Tag: Al St. John

His Prehistoric Past (1914, Charles Chaplin)

Chaplin opens His Prehistoric Past setting it up as a dream sequence, which lets the viewer know the outcome can’t be too dramatic. But the setup is immediate–Chaplin falls asleep on a park bench–so the more relatable elements in the dream don’t have much substance.

In the dream (the majority of Past), Chaplin is a macho man, who beats up all cavemen and wows all the cavewomen. But there’s no establishing the character as wanting to beat all the men and wow all the women… though I suppose the latter is implied.

The short drags quite a bit after the initial fight scene, as Chaplin pals around with the king (Mack Swain) and make goo goo eyes at the king’s favorite concubine (Gene Marsh). Marsh’s performance suggests Past has subtle depth–at times she’s frightened of Chaplin’s affections.

The production values are strong, but otherwise, it’s mostly undistinguished.

1/3Not Recommended

CREDITS

Written, edited and directed by Charles Chaplin; director of photography, Frank D. Williams; produced by Mack Sennett; released by Mutual Film.

Starring Charles Chaplin (Weakchin), Mack Swain (King Lowbrow), Gene Marsh (Sum-Babee), Fritz Schade (Ku-Ku), Cecile Arnold (Cavewoman) and Al St. John (Caveman).

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The Iron Mule (1925, Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle and Grover Jones)

What The Iron Mule lacks in plotting, it makes up for in exuberance. Unfortunately, the exuberance isn’t omnipresent. It’s like directors Arbuckle and Jones felt the need for gags, which don’t work, but had modern fun with the physical comedy.

Almost all of the physical comedy is in long shot. It doesn’t seem like a good idea at first, like the audience is going to miss some detail, but then Arbuckle and Jones hold the shot and even more comedy plays out.

Those sequences–there are a couple great ones and a few more good ones–make up for Mule‘s lack of direction. It’s the story of a train ride, with the main joke being the titular Iron Mule. It’s a pitiful little train (borrowed for Our Hospitality), losing a race with a cow.

Ostensible leading man Al St. John makes no impression.

It’s charming, without being much good.

2/3Recommended

CREDITS

Directed by Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle and Grover Jones; written by Jones; released by Educational Film Exchanges.

Starring Al St. John (The Engineer).

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