Mack Sennett | |
|---|---|
 The Moving Picture World, 1916 | |
| Born | Michael Sinnott (1880-01-17)January 17, 1880 Danville, Quebec, Canada |
| Died | November 5, 1960(1960-11-05) (aged 80) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1902–1956 |
Mack Sennett (bornMichael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American producer, director, actor, and studio head who was known as the "King of Comedy" during his career.[1]
Born inDanville, Quebec,[2][3][4][a] he started acting in films in theBiograph Company of New York City in 1908, and later openedKeystone Studios inEdendale, California in 1912. Keystone possessed the first fully enclosed film stage, and Sennett became famous as the originator ofslapstick routines such as pie-throwing and car-chases, as seen in theKeystone Cops films.[5] He also produced short features that displayed hisBathing Beauties, many of whom went on to develop successful acting careers.[6][7]
After struggling with bankruptcy and the dominance ofsound films in the early 1930s, Sennett was presented with an honoraryAcademy Award in 1938 for his contributions to the film industry, with the academy describing him as a "master of fun, discoverer of stars, sympathetic, kindly, understanding comedy genius".[8]
Born Michael Sinnott inDanville, Quebec,[2] to parents ofIrish Catholic descent, John Sinnott and Catherine Foy (or Foye). His parents married in 1879 inTingwick, Quebec and moved the same year to Richmond, Quebec where Sinnott was hired as a laborer.[9] By 1883, when Sennett's brother George was born, Sinnott was working as an innkeeper, a position he held for many years. Sennett's parents had all their children and raised their family in Richmond, then a smallEastern Townships village. At that time, Sennett's grandparents were living in Danville, Quebec. Sennett moved toConnecticut when he was 17 years old.[9]
He lived for a while inNorthampton, Massachusetts, where, according to his autobiography, he first got the idea to become an opera singer after seeing avaudeville show. He said that the most respected lawyer in town, Northampton mayor (and future President of the United States)Calvin Coolidge, as well as Sennett's mother, tried to talk him out of his musical ambitions.[10] In New York City, he took on the stage name Mack Sennett and became an actor, singer, dancer,clown,set designer, and director for theBiograph Company. A distinction in his acting career, often overlooked, is that he playedSherlock Holmes 11 times, albeit as aparody, between 1911 and 1913.[11]
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With financial backing from Adam Kessel and Charles O. Bauman of theNew York Motion Picture Company, Sennett foundedKeystone Studios inEdendale, California – now a part ofEcho Park – in 1912. The original main building which was the first totally enclosed film stage and studio ever constructed,[1] is still standing, as of 2023.[12] Many successful actors began their film careers with Sennett, includingMarie Dressler,Mabel Normand,Charlie Chaplin,Harry Langdon,Roscoe Arbuckle,Harold Lloyd,Raymond Griffith,Gloria Swanson,Charley Chase,Ford Sterling,Andy Clyde,Chester Conklin,Polly Moran,Slim Summerville,Louise Fazenda,The Keystone Cops,Carole Lombard,Bing Crosby, andW. C. Fields.[b][c]
"In its pre-1920s heyday [Sennett's Fun Factory] created a vigorous new style of motion picture comedy founded on speed, insolence and destruction, which won them the undying affection of the FrenchDadaists..." —Film historian Richard Koszarski[15]
Dubbed the King of Hollywood'sFun Factory,[16] Sennett's studios producedslapstick comedies that were noted for their hair-raising car chases andcustard pie warfare, especially in theKeystone Copsseries. The comic formulas, however well executed, were based on humorous situations rather than the personal traits of the comedians; the various social types, often grotesquely portrayed by members of Sennett's troupe, were adequate to render the largely "interchangeable routines: "Having a funny moustache, or crossed-eyes, or an extra two-hundred pounds was as much individualization as was required."[d][17]
"It is an axiom of screen comedy that a Shetland pony must never be put in an undignified position. People don't like it...immunity of pretty girls doesn't go as far as the immunity of the Shetland pony...you can have her fall into mud puddles. They will laugh at that. But the spectacle of a girl dripping with pie is unpleasing...movie fans don't like to see pretty girls smeared up with pastry. Shetland ponies and pretty girls are immune."— Mack Sennett, fromThe Psychology of Film Comedy, November 1918[17]
Film historianRichard Koszarski qualifies "fun factory" influence on comedic film acting:
"While Mack Sennett has a secure and valued place in the history of screen comedy, it is surely not as a developer of individual talents... Chaplin, Langdon, and Lloyd were all on the lot at one point or another, but developed their styles only in spite of Sennett, and grew to their artistic peaks only away from his influence... screen comedy followed Chaplin's lead and began to focus more on personality than situation."[e]
