Silent Era Information*Progressive Silent Film List*Lost Films*People*Theaters
Taylorology*Articles*Home Video*Books*Search
 
Foolish Wives BD
 
Silent Era Home Page  >  Home Video  >  The Extra Girl
 
Silent Era Films on Home Video
Reviews of silent film releases on home video.
Copyright © 1999-2024 by Carl Bennett
and the Silent Era Company.
All Rights Reserved.

The
Extra Girl

(1923)

 

The Extra Girl (1923) is a story of a small-town girl who comes to Hollywood to be in the pictures. This Mabel Normand vehicle, produced by Mack Sennett, followed earlier films about the film industry and also paved the way for later films about Hollywood, such as King Vidor’s Show People (1928). It was still unusual in 1923 for filmmakers to make a film about the southern California film industry, then little more than ten years old. Still, many of the Hollywood clichés of small town girls travelling to Hollywood to become film stars are here to reinforce the myths of Tinseltown.

When small town girl Sue goes to Hollywood to escape marriage, she arrives expecting open arms. Since the circumstances of her being called to California were the result of another’s deception, the studio manager gives Sue a job in the studio’s costume department instead. Childhood friend Dave follows. Eventually, Sue gets the opportunity to screen test but it turns out disasterously. Meanwhile, a crooked investor swindles Sue’s parents out of their life savings. Dave and Sue retrieve the money and all turns out well, despite the unsuccessful film career.

Sennett director F. Richard Jones does a good job of helming this average Normand film. George Nichols does a fine job injecting an unusual degree of humanity to his supporting role as Mabel’s father in this comedy. Actors Billy Bevan and William Desmond appear as themselves. Mack Sennett can be glimpsed briefly as a straw-hatted onlooker at Mabel’s screen test. However, it is not Ben Turpin who is frightened by the lion, but is instead a look-alike comedian. And other sharp-eyed viewers will see a publicity photo of Harold Lloyd on one of Mabel’s dressing tables in her Hollywood apartment.

The film also features several interesting shots of semirural southern California (presumably the Glendale area) showing houses and streets of the early 1920s, and of a Hollywood studio in action. One shot in particular, a high-angle view, shows a film set, with actors, two cameras and operators, several productrion people, and a mood orchestra composed of a pianist and violinist, to set the proper mood for the actors. Another shows an open stage with crew scrambling up scaffolding to the sunlight difusing panels above.

Carl Bennett

coverFlicker Alley
2014 Blu-ray Disc edition

The Mack Sennett Collection, Volume One (1909-1933), black & white, 1005 minutes total, not rated, including The Extra Girl (1923), black & white, 73 minutes, not rated.

Flicker Alley, FA0035,
UPC 6-17311-67879-0, ISBN 1-893967-87-5.
Three single-sided, single-layered, Regions ABC Blu-ray Discs, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in pillarboxed 16:9 (1920 x 1080 pixels) progressive scan AVC (MPEG-4) format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 stereo sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; chapter stops; standard three-disc BD keepcase; $59.95.
Release date: 19 August 2014.
Country of origin: USA

This Blu-ray Disc edition of Mack Sennett comedies has been mastered from 35mm prints and 16mm reduction prints.

The supplemental material includes selected audio commentary, outtakes and rushes, 1920 footage of the Sennett studio, a trailer for The Crossroads of New York (1922), newsreel footage, a complete 1939 radio appearance by Mack Sennett, television appearances including the Mack Sennett episode of This is Your Life, and a 28-page booklet featuring notes on the films.

 
USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Regions ABC Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
coverKino International
2008 DVD edition

The Extra Girl (1923), black & white, 68 minutes, not rated, with The Gusher (1913), black & white, 14 minutes, not rated.

Kino Interntional, K614, UPC 7-38329-06142-5.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), 7.5 Mbps average video bit rate, 192 Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 8-bit 2.0 stereo sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; 12 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $24.95.
Release date: 3 June 2008.
Country of origin: USA

The previous best DVD edition of The Extra Girl on home video, a film that has survived in very-good to excellent prints looks great in this long-awaited quality release.

The film is accompanied by an organ music score performed by Jack Ward.

The edition is supplemented with an early Normand Keystone comedy, The Gusher, from 1913, with piano accompaniment by Ben Model.

