Mack Sennett directs himself as a boastful big game hunter who reveals his true colours when he encounters a grizzly bear, not realising that it is actually a pet. A thin comedy that suffers from poor timing and pacing - but Mabel Normand looks to be having a great time with that grizzly.
3 Reviews
The Unbearable Lightness of Mack Sennett
boblipton9 September 2014
When Mack Sennett, big-game hunter, shows up to announce he only goes after big game, everyone is impressed. When he is scared up a tree by a pet bear -- you can see the collar -- Mabel Normand makes friends with it and takes it home to friends and family.
Mack Sennett's Biograph comedies are not as silly as his Keystone efforts, but this one comes close, with Mack wearing a very silly mustache. The real pleasure in this effort is looking at the tame bear and how much fun Mabel has with it. It's not a patch on the wild sort off comedy that they would turn out later, but there is a goodly amount of fun in this early effort.
Mack Sennett's Biograph comedies are not as silly as his Keystone efforts, but this one comes close, with Mack wearing a very silly mustache. The real pleasure in this effort is looking at the tame bear and how much fun Mabel has with it. It's not a patch on the wild sort off comedy that they would turn out later, but there is a goodly amount of fun in this early effort.
One of the Funnier and Cuter Biograph Comedies
jayraskin124 November 2012
The Sennett-Normand Biograph comedies from 1911-1912 don't have the zany-crazy nature of the 1912-1913 Keystone comedies. However, they generally have a quieter charm of their own.
Here it is nice to see Sennett playing a different character than his usual hillbilly lover. Sennett looks quite dashing as the big game hunter. He's quite comically cowardly when the real big game shows up. Mabel is so calm and natural with the bear that she appears like a goddess or other worldly creature. She acts as if she's doing the scene with a cat or dog.The only thing to match it is Harold Lloyd's work with a lion in his "Sin of Harold Diddlebach" (1947).
If you want to see a good representative biograph comedy from 1912, this is an excellent example.
Here it is nice to see Sennett playing a different character than his usual hillbilly lover. Sennett looks quite dashing as the big game hunter. He's quite comically cowardly when the real big game shows up. Mabel is so calm and natural with the bear that she appears like a goddess or other worldly creature. She acts as if she's doing the scene with a cat or dog.The only thing to match it is Harold Lloyd's work with a lion in his "Sin of Harold Diddlebach" (1947).
If you want to see a good representative biograph comedy from 1912, this is an excellent example.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