Sennett's first female comedian wasMabel Normand, who became a major star under his direction and with whom he embarked on a tumultuous romantic relationship.[10] Sennett also developed theKid Comedies, a forerunner of theOur Gang films, and in a short time, his name became synonymous with screen comedy which were called "flickers" at the time.[10] In 1915, Keystone Studios became an autonomous production unit of the ambitiousTriangle Film Corporation, as Sennett joined forces withD. W. Griffith andThomas Ince, both powerful figures in the film industry.[18]
Also beginning in 1915, Sennett assembled a bevy of women known as the Sennett Bathing Beauties to appear in provocative bathing costumes in comedy short subjects, in promotional material, and in promotional events such asVenice Beach beauty contests.[6] The Sennett Bathing Beauties continued to appear through 1928.[7]
In 1917, Sennett gave up the Keystone trademark and organized his own company, Mack Sennett Comedies Corporation.[10] Sennett's bosses retained the Keystone trademark and produced a cheap series of comedy shorts that proved unsuccessful. Sennett went on to produce more ambitious comedy short films and a few feature-length films.[10]
Many of Sennett's films of the early 1920s were inherited byWarner Bros.[11] after Warner had merged with the original distributor, First National. Warner added music and commentary to several of these short subjects, and the new versions were released to theaters between 1939 and 1945. Many of Sennett's First National films physically deteriorated due to inadequate storage. Hence, many of Sennett's films from his most productive and creative period no longer exist.[11]
In the mid-1920s, Sennett moved toPathé Exchange distribution.[10] In 1927, Hollywood's two most successful studios,Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer andParamount Pictures, took note of the profits being made by smaller companies such as Pathé Exchange andEarle Hammons'sEducational Pictures.[10] MGM took over theHal Roach comedy shorts from Pathé, and Paramount reactivated its short subjects. Hundreds of other independent exhibitors and moviehouses switched from Pathé to the new MGM or Paramount shorts. Sennett fulfilled his contract to deliver silent comedies to Pathé through 1929 (these, like theSmith Family comedies, had already been completed before Sennett temporarily shut down his studio), but he began making sound films for Educational in late 1928.
In 1928, Sennett canceled all of his talent contracts and retooled his studio for the new talking-picture technology. His leading star at the time,Ben Turpin, was suddenly unemployed and moved to theWeiss Brothers studio.
Sennett's enthusiasm for sound on film was such that he was the first to get a talking two-reel comedy on the market.[10]The Lion's Roar, starring Johnny Burke and Billy Bevan, was released by Educational in December 1928, launching a four-year succession of Mack Sennett sound comedies. Sennett occasionally experimented with color as well.[10]
In 1932, he was nominated for theAcademy Award for Live Action Short Film in the comedy division for producingThe Loud Mouth (withMatt McHugh, in the sports-heckler role later taken inColumbia Pictures remakes byCharley Chase andShemp Howard).[19] Sennett also won an Academy Award in the novelty division for his filmWrestling Swordfish, also in 1932.[20] He directed at least two two-reel comedies under the pseudonym Michael Emmes (the "Emmes" representing Sennett's initials):Hawkins and Watkins Inc. andYoung Onions (both 1932).
Mack Sennett often clung to outmoded techniques, making his early-1930s films seem dated and quaint: he dressed some of his actors in eccentric makeups and loud costumes, which were amusing in the cartoonish silent films but ludicrous in the new, realistic atmosphere of talking pictures. Sennett was also having financial problems during theGreat Depression. One of his biggest stars, Andy Clyde, left the studio after Sennett, wanting to economize, tried to cut Clyde's salary.
In 1932, Sennett attempted to re-enter the feature-film market on a grand scale withHypnotized. Remembering the successful campaign for his very first feature-length comedyTillie's Punctured Romance, which in 1914 was the longest comedy film ever produced, Sennett plannedHypnotized along similar lines as an epic production that would be shown first-run in selectroadshow engagements. Sennett announced thatHypnotized would run 15 reels, or two-and-a-half hours, more than twice the length of a typical comedy feature of the day.[21] Sennett wantedW. C. Fields to star as a carnival hypnotist, but Fields declined and the role went toErnest Torrence, sharing the spotlight with blackface comediansMoran and Mack, "The Two Black Crows". Production was completed in August 1932, but fell far short of Sennett's grandiose predictions. The finished film ran an ordinary 70 minutes and was released through ordinary channels byWorld Wide Pictures (Educational's feature-film outlet) in December 1932.
