Friday, November 9, 2018

Marie Dressler 150 -- November 9, 2018

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Marie Dressler was born 150 years ago today, on 09-November-1868.  She started in the theater at an early age and wound up on Broadway.  She made her first movie in 1914, in Keystone's Tillie's Punctured Romance with Charlie Chaplin.  She made more movies, but primarily appeared on stage.  Her career slowed down in the early 1920s, but she came back later in the 1920s and the early 1930s, appearing in many popular movies.  She died in 1934.

Moving Picture World, 12-December-1914
Some sources claim that Tillie's Punctured Romance is the first feature-length slapstick comedy, or even the first feature-length comedy. I don't know if that is true, but it is certainly the first one to be a big success, despite being advertised by the ALCO Film Corporation, which released the movie, with taglines like "The First Successful Picturizing of Comedy on a Whole Basis." I wonder what that means in English. Notice that the ad contains a photo of Charlie Chaplin dancing with star Marie Dressler, but does not mention his name. Neither does it mention director Mack Sennett, costar Mabel Normand, nor the Keystone company which produced the film.

Moving Picture World, 26-December-1914
This Alco ad mentions that Marie Dressler is "Supported by Charles Chaplin and Mabel Normand."

www.listal.com
Marie Dressler has a wonderful scene with Jean Harlow in Dinner at Eight.

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