Slapstick film

Tweedledum Aviator-1911-Marcel Perez-A n Italian slapstick comedy-Full silent movie

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• published: 18 Aug 2016
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Tweedledum Aviator (It. Robinet aviatore), 1911, directed and starring Marcel Perez and produced by Società Anonima Ambrosio, is a crazy comedy silent film. Tweedldum ( Robinet), the lead in this Italian slapstick comedy, wants to be an aviator in the worst way, and this being an Italian slapstick, that's how he does it. Italian slapstick in this period was absolutely bone-breaking, so much so that it makes Keystone slapstick look like drawing-room comedy by contrast. Although the course of this comedy is not terribly surprising -- Robinet gets in the air and causes general destruction, mostly by knocking the tops off tall buildings -- the design of his aircraft is particularly amusing. It resembles a giant sturgeon with a forward propeller and one on top -- an auto-gyro of some sort -- with wings and, of course, a jaw hinged to open and close constantly, suggesting, perhaps a crocodile. Marcel Perez, born Marcel Fernández Peréz (January 29, 1884 – February 8, 1929), was an internationally celebrated Spanish-born creator and star of over 200 silent comedy short subjects. He directed himself in nearly two-thirds of these films, acting, on two continents under such names as Marcel Fabre, Michel Fabre, Fernandea Perez, Manuel Fernández Pérez, Robinet, Tweedy, Tweedledum, and Twede-Dan. Born in Madrid, Perez began his professional career by working as a circus clown in Paris. His film career started with comedy films of the production companies Pathé Frères and Éclair. In 1910 Arturo Ambrosio signed him for his production company, Ambrosio Films. Perez directed several comedies while working for the production company. He had directed and acted in the sci-fi film The Extraordinary Adventures of Saturnino Farandola, a series of 18 episodes released on the eve of first World War and based on a science fiction novel by Robida. He had played the character of Saturnino Farandola in the film which explored the idea of a voyage around the world. Perez had directed and played the character of Robinet in over 150 films produced by Ambrosio films and was thus popularly called Robinet in Italy. He had directed the 1914 melodrama film Amor Pedestre (translation Pedestrian Love), which did not show any body part of the lead actor or actress except their feet. During the First World War, Perez left Italy and went to the United States. In America, he was popularly called Tweedle-Dum, Twede-Dan and Tweedy, but among his earliest American movies were a series of four Bungles comedies: Bungles' Rainy Day, Bungles Enforces the Law, Bungles' Elopement and Bungles Lands a Job. The Bungles shorts co-starred Oliver Hardy and were produced by Jacksonville's Vim Comedy Company. Perez began his decade-long occasional collaborations with William A. Seiter on the 1918 military comedy film The Recruit. Concurrent with his early-1920's short subject work, Perez directed Rubye De Remer in three features; what might have become a more extensive teaming was ended, in part, by her early retirement. Following a cancer-related leg amputation in 1923, his film work was confined almost exclusively to writing and directing, most notably the Alyce Ardell comedies for producer Joe Rock. By early 1924, Perez was reportedly earning $400 weekly as a Jimmy Aubrey gagman. He was married to the actress Dorothy Earle. Resources: wikipedia.org, archive.org New soundtrack and dubbing: CinemaHistoryChannel Music: Kevin Mac Leod (incompetch.com) licensed under Creative Commons licence: Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0).