Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life (1913) Online

I'm sure most silent comedy buffs are familiar with this beloved chestnut, now available in Kino's "Slapstick Encyclopedia" collection, but even viewers unfamiliar with Keystone comedies are likely to get a kick out of it. 'Oldfield' pokes fun at conventions of stage melodrama that were considered hokey even in 1913, and the actors overplay with great vigor. Legendary producer Mack Sennett portrays the lovesick rube, and Mabel Normand flashes her big brown eyes at the camera, but it's Ford Sterling who makes the strongest impression. This may well have been Sterling's most memorably hammy performance, and he looks like he's having the time of his life: he struts, grimaces, and twirls his mustache, then summons his henchmen with a snap of his fingers, and they instantly appear. Sterling was the biggest male star on the Keystone lot before Chaplin arrived, usually in villainous or unsympathetic roles, and he gives this one everything's he's got. Our hero Barney Oldfield is the only one who underplays; he was a celebrity when this movie was made, a real-life race track star, back when those guys still wore goggles and scarves. Mr. Oldfield comes off as a rather bland, good-natured fellow surrounded by lunatics.

This is the kind of movie (much parodied in later days) where the villain, jilted by the girl, seeks vengeance by having her tied to the railroad tracks. The suspenseful finale features the frenetic Keystone Cops, a last minute rescue, and a surprise closing gag that is genuinely funny. As noted above, the melodramatic plotting would have been familiar to audiences of the time from stage plays, but the cinema itself was still such a novelty it all must have seemed new again, what with the added bonus of verisimilitude, i.e. real train tracks and a real train, enhanced with a bit of rudimentary cinematic trickery in the shot where Mabel is rescued, right in the nick of time. No wonder the actors threw themselves into the project with such gusto: it must have been thrilling to participate in something so new and exciting. That sense of exhilaration still comes across when we view this film today.

I might spoil a few of the gags for anyone who's reading this before having seen the film, so WARNING: Spoilers herein.

Mack Sennett received his apprenticeship under D.W. Griffith when they both worked at Biograph. "Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life", "The Bangville Police" and surely many other Keystone shorts spoof D.W. Griffith's last-minute rescue flicks; this film is particularly a parody of "The Girl and Her Trust" (1912). I've read that Hank Mann, who was the chief Kop for a time, conceived the Keystone Kops, the company's greatest legacy. Mann likely did so after watching French chase comedies, which often featured odd-looking policemen foolishly chasing, amongst other foolish chasers, after some fool. Additionally, mal-driven automobiles, often disobeying physics, were a popular theme in French comedies, as far back as those by Georges Méliès, as well as by Briton Robert W. Paul and others. Trick-shots, fast-motion and such were also mainstays of slapstick by the time Mack Sennett founded Keystone.

Apparently, "Hoffmeyer's Legacy" (1912) was the first appearance of the Keystone Kops, but "The Bangville Police" of the following year is said to have popularized the inept gang of policemen. The Keystone Kops appear in this film, but without model-Ts. I appreciate that Keystone heightened the anarchy and disrespect for authority and materialism prominent in farce, and the vast influence it has had on subsequent films. Nevertheless, the outstanding contribution that Sennett and Keystone made to comedy wasn't that their films disobeyed physical laws and rationality of our world (that was nothing new); it was that they disobeyed the laws of the world within film. Sennett is able to reproduce the suspense of a Griffith film, even add to it (the double exposure effect, or matte shot, for a last-second rescue), but in how Sennett gets to the climax is anti-Griffith--contrary to film conventions. For example, another poster complained of a lack of causation in this film: where's the villainous rival's motivation for abducting Mabel and attempting to murder her? One might as well ask why the villain went to the trouble of trying to run her over with a train when he could have simply shot her. It's an easy answer: shooting Mabel wouldn't have been funny, shooting the Keystone Kops was.

It's the best gag in the film. After poking fun at Griffith and disobeying film conventions, here, Sennett diverted from the conventions of his own films--the Kops don't rescue anyone, and they die. Sennett was a lousy goof of an actor, though. Unfortunately, he and racecar driver Barney Oldfield, who has no sense of the camera or acting, are the rescuers in this picture. Mabel Normand, of course, knows what she's doing. Fred Sterling is a surprise, though; I knew he was as professional as anyone at the time, but, here, he has created a forcible character in a short time. As far as I know, it could be the first great creation of an outlandish villain, who schemes irrationally elaborate plots, continuously minds strutting his perfervid dastardliness, while making sure we know he's positioning and posturing for the camera. Sterling's villain here and other such Keystone characters must have been a great influence on subsequent comedies, especially cartoons, such as the Looney Tunes franchise. The props are cartoon-like, too. Where would we be if it weren't for the cliché of a woman constrained to train tracks in dire need?

