Before Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, The Marx Brothers and Our Gang, there was Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and Mabel Normand. While both did many very good films without the other, they had a chemistry with each other that was perfect. The early short comedies with the two of them are among my favorite movies from the Keystone Studio. That is why I was so happy to find the following 1916 article from Picture Play Magazine discussing the making of these films. If you have any trouble reading any of the following pages click on them and use your touch screen to zoom in.
Hello my friends, guess what, it is my birthday. Yay!
While I will not be spending my entire day at home (as I work in a grocery store and therefore am not able to work from home), I have come to the realization that after work I am going to have to spend the rest of my day at home instead of being out and having birthday themed adventures. However this hardly means that I can't have birthday themed adventures in my own house. While I can't except my friends to be waiting to greet me with a big party when I get home, I can celebrate with my movie-land friends, with some birthday themed films like the following.
Despite me being born on this day, it wasn't exactly a great day in history in other respects. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated and the Titanic sunk for instance.
(Yes... So much of this movie is extremely racist and hard to watch but this scene and others stand out as great filmmaking of the highest quality, it is equally possible to hate the racism while loving the filmmaking)
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings wrote a song about the terrible things that happened on my birthday.
On the bright side one of the all time great country singers was born today as well, Loretta Lynn. Speaking of Loretta, Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980) still stands as one of the best country music movies ever made.
Here is a scene from my personal favorite movie, Show People (1928).
This is not related to my birthday but lately I have been reading the new book Chase! A Tribute to the Keystone Cops (edited by Lon & Debra Davis, you can buy it here). The more I have been reading the more I have been watching the Ketstone films and the more I am realizing that these classic shorts are just plain fun movies.
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26
