Barney Oldfield’s Race for a Life

Today marks the anniversary of the release of the hilarious Keystone comedy Barney Oldfield’s Race for a Life. A melodrama parody, it features Ford Sterling in top form as the mustache-twirling villain who vies for Mabel Normand’s affections. When she won’t give in, he and his two henchmen tie her to the railroad tracks. Meanwhile her boyfriend the hero, played by Mack Sennett, enlists the help of real life race car driver Barney Oldfield, who races him to the rescue.  And here it is!

For more on silent and slapstick comedy please check out my new book: Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube, just released by Bear Manor Media, also available from amazon.com etc etc etc