A 1930 issue of Exhibitors Hearld dedicated a large section to promotion for upcoming films for MGM. Here is part of that section, which is dedicated to the short subjects that MGM would be making a distributing (including the films from Hal Roach Studios) in 1930 and 1931. It states, "The Greatest Short Product Line Up MGM Has Ever Offered." While this is obviously just publicity, it is hard to argue with a lineup that includes Laurel and Hardy, Our Gang (AKA The Little Rascals), The Boy Friends, Charley Chase and Ub Iwerks' bizarre Flip the Frog cartoons.
Now enjoy some shorts from 1930 and 1931.
You have seen Burton Holmes in the article. This is a name that you may not be familiar with. So here is a short video about him and his films.
If you are as into classic slapstick comedy as I am, here are three very recent Blu-ray sets that you simply must have.
Laurel and Hardy Year Three: The Newly Restored 1929 Silents
I am definitely late to the party with recommending this Blu-ray set, yet I would be amiss if I didn't recommend this wonderful set. With this third set in this series all of the existing silent films of classic comedy team Laurel and Hardy are now available on Blu-ray. As the title suggests this set consists of every silent film (and some talkies) from Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy's third year as a team, 1929. These films look better than they ever had before and cinephiles who have seen them a million times will be amazed how good they look. Yet, this set has much more to offer than these films alone. The special features on this set are outstanding. The commentaries by Richard W. Bann and Randy Skerdvedt are so incredibly informative that you may want to take notes while watching them. Alternative versions of the films are another highlight. I loved watching the silent versions of Unaccustomed as We Are and Berthmarks (the team's first talkies). As some of you may know not all theaters were equipped for sound in 1929 and because of this, silent versions of were made of some talkies so they could play in silent movie theaters as well. Seeing these, especially for someone who has seen both Unaccustomed as We Are and Berthmarks as many times as I have, is a pure delight and historically fascinating. Also included is a dubbed version of the silent short Double Whoopee made by Chuck McCann for TV in the 1970's, a very informative bookletand a look at shooting locations. If you are a fan of silent comedy and don't own this yet buy it as soon as you can.
Looney Tunes Collector's Vault Volume 2
The greatest cartoons of all time are back with another Blu-ray (which came out this March). Like the previous volume, this set is broken up into two discs. The first is of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons that haven't been on Blu-ray, DVD or VHS before. Some of these are such gems that it is hard to believe that they haven't gotten such a release before. The second disc is made up of cartoons that haven't been released on Blu-ray before but have been released on other forms of physical media. There are so many true classics here that help remind us just how brilliant the classic Warner Brothers cartoons could be. As someone who wants to own everything Looney Tunes on physical media this is a godsend.
Looney Tunes Cartoons: The Complete Series
Running from 2019 to 2024, this series of new Looney Tunes cartoons came out on the streaming service HBO Max. I didn't watch much of these cartoons when they came out, but with my desire to own everything Looney Tunes, I needed to get it when it came to physical media. Available in both Blu-ray and DVD, this is a very fun set. While these cartoons may not reach the full heights of the 1930's-1960's cartoons, they are quite enjoyable. I especially enjoy the return of the wild and crazy Bob Clampett-esque Daffy. While there may be too much of an overreliance on gross out gags and some cartoons may fall flat, the majority of cartoons are well timed, well animated, well voiced and understand the characters. If you are a Looney Tunes fan like I am, I definitely recommend this Blu-ray.
Run Time: 20 minutes. Studio: Hal Roach Studios. Director: James Parrott. Titles: Reed Heustis. Producer: Hal Roach. Main Cast: Charley Chase, Lupe Velez, Eric Mayne, May Wallace, Gale Henry. Cinematographer: Len Powers. Editor: Richard C. Currier.
