Betty Hutton as Mabel Normand?
by
Marilyn Slater
December 31, 2008
As 1950 began, Louella Parson wrote in her column on January 11, 1950 that George Marshall was scheduled to direct “The Mack Sennett Story” for Paramount Studios. Betty Hutton would play Mabel Normand when Betty came back from a ski vacation a Sun Valley. According to Louella, the Studio Executives 
were worried that she might injurer herself and not be able to start right away in the comedy. As for the part of Mack Sennett, there was hope that 20th Century would loan Paul Douglas to play the role.
Paramount was also dickering with Jimmy Durante for a supporting part in the movie, which by March of 1950 was called “The 
Keystone Girl” with Betty Hutton and Paul Douglas was Mabel and Mack. The New York Times of April 26, 1950 carried an article, which explained that the biography “Keystone Girl” had been postponed indefinitely because Betty Hutton objected to the script. The Long Beach Press-Telegram of May 17 wrote that the reason that Betty Hutton had turned down the part of Mabel was the 
part wasn’t big enough.
Erskine Johnson in his column “In Hollywood” reported that a big lawsuit was being prepared against Paramount’s “The Keystone Girl” the film of Mabel Normand and Mack Sennett. Donna Reed’s husband, Tony Owen, who first registered the idea of doing a picture about Mabel had not collected any reimbursement from Paramount for the money he spent developing the story, so he sued. 
Even with Betty Hutton saying she won’t do the Mabel Normand role in the Mack Sennett film bio, the writers and producer were still working on the screenplay and calling it a Betty Hutton vehicle in August of 1950.
George Marshall was getting $150,000 a year for doing nothing, waiting to direct the film, it was back in January that he was assigned to make the film by Paramount but script troubles called for a delay after delay in the production and by September the 
script was only a third finished and there was little likelihood that any cameras would roll. So there is no movie of Mabel’s life, yet.
