Eltz is Prince Chevalier. Gustav von Seyffertitz is Chancellor Gherkin. Nora Hayden is Mrs. De Puyster. Leo White is the French surgeon.
- Finlayson plays a mild boss. He does not punish her for the fire.
- Granville's deal is worth a million dollars if the prince marries De Puyster.
Scenes
- Mabel breathes gasoline toward Finlayson's cigar and his hair catches fire. He puts his head in a water bucket.
- At the window she answers 'southern' when the back of the dress is up.
- Mrs. De Puyster curtsies and her lifted face slips. The prince faints and abdicates.
Also available
- Internet Archive (AnythingOnce1927)
Quotes
Southern.