Though never achieving the same popularity as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd or Laurel and Hardy, Charley Chase is a fan favorite among many classic comedy lovers. Though his talkies are often delightful comedic treats, I often times find Charley's silent films to be his best work (I am also a fan of the Three Stooges shorts he would direct later). Some of his silent films are true comedy classics that deserve the same masterpiece status as the work of the best silent comedians. I have written about some of my favorite of his silent shorts on this blog before and this month I would like to call attention to another. What Women Did for Me is a classic that deserves to be better known.
In this short film, a botany professor, who is terrified of women finds himself teaching at an all-girls college. This proves to be too much for him to handle and when he decides to take a little getaway, his female students follow him.
This is a true comedy classic and one of my favorite Charley Chase shorts. The film moves at a fast pace and offers gag after gag. There is not a single gag that falls flat here and the comedic energy makes it a joy to watch. What also helps is that the gags build upon each other. There is a real structure to each gag that makes each one funnier than the last. This type of structure is one of the hardest things for filmmakers to do when making a comedy. However here it feels so natural and easy. Charley is great in the main role, perfectly getting over the sense of being terrified of women without making the reactions too over the top to be believable. His female co-stars however often steal the show, getting just as many laughs, if not more, than Charley himself. In most comedies these young women would just be pretty faces, while the comedy is left to the male star. Yet each of these young women were very talented comedians in their own right. However, what makes this film a must watch is the ending. True to the format of making each gag funnier than the last, this ending is laugh out loud funny and truly brilliant in how it subverts our expatiations.
One reason this film will stand out to current movie buffs is that it features one of the earliest film appearances by Lupe Velez. Sadly, for many Velez's life and career have been overshadowed by her tragic death. She was found dead on the toilet after having an overdose with a suicide note nearby. Many believe that she killed herself because she was about to have a child out of wedlock. However, her movie career is well worth remembering. She appeared in such classic films as The Gaucho (1927), Where East Is East (1929), The Squaw Man (1931), Palooka (1934) and Stardust (1937). In the 1940's she starred in the very popular B-movie series of Mexican Spitfire films. These films work almost solely because of her larger-than-life personality and charisma. Comedy lovers may also know her for playing against Laurel and Hardy in a delightful scene in the movie Hollywood Party (1934).
Gale Henry, though forgotten today had quite a comedy career herself. She was the first woman to headline a series of short comedies. She spent much of the 1910's starring in comedies by independent producer Pat Powers and Universal's Joker comedies. In early 1915 she co-starred (with Max Asher) in a series of 11 one-reelers for Pat Powers entitled Lady Baffles and Detective Duck. By the mid-1920's she was mostly working in supporting roles for comedies starring other comedians. These films include the Charley Chase short, Mighty Like a Moose (1926) and the Laurel and Hardy comedy, Love 'em and Weep (1927).
Director James Parrott was the brother of Charley Chase. As well as his directing career he had starred in 75 silent short comedies (as well as supporting Harold Lloyd in some films) for Hal Roach Studios (for which this film was made). In some of these films he was credited as Paul Parrott and some of these shorts have been mistakenly identified as early credits for Charley Chase. However, he had success behind the camera. He began directing in 1924 and would direct 89 films from 1924 to 1935. He is probably best known today for the Laurel and Hardy shorts he directed. Those include some of the duo's best films including Two Tars (1928), Habeas Corpus (1928), Blotto (1930), Pardon Us (1931), Helpmates (1932) and the comedy team's most famous film, The Music Box (1932) (you know the one where they push the piano up the flight of stairs). Outside of Hal Roach Studios, he also worked as an uncredited writer on a true comedy classic, Duck Soup (1933) with the Marx Brothers. Born on August 2, 1897, in Baltimore, Maryland, James passed away at the age of 42 on May 10, 1939. His death was reported as a heart attack.
Motion Picture News, 1927
Two more Hal Roach regulars who worked on this film were cinematographer Len Powers and editor Richard C. Currier.
