Specters of Feminist Silent Film Comedy

Tuesday, October 23rd at 7:00pm

Assistant professor of cultural studies and comparative literature at the University of Minnesota, Maggie Hennefeld had long been interested in comedy and film. But seeing the 1903 movie Mary Jane's Mishap inspired her research into the early days of silent film, when female stars used slapstick for feminist aims. That research informs her new book, Specters of Slapstick and Silent Film Comediennes (Columbia University Press, 2018). Women played a big role in the early days of silent film, starring, directing and producing shorts, said Hennefeld, "probably because cinema wasn't big business." The "vast majority" of those films have been lost, she said. Researching the book meant trekking to archives in Washington D.C., England and France, finding reviews in popular magazines and digging through copyright documents. The dozen films showing tonight (a program that was presented at the Trylon Cinema in Minneapolis in the Spring) are Hennefeld's favorites.

• Mary Jane's Mishap (G.A. Smith, UK, 1903, 4 min)

• Daisy Doodad's Dial (Florence Turner / Larry Trimble, UK, 1914, 9 min)
• Betty and Jane Go to the Theater [Rosalie et L?ontine vont au th?atre] (Romeo Bosetti, France, 1911, 5 min)
• Betty Pulls the Strings [Les ficelles de L?ontine] (Romeo Bosetti, France, 1910, 7 min)
• Lea and the Ball of Wool [Lea e il gomitolo] (Cines, Italy, 1913, 4.5 min)
• Cunegonde Has Visitors [Cun?gonde recoit sa famille] (Lux, France, 1912, 6 min)
• Laughing Gas (Edwin S. Porter, US, 1907, 9 min)
• Madame's Cravings [Madame a des envies] (Alice Guy-Blach?, France, 1907, 4 min)
• The Electric Hotel [El hotel el?ctrico] (Segundo de Chom?n, Spain/France, 1908, 9.5 min)
• The Red Spectre [Le spectre rouge] (Segundo de Chom?n and Ferdinand Zecca, France, 1907 9.5 min)
• Mabel's Strange Predicament (Mabel Normand, US, 1914, 12 min)