Sennett was also having differences with his distributor, Earle Hammons of Educational.Jack White, Educational's leading producer, explained, "We put Mack Sennett out of business. Theaters had [our] comedies booked solid. Sennett was very temperamental and wanted the exhibitor to do certain things, but they wouldn't stand for it. Sennett wouldn't stand for Hammons not telling him how much [money] he was cutting out of the grosses for himself. Sennett told him to go to hell."[22][23] Sennett left Educational and signed withParamount Pictures.[24]
Sennett's sound comedies usually starred young featured players likeFrank Albertson or established stage comics likeWalter Catlett, but Sennett didn't establish any new star names until he signed bothBing Crosby andW. C. Fields for two-reel comedies. Crosby starred in six; Fields wrote and starred in four. Two other Sennett shorts were made with Fields scripts:The Singing Boxer (1933) withDonald Novis andToo Many Highballs (1933) withLloyd Hamilton.[10] Despite Paramount's wide distribution of the Crosby and Fields shorts, Sennett's studio did not survive the Depression.[10] Sennett's partnership with Paramount lasted only one year and he was forced into bankruptcy in November 1933.[10] His former protege Bing Crosby, whose popularity and income had skyrocketed, helped Sennett during a period of financial hardship.[25] This act prompted columnist Lloyd Pantages to refer to Crosby as Sennett's "guardian angel."[26]
On January 12, 1934, Sennett was injured in an automobile accident that killedblackface performer Charles Mack (of Moran and Mack) inMesa, Arizona.[27]
His last work, in 1935, was as a producer-director for Educational, in which he directedBuster Keaton inThe Timid Young Man andJoan Davis inWay Up Thar.[10] Sennett was not connected with the 1935Vitaphoneshort subjectKeystone Hotel, which featured several alumni from the Sennett studios, including Ben Turpin, Ford Sterling,Hank Mann, and Chester Conklin. The film was directed byRalph Staub.
Sennett made one last attempt to continue working in the comedy field. By this time he had been supplanted as the major producer of two-reel comedies byJules White atColumbia Pictures. White's brother, Jack White, recalled: "When Jules and I were at Columbia in the 1930s, Sennett tried to come to Columbia but they wouldn't have him. He was finished, and the studio was happy with Jules."[22][23] Sennett did sell some scripts and stories to Jules White, receiving screen credit under his "Michael Emmes" alias. Columbia really didn't need Sennett's services; the studio already had four producers and six directors on its short-subject payroll.[28]
Mack Sennett went into semi-retirement at the age of 55, having produced more than 1,000 silent films and several dozentalkies during a 25-year career.[10] His studio property was purchased byMascot Pictures (later part ofRepublic Pictures), and many of his former staffers found work at Columbia.[10]
In March 1938, Sennett was presented with an honoraryAcademy Award: "for his lasting contribution to the comedy technique of the screen, the basic principles of which are as important today as when they were first put into practice, the Academy presents a Special Award to that master of fun, discoverer of stars, sympathetic, kindly, understanding comedy genius – Mack Sennett."[8][29]
Rumors abounded that Sennett would be returning to film production (a September 1938 publicity release indicated that he would be working withStan Laurel ofLaurel and Hardy), but apart from Sennett reissuing a couple of his Bing Crosby two-reelers to theaters, nothing happened.[30]
Sennett did appear in front of the camera, however, inHollywood Cavalcade (1939), itself a thinly disguised version of the Mack Sennett-Mabel Normand romance.[10]
In 1949, he provided film footage for the first full-length comedy compilation film,Down Memory Lane (1949), written and narrated bySteve Allen.[31][32] Sennett made a guest appearance in the film, and received a special "Mack Sennett presents" credit.
Sennett wrote a memoir,King of Comedy, in collaboration with Cameron Shipp. The book was published in 1954, prompting TV producerRalph Edwards to mount a tribute to Sennett for the television seriesThis Is Your Life.[33] Sennett made a cameo appearance (for $1,000) inAbbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops (1955).[34]
Sennett's last appearance in the national media was in the NBC radio programBiography in Sound, relating memories of working with W.C. Fields. The program was broadcast February 28, 1956.[35]
Sennett was never married, but his tumultuous relationship with actress Mabel Normand was widely publicized in the press at the time.[36] According to theLos Angeles Times, Sennett reportedly lived a "madcap, extravagant life", often throwing "lavish parties", and at the peak of his career he owned three homes.[36]
On March 25, 1932, he became a United States citizen.[37]
Sennett died on November 5, 1960, inWoodland Hills, California, aged 80.[38] He was interred in theHoly Cross Cemetery inCulver City, California.[39]
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Sennett was honored with a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame at 6712Hollywood Boulevard.[36] He was also inducted intoCanada's Walk of Fame in 2014.[40]
The building of Sennett's original studio in Echo Park was deemed a historical landmark byThe City of Los Angeles in 1982.[12][41]
LCCN sn86-72020 (print; 1890–1982),LCCN 96-486783 (online; 1890–1982);ISSN 2992-9873 (print),ISSN 2992-9881 (online);OCLC 14374699 (all editions).ISSN 0971-751X;OCLC 13119119 (all editions).... injured Mack Sennett, former producer of 'Bathing Beauty' film comedies"
ProQuest 2213046851.)
