8mm Forum: Keystone Comedy - Stepping On The Gas

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Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on January 23, 2008, 09:12 AM:

I have a Collectors Club release of "Stepping On The Gas - A Keystone Comedy." It's about a road race.

I cannot find any reference to this silent title on any web site, nor is it mentioned in the Mack Sennett book by Simon Louvish.

Does anybody know if this is its original title, or has it been changed somewhere along the way?

I have another Collectors Club release called "Man-Eater At Large" and have now discovered that its correct title is "The Lion's Whiskers" (1925), so perhaps Collectors Club had a habit of changing titles?

Maurice

Posted by Jonathan Sanders (Member # 478) on January 23, 2008, 10:00 AM:

Although I don't have the Collectors Club release, I think it may be LIZZIES OF THE FIELD (1924) with Billy Bevan. Is it the one about the rival garages who literally pull their customers in, climaxing in a road race where all the cars finish up going down a hill, then up in the air and crashing to the ground?

Collectors Club (like many other 8mm companies) did often change titles, especially for abridged versions, though the 16mm copies they used as masters may already have been changed.

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on January 23, 2008, 11:27 AM:

Well done, Jonathan!

You are quite right. Two rival garages, The Black Cat and The Red Dog vie for business and in one sequence one garage tries to tow away a car which the other garage is working on ...... the car stretches continually until it snaps in two.

Yes, the cars come down an incline and smash into each other at the bottom, the later cars bouncing up into the air. A lot of these sequences were used by Philip Jenkinson to create his 10-minute short "Tribute to Mack Sennett" which was sold new on 16mm sound by Watsofilms of Coventry.

We can always trust an 8mm Forum member to come up with the goods!

Thank you.

Maurice

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on January 23, 2008, 12:10 PM:

Corr, that brings back memories Maurice. My first ever collectors club was Stepping on da Gas and it was advertised in the papers as your first film free when you signed up with collectors club. Lots of nostalgia for me here and I still have piles of CC films, and although the quality was variable they made super 8 and Standard 8 films very affordable at that time when I was just starting work in the 70’s.

Perhaps the best bit was when they started doing sound Super 8 films and even features at a lower price than most. Sure you got what you paid for, but some nice titles became available including White Zombie and other squeaky early sound films. All my CC films still project perfectly and the stripe is still stuck on the film.

Can you tell I am a fan of Collectors Club yet?

Very best
Lee.

Posted by Alex Fox (Member # 94) on January 23, 2008, 02:40 PM:

STEPPING ON THE GAS.

REPARTO: ROBERT LITTLEFIELD, JEROMELA GASSE, HARRY BELMORE, KENNETH McDONALD, CLIFFORD COOK, MILBURN MORANTE, CLARA HORTON, MADELINE SHAEFFER, GEORGIE O'DELL, HELEN BURRUWS AND MILTON FAHMEY.

STORY AND PRODUCED: J. C. COOK.

DIRECTED: HARRY MOODY.

DETALLE: SE VE PLACA FIJA EN IDIOMA INGLES.

(U.S.A./16mm/BLANCO Y NEGRO/SIN SONIDO)

AÑO: 1920

DURACIÓN: 17'59"

CÓDIGO: F-935

Hi, Maurice Would this be of any help

Posted by Joe Caruso (Member # 11) on January 23, 2008, 04:24 PM:

It is LIZZIES OF THE FIELD, as I check Gil O' Gara's "Silent Eight", a massive checklist of shorts released in Super/Std 8 between 1960-1985

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on January 24, 2008, 02:40 AM:

Alex

Thanks for your research. As you see it is "Lizzies Of The Field."

The main title was obviously changed although all the inter-titles are original. They have Mack Sennett across the top and bottom of the title and after the "spoken" words is "PatheExchange."

My grateful thanks to everybody for their help.

Maurice

Posted by David Kilderry (Member # 549) on January 24, 2008, 05:29 AM:

Joe, what is the Silent Eight checklist? Is it on line or a book?

David

Posted by Joe Caruso (Member # 11) on January 24, 2008, 08:24 AM:

Its a huge check-list, not sure if Gil published it or if available on-line. Lost touch with him via email. the work is stupendous, listing practically everything from the obscure little companies especially

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