Her Fame and Shame1917

Louise Fazenda was a natural comedienne (not unlike Carol Burnett) who rose quickly to the front ranks of early silent comedy kingpin Mack Sennett's Keystone company. Here she gets a prime role as the starstruck daughter of a provincial hotel and cafe's owner. At their establishment, apparently, no knack for hospitality or gastronomy is required. When a burlesque troupe blows into town, she first serves them "indigestion a la carte" then tries to make her name onstage to save pop's mortgage. Fazenda quit acting at the end of the 1930s but remained Hollywood royalty; she married producer Hal B. Wallis and was a beloved social figure until her 1962 demise. - Dennis Harvey