Mack Sennett was an opportunist. If there was an auto race nearby, he'd send his crew there and improvise a comedy short to take advantage of the event (such as "Kid Auto Races at Venice" where Chaplin wandered about during the beginning of a race). Here in "A Muddy Romance", the studio learned about a nearby lake that was going to be drained and arranged for an amazing visual gag. When Mabel runs off to marry Ford Sterling's rival, the couple take the minister to the middle of the lake in a boat to avoid Sterling's evil intervention. But, Sterling then appears to drain the lake--resulting in a bizarre Keystone Kops sequence. They are billed as 'Water Police' but look exactly like the regular Kops--and they spend a lot of time rolling about in the mud. While it's not super-hilarious, this can be said of most early comedies and the sight gag is terrific. Worth seeing if you love old comedies.
5 Reviews
Mostly of Historical Interest
Snow Leopard24 January 2002
The one-reeler "A Muddy Romance" used to be something of a byword for the way that Mack Sennett, in his early days, would sometimes throw together a movie on a sudden whim, without even having a story for it. This one shows what can happen as a result - while there are a couple of good moments, it does not hold together very well, and there is often little reason or motivation for what happens, even by slapstick standards. It does not start off too badly, but then it starts to seem a little forced. As a result, only a couple of the gags really work. It helps to have Mabel Normand around as the girl, and of course it is of historical interest. It's just that as comedy per se, it's far from the best of what silent cinema has to offer.
A Muddy Dud
alonzoiii-17 April 2008
Producer Mack Sennett found out that a lake near his studio was going to be drained, so he took a crew out to the site, shot some pictures, wrote some gags around the situation, and created A MUDDY ROMANCE.
Problem is, there aren't the wild gooey gags you'd expect with something like this. (One would expect a big mud fight -- something like MCLINTOCK). Just a few shots of Mabel Normond stranded in the middle of a lake, some Kops sloshing about in the mud, and the villain teeheeing as he turns a wheel that supposedly drains the lake.
There's nothing here for anyone -- including Keystone fans. (Well, Mabel Normond gets popped with something gooey (but not muddy) early in this. Good for a mild laugh.) If you have the Slapstick Encyclopedia, skip this.
Problem is, there aren't the wild gooey gags you'd expect with something like this. (One would expect a big mud fight -- something like MCLINTOCK). Just a few shots of Mabel Normond stranded in the middle of a lake, some Kops sloshing about in the mud, and the villain teeheeing as he turns a wheel that supposedly drains the lake.
There's nothing here for anyone -- including Keystone fans. (Well, Mabel Normond gets popped with something gooey (but not muddy) early in this. Good for a mild laugh.) If you have the Slapstick Encyclopedia, skip this.
Historic Maybe, Funny, Well
DKosty12313 February 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Mabel Normand would go on to do much better films than this one. So would Mack Sennett who would become the king of slapstick. The story behind this is that a lake on the studio lot dried up into mud. Sennett saw this as an opportunity as took everyone out for a mud bath.
There are a few elaborate acting sequences with a person talking on a phone but this effort falls short because it kind of loses track of where it is going. I think the dating of 1913 also has something to do with it as the continuity between sequences is more than a little rough in spots. Still, this is in the early era of films and to an extent it can be forgiven.
Once Normand gets mud in the face the first time, everyone else gets their turn in the mud. Think Arnold Ziffel, the pig on Green Acres in the 1960's, would appreciate the humor more than today's audience.
There are a few elaborate acting sequences with a person talking on a phone but this effort falls short because it kind of loses track of where it is going. I think the dating of 1913 also has something to do with it as the continuity between sequences is more than a little rough in spots. Still, this is in the early era of films and to an extent it can be forgiven.
Once Normand gets mud in the face the first time, everyone else gets their turn in the mud. Think Arnold Ziffel, the pig on Green Acres in the 1960's, would appreciate the humor more than today's audience.
Good comedy of its kind
deickemeyer13 January 2018
No political mudslinging occurs in this typical comedy offering. It is real mud that decorates the members of the Keystone Company when the jealous Ford dries up the lake and leaves the fair Mabel stranded with her friends. The police force appears and everyone is bespattered. Good comedy of its kind. - The Moving Picture World, November 29, 1913
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