June
26, 2021
Bell Boy 13 – US, 1922
There’s an old saying regarding the impact of familiarity that must be tempered from time to time, for while it would be great if every movie were a complete original, the truth is that audiences often prefer what is recognizable. It is no wonder then that some of the earliest movies were adaptations of popular novels and why early physical comedy was sometimes little more than one person hitting and another falling down. After all, when you cannot rely on words to move the narrative forward, perhaps it helps to be able to identify the structure early on.
One
of the most archetypical narrative tropes to develop during the silent era
involved a lazy wealthy young man and the sweet young lady who refuses to marry
him unless he proves himself worthy. It was a variation of the
duck-out-of-water theme, and it presented its protagonist with a number of
comic opportunities, many of which relied on the notion that those born wealthy
were out of touch with common people. In 1920, it was Buster Keaton who stepped
into this role in his first feature length film The Saphead; two years later, it was Douglas MacLean in William A. Seiter’s
Bell Boy 13.
Like
most early slapstick comedies, the narrative of Bell Boy 13 is less important than the gags employed to get its
characters from Point A to Point B. In fact, we know how the film will end
after just a few minutes. In that small amount of time, we meet Harry Elrod (MacLean),
the pampered rich kid, Kitty Clyde (Margaret Loomis), the actress he intends to
marry, and Elrey Elrod (John Steppling) the uncle standing in their way. It
doesn’t take a genius to know: a) that the uncle will oppose their marriage in
the beginning and b) that the young lovers will be together in the end. The
only question is how Harry changes his uncle’s mind.
The
film is divided up into four parts, each one featuring a particular comic
scenario. The first two involve Harry trying to elude his uncle so that he can
elope with Kitty. The first is a variation of the standard “go out, see someone,
go back in” gag, and it’s interesting how well these scenes work in spite of
their predictability. The second revolves around Harry’s attempts to go through
an open door and the many obstacles, one of which is a terrible singer,
standing in his way. For the third one, Harry dons a uniform and attempts to
make an honest living; he caps off the film by instigating a walk out that ends
up only benefitting him.
The
movies doesn’t give its supporting cast that much to do. As Kitty, Loomis is
asked to be sweet and innocent, which she does well enough. Only during a scene
in which someone enters her room at a most importune time does she really have
a chance to shine. Steppling is given a bit more to do, and I admired the way
he contorted his face and used his body to show anger and moral judgment. The
actor playing the character who gets Harry a job fares best of all primarily
because he is interacting with MacLean. A scene in which his character engages
in an elbowing match is quite humorous, and an earlier exchange about employment
opportunities allows him to show just how decent he is. (He was uncredited, so I could not find his
name. Believe me, I tried.)
Of
course, Bell Boy 13 is MacLean’s
film, and he is truly a delight to behold. Here, he’s essentially playing a spoiled
child in a man’s body, and he fully embodies the two personalities. In his
scenes with Kitty, he is sweet and smiley, but never fully mature. With his
uncle, he is both cowardly and innovative, showing that while his nerves may
falter, his mind is active and quick. When he’s working, MacLean adopts the
demeanor of both a child playing a game and an adult experiencing an aspect of
life for the first time. He was truly a master of facial expressions.
The
film’s final act is slightly disappointing due to the insertion of a character
that screen writers Violet Clark and Austin Gill clearly had no plan for. The
character is introduced early in the film and gives the impression of being a
thief in pursuit of an envelope containing $25,000. By the end of the film, I
was unsure exactly what his motivations were, for if he is who he is revealed
to be, his continued presence in the film defies logic.
I’m
reminded of Baz Luhrman’s belief that the audience should be told the ending of
a film very early on, reasoning that when you know how it ends, you’ll relax
and enjoy the journey getting there. Perhaps this is how we should see films
like Bell Boy 13. Having seen so many
films in my lifetime, ones made both before and after this one, it is hard to
find one with a completely unique storyline. Maybe the best way to judge some
films is to look at how well its individual pieces worked, rather than how
creative the overall narrative is. Seen from this perspective, Bell Boy 13 is a success. Its first act
is clever, its second a riot, and its third a lot of fun. The fourth is not on
the same level as the three that precede it, but watching MacLean end a strike
by proclaiming that he had received
everything he wanted more than made
up for it. MacLean was indeed a cinematic treasure, and it grieves me that One a Minute and Bell Boy 13 are all that remain of what must have been a stellar
body of work. (on DVD as part of Undercrank Productions’s The Douglas MacLean Collection)
3
and a half stars
*Bell Boy 13 is a silent film.
There’s an old saying regarding the impact of familiarity that must be tempered from time to time, for while it would be great if every movie were a complete original, the truth is that audiences often prefer what is recognizable. It is no wonder then that some of the earliest movies were adaptations of popular novels and why early physical comedy was sometimes little more than one person hitting and another falling down. After all, when you cannot rely on words to move the narrative forward, perhaps it helps to be able to identify the structure early on.
