ShangLuda
Admirable film.
Murphy Howard
I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.
Kamila Bell
This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.
Michael_Elliott
The Speed Kings (1913) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Mabel Normand and her Papa (Ford Sterling) are heading to the local race but with different men on their minds. Papa wants his daughter to marry Earl Cooper but Mabel has her eyes on Teddy Tetzlaff. Once at the race it's full of excitement as the men battle to win while Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle shows up to create even more damage.Here's a Mack Sennett short that is mildly entertaining but for the most part I'd argue that there really weren't too many actual laughs. The main reason to watch this is that there are some real racing figures who appear and I think getting to see the old time racing styles. Of course, being a Sennett film, a lot of stuff comes off as if they're just making it up on the spot, which results in a rather crazy style and atmosphere but it just doesn't get the laughs needed to make the film better.
MartinHafer
This is another example of the Mack Sennett Studio going on location and taking advantage of nearby attractions to provide the backdrop for this film. They did this with the beach, an exposition and auto races. In fact, I can think of another Sennett film made just a year later that is also based at the auto races. It's one of Chaplin's earliest films "Kid Auto Races at Venice" and like "The Speed Kings", the plot and laughs are purely secondary...at best.The plot, such as it is, has Dad wanting Mabel to marry a famous auto racer. Instead, Mabel wants to marry another. As for a young Fatty Arbuckle, he wants sweet Mabel for himself. However, when Mabel's beau wins the race, Dad agrees to the match and the film ends with Fatty fighting.The film has many of the usual sure-fire laugh routines of the day--kicking, punching, etc. but they did forget to have the gun loaded with blanks for some shots in the butt. Otherwise, despite the setting, a somewhat familiar film that really lacks laughs. In fact, the only reasons I could see for watching the film are if you are a race buff, as you get to see real racers as stars (as well as throwing in a quick cameo with Barney Oldfield) or if you are an insane silent comedy buff like myself--who will watch almost anything from the era! It's sad to be me sometimes.
tavm
The Speed Kings is of historical interest because of footage of actual car races as Mack Sennett decides to shoot a comedy short around the event with stars Mabel Normand, Ford Sterling, and, in an early supporting role, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. Mabel and father Sterling are for different car racers with Ms. Normand infatuated with one Teddy Tetzlaff. Arbuckle is a racetrack official who physically tries to keep Mabel from running to the track whenever Tetzlaff comes nearby. Then Sterling bites Fatty in the ear (shades of Mike Tyson!) afterwards. There's also many amusing facial reactions from Sterling and Ms. Normand. Other than what I've just mentioned, this is mostly a blah short but the races makes this worth a look at least once.
tedg
Ah, Mabel Normand, from the days when being a wild cokeheaded actress meant something. This is an early one from the Keystone days and the print I saw had some inexplicable stuff tacked onto the end, looked like Fatty and Laurel fighting for some reason.The main film is a car race with a mean ol daddy who will give his daughter, the desirable Mabel, to the winner. She prefers one fellow, Teddy Tetzlaff, and her dad roots for Earl Cooper. It seems that is the names of the actors. The print carries no credits.Oddly, the bad guy wins, and we have no reason to know why he is a bad guy, nor why Mabel seems unfazed. Its after the race that the unexplained tussle between two guys we haven't seen before occurs. There are crowd scenes, so this may have been one of those movies made on a day when a real race was run. The race footage might have been exciting for the times.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.