This is an enriching experience if you've seen what it copies and spoofs and know what it influences. It's worth watching, while making the related unsatisfactory films worth watching, as well.

This silly, manic Mack Sennett classic is good fun for anyone who enjoys silent comedies. It displays Sennett's frantic, deliberately goofy style at its best. It is a parody and a deliberate exaggeration of some of the conventions of melodrama that were apparently routine even in 1913, complete with the villain tying the heroine to a railroad track. Mabel Normand is delightful as the heroine, Ford Sterling overplays the villain for all that it's worth (twiddling his mustache as often as possible), Sennett himself appears as Mabel's rather silly beau, and then-famous racing car driver Barney Oldfield also joins in the fun. There are a couple of very funny gags, along with some real excitement as the good guys try to foil the villain's dastardly plots. While of course thoroughly goofy, this one is well worth tracking down if you like these old silent films.

This is an early 1 reel(about 10 minutes silent speed 16-18 fps)Sennett classic. If you've ever studied pioneer silent American cinema chances are you've run into this film or have more than once glanced it's title. As mentioned by someone previously, Sennett had started out working with D.W. Griffith at Biograph Studios shooting films in N.Y. & New Jersey. The Curtain Pole(1909) is an early Sennett role of which Griffith directed and it foreshadows the mayhem type of comedy that Sennett would indulge in when he started Keystone in 1912. BORfaL is important in that it shows Sennetts knockabout comedy style before he adapted fast-motion photography to accentuate his stories. It is very much a knockabout albeit directed by Sennett with a lot of Griffithian influence. No trick camera photography to speed up the action.

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But let's face it, Griffith was LOUSY & old fashioned at comedy and Sennett very much understood slapstick as it pertained to the visual medium of the silent screen. The plot to BORfaL had been played out numerous times in Broadway plays & traveling Road Shows. Usually the characters in these simple stories were: Good Guy, Villain, Damsel in Distress. So, by 1912 1913 these themes were, as has been mentioned, old fashioned but STILL well loved by 19th Century 'Gaslight Era' adult audiences. Sennett plays the hero himself, the legendary Mabel Normand his damsel and Ford Sterling rounds out the cast as villain. Barney Oldfield, America's first really famous car racer makes what appears to be and 'extended cameo'. More or less Oldfield at the time happened to be in the Glendale area where this picture was shot and Sennett incorporated him into the story. Realizing the selling point of Oldfield's name Sennett simply titled the one reeler 'Barney Oldfield's Race For A Life'. Simple enough. Oldfield with Sennett aboard simply drives one of his racing cars to the rescue of 'poor' Mabel. She having been chained to the railroad tracks by the evil Ford Sterling after having refused Sterling's affection in favor of her yokel boyfriend Mack. This is the climax of the film this long drive by Oldfield & Sennett and Sennett in setting this scene up shows his lessons from Griffith quite well. It is an almost extended well done traveling shot almost never found in dramas(except maybe a few early Griffiths) of the period but found rampantly in short comedies. Another aspect of this film is how much of the southern California landscape is barren. Much of the land had not been gobbled up by greedy real estate people and this was one of the reasons the east coast film people moved west in the first place. Two of the gags with villain Sterling are outstanding for the time. I won't give them away but one is : with the train as he and his henchmen capture Mabel, the other is the last gag on the handcart with the Keystone Kops. Two gem sequences. Fans of this film will know what I'm talking about. Id highly recommend this for the whole family. It's something surely different from the same old. It's a trip into Yesteryear but try it & maybe a few other early Sennetts as so many are now available on home video in one form or another.

Barney Oldfield was like the Mario Andretti, Ricky Bobby or Dale Earnhardt of his day--a racing legend. However, today he's mostly forgotten despite his being the first man to achieve the amazingly fast speed of 60 miles per hour (fine...but at that time it WAS quite the achievement). As a result of his fame, he later went on to appear in a few films--and "Barney Oldfield's Race for Life" is one of them. It's a short comedy from Keystone starring Barney as well as the prolific Mabel Normand and Ford Sterling. Mabel is, as usual, the lady in distress and Sterling, as usual, is the Snidely Whiplash sort who kidnaps her and chains her to the railroad tracks. So, it's up to Oldfield and his partner to race to the rescue and get her before the train can cut her into pieces. Unfortunately, at the end the director had no idea what to do so Sterling just starts killing cops!! None of this (particularly the cop massacre) is funny but at least it had a couple nice stunts and driving sequences. Mostly of historical interest.