Len Powers was born on December 12, 1892, in Rodney Iowa. Before his time in the movies, Powers had been a professional boxer. He began his film career in 1914 at the Reliance studios. Two pre-Roach credits for Powers included Blue Blood and Red (1916) directed by Raoul Walsh and Headin' South (1918) starring Douglas Fairbanks and directed by Allan Dawn. The first film he worked on for the Hal Roach Studio was the Our Gang (AKA Little Rascals) short, Young Sherlocks (1922). As well as working as a cameraman, Powers also directed or co-directed 14 of Roach's Dippy Doo-Dad shorts. These live action shorts featured animals in human type roles. Because of this, he was assigned to film the rooster that crows in the Pathe logo. After his time with Roach, he would work at Universal in the early 1940's. By the end of the 1940's he would be a camera operator on Johnny Mack Brown B-westerns. His last known credit is for shooting stills for the Best Picture winner, Around the World in Eighty Days (1956). He passed away on January 25, 1965, from a heart attack.
Richard Currier was born on August 26, 1892, in Denver, Colorado. He began editing films in 1911 for the Selig Company. He started working for Hal Roach around 1921 under Thomas J. Crizer, head of the studio's editorial department. Crizer left in 1925 and Currier was promoted to the new head of the editorial department. Currier received sole editorial credit for on every Hal Roach film from then until mid-1933. However, he was the first to acknowledge that his role was more as a supervisor than anything else. Later in the 1930's he would work at Paramount on films featuring W.C. Feilds as well as Burns and Allen. He would go on to work on such TV shows as The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok and The Whistler. He would run his own Hollywood editorial service until his retirement. He died on December 14, 1984 at the ripe old age of 92.
Motion Picture News, 1925
You can watch this film below on YouTube in quite poor picture quality. To see it in better quality get the Blu-ray set Charley Chase at Hal Roach: The Late Silents: 1927. You won't regret it.
Resources Used
Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies by Randy Skredvedt
Run Time: 20 minutes. Studio: Hal Roach Studios. Director: Fred Guiol. Supervising Director: Leo McCarey. Titles: H.M. Walker. Producer: Hal Roach. Main Cast: James Finlayson, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Noah Young, Charlotte Mineau, Edna Marion. Cinematographer: George Stevens. Editor: Richard C. Currier.
For the current Laurel and Hardy fan, it can be strange to rewatch some of the duo's first year as a pair. There are films where the characters and their relationship with each other is nearly what it would become later. Then these films would be followed by a film like Sugar Daddies, where the two are in the same picture but don't really function as a team. In fact, in this short Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy play supporting roles to the film's true star James Finlayson. Historian Randy Skretvedt would write in his essential book, Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies, "...Sugar Daddies doesn't build upon the teamwork which Stan and Babe [Oliver Hardy's nickname] showed in Do Detectives Think? While this is a pleasant film, there's little 'Laurel and Hardy' comedy in it. If other people at the Roach lot [they were working for Hal Roach Studios] noticed their potential as a team by now, Stan and Babe themselves seemed blissfully unaware of it. Stan portrays roughly the same character he played in his films of 1918, and he's no funnier here. And he's aggressively stupid which isn't nearly as endearing as being placidly dumb."
In this film, a wealthy oil magnet (James Finlayson) wakes up after a wild night to discover that he is now married. His new wife (Charlotte Mineau) is the least of his troubles. His wife's greedy daughter (Edna Marion) and son (Noah Young) are planning to blackmail the rich man for all he has got. The magnet turns to his lawyer (Stan Laurel) and butler (Oliver Hardy) for help. This all leads to a slapstick chase through an amusement park.
