
Because of the physical punishment involved in the earliest film comedies, women’s roles, especially domineering mothers-in-law or hideous prospective brides, were often played by men in drag. Soon there emerged hardy performers, like Sarah Duhamel and Little Chrysias, who weren’t afraid of taking hard knocks for laughs, and the floodgates opened for other female practitioners such as Florence Turner, Alice Howell, and Betty Balfour.
Piano accompaniment by Ben Model (November 23) and Makia Matsumura (November 27). Program Approx. 110 min.
Cunegonde de aime son maitre (Cunegonde in Love with Her Master). 1912. France
She Cried. 1912. USA. Directed by Albert W. Hale
Le singe de Patronille (Patronille’s Monkey). 1913. France
Distilled Love. 1920. USA. Directed by Vin Moore, Dick Smith
Squibs Wins the Calcutta Sweeps. 1922. Great Britain. Directed by George Pearson