This 1913 Mack Sennett effort is good enough to have been copied later in animation history. When you watch this film, put these into place place - Mack Sennett - the shy suitor who is a good guy (Dudley DoRight)

Mabel Normand - the damsel in distress (Nell Fenwick)

Ford Sterling - the mustached villain (Snydley Whiplash)

The plot pretty much follows the spoof of the cartoon but this is decades earlier. It is well done because it is short & the action is pretty much non-stop. It has the classic chase / race scenario which was used decades later in Smokey & The Bandit.

Throw in the Keystone Cops, Barney Oldfield and his race car, chaining the damsel to the rail road tracks, the hand car, & stealing a locomotive, & this has all the elements you want for 10 or 11 minutes of fun & suspense.

For 1913, it is well done. This is film making by the seat of your pants. It's a good thing that Sennett & company held onto theirs as this early film is one of the reasons film became a growing industry. This is a classic film but not a great film. It is the Keystone to a growing number of gems produced later & inspired a cartoon too boot.

Having recently discovered the films of Mabel Normand and seen some of her great slapstick scenes with Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life was a big disappointment for me since Ms. Normand spends most of the short film tied onto railroad tracks because villain Ford Sterling didn't accept Mabel's rejection of his advances (glad to see her do so by knocking him down, however!). When her bashful boyfriend Mack Sennett finds out, he gets real-life race car driver Barney Oldfield to help him rush to her rescue. Also on hand are the Keystone Kops who get a hilarious scene at the end. Other than that and some of Mr. Sterling's over-the-top performance, this was mostly blah for me. Worth a look at least once for silent movie buffs. I saw this on YouTube with a score that contained some modern music from John Williams and other scores from recent movies and TV shows.

(***OOOPS - THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS***)

It is fascinating to note how most people of today take it for granted that acting in silent films consisted of purely melodramatic overplay, worthy of little more than unintentional laughter, when, in fact, what may have founded this impression in a lot of people are excerpts from films which were supposed to poke fun at that kind of acting. Released in the summer of 1913, the Keystone comedy BARNEY OLDFIELD'S RACE FOR A LIFE has become one of the most iconic films of this sort. Although its initial success may be largely explained with the appearance of the real Barney Oldfield, a celebrity in the early days of "auto-racing," the film still remains quite funny, and the story, although ridiculously simple (as well as simply ridiculous!), is well accomplished.

Mabel Normand is kidnapped by Ford Sterling, as the latter seeks revenge on the girl as she refused to flirt with him. With the help of two assistants, she is being tied to some railroad- tracks, whereupon Ford hastily locates a locomotive and sets off to complete his evil plan. In the meantime, however, Mabel's boyfriend, played by Mack Sennett, is made aware of the situation, and he gets hold on Barney Oldfield in order to save her before the locomotive arrives at Mabel's spot...and there you got your race. Yes, a ridiculous story, but no less a spot-on, somewhat heartless parody on the tear-jerking melodramas that bombarded theater stages throughout the 19th century, and which had recently begun to blossom again in the still-new medium of film.

Inevitably, the strength of the cast is highly significant if such broad parody is to work, and BARNEY OLDFIELD'S RACE FOR A LIFE provides at least two of Keystone's most accomplished talents with Mabel Normand and Ford Sterling. The latter performs perhaps one of his most memorable acts ever; although I do know Sterling's tendency to overplay is not everyone's cup of tea, this is one of the instances where it works superbly. He is no less than brilliant here; his character may be the quintessential villain of melodrama, as his characteristics would probably seem familiar even to people not well acquainted with silent films. A favorite moment of mine occurs early on, when Ford whistles for his assistants to turn up, which they do instantly; as he whistles a second time, they disappear equally fast. Mabel Normand is also good; overplay she does, but that is, as stated, the point. Mack Sennett is far less colorful, though; although reasonably competent, Sennett was simply no actor, in the sense that he was unable to vary the behavior of his screen character depending on the context of the film. He is barely any different here, in the midst of a parody on melodrama, than he is in any other film in which he appeared.

As a final note: some reviewers have expressed disgust with the last part, where the entire troupe of Keystone Kops is shot to death, but while I did not find this bit to be the least funny myself, it is crucial in order for the final gag to work; the Kops tumble down in realistic manner, which is shocking as the film up to that point has been quite cartoonish, but this is typically followed by the most cartoonish instance in the entire film, with Ford committing suicide by strangling himself to death. Dramaturgically speaking, the final gag would not have worked as well without that brief contrast.

It was fun seeing the stars at work but the plot is a little ho-hum. The story is about a bad guy (Ford Sterling) who literally ties poor Mabel Normand to the railroad track and whether Mack Sennett and Barney Oldfield will reach her and rescue her before the speeding train hits her.

One scene with the train was pretty impressive and the audience reacted loudly. I just thought that the bad guy didn't have enough motivation for doing such a rotten thing to Mabel.