Mabel's Blunder
About Mabel's Blunder
Mabel is engaged to Harry, her boss’s son, but the boss keeps chasing her. She dresses as a man, the chauffeur, to get away from him. Harry does not know her. Calling cards, a restaurant, and a party pile on the mistakes. Mabel Normand directed, wrote, and plays Mabel. Harry McCoy plays Harry. Charles Bennett plays the boss. The working title was The False Chauffeur.
Cast & crew
More about Mabel's Blunder
Mack Sennett produced. Mutual Film Corporation released the one-reeler on 12 September 1914. Silent Era says it was shipped to Mutual’s New York offices on 24 August 1914. There is no copyright registration. Wikimedia Commons times it at 14 minutes and lists it in the National Film Registry from 2009. A 35mm nitrate positive is in the Library of Congress, American Film Institute / Dorothy Horton collection. Charley Chase plays Billy Bronx. Edward F. Cline is a moustached business associate.
Themes
Making
Normand wrote herself the chauffeur disguise and directed the mistakes that follow, including the fiancé who does not recognize her. Sennett produced it at Keystone.
Preservation
A 35mm nitrate positive is at the Library of Congress. The film entered the National Film Registry in 2009 and is public domain in the United States.
Notes
- Eva Nelson plays Harry’s sister. Helen Carruthers plays Mabel’s friend. Al St. John is on the Commons cast list.
- Silent Era’s keywords include gender-bending, chauffeurs, keyholes, and automobiles.
- The film is public domain in the United States.
- A Commons file is titled Mabel's Blunder (1914).
Awards
- National Film Registry (2009)
Scenes
- The boss pursues Mabel even though she is engaged to his son.
- She puts on the chauffeur’s clothes.
- Harry fails to recognize her.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (Mabel's Blunder (1914).webm)