This is a very fun comedy. There are plenty of great little sight gags here. I love the opening gag with the fake pulsating top on James Finlayson's head. The gag with Stan's typewriter also always cracks me up. Though Stan and Ollie don't really function as a team here, they have a good bit of business together as Ollie tries to take Stan's hat. The highlight of the film though is the chase through the amusement park. This chase is incredibly well shot and a delight to look at. It is also full of wonderfully creative slapstick gags. For those who watch silent movies to catch glimpse of a time they weren't alive during these scenes give a delightful look into what amusement parks were like nearly 100 years ago. H.M. Walker's intertitles are delightfully clever and often as funny as the action itself. Besides just Stan and Babe, the whole cast is perfect in their roles, and each member adds to the fun. Though this may not be typical Laurel and Hardy, if you get a chance to watch this in a theater setting with a full audience, you will find that it is still able to make audiences laugh out loud today.
While this was not the first Laurel and Hardy film for Hal Roach Studios, it was the first to be distributed by MGM. Though the distribution agreement began in January 1926 and was paid off that March, Hal Roach was still making films to be distributed by Pathe Exchange. This short was released on September 10, 1927, making it one of the first films from the studio to be distributed by MGM. Newspaper articles quoted Hal as stating, "In affiliating with MGM, I am undertaking a policy of expansion that will thrust all precedent aside, creating a short subject product that will in every way be worthy of the high standard set by this organization and providing a feather to make the famous MGM lion a laughing animal."
Motion Picture News, 1929
The script for this film only amounted to two pages. Many of the slapstick bits of business receive little to no detail. The intention probably being to have the comedians or others on the set to improvise bits of business themselves. Some scenes like the scene in Stan's office or Stan arriving at the doorstep aren't even mentioned in the script. If this is the case, writers at the Hal Roach Studio caught on quickly to how gifted the two comedians were at improvising as this was very early in the pair's teaming and earlier scripts were much longer. For instance, Duck Soup (1927) had a 19-page script, Slipping Wives (1927) had a script that lasted 17 pages. Besides the very vague descriptions of comedic bits, the biggest difference from script to screen is that Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy's roles would be switched. In the script Stan has a line of dialogue that would greatly resemble one of the main catchphrases for the comedy team. Stan would tell Ollie, "A fine mess you've made of things." The reversal of roles for the comedy team was not the only casting change between script and screen. The script suggests that the wife would played by actress Key Deslys, but in the film the character is played by Charolette Mineau. The script also suggested that the brother would be played by a "type like David Butler." David Butler was an actor at this time but would go on to a greater career as a director. He directed Bing Crosby and Bob Hope in Road to Morrocco (1942) and many episodes of the beloved TV series Leave it to Beaver with many other film and TV credits to his name. However, in the actual film the role would be played by Noah Young, a character actor best known for playing bullies in various comedies. Harold Lloyd fans will certainly be familiar with Noah Young.
The film was written in early to mid-May 1927. Filming began on Thursday May 26 and Friday May 27. The 28th through the 30th (the 30th was Memorial Day) were taken off from filming. Shoot resumed on Tuesday May 31 and finished on Friday June 3. The movie was copyrighted on Aug. 17, 1927. The production number was S-1.
Like many Hal Roach comedies this film features some great location shooting. This location shooting was done heavily at the Long Beach Pike amusement park. This park was first built in 1902 and kept running through 1979. A good portion was shot at the park's Main Street. The dancing scenes were shot at the park's Majestic Ballroom (Randy Skredvedt pointed out in his essential book that a note attached to the script states, "Dance Hall: Use lobby as is, with more bunting and rail and turnstile. Make platform at foot of stairs, for orchestra.") The movie ends with shots that allow you to view the station for the Pacific Electric Red Car line. This line ran from Long Beach to Los Angeles.
