At It Again | |
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Directed by | Mack Sennett |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Distributed by | Mutual Film Corporation |
Release dates |
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Running time | 6 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent |
At It Again is a 1912 American short silent comedy film produced and directed by Mack Sennett. The film stars Fred Mace, Mack Sennett, Ford Sterling, Mabel Normand and Alice Davenport.
It was distributed by the Mutual Film Corporation. The film was the first Keystone Film comedy that featured the two bumbling detectives.
The film was released on November 4, 1912; in a split reel with Mabel's Lovers . Silent Era reports the survival status of the film as unknown. [1]
It's notable that Sennett headed two of the most influential American slapstick film studios: the Keystone Film Company (1912–1917), and Mack Sennett Comedies (1917–1933). [2]
Mrs. Smith receives an anonymous letter stating that her husband is untrue to her, and she calls upon the detectives to shadow him. Mr. Smith comes home and, finding his wife away, goes out to look for her in his shirt sleeves. Mrs. Smith points him out to the detectives, and they start on his trail.
In the meantime, Larkins, a police captain, is at home with his wife, and goes out to buy some ice cream, also in his shirt sleeves. As Mr. Smith enters a house Larkin comes out, just as the detectives turn the corner, and they, thinking Larkin is Smith, follow him.
When Larkin returns home his fond wife makes much of him, all of which is noted by the detectives at the window. They finally decide to arrest him, and a furious scene is raised by the indignant Larkin and his wife, but to no avail, for Larkin is dragged off.
In the meantime, they have notified Mrs. Smith and she is on the way to meet them with three policemen, and Smith himself comes up at the same time. When Larkin and Smith get through with the detectives, they have learned the painful lesson that it does not pay for a detective to make a mistake. [3]
Producer and director Sennett had previously been at the Biograph Company of New York City, where he first introduced the "dopey detectives" slapstick film genre, as seen in the films; Trailing the Counterfeiter , Their First Divorce Case and Caught with the Goods . [4]
Six weeks after Sennett opened Keystone Studios in Edendale, California in 1912, he reintroduced the pair of dopey detectives. [5] The first Keystone Film comedy featuring the two Sherlocks was At It Again. [6]
The Moving Picture World said of the film, "Two amateur Sherlock Holmes detectives dominate this picture with their antics. They succeed in jumbling the plot somewhat, but as they are really funny, and the plot is not important, they may be forgiven." [7]
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.
Mack Sennett was a Canadian-American producer, director, actor, and studio head who was known as the "King of Comedy" during his career.
Tillie's Punctured Romance is a 1914 American silent comedy film directed by Mack Sennett and starring Marie Dressler, Mabel Normand, Charlie Chaplin, and the Keystone Cops. The picture is the first feature-length comedy and was the only feature-length comedy made by the Keystone Film Company.
Keystone Studios was an early film studio founded in Edendale, California on July 4, 1912 as the Keystone Pictures Studio by Mack Sennett with backing from actor-writer Adam Kessel (1866–1946) and Charles O. Baumann (1874–1931), owners of the New York Motion Picture Company. The company, referred to at its office as The Keystone Film Company, filmed in and around Glendale and Silver Lake, Los Angeles for several years, and its films were distributed by the Mutual Film Corporation between 1912 and 1915. The Keystone film brand declined rapidly after Sennett went independent in 1917.
Chester Cooper Conklin was an early American film comedian who started at Keystone Studios as one of Mack Sennett’s Keystone Cops, often paired with Mack Swain. He appeared in a series of films with Mabel Normand and worked closely with Charlie Chaplin, both in silent and sound films.
Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life is a 1913 silent comedy short, directed and produced by Mack Sennett. It stars Sennett, Mabel Normand, Ford Sterling, The Keystone Cops and Barney Oldfield as himself, in his film debut. It was distributed by the Keystone Film Company, and released in the United States on June 3, 1913. The film is preserved and was released as part of a DVD box set, titled Slapstick Encyclopedia, and is frequently featured in silent film festivals.
Gentlemen of Nerve is a 1914 American comedy silent film directed by Charles Chaplin, starring Chaplin and Mabel Normand, and produced by Mack Sennett for Keystone Studios.
Getting Acquainted, subsequently retitled A Fair Exchange, is a 1914 American comedy silent film written and directed by Charles Chaplin, starring Chaplin and Mabel Normand, and produced by Mack Sennett for Keystone Studios.
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.
The Bangville Police is a 1913 comedy short starring Fred Mace, Mabel Normand and the Keystone Cops. The one-reel film, generally regarded as the seminal Keystone Cops short, was directed by Henry Lehrman.
The Water Nymph is a 1912 American silent comedy "split reel" short film starring Mabel Normand and directed by Mack Sennett. Normand performed her own diving stunts for the film, which was the first Keystone Studios comedy.
Mabel's Lovers is a 1912 American short silent comedy film starring Mabel Normand. The film was directed and produced by Mack Sennett.
Mabel's Adventures is a 1912 American short silent comedy film starring Mabel Normand and produced and directed by Mack Sennett for the Mutual Film Corporation.
The Flirting Husband is a 1912 American short silent comedy film starring Mabel Normand and Ford Sterling. The film was directed and produced by Mack Sennett.
At Coney Island, also known as Cohen at Coney Island, is a 1912 American short silent comedy starring Mack Sennett, Mabel Normand, and Ford Sterling. Sennett also directed and produced the film. Sennett claimed this was the first Keystone Studios production, shot on location at Coney Island on July 4, 1912. It was the eleventh Keystone film released, on a split-reel with A Grocery Clerk's Romance.
Hoffmeyer's Legacy is a 1912 comedy short directed by Mack Sennett and notable for being the first Keystone Cops comedy. However, many consider the first real Keystone Cop comedy to be The Bangville Police (1913).
Sennett Bathing Beauties was a bevy of women performing in bathing costumes assembled by film producer Mack Sennett during the silent film era.
Hollywood Cavalcade is a 1939 American film featuring Alice Faye as a young performer making her way in the early days of Hollywood, from slapstick silent pictures through the transition from silent to sound.
My Valet is a 1915 short comedy film written, produced, and directed by Mack Sennett and starring Raymond Hitchcock, Sennett, and Mabel Normand. The film was released by the Keystone Film Company and Triangle Distributing with a running time of 33 minutes. It was released on November 7, 1915 in the United States. The movie is in black and white and produced in English. A print exists.
Katchem Kate is a 1912 extant comedic silent film directed by Mack Sennett and starring Mabel Normand. The film was based on Dell Anderson's story "Cunning Kate."