Mabel and Fatty's Married Life

Lonely housewife Mabel Normand is convinced a roving band of thieves has invaded her home and is after her--but as the old saying goes, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not after you. Common sense takes a vacation, and Mabel takes up arms to defend herself against... well, against her husband Fatty, for one, as well as a loose monkey, for another. But, can you blame her? Who's going to rescue her from the bad guys--the Keystone Kops? And who's going to rescue her from the Keystone Kops?

Roscoe Arbuckle directed this film, which features his nephew Al St. John as the lead Kop. Keep your eyes peeled for future Laurel and Hardy foil Mae Busch as the "Woman in Black," making one of her earliest screen appearances. Mae was ascending from walk-on bits like this to becoming one of Keystone's new leading ladies, and gossip had it she was also seeing a lot of Mack Sennett in the off-hours, too. According to a story told by Minta Durfee, Mabel caught Mack and Mae together one night, and in the jealous melee that ensued, Mae threw a vase at Mabel and knocked her out. Mabel's injury was later implied to be a suicide attempt, and put an end to any thoughts of Mabel and Mack getting married. It's as if they kept living Keystone style slapstick chaos even in their private lives.



By David Kalat