The cameraman for this film was George Stevens. At this time working as a cameraman for Hal Roach studios, Stevens would go on to become one of the greatest directors of Hollywood's golden age. His filmography includes such movies as Swing Time (1936), Gunga Din (1939), Penny Serenade (1941), Woman of the Year (1942), The More the Merrier (1943), Shane (1953), Giant (1956) and The Diary of Anne Frank (1959). For the Hal Roach studio, Stevens would later direct many entries in a series of short films known as The Boyfriends. Fans of old Hollywood comedy teams (which is probably anyone reading a blog post about a Laurel and Hardy film) might know that Stevens directed the team Wheeler and Woolsey in multiple movies. During WWII, he went overseas and headed a unit that filmed much real war footage. This included the liberation of Paris and the liberation of the Nazi extermination camp Dachau. What he saw had a massive effect on him.
This film's director Fred Guiol was a very prolific director for the Hal Roach Studio, directing many classic comedy shorts for the studio during the silent and early talkie era. After his time with Hal Roach, Guiol would direct Wheeler and Woolsey in the movies Silly Billies (1936) and Mummies Boys (1936). He would become a writer on some prestige movies. As a writer he would work on the George Stevens films The Nitwits (1935), Gunga Din, Vigil in the Night (1940) and Giant.
To promote that the beloved studio was making its entrance into short subjects, MGM had a showing of these shorts for 60 writers for the motion picture trade press. This showing took place at the Embassy Theatre in New York City on August 4, 1927. Sugar Daddies was the first film shown on the program. That was followed by the travelogue An African Adventure made by the German Ufa studio. Then came another Hal Roach studios short The Sting of Stings starring Charley Chase. Another Ufa short Soaring Wings followed. Then came a Technicolor short starring Francis X. Bushman called The Flag. The showing ended with the Our Gang (or Little Rascals) short Yale Vs. Harvard.
The following is from a 1927 issue of Movie Age Magazine.
"Metro Goldwyn Mayer's short subject program sweeps into full swing with the release of one late August and six September short subjects.
"The late August release is that of 'An African Adventure,' the first of the series of twenty-five Oddities produced for MGM by UFA
"On September 3 the first Hal Roach - Charley Chase Comedy, 'The Sting of Stings' is released.
"'Jewels of Venice' the second UFA Oddities release is scheduled for release September 10.
"The first of the ten Hal Roach All-Star series, 'Sugar Daddies' is scheduled for September 10. The featured players in 'Sugar Daddies' are Stan Laurel, James Finlayson, Edna Marion and Oliver Hardy.
"'What Every Ice Man Knows' is the first of the series of ten dialect comedies starring Max Davidson which are also being produced by Hal Roach. Release date of this subject is September 17.
"The third release of the twenty-five UFA Oddities, 'Soaring Wings,' will be released on September 24.
"A second release, and the last of the month, is also scheduled for September 24. The title is 'Yale vs. Harvard,' the first of ten Hal Roach 'Our Gang' comedies for MGM."
The following is a review from The Film Daily (dated August 14, 1927).
"This is Hal Roach's second two-reeler to be released under the MGM program. It is an average release. Too much rough and tumble business and not enough laughs is as good a way to sum it up as any. Stan Laurel is featured but his work calls for no special accommodation. Settings quite elaborate. The story ends with the efforts of a gold-digging wife to shake down Laurel for money The attempt to hold him long enough to extract the money provide the excuse for the chase and the picture."
The following is a review from Moving Picture World (dated August 13, 1927).
"'Sugar Daddies' is a two-reel slapstick featuring Stan Laurel with Oliver Hardy, Jimmy Finlayson, and Edna Marion. An oil magnate marries an adventuress between cocktails and the next morning her tough brother seeks to enforce a $5000 blackmail. In endeavoring to escape there are developed a number of situations not too familiar. It is rough work but generally amusing."
You can watch this film below.
Resources Used
Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies by Randy Skretvedt
The Laurel and Hardy Movie Scripts: 20 Original Short Subject Screenplays (1926-1934) by Randy Skretvedt
Exciting news for classic movie fans who will be in Southern California this March. The Cinecon Classic Film Festival is holding its second annual pop-up day on Saturday March 21 from 9:30am to 8:30pm. It will be held at my favorite place to watch movies El Segundo's Old Town Music Hall (140 Richmond St, El Segundo, CA 90245).
