''Building a Fire'' is a lost 1914 American silent

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

produced by the

Lubin Manufacturing Company The Lubin Manufacturing Company was an American motion picture production company that produced silent films from 1896 to 1916. Lubin films were distributed with a Liberty Bell trademark. * * History The Lubin Manufacturing Company was forme ...

and starring

Mae Hotely Mae Hotely (October 7, 1872 – April 6, 1954) was an American silent film actress. She was in Lubin comedy films.https://www.nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php?t=31721 She appeared in more than 80 films between 1911 and 1929. Born in Maryland ...

, Julia Calhoun, and Jerold Hevener. Also among the cast is

Oliver Hardy Oliver Norvell Hardy (born Norvell Hardy; January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his ...

, who has a small role as a policeman.

Plot

The following plot summary was published in ''The Lubin Bulletin'', the newsletter in which the studio advertised its new releases:

Cast

as Maggie * Julia Calhoun as Mrs. Jones *

Jerold T. Hevener Jerold T. Hevener (April 30, 1873 – April 13, 1947) was an American film actor and film director, director. He appeared in 36 films and directed a further 18 between 1912 and 1917. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was married to ...

as Mr. Jones *

as a policeman (uncredited)

Production and reception

''Building a Fire'' was filmed in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, at the Jacksonville unit of the

, under the supervision of Arthur Hotaling.Rob Stone, ''Laurel or Hardy: The Solo Films of Stan Laurel and Oliver "Babe" Hardy'' (Temecula, CA: Split Reel Books, 1996), pp. 5-6. It was a short split-reel comedy, lasting approximately 5–6 minutes and sharing a single reel of film with a second, unrelated comedy, ''With the Burglar's Help'', featuring James Hodges, Kate Millius, Frank Griffin, and Harry Rice. The films were released by the General Film Company on May 9, 1914. ''Building a Fire'' included one of the earliest known screen appearances of

. Although the film itself does not survive, and he is not mentioned in any advertisements or reviews, Hardy can be seen, dressed as a cop, among the extras in the background of a publicity still reproduced in ''The Lubin Bulletin''. The film was not well received by the trade papers. ''Moving Picture World'' described it as a "senseless 'comedy' which is likely to fail where average audiences are encountered";''Moving Picture World'', vol. 20, no. 8 (May 23, 1914), p. 1116.
/ref> and ''The New York Dramatic Mirror'' wrote "Just to show you on how trivial an incident a photoplay may be built, this half reel comedy is built about practically no material at all. The interest is also very slight."

Plot

Cast

Production and reception

References

See also