 
USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
 
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
coverNavarre Corporation
2002 DVD edition

Triple Feature Drama Classics, Volume 7 (1921-1925), black & white and color-toned black & white, 198 minutes total, not rated, including The Extra Girl (1923), color-toned black & white, 69 minutes, not rated.

Navarre Corporation, 1630, UPC 7-41027-16309-4.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 1 NTSC DVD disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), 3.0 Mbps average video bit rate, 192 Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 mono sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; 6 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $9.98.
Release date: 16 April 2002.
Country of origin: USA

Ratings (1-10): video: 7 / audio: 4 / additional content: 0 / overall: 6.

The video transfer for this first DVD edition of The Extra Girl appears to be the same as has previously appeared on the Voyager/Criterion laserdisc of 1992. The color-toning has been changed, but the framing and quality is virtually the same. Both transfers have utilized an excellent 35mm preservation print from the Paul Killiam collection. Some shots have pronounced emulsion chipping, but the print is for the most part in excellent condition, with light to moderate speckling and other rarely-distracting print damage. The current transfer has new video main titles in black & white. Minor video master glitches appear at 47:20 and 1:04:36 into the film. Another major glitch roll occurs at 58:28.

The film is accompanied by a compilation of prerecorded Mozart orchestral recordings. No effort has been made to synchronize the recordings which randomly play through the film.

The excellent print utilized for The Extra Girl makes this disc a bargain, but we still recommend the Kino edition above.

 
USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
 
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
coverUnknown Video
2006 DVD edition

The Extra Girl (1923), color-tinted black & white, ? minutes, not rated, with Mabel’s Blunder (1914), black & white, ? minutes, not rated.

Unknown Video, no catalog number, unknown UPC number.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 mono sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles, chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $18.95 (raised to $19.95).
Release date: 15 June 2006.
Country of origin: USA
This DVD-R edition has been mastered from a Blackhawk Films fine-grain duplicate print from Film Preservation Associates. A 1914 Keystone comedy starring Mabel Normand is also included.

Musical accompaniment is performed by Ben Model.

If you own a copy of this disc please consider loaning it to us to review for documentation purposes. We pay postage both ways.

 
UNKNOWN VIDEO has discontinued business and this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is . . .
coverClassic Video Streams
2010 DVD edition

The Actors: Rare Films of Mabel Normand (1913-1923), black & white, 144 minutes total, not rated, including The Extra Girl (1923), black & white, ? minutes, not rated.

Classic Video Streams,
unknown catalog number, unknown UPC number.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 8-bit 2.0 mono sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; chapter stops; slimline DVD keepcase; $16.99.
Release date: 22 March 2010.
Country of origin: USA
This DVD-R edition has likely been mastered from a 16mm reduction print.

The film is likely accompanied by a soundtrack compiled from preexisting recordings.

 
USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
 
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Other MABEL NORMAND films available on home video.
 
Silent Era Home Page  >  Home Video  >  The Extra Girl
 
Lodger BD
Become a Patron of Silent Era

LINKS IN THIS COLUMN
WILL TAKE YOU TO
EXTERNAL WEBSITES

SUPPORT SILENT ERA
USING THESE LINKS
WHEN SHOPPING AT
AMAZON

AmazonUS
AmazonCA
AmazonUK

Mack Sennett Collection Vol1 BD

Chaplin at Keystone DVD

Floating Weeds BD

Vitagraph BD

Road to Ruin BD

Cat and the Canary BD

Boob / Why Be Good BD

Madame DuBarry BD

Stella Maris BD

Three Ages / Hospitality BD

Pandora's Box BD

Browning's Shockers BD

Johnstown Flood BD

3 Musketeers / Iron Mask BD

Piccadilly BD

Spanish Dancer BD

Laurel & Hardy Year 1 BD

The Doll BD

Robin Hood / Black Pirate BD

Sky High BD

Michael BD

Johannna Enlists BD

Foolish Wives BD

Speedy BD

The Freshman BD

Safety Last BD

Metropolis BD

Der Hund von Baskerville BD

Sherlock Jr BD

Chicago DVD

Beyond the Rocks DVD

The Eagle BD

Chaplin Mutuals BD/DVD