For any of you who are not familiar with the Cinecon Classic Film Festival, it tends to focus on rare old movies and TV shows that are hard to find and many of which even the most dedicated film and TV buffs have never even heard of. There are also premieres new restorations of classic movies and special guests who are related to the films. This pop-up day is a small sampling of what a Cinecon film festival is, and all funds will go to support the festival as well as Old Town Music Hall.
This year's pop-up day will begin with the Paramount short, Find What's Wrong (1938).
After this will be a rare comedy movie that hasn't been seen in decades, Two Gals and a Guy (1951). This movie stars Robert Alda, Janis Paige and James Gleason. It also boasts the film debut of actress Patty McCormack, who will be appearing at the event in person.
Then comes a new restoration of the silent film, The Johnstown Flood (1926) starring George O'Brien and Janet Gaynor (the stars of F.W. Murnau's Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)).
After a lunch break is Sterling Yearian playing Old Town Music Hall's own 1925 Mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ. This is followed by a new restoration of the classic Laurel and Hardy silent short, Big Business (1929).
Then comes a rare Paramount short film entitled Ted Husing's Television Preview (1940).
Afterwards is a 1960 episode of the classic TV western, The Rifleman. The episode features child actress Gigi Perreau, who will be at the event in person.
Then comes a new restoration of the Tru-Color Roy Rogers western, Night Time in Nevada (1948).
Afterwards is a new 2K restoration of the silent feature length movie, The Four Feathers (1929) starring William Powell, Richard Arlen and Fay Wray.
The event ends with a new 4K restoration of House of Strangers (1949) starring Edward G. Robison and Susan Hayward. The film will be introduced by Kevin Schaeffer, the director of restoration and library management for the Walt Disney Company as well as Edward G. Robison's granddaughter, Francessca Robinson.
If you wish to buy tickets for this event you can do so at Cinecon's Website.
Walter Woolf King is best remembered today for his work with two of the movies' greatest comedy teams. He appeared with The Marx Brothers in A Night at the Opera (1935) and Go West (1940), as well as Laurel and Hardy in Swiss Miss (1938). He is perfect as the villain in the two Marx Brothers movies, truly making us want to hiss at him whenever he comes on screen. Unfortunately, he is much weaker in Swiss Miss. This is not because of his acting but rather the role he is given. He is supposed to be the romantic lead in this film but the way his character is written makes him seem much more like a villain. Swiss Miss has some great comedic bits for Laurel and Hardy but whenever the attention drifts away from them, it becomes much less interesting.
Motion Picture, 1935
However, Walter Woolf King's career was so much more than these three films. He also appeared in such movies as Golden Dawn (1930), One More Spring (1935), Call It a Day (1937), Melody for Three (1941), Smart Alecks (1942), The Helen Morgan Story (1957) and Rosie! (1967). He also appeared in two episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (Our Cook's a Treasure (1955), The Percentage (1958)) and three episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (The Dark Pool (1963), A Nice Touch (1963), Isabel (1964)).
King was also a quite successful stage actor, who was especially known for his baritone singing voice. Here is a list of some of the plays he was in and when they ran.
