A Noise from the Deep

Last updated

A Noise from the Deep
A Noise from the Deep 1913.jpg
Film stills
Directed by Mack Sennett
Produced byMack Sennett
Starring
Production
company
Distributed by Mutual Film
Release date
  • July 17, 1913 (1913-07-17)
Running time
10 minutes
CountryUnited States
Languages Silent
(English intertitles)

A Noise from the Deep is a 1913 American short silent comedy film starring Mabel Normand and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. The film was directed and produced by Mack Sennett and also features the Keystone Cops on horseback. A Noise from the Deep still exists and was screened four times in 2006 in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City as part of a 56-film retrospective of all known surviving Arbuckle movies.

Contents

The film is notable for being the first instance of throwing a custard pie in the face in a film, which was by Mabel Normand hitting Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle squarely in the face. [1] The film was also reissued several years after its original release in 1919, under a different title, Fatty's Bubble Trick . [2] [3]

Plot

A pretty girl (Normand), is eloping with a young man for romantic excitement, as much as anything, is accidentally thrown into a pond, and her swain, her father's choice for a son-in-law, unable to swim, is compelled to run for help. Meanwhile, another lover (Arbuckle), appears and saves her.

In gratitude, the girl agrees to go with him to the parson and be married. To make time for the ceremony, a hose is run into the pool, one end being taken behind some bushes on the bank, and a young rustic, in consideration of a quarter, takes his place to blow through it.

The effect is bubbles appearing on the surface of the water, which the rescuing party takes to be coming from the drowning girl, and makes numerous ineffectual attempts to rescue her. By the time the ruse is discovered, the couple are married and all ends happily.

Cast

Production and background

Normand getting ready to launch a pie A Noise from the Deep pie throw.jpg
Normand getting ready to launch a pie
Normand feeding Arbuckle some pie A Noise from the Deep eating pie.jpg
Normand feeding Arbuckle some pie
Normand and Arbuckle by the pond A Noise form the Deep by the pond.jpg
Normand and Arbuckle by the pond

The film was shot from May 31, 1913 to June 7, 1913, and released on July 17, 1913. The movie was the first pairing of Normand and Arbuckle, and was the first Keystone Comedy to feature a pie in the face by Normand to Arbuckle. [4] To simulate Normand drowning in the pond, the crew created bubbles by placing a hose in the pond and blowing through it. [4]

According to author Andy Edmonds, the idea for the pie throwing came from Arbcukle, who had spotted some pies on a nearby table, and explained to Normand what he wanted to do. Director Sennett was unaware of the conversation, but had been alerted by Arbuckle to "keep a close eye on us, we've got an idea", so Sennett used a wide angle to film the shot, and Normand took a pie and threw it into Arbuckle's face. Sennett loved the gag, and it quickly became a trope of film slapstick. [5]

American film historian Jeanine Basinger opined that "there is something deeply poetic about the fact that the first movie pie was thrown by a woman into the face of a surprised male actor. It's a great feminist statement, the revolt of the pie maker". [6] Author David Yallop wrote that while many pies have been thrown since, according to Gene Fowler, "all of these pie-tossers were mere petits-fours twiddlers" when compared to Arbuckle, who he said was the "greatest pie-slinger of all time", and the "Hercules of the winged dessert". [7]

American film historian Gerald Mast said the custard pies were really made of blackberries, which showed up better on screen. The pies were specially baked for throwing, carefully weighted to permit the maximum accuracy and range. [8] A pâtisserie in Glendale, California, called Greenbergs, made the special pies used in the films, and made a fortune acquiescing to the studio's demands. [7] [9] Laurel and Hardy used 3000 of Greenburg's pies for a street scene in The Battle of the Century . [10]

Reviews

The Bryan Daily Eagle said the film was "positively the funniest comedy ever shown" at the local theater. [11] The Lewiston Sun-Journal claimed: "never since The Runaway Horse has there been a release that has attracted the universal attention for comedy subjects as A Noise from the Deep. This is one of the most remarkable comedy pictures ever manufactured and is being featured wherever it is presented". [12]

The Meriden Morning Record said the film "is one riot of laughter from the very start, and will be held over today and tomorrow so that many may have a chance to see this comedy. Anyone that sees this will agree that the laughs come fast and furious. [13] The Lexington Herald said this is a farce-comedy-burlesque that is a continuous roar, presenting the champion lady diver and star comedienne, Mabel Normand. [14]

The Huntington Herald praised the film, saying it was; an uproarious farce, which beggars description of its acting. The impersonators of the successful suitor and of the constabulary mounted on bucking broncos, make one of the most sidesplitting films seen for many a day. [15] The Crescent Theater in Austin, Texas proclaimed: we can say without fear of contradiction that the comedy we will show on Monday entitled A Noise From the Deep has never been equaled in a laugh producing film in this city. [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Keystone Cops</i> Group of fictional characters

