Aviation enthusiast Josephine rescues her suitor, Chubby, from an angry mob with the help of Slim and his airplane.Aviation enthusiast Josephine rescues her suitor, Chubby, from an angry mob with the help of Slim and his airplane.Aviation enthusiast Josephine rescues her suitor, Chubby, from an angry mob with the help of Slim and his airplane.
Photos
Phillip Orin Parmelee
- Slim, the Aviator
- (as Phillip Parmalee)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAs was common with early films, this was rereleased with very different titles. If the characters are Arthur and Martha, its the original.
- Quotes
Title Card: None of the relatives like Chubby sparking with Carmelita.
Featured review
Daring young lady in a flying machine
This is another case of the nascent movie industry cashing in on the upsurge of 'bright young things' doing daring stunts. Sennett advertised this picture as showcasing the dare-devilry of Mabel Normand (every studio had to have its own 'Perilous Pauline'). Mack stated that the film showed a modern aircraft, light years in advance of the original Wright Brothers' string-bag of not many years earlier. Well, I don't know, this craft looks every bit a string-bag as the Wright death-kite.
The story revolves around Tutti-Fruitti salesman, Arthur, who is peddling his wares in the 'Mexican Quarter'. His wife is Josephine, the sweet Mabel Normand, and what a strange couple they make – the young and slim Mabel, and the chubby, aging Fred Mace. Naturally, Mabel has all the attributes of a young, healthy lass, and pretty soon falls for dashing flying ace, Slim the Aviator. At the airfield Mabel soon persuades Slim to take her for a flight. The Keystone Girl looks very relaxed as the old string-bag takes off, with the pair precariously perched on skimpy seats, with the vicious looking prop blades spinning behind them. Chubby, of course, chases them down the airfield, though god knows what he thought he was going to do! All hell breaks loose when Mabel lands, but later, when Chubby leaves for the Mexican quarter, Mabel returns to the airfield. There Slim lets Mabel operate the controls on the ground, which she does in the manner of a hyperactive child (why would anyone let a scatter-brain like Mabel Normand mess with an aircraft's controls?).
Meanwhile, out in the Mexican Quarter, Chubby is in trouble with the locals, as he's been carousing with a Mexican woman. One Mexican lad (Jack Pickford) runs to Mabel's house and warns her that the Mexicanos are out to get Chubby. Consequently, Mabel grabs two 45 caliber pistols and makes for the airfield. There Mabel dangerously waves the guns about, as she explains the situation to Slim. Once in the air, and above their adversaries, Mabel starts to loose off a few rounds. The Mexicans run off, and Chubby is saved. Hurrah! However, fickle Mabel refuses to have any more to do with her sad sack husband and flies off into the sunset with Slim.
Things to note about this film: The picture was made on Biograph's second trip to California, with Mack Sennett as director. That young scamp Jack Pickford has a part in the film, although he does not have an opportunity to fondle luscious Mabel, as he did in 'What the Doctor Ordered'. The pair remained good friends in real life, and both were later at Goldwyn studios, although Jack was often away on location (Mabel did not need exotic locations, just a park, a policeman and herself).
The aging Kate Bruce, matron and moral guardian to the Biograph girls, appears as an old Mexican woman in this picture. Of Lilian Gish she said, 'This girl is so innocent and young, she needs protecting from the world'. Mabel Normand needed no protection, though, as can be seen here, she could not handle a gun,and seems happy that she managed to fire the thing. The much-mooted idea, then, that Mabel accurately fired four slugs into Courtland Dines in 1924 is preposterous, as she could not hit a mountain at 50 feet, according to Mack Sennett (chain-gang escapee and chauffeur to Mabel, Horace Greer, was charged with the shooting.
The airfield sequences were filmed out at Playa del Rey, alongside the Los Angeles boarded racetrack. The track, visible in the film, only lasted around three years until it was burned down by the hobos sheltering underneath it. The Biograph studio was keen to play on the fact that Mabel was a daredevil, and flew in aircraft. There were also claims that Mabel was the first woman to gain a U.S. flying license and the first woman to be filmed in an aircraft. These honors, of course, go to screenwriter Harriet Quimby, who was also the first woman to fly the English Channel. Slim (Phillip Parmalee) was killed in a plane crash a month after this film was made, and Quimby died in a somewhat mysterious crash a month after that.
The story revolves around Tutti-Fruitti salesman, Arthur, who is peddling his wares in the 'Mexican Quarter'. His wife is Josephine, the sweet Mabel Normand, and what a strange couple they make – the young and slim Mabel, and the chubby, aging Fred Mace. Naturally, Mabel has all the attributes of a young, healthy lass, and pretty soon falls for dashing flying ace, Slim the Aviator. At the airfield Mabel soon persuades Slim to take her for a flight. The Keystone Girl looks very relaxed as the old string-bag takes off, with the pair precariously perched on skimpy seats, with the vicious looking prop blades spinning behind them. Chubby, of course, chases them down the airfield, though god knows what he thought he was going to do! All hell breaks loose when Mabel lands, but later, when Chubby leaves for the Mexican quarter, Mabel returns to the airfield. There Slim lets Mabel operate the controls on the ground, which she does in the manner of a hyperactive child (why would anyone let a scatter-brain like Mabel Normand mess with an aircraft's controls?).
Meanwhile, out in the Mexican Quarter, Chubby is in trouble with the locals, as he's been carousing with a Mexican woman. One Mexican lad (Jack Pickford) runs to Mabel's house and warns her that the Mexicanos are out to get Chubby. Consequently, Mabel grabs two 45 caliber pistols and makes for the airfield. There Mabel dangerously waves the guns about, as she explains the situation to Slim. Once in the air, and above their adversaries, Mabel starts to loose off a few rounds. The Mexicans run off, and Chubby is saved. Hurrah! However, fickle Mabel refuses to have any more to do with her sad sack husband and flies off into the sunset with Slim.
Things to note about this film: The picture was made on Biograph's second trip to California, with Mack Sennett as director. That young scamp Jack Pickford has a part in the film, although he does not have an opportunity to fondle luscious Mabel, as he did in 'What the Doctor Ordered'. The pair remained good friends in real life, and both were later at Goldwyn studios, although Jack was often away on location (Mabel did not need exotic locations, just a park, a policeman and herself).
The aging Kate Bruce, matron and moral guardian to the Biograph girls, appears as an old Mexican woman in this picture. Of Lilian Gish she said, 'This girl is so innocent and young, she needs protecting from the world'. Mabel Normand needed no protection, though, as can be seen here, she could not handle a gun,and seems happy that she managed to fire the thing. The much-mooted idea, then, that Mabel accurately fired four slugs into Courtland Dines in 1924 is preposterous, as she could not hit a mountain at 50 feet, according to Mack Sennett (chain-gang escapee and chauffeur to Mabel, Horace Greer, was charged with the shooting.
The airfield sequences were filmed out at Playa del Rey, alongside the Los Angeles boarded racetrack. The track, visible in the film, only lasted around three years until it was burned down by the hobos sheltering underneath it. The Biograph studio was keen to play on the fact that Mabel was a daredevil, and flew in aircraft. There were also claims that Mabel was the first woman to gain a U.S. flying license and the first woman to be filmed in an aircraft. These honors, of course, go to screenwriter Harriet Quimby, who was also the first woman to fly the English Channel. Slim (Phillip Parmalee) was killed in a plane crash a month after this film was made, and Quimby died in a somewhat mysterious crash a month after that.
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- ducatic-82290
- Apr 18, 2017
Details
- Runtime12 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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