The Artful Rogers - How Charlie Rogers First Made Movie History
By Holly Foskett
Rogers is undoubtedly best known for his association with Hal Roach Studios - especially for his work as a gag-man and director for Laurel and Hardy, as well as his close friendship with Stan Laurel. On the surface, it may seem that this is the most major contribution Rogers ever made to film history - however, it may surprise many comedy, film, and Roach buffs alike to discover that years before his association with film comedy, Rogers had already played a notable part in film history.
As I previously discussed in my last entry, Rogers was a member of an entertainment family and had a very, very young introduction to performing on stage. In or around 1910/1911, Rogers moved to the USA from England (on official records he stated he was unsure of the date himself, and we're still trying to find the relevant records too) and by 1912 he had been cast as the secondary lead of a major Broadway production.
The production in question was Oliver Twist at the New Amsterdam Theater - its cast featuring such famous names as Marie Doro as Oliver Twist, Constance Collier as Nancy, and Nat C Goodwin as Fagin. Rogers, cast as the comic relief in the form of The Artful Dodger, was often billed as an equal to his famous co-stars.
The production was part of a New York-based cultural project celebrating the centenary of Charles Dickens' birth, which also included an exhibition featuring original Dickensian manuscripts and props from previous Dickensian productions.
Whilst the production itself received mixed reviews, Charlie's performance consistently impressed critics, with many referring to him as being a 'clever hit', saying that his comedic performance was 'exceptionally good' (in stark contrast, it seems, to some of the other lead performers), and that there could be no 'better choice for casting'.
Despite receiving mixed reviews, the production was evidently strong enough to impress the right people; not only did the production subsequently tour with (most of) its original cast (Charlie's brother John also joined the touring cast), it was also filmed in its entirety - making it the first feature length American film. Naturally, this also made Charlie Rogers one of the first lead actors in a feature length American film.
The Cast of 'Oliver Twist' (1912) - Rogers is second on the left again.
Once again, the adaptation received mixed reviews - but, also once again, Charlie impressed critics, with one Moving Picture News reviewer stating that he was 'just as effective as a photoplayer as he was in the broadway production of the play'.
Whilst his work at Hal Roach Studios will always undoubtedly be what Rogers is most associated with and remembered for, Rogers' prior career successes in both theatre and film are certainly more than notable and deserve recognition. A print of the film - apparently in pretty good condition - is stored in The Library of Congress Collection - so who knows, perhaps one day we'll get to see it for ourselves!
*Side note - whilst 'Charley' is the way his name is most commonly spelled - he signed his own name as 'Charlie', so we like to refer to him as such.
Written and Researched by Holly Foskett
Works Cited:
Moving Picture News
The Billboard
The New York Clipper
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