By David Kalat
Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life
Brief Synopsis
A villainous man ties a woman to a railroad track, and her boyfriend races to her rescue in this silent short.
Cast & Crew
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Mack Sennett
Director
Mabel Normand
Carmen Phillips
Ford Sterling
Rube Miller
Barney Oldfield
Himself
Film Details
Genre
Comedy
Short
Silent
Release Date
1913
Production Company
Keystone Film Company
Distribution Company
H2L Media Group
Technical Specs
Duration
10m
Synopsis
A villainous man ties a woman to a railroad track, and her boyfriend races to her rescue in this silent short.
Director
Mack Sennett
Director
Film Details
Genre
Comedy
Short
Silent
Release Date
1913
Production Company
Keystone Film Company
Distribution Company
H2L Media Group
Technical Specs
Duration
10m
Articles
Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life
One of Sennett's most triumphant early hits, Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life mixes an absurdly over-the-top parody of Victorian melodramas with modern pop culture for cartoonish effect. Villainous Ford Sterling literally ties Mabel Normand to the railroad tracks, but our hero (Mack Sennett himself) enlists the aid of racecar driver Barney Oldfield (who just set a land speed record three years earlier) to outrace the train and save the girl. Behind the scenes, Sennett had to enlist the real-life aid of Oldfield as well as officials of the Santa Fe railroad and the town of Inglewood to pull off the onscreen drama. With Oldfield racing at 90 mph against a train at 65 mph (and some deftly deployed matte effects to seal the illusion), Sennett effectively mashed-up comedy, thrills and speed in one package. Ecstatic exhibitors held the film for weeks to accommodate demand from audiences.
By David Kalat
By David Kalat
Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life
One of Sennett's most triumphant early hits, Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life mixes an absurdly over-the-top parody of Victorian melodramas with modern pop culture for cartoonish effect. Villainous Ford Sterling literally ties Mabel Normand to the railroad tracks, but our hero (Mack Sennett himself) enlists the aid of racecar driver Barney Oldfield (who just set a land speed record three years earlier) to outrace the train and save the girl. Behind the scenes, Sennett had to enlist the real-life aid of Oldfield as well as officials of the Santa Fe railroad and the town of Inglewood to pull off the onscreen drama. With Oldfield racing at 90 mph against a train at 65 mph (and some deftly deployed matte effects to seal the illusion), Sennett effectively mashed-up comedy, thrills and speed in one package. Ecstatic exhibitors held the film for weeks to accommodate demand from audiences. By David Kalat
