IMDb RATING
6.1/10
1.2K
YOUR RATING
Mickey, an orphan who has been brought up in a mining settlement, is sent to New York to live with her aunt.Mickey, an orphan who has been brought up in a mining settlement, is sent to New York to live with her aunt.Mickey, an orphan who has been brought up in a mining settlement, is sent to New York to live with her aunt.
George Nichols
- Joe Meadows
- (as George O. Nicholls)
Lew Cody
- Reggie Drake
- (as Lewis J. Cody)
Minta Durfee
- Elsie Drake
- (as Minta Durffy)
Minnie Devereaux
- Minnie
- (as Minnie Ha Ha)
Joe Bordeaux
- Stage Driver
- (uncredited)
William Colvin
- Butler
- (uncredited)
Edgar Kennedy
- Stage Driver
- (uncredited)
- …
Clarence Lyndon
- Grocer
- (uncredited)
Eva Thatcher
- Cook
- (uncredited)
- Directors
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe highest grossing film of 1918, with a worldwide gross of $8 million on a budget of $250,000.
- GoofsPalm trees and industrial bridges at the railroad station at Great Neck, Long Island, New York.
- Quotes
Herbert Thornhill: She's wonderful, Tom! I never expected to see her again - and now I've proposed to Elsie Drake. I'm in the devil of a mess!
Tom Rawlings: Cheer up old man, you haven't actually been sentenced yet!
- Alternate versionsThe April 17, 1920 issue of Ciné Pour Tous claims the version released in France was shortened.
Featured review
In the right vein
Mack Sennett had a strong reputation for producing wild, violent, fast- paced slapstick that often got its laughs without even a superficial attempt to make sense. He got that reputation for the simple reason that it's true. However, it's interesting to see how when Sennett knew he had on his hands a comedian whose laughs come from subtleties or reactions rather than fast antics, he knows to slacken the pace. That was true with many of the brilliant Harry Langdon shorts he would produce later, and it is true here in "Mickey" with Mabel Normand.
Mabel is the star and it is she on which the movie turns. She steals every scene she appears in and has infinite screen magnetism, with her attractive, fascinating face, constantly changing expression, and childlike and uninhibited yet somehow ironic manner. The greatest moments of comedy come in little bits of performance, as Mabel comes up with many ingenious ways to hide dust she has swept up, or simply can't resist eating cherries off a cake.
That said, there are not actually a lot of scenes of overt comedy in this film, and sometimes when there is overt comedy it comes out as a digression or bit of broad slapstick that is well-executed but has a different feel -- the battle in the country store (which looks a lot like the one Arbuckle worked at in "The Butcher Boy") over Mable's dog or the animal the scurries up her pantleg. It's not actually an uproariously funny film, but doesn't usually try to be, and it's always pleasant.
The plot is simple and of a kind that has spawned infinite variations. Mabel is a rough-hewn girl from a miner town who loves playing with animals and skinny dipping (from a very wide angle); she is sent to her rich aunt and becomes involved in a kind of love square through no fault of her own. It's really as much melodrama as anything else, but it comes off. There are plenty of twists, especially as the end draws near, involving who is rich and who is poor when; these remain able to keep the interest, and make a kind of commentary too, intentional or not, on the true insignificance of wealth.
This has been cited as the first feature-length comedy starring a single comedian rather than an ensemble cast, but even so it feels fairly developed as a form, with decent pacing and plot developing in two places at once. This is a simple story well told, and really made by its star, who is well showcased.
Mabel is the star and it is she on which the movie turns. She steals every scene she appears in and has infinite screen magnetism, with her attractive, fascinating face, constantly changing expression, and childlike and uninhibited yet somehow ironic manner. The greatest moments of comedy come in little bits of performance, as Mabel comes up with many ingenious ways to hide dust she has swept up, or simply can't resist eating cherries off a cake.
That said, there are not actually a lot of scenes of overt comedy in this film, and sometimes when there is overt comedy it comes out as a digression or bit of broad slapstick that is well-executed but has a different feel -- the battle in the country store (which looks a lot like the one Arbuckle worked at in "The Butcher Boy") over Mable's dog or the animal the scurries up her pantleg. It's not actually an uproariously funny film, but doesn't usually try to be, and it's always pleasant.
The plot is simple and of a kind that has spawned infinite variations. Mabel is a rough-hewn girl from a miner town who loves playing with animals and skinny dipping (from a very wide angle); she is sent to her rich aunt and becomes involved in a kind of love square through no fault of her own. It's really as much melodrama as anything else, but it comes off. There are plenty of twists, especially as the end draws near, involving who is rich and who is poor when; these remain able to keep the interest, and make a kind of commentary too, intentional or not, on the true insignificance of wealth.
This has been cited as the first feature-length comedy starring a single comedian rather than an ensemble cast, but even so it feels fairly developed as a form, with decent pacing and plot developing in two places at once. This is a simple story well told, and really made by its star, who is well showcased.
helpful•91
- hte-trasme
- May 26, 2010
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $125,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 33 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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