The Keystone Cops are fictional, humorously incompetent policemen featured in silent film slapstick comedies produced by Mack Sennett for his Keystone Film Company between 1912 and 1917.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mack Sennett</span> Canadian-American film producer (1880–1960)

Mack Sennett was a Canadian-American producer, director, actor, and studio head who was known as the "King of Comedy" during his career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mabel Normand</span> American actress (1893–1930)

Amabel Ethelreid Normand, better known as Mabel Normand, was an American silent film actress, director and screenwriter. She was a popular star and collaborator of Mack Sennett in their Keystone Studios films, and at the height of her career in the late 1910s and early 1920s had her own film studio and production company, the Mabel Normand Feature Film Company. On screen, she appeared in twelve successful films with Charlie Chaplin and seventeen with Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, sometimes writing and directing films featuring Chaplin as her leading man.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mack Swain</span> American actor (1876–1935)

Mack Swain was a prolific early American film actor, who appeared in many of Mack Sennett’s comedies at Keystone Studios, including the Keystone Cops series. He also appeared in major features by Charlie Chaplin and starred in both the world's first feature length comedy and first film to feature a "movie-within-a-movie" premise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Mace</span> American actor

Fred Mace was a comedic actor during the silent era in the United States. He appeared in more than 150 films between 1909 and 1916. Mace worked for Mack Sennett at Keystone Studios. Shortly after he left, Roscoe Arbuckle, who had appeared in a few pictures at Keystone with Mace, took over as Sennett's lead comedic actor.

<i>Mabels New Hero</i> 1913 film

Mabel's New Hero is a 1913 American short comedy film featuring Mabel Normand, Fatty Arbuckle, and the Keystone Cops.

<i>Mabels Dramatic Career</i> 1913 film

Mabel's Dramatic Career is a 1913 American short comedy film starring Mabel Normand and Mack Sennett while featuring Roscoe Arbuckle in a cameo. The movie features a film within a film and uses multiple exposure to show a film being projected in a cinema.

<i>The Gypsy Queen</i> 1913 American silent film

The Gypsy Queen is a 1913 American silent short comedy film directed by Mack Sennett and featuring Roscoe Arbuckle and Mabel Normand.

The Fatal Taxicab is a 1913 American short comedy film featuring Fatty Arbuckle. It is also known in some sources as The Faithful Taxicab.

A Quiet Little Wedding is a 1913 American short comedy film featuring Fatty Arbuckle. It features the earliest known film appearance of Arbuckle's wife, Minta Durfee.

<i>Fatty at San Diego</i> 1913 film

Fatty at San Diego is a 1913 American short comedy film featuring Fatty Arbuckle and Mabel Normand.

Fatty's Flirtation is a 1913 American short comedy film featuring Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle and Mabel Normand.

<i>Those Country Kids</i> 1914 film

Those Country Kids is a 1914 American short comedy film starring Fatty Arbuckle and Mabel Normand, and directed by Fatty Arbuckle.

Mabel and Fatty's Married Life is a 1915 American short comedy film directed by and starring Fatty Arbuckle.

<i>Wished on Mabel</i> 1915 film

Wished on Mabel is a 1915 American silent comedy short or "one-reeler" filmed at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California, and directed by Mabel Normand. The short also co-stars Normand and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle.

<i>Mabels Wilful Way</i> 1915 film

Mabel's Wilful Way is a 1915 American short comedy film directed by Roscoe Arbuckle, starring Mabel Normand and Fatty Arbuckle.

The Little Teacher is a 1915 American short comedy film starring Mabel Normand and Fatty Arbuckle, and directed by Mack Sennett.

That Ragtime Band is a 1913 American short comedy film directed by Mack Sennett and featuring Fatty Arbuckle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peggy Pearce</span> American actress

Peggy Pearce was an American film actress of the silent era. She worked primarily in short subjects at the L-KO Kompany and Keystone Studios. She appeared alongside stars including Charles Chaplin, Roscoe Arbuckle, Billie Ritchie, Slim Summerville, Ford Sterling, and Mabel Normand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luke the Dog</span> Fictional character

Luke the Dog (1913–1926) was an American Pit Bull Terrier that performed as a recurring character in American silent comedy shorts between 1914 and 1920. Some claim he was a "Staffordshire Bull terrier" or "American Staffordshire bull terrier but neither of these breeds existed until the 1930's, and this is why his name nickname was Luke the pitbull.

References

Sources

Books
Newspapers

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.