Customer Reviews

What Happened to Rosa

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This DVD is a lovely tribute to one of the silent era's most beloved female stars, showing Mabel Normand's fine talent as a genuine actress in films other than short Mack Sennett Keystone comedies. Although "What Happened to Rosa" is also a comedy, it is one of the many feature-length films she did after she had already found fame in the mid 1910s as a regular in the Keystone short slapstick comedies. As such, it has a proper story and less slapstick or physical action, and gives Mabel the opportunity to expand her acting repertoire. In this light romantic comedy she is able to play several different characters all in one, namely first as the plain and simple shop assistant, Mayme, who visits a clairvoyant and learns about the spirit of a Spanish beauty named Rosa residing inside her. With the power of suggestion Mayme soon transforms into her alter-ego, Rosa, much to the confusion and concern of her flatmate and the `tall, dark and handsome stranger' the clairvoyant predicted she would soon meet. Later in the film, she also disguises herself as a boy in scruffy clothes, and it seems that each scene highlights another nuance and facet of Mabel's talents and natural charm. Perhaps the main reason Mabel attracted such a large and adoring audience more than other attractive actresses of her time is the way her lively and expressive acting seems very natural, as if simply a part of her exuberant, vibrant personality. This quality is nicely highlighted in "What Happened to Rosa" which is a perfect vehicle for her style and onscreen persona, and it's fair to say that Mabel alone makes this film good and a delight to watch. Very good picture quality and a suitable organ accompaniment also bring out the best of this pleasant little story, and as a bonus, a Keystone short from 1913 is also included. In "Hide and Seek" Mabel causes unnecessary panic when a little girl goes missing. The very good picture quality of this short comedy makes it a perfect complement to the one-hour feature film made in 1920, showing Mabel's different roles over the years. Also included with every Unknown Video DVD is a fridge magnet of a silent era star, and some of Mabel's other enjoyable feature films such as "Mickey" and "The Extra Girl" are also available on this label.

Mabel Normand, the most popular comedienne of the silent era, was associated with an unexplained death, much like her frequent co-star, Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle. Normand's friendship with director William Desmond ended with his murder, shortly after Mabel left his home. Police scrutiny and newspaper reports about her drug habits, plus a further scandal (an ex-convict chauffeur wounded her boyfriend with Normand's own pistol), essentially derailed Mabel's career. After having made 222 films from 1910 to '23, she appeared in only five more prior to retiring in 1927.

WHAT HAPPENED TO ROSA is the story of a somewhat clumsy hosiery counter salesgirl named Mayme who, after consulting a mystic, believes that she's possessed by the spirit of a long-dead Spanish noblewoman named Rosa Calvaro. Mayme/Rosa dons fancy Spanish garb to attend a yacht party, where she charms a society columnist named Drew. His returned attention causes Mayme to take a drastic plunge...

Along with "Rosa," this UNKNOWN VIDEO DVD also contains "Hide and Seek," a Mack Sennett one-reeler with Mabel, Edgar Kennedy and Ford Sterling.


The 1918 feature, MICKEY was the only photoplay released by Mabel Normand's own production company.


Parenthetical numbers preceding titles are 1 to 10 viewer poll ratings found at a film resource website.

(7.7) What Happened to Rosa (silent-1920) - Mabel Normand/Doris Pawn/Tully Marshall/Hugh Thompson/Eugenie Besserer/Buster Trow/Adolphe Menjou

(4.0) Hide and Seek (silent-1913) - Mabel Normand/Ford Sterling/Nick Cogley/Helen Holmes/Betty Schade/Edgar Kennedy/Harold Lloyd

A Staten Island girl who grew up in poverty, Mabel Normand would come into her own after leaving Mack Sennett and Keystone Studios. Though best known to the average film fan for her slapstick comedies made while at Keystone, where she was overworked and underpaid, she had much more to offer. A fine example of her talent and charm can be found in the Samuel Goldwyn production, What Happened to Rosa.

While declining grosses may have translated to smaller distribution for Normand's pictures, viewers today can see her charisma and talent shine through like early morning sun reflecting off a world of snow. Her public was thrown somewhat by her switch to a subtle and polite style of comedy, however, and did not catch on that they were watching the transformation of a caterpillar to a butterfly. The metamorphosis extended to the girl herself, who was just begging a personal journey in 1920 cut tragically short ten years later by tuberculosis. Only in recent years has an appreciation began to grow for her pioneering efforts in front of and behind the camera.

Hide and seek is a short but sweet introduction to a 19 year old Mabel Normand in a Keystone short about a little girl mistakenly thought to be locked in a vault while playing hide and seek with Mabel. You can see how good Normand was even then, and Whatever Happened to Rosa shows the blossom opening to reveal a lovely rose. She is quite adorable as the shopgirl Mayme, harried and skittish with no romance in her life other than a picture in a magazine. When an Egyptian seer comes to her counter and offers her card, the timid Mayme gets her fortune told. Spooked but game, she at first dismisses the clairvoyant's claims that she is really the spirit of a Spanish maiden named Rosa Alvaro. Little things immediately begin to happen, however, which convince her it may be true, and her dreary life at Friedmans suddenly comes alive.

Normand is wonderful in these early moments, showing a shy and timid girl listless from a life without joy. The contrast when she finds her mother's Spanish dancer costume and dons her Rosa persona is striking, filled with Normand's charm and vitality. Gone is the burden of a dull existence devoid of love when she wears her black hat, white rose, and off-the-shoulder dress. Rosa captures the heart and imagination of her dream man (Hugh Thompson) at a masquerade party but when her friend Gwen tries to expose her for the timid counter girl she is, Rosa must jump ship and disappear. Finding a way to resurrect Rosa so she can have her dreams come true proves problematic for plain Mayme. Known for his high class productions, Goldwyn gave Rosa the photography of George Webber and art direction of Cedric Gibbons to frame Normand to fine advantage. She is enchanting and funny. One scene where she puts stockings on a mannequin while Hugh Thompson turns red is done with marvelous flair by Normand and is hilarious!

Victor Schertzinger directs nicely Pearl Lenore Curran's story given a scenario by Gerald C. Duffy. Mabel Normand's performance is sexy and adorable, much like the girl herself. The picture quality of this Unknown Video DVD release is good, with an appropriate score by Ben Model and some lovely photo gallery cover shots from vintage movie magazines of the era as an afterward. Spare and refreshing, What Happened to Rosa shows Mabel Normand just as she was beginning to glow both on and off screen. A lovely way to remember her and a must for silent film fans.