Customer Reviews

Mabel: Hollywood's First I-Don't-Care Girl

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

Mabel, by Betty Harper Fussell (Limelight Editions, 1982),is a very well-researched and cleverly written book. Ms. Fussell madea unique connection with Mabel Normand via her grandnephew, Stephen. He himself was deeply intrigued by his great-aunt Mabel and nursed an obsession to know as much about her as he could - he even looks hauntingly like Mabel. Beyond the blood ties, it was this remarkable resemblance that encouraged the confidence of Mabel's nurse/companion Julia, who had cared for her during her protracted struggle with tuberculosis. Julia was 94 and in fragil health when she met Stephen; however, she never forgot any details about her beloved Mabel.

Some well-guarded secrets were revealed to Stephen after he got to know Julia well. Ms. Fussell skillfully pulls together many elements of Mabel's life and relationships. She gives us a fully formed picture of the complex, but bittersweet, "Diving Girl." Mabel was a muse, and she was amusing. Charlie Chaplin worked a lot with Mabel while under contract at Sennett's Keystone Studio. He was even (begrudgingly) directed by her in several short films, yet said unequivocably that "everyone adored Mabel."

Betty Fussell tells us in riveting prose why Mabel Normand was so adored. We get to know more about Hollywood's first "I-don't-care" girl than we ever knew before. Equally impressive is the detailed filmography and the nice collection of photos. This book is an absolute must for silent screen lovers. Thanks to Fussell, Mabel comes back to life in these pages.
- Copyright, 1996-97, Diane MacIntyre, "The Silents Majority"

This book gives an excellent insight into the life and times of Mabel Normand - one of the first women of cinema. Her life was complex and peppered with tragedy. This book fully explores all the hearsay about Mabel's downfall, and looks further into the roots of the controversy surounding the Taylor murder case, amongst other scandals of her time. I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone.

Betty Fussell's book is one of the best biographies I've read. I've read it several times since it was published in 1992. Why, you ask? It doesn't begin with the usual chronological story, but jumps back and forth from the present to the past. Fussell interweaves Mabel's family, her nurse, her friends with the tragic outcome of Mabel's life. It reads like a detective story, as Fussell tries to capture the clues to Mabel's life . Get this one, you won't regret it.

Fussell's biography of Mabel Normand, the famous comedienne, is one of the finest ever written about Hollywood, certainly about the Silent Era. Not only is the research extensive and the story enthralling, but Fussell's obsession with Normand hypnotizes and pulls the reader not merely into Normand's madcap life, but into the entire desperate world of Hollywood in the Twenties.

All I can say is read this book. It is one of the best Bio's written about a silent Movie star.

As a collector of silent film biographies, and a Mabel Normand fan, I was pleased to find this book at my local library. After reading it, however, I have to say that this has to be the strangest biography I've ever read. Most of the chapters are started with excerpts from letters from Mabel's nurse or her companion. They are bizarre and strange and have absolutely nothing to do with the story. Add that to the author's constant droning on and on about Topsy and Little Eva, sex and money, and blonde spirituelles vs. dark-haired wanton women was over the top. There are other things in here that just don't make sense. In one area she tells us that after the Roscoe Arbuckle scandal, Hollywood was forced to make cleaner, more innocent films with "Little Eva" characters instead of irreverent, sexy films made before the scandals. Has she never seen the pre-code films of the late 20s and early 30s? She then refers to the alternative to Mabel's womanliness; which, according to the author is an "adrogynous IT," Then cites Clara Bow as an example. Clara Bow, adrogynous? Seriously? I could go on and on, but let me just finish by saying that Mabel deserves better, and that this is truly, truly one of the weirdest books I have ever read. It might be worth buying for the photos, but that's all.

The author starts immediately with a kind of disclaimer - Hollywood's role in appearance versus reality - and she uses this to explain and/or apologize (in my opinion) for her narrative, basically asking the question, "Who can ever know the truth?" She also inserts herself throughout the narrative. This tactic, at first, seems disjointed and doesn't lead to seamless reading. However, as the reader progresses, s/he becomes accustomed to this format. So much about Mabel Normand relies on the testimony of others, which is iffy at best. Eventually, the reader is drawn into the story of the woman and the times and is able to associate with the narrator in her investigations. Fascinating person (Mabel). I don't know how else to have written such a difficult biography with the tools and resources the author had. Not the best biography I've read to date (my favorite still is the one "Clara Bow: Runnin' Wild"), but still a good read. I'd recommend it.

This book was first published in the very early 1980s, and reprinted in 1992. So with all due respect it didnt stand a chance of being very spot on. Fussell narrates this story of dear Mabel Normand in the oddest of ways...detailing a trashy old (now non existant) Hollywood and some werid stories about her by then very elderly (and probably demented) nurse Julia. These stories arent particularly interesting, have very very VERY little to do with the story of Mabel Normand, and honestly make the reader squirm in its awkwardness. Especially the nurse ones. Fussell SEEMS to be trying to write it as if shes revealing something or building up to something...in reality shes just wasting more ink not talking about Mabel Normand.

Mabel Normand died in 1930...meaning even then there wasnt a lot to go on. Fussell had the luck of interviewing many important people such as Mary Miles Minter and Hal Roach...yet she barely obtained anything interesting from them (minus Roach's quote about Sennett and talent). In fact she seemed to just revel in talking about how far they had fallen or how caught in the past they were (such as Minter being a fat old diabetic per her description). One would think with these people only having years to live interesting questions about Mabel and silent film should have been asked...apparently they werent.

The actual story of Mabel is woven between these shoddy interviews and awkward ''letters'' (I say that in quotes because Fussell admits in the beginning she edited them for dramatic content). She doesnt leave an index of notes or any references, and some of her conclusions are questionable. She basically tells the story in the most simplest terms, loosing out when it comes to things like the Dines shooting or her marriage to Lew Cody. It leaves a lot to be desired.

The pictures are okay, but nothing special, rare, or particularly interesting. Im surprised this book has so many good reviews...Im sorry but I dont think it deserves them. Mabel deserves WAY better! WAY better!

If you have any interest at all in silent film commedians, this is an important book for your collection!
It details Mabels life, and also many others rise to fame , from the MAX SENNET studios,\
EXCELLENT BOOK