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After the high performance of our post on Mack Sennett's Bathing Beauties, what could be more fitting than to base our Filmmaker Friday on the man himself? Yes, he thought of the Bathing Beauties, but lovely young ladies and their knees aside, Mack Sennett also had quite a career in early Hollywood: director, producer, screenwriter, presenter, composer, cinematographer... And, like so many old Hollywood greats, he too, started as an actor! Distinguished readers – presenting the “King of Comedy”, as he was once known...
1880 – 1960
IMDb: Mack Sennett - IMDb
Michael Sinott, as he was originally named, was born in Danville, Quebec, Canada in 1880. At age 17, Mack moved to Connecticut, but eventually ended up in Massachusetts. This is where he first got bitten by “the stage bug”, and had the idea of being an opera singer in vaudeville. His mother (and supposedly Calvin Coolidge, who was a lawyer at the time) tried to discourage him, but Mack was determined. Not sure how Mr. Coolidge knew the family, but it’s a cool addition to his story, don’t ya think??
Well, one thing led to another and Mack had auditioned for famed producer David Belasco, and found himself working in New York City under the stage name of “Mack Sennett”. In his time there, he was an actor, singer, dancer, clown, set designer, and director for the Biograph Company, which was the first company in the United States dedicated exclusively to film production and distribution. One of his bosses? D.W. Griffith, of course! The story goes, one day D.W. fell ill – and who do you think replaced him?? Mack did such a good job that D.W. all but handed the reigns of his comedy unit to Mack – and the rest is history...
Mack, clowning in one of his own films, starting a "fight" with comedian Roscoe Arbuckle in "Mabel's Dramatic Career" (1913)
In 1912, Mack received financial backing from people in the New York Picture Company, and he founded Keystone Studios in California. Keystone was the very first studio in the United States to have a fully enclosed film stage – and guess what – it’s still there today! Many Old Hollywood greats started their careers at Keystone, including Gloria Swanson, Harold Lloyd, Charlie Chaplin and Mabel Normand! Mack produced short films at a breakneck speed – often several in one day!
1916
2022
Under Mack’s direction, Keystone made a name for itself in the film community for making wild comedies with car chases and pie fights, often featuring a group of rotating actors playing policemen. This group of comic actors, known as the Keystone Kops, would fall down, run around like a flock of chickens and generally make fools of themselves, to the delight of audiences. We think this would go over well in today’s day and age... The films Mack produced were based on humorous situations and exaggerated caricatures, not so much on the actors' personalities. This means that the characters (including the Keystone Kops) were relatively interchangeable. For creative talents such as Charlie Chaplin, this was quite stifling - and many "comedy greats" were developed in spite of Mack's comedy formula, not because of it. In a short while, Mack’s name became synonymous with early screen comedy, and he soon joined forces with D.W. Griffith and Thomas Ince to form the Triangle Film Corporation in 1915.
Making an appearance in "The Extra Girl" (1923) - another film of his own!
Mack removed himself from the Keystone name in 1917, founding his own company, “Mack Sennett Comedies Corporation”. His bosses retained Keystone and attempted to make comedies in Mack’s style – but ultimately failed. Some things just can’t be faked, folks! Mack continued making successful shorts and even a few features during the 1920s. Unfortunately, many of these are now considered lost, because old nitrate film must be stored “just right” in order to be preserved – and a lot of films in those days did not have adequate storage.
With his on-again, off-again girlfriend, comedienne Mabel Normand
When sound hit the screen, Mack did well. He even experimented with color! He was the first to get a “talkie” short on the market in 1928, too! Mack’s sound short films with Bing Crosby were so successful that Paramount Pictures took notice and offered Mack a deal. He also made several successful shorts with comedian W.C. Fields. In 1932, he won an Academy Award in the novelty division for his short, “Wrestling Swordfish” – and he became a United States citizen in the same year. However...
Just one year after making the deal with Paramount, Mack’s company began to suffer due to the ripple effects of the Great Depression. In 1933, the company went bankrupt. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the following year (1934), Mack was injured in a car accident. After recovering, his final project was completed in 1935, a short with the incomparable Buster Keaton. Mack was semi-retired at the age of 55, having produced more than 1000 (!) silent films and several dozen “talkies” over just 25 years. Talk about a whirlwind!
In 1938, Mack was given an honorary Academy Award:
"for his lasting contribution to the comedy technique of the screen, the basic principles of which are as important today as when they were first put into practice, the Academy presents a Special Award to that master of fun, discoverer of stars, sympathetic, kindly, understanding comedy genius – Mack Sennett.”
Mack made a handful of appearances in television, radio and film during the 1940’s and 1950’s, ending with his cameo film appearance in “Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops” (1955), and on the radio in “Biography in Sound” (1956). In 1960, Mack passed away at the age of 80. The cause of his death is not confirmed.
The next time you see a silly TikTok video in which someone gets a pie (or cake) to the face....be sure to thank Mack Sennett for making it mainstream! Check out some Keystone Kops highlights below!
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