Happy Birthday, Edward F. Cline! Born today in 1891 as Edward Francis Cline, this American screenwriter, actor, and director was best known for his work with comedians W. C. Fields and Buster Keaton.
In 1913, Cline became engaged to Minnie Elizabeth Matheis, aged eighteen, who had previously been engaged three times in three months.
In 1914, Edward began working for Mack Sennett's Keystone Studios and supported Charlie Chaplin in some of the shorts he made at the studio.
Sennett was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'.
At one time, Cline claimed credit for having come up with the idea for the Sennett Bathing Beauties. These were a bevy of women performing in bathing costumes assembled by Sennett.
When Buster Keaton began making his own shorts, after having worked with Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle for years, he hired Cline as his co-director. In Keaton's short films, Cline and Keaton himself were the only two regular gag men.
On March 6, 1916, Cline and Matheis were married. In 1918, they had a daughter named Elizabeth Normand. Unfortunately, Minnie contracted an infection in childbirth and died four days later.
From 1916, Cline worked on a steady stream of two-reelers, either as director or assistant director, for such comedians as Keaton, American comedian and actor Ford Sterling and early American film actor Mack Swain.
An expert in slapstick comedy with an unerring sense of timing, Cline was consistently in demand by Hollywood studios during the 1920s and served short-term contracts with Fox (the "Sunshine" comedies), Pathé, First National, MGM and Paramount.
In 1919, Cline married his second wife Beatrice Altmann. Unfortunately, they had no children. Altmann passed in 1949.
For Keaton's twenty-five-minute1921 American silent black and white comedy film 'Hard Luck', Cline is credited with originating Keaton's personal favorite gag from his films.
At the end of the film, Keaton dives into a swimming pool which has been emptied of water.
Years later he emerges from the hole which his fall created, accompanied by a Chinese wife and two small Chinese-American children.
Besides working on most of Keaton's early shorts, Cline co-directed Keaton's first feature. This was the 1923 American silent black and white comedy film 'Three Ages'.
Cline began his career in the film business as one of the Keystone Kops.
The former vaudevillian appeared sporadically in films as an actor until 1922, but became increasingly active behind the camera as a gagman and scenario writer for Sennett.
During the sound era he had more periods of steadier employment, particularly at Universal Studios (1939-1945). He became the favorite director of W.C. Fields.
In fact, Fields would often demand Cline's participation, much to the consternation of the studios.
Today, Cline is credited as director unless noted. He directed nearly sixty comedies Sennett between 1914 and 1933.
In one instance, American film director, writer, actor and producer Edward Sedgwick was assigned to the 1939 American black and white comedy/slapstick film 'You Can't Cheat an Honest Man', starring Fields.
However, Sedgewick was replaced by Cline just two days into shooting because he couldn't get along with Fields.
Cline frequently worked out comedy routines by standing in for the Fields character in rehearsals. As for being able to get along with the notoriously prickly star, Cline believed in just "letting him run with it".
He later edited out any unwanted ad-libs (which Fields had a habit of inserting at the end of his lines). Unfortunately, those famous ad-libs often tended to crack up the camera crew and ruin the take...
When asked what it was like directing Fields and Mae West in the 1940 American black and white Western/comedy film 'My Little Chickadee' [regarding reports that they battled constantly], Cline stated: "I wasn't directing. I was referee-ing."
Later that same year, Cline teamed up once more with Keaton for the anachronistic 1940 American black and white comedy/romance film 'The Villain Still Pursued Her'.
One month later, Cline co-directed (along with American film director and writer Ralph Ceder) the film of which Cline is best known.
This was the 1940 American black and white comedy/slapstick film 'The Bank Dick' (released as 'The Bank Detective' in the United Kingdom).
Egbert Sousé (Fields) is an unemployed, henpecked, hard-drinking family man of whom spends most of his time at the Black Pussy Cat café, a saloon run by Joe Guelpe (Shemp Howard).
However, Sousé becomes an unexpected hero when a bank robber falls over a bench he's occupying.
Now considered brave, Sousé lands a job as a security guard. Soon, he is approached by charlatan J. Frothingham Waterbury (Russell Hicks) about buying shares in a mining company.
Sousé then persuades teller Og Oggilby (Grady Sutton) to lend him bank money, to be returned when the scheme pays off.
Unfortunately, bank inspector J. Pinkerton Snoopington (Franklin Pangborn) then makes a surprise appearance.
Written by Fields under the pseudonym Mahatma Kane Jeeves and featuring one of his most hilarious performances, 'The Bank Dick' is an undisputed classic of American comedy.
Also, the film's climactic car chase was largely due to Cline's input.
Unfortunately, Cline's output diminished by the mid-1940s. Because of this, he retired from directing in 1951.
Afterwards, Cline became a pioneer in television when his old crony, Keaton, became one of the first film comedians to succeed in the new medium.
Keaton and Cline later collaborated on two of Keaton's series.
Comic bandleader Spike Jones was famous for using wild visual gags in his band's performances, and his television show required even more material.
Jones found an ideal resource in Cline, whose knack for comedy (and long memory for old sight gags) made him a valuable assistant. Cline remained in Jones' employ well into the 1950s.
Cline passed from cirrhosis in Hollywood, California on May 22, 1961. He was 69.
In 1992, 'The Bank Dick' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
In 1997, the eighteen-minute 'Cops' was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
In 2008, the twenty-five-minute 'One Week' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Though "Eddie" made numerous comedies over his last two decades as a filmmaker, only his collaborations with Fields stand out.
Cline had been active from 1916–1952.
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