For viewers interested in seeing a typical Keystone comedy, one that represents the studio's standard output, this should fit the bill nicely. Produced at the midway point in the studio's five year existence (1912-1917), A Versatile Villain is neither the best nor the worst of the surviving Sennett productions. It's fast paced and lively, and builds to a rather suspenseful, melodramatic finale, perhaps intended as a parody of Griffith-style Biograph dramas. This short is pleasant enough, but short on real gags, the kind of gags that make the great silent comedies so rewarding and memorable. The actors are energetic, but lack the distinctive personality traits and charisma of Keystone's top stars, although the two young leads, Charley Chase and Louise Fazenda, would go on to star in first rate comedies of their own in the '20s. In this short, however, their opportunities are limited by the breathless pace and demands of the plot. There's too much running around and fighting to allow for character comedy. Chase is allowed an amusing sequence at the beginning when his attempt to perform conjuring tricks backfires, but after that his material is the kind of routine stuff anyone else on the lot could have handled. Similarly, any competent actress could have played Fazenda's role as damsel in distress.
I think this movie must have been made during the period when Ford Sterling was away from Keystone. He left along about March of 1914, shortly after Charlie Chaplin's arrival, and stayed away for a year, until Chaplin departed the studio for Essanay. Sterling would have been ideal for the title role here, as his frenzied mugging would have boosted this film's entertainment value considerably. As it stands, the unidentified actor who plays Desperate Dan, i.e. the Versatile Villain, seems too young for the part and doesn't register strongly as a personality, while Sterling would have chomped into the role with everything he had.
Oh well. A Versatile Villain is a moderately engaging exercise anyway, and there is one laugh-out-loud funny gag towards the end, a visual punch-line that suggests the influence of the earlier 'trick films' of Georges Méliès. That moment, plus the chance to see Charley Chase and Louise Fazenda so early in their screen careers, make this one worth watching for silent comedy buffs.
P.S. Autumn 2008. Since writing this piece I've learned that the actor playing Desperate Dan was William "Billy" Sheer, an Englishman who had a substantial career in the music halls and also appeared in Raoul Walsh's excellent 1915 drama of the slums, Regeneration. Nice to know, but I still think Ford Sterling would have given a juicier performance in this Keystone comedy.
I think this movie must have been made during the period when Ford Sterling was away from Keystone. He left along about March of 1914, shortly after Charlie Chaplin's arrival, and stayed away for a year, until Chaplin departed the studio for Essanay. Sterling would have been ideal for the title role here, as his frenzied mugging would have boosted this film's entertainment value considerably. As it stands, the unidentified actor who plays Desperate Dan, i.e. the Versatile Villain, seems too young for the part and doesn't register strongly as a personality, while Sterling would have chomped into the role with everything he had.
Oh well. A Versatile Villain is a moderately engaging exercise anyway, and there is one laugh-out-loud funny gag towards the end, a visual punch-line that suggests the influence of the earlier 'trick films' of Georges Méliès. That moment, plus the chance to see Charley Chase and Louise Fazenda so early in their screen careers, make this one worth watching for silent comedy buffs.
P.S. Autumn 2008. Since writing this piece I've learned that the actor playing Desperate Dan was William "Billy" Sheer, an Englishman who had a substantial career in the music halls and also appeared in Raoul Walsh's excellent 1915 drama of the slums, Regeneration. Nice to know, but I still think Ford Sterling would have given a juicier performance in this Keystone comedy.