Florodora (Apr 05, 1920 - Aug 14, 1920)
The Midnight Rounders of 1920 (Jul 12, 1920 - Nov 27, 1920)
The Last Waltz (May 10, 1921 - Oct 29, 1921)
The Lady in Ermine (Oct 02, 1922 - Apr 21, 1923)
The Passing Show of 1923 (Jun 14, 1923 - Sep 15, 1923) The Dream Girl (Aug 20, 1924 - Nov 29, 1924)
Artists and Models (Jun 24, 1925 - May 07, 1926) Princess Flavia (Nov 02, 1925 - Mar 13, 1926)
Countess Maritza (Sep 18, 1926 - Jun 25, 1927)
The Red Robe (Dec 25, 1928 - May 20, 1929) /
Ladies All (Jul 28, 1930 - Dec 13, 1930)
The Great Man (Apr 07, 1931 - Apr 1931)
Experience Unnecessary (Dec 30, 1931 - Feb 1932)
Red Planet (Dec 17, 1932 - Dec 1932)
Melody (Feb 14, 1933 - Apr 22, 1933)
May Wine (Dec 05, 1935 - Jun 06, 1936)
As well as appearing in movies, TV and stage, King also hosted the CBS radio show Flying Red Horse Tavern. Here is a 1936 article about that from Radio Mirror. If you have trouble reading the following pages click on them and use your touch screen to zoom in. If you don't have a touch screen, click here.
For those of us who love classic comedy, Hal Roach is a legendary name. He produced many classic films starring the likes of Laurel and Hardy, Harold Lloyd, the Our Gang kids (also known as The Little Rascals), Charley Chase and plenty more. All these years later these films stand as some of the greatest comedies of all time. So of course, for us any book about Hal Roach makes for essential reading. However, this book stands as one of the best books about the subject. This is because it not only gives us a historical overview of one of the best comedy studios of all time, but it also gives us the most vivid portrait of Hal Roach as a person available.
Author Craig Calman is a comedy filmmaker himself who discovered the work of Hal Roach at a very young age becoming enamored with the films of Laurel and Hardy. Little did he dream as that young kid that one day he would meet the producer of those classic Laurel and Hardy films. At the age of twenty he went out on a limb and tried to contact Hal Roach, when working on a term paper. This resulted in a decades long friendship. This book is the result of that friendship. Much of the book is filled with quotes from Hal Roach. Because of this we not only get a view of how films were made at the Hal Roach Studio but also insights into Hal Roach viewed comedy and filmmaking. His views on comedy are quite revealing from him speaking about taking children into consideration but never making films only for them to him talking about how he believed that comedies should not exceed forty-five minutes (though he would make feature length comedies out of necessity). He even speaks about others in the comedy field from Mack Sennett to Benny Hill. While I may not agree on some of those comments, they do say a lot about his approach to comedy and how it differed from others. Even the times when Roach's memory proved to be faulty, what he remembers about his own work says a lot about the way he viewed his career and the various films he worked on.
Though by design this book cannot go into as much detail about individual films as Randy Skretvedt's Laurel and Hardy books or Leonard Maltin and Richard W. Bann's book about Our Gang, it still gives a very nice historical overview of the work from this movie studio. Probably most valuable is that for each year of the studio's existence, Calman provides a list of how many films were made with each of the studio's comedy stars as well as how many dramatic features or special productions were made for each year. Calman as well as using his personal experience with Hal Roach also digs into studio documentation and old movie magazines to create an even greater dig into the history of these films.
Also unlike many histories of the Hal Roach Studio, this book does not neglect the studio's later involvement in TV. This includes both TV shows made by the studio and those that used the studio's resources for filming (did you know The Abbott and Costello Show was filmed there?).
This book is a must have for any fan of classic comedy.
Hal Roach (who produced many of the Laurel and Hardy films) was fond of saying that 50% of what is in the script will not play. This is what makes this book of movie scripts for Laurel and Hardy films made at the Hal Roach studio such a fascinating read. For those of us who are fans of Laurel and Hardy, it is wonderful to read how greatly these scripts differ from the films we all know. Some have gags that seemed funny in a script format, but the filmmaker's decided wouldn't work in a movie. Some have completely different endings. Sometimes a funnier joke than what was in the script was later improvised. Sometimes the scripts have gags that are funny but would have seemed too out of character to work on screen. Reading these scripts gives us a wonderful glimpse into the hard work that went into making these silly films.
This book also gives you a wonderful look into what a short subject script was like. This is especially fascinating as you look at the silent films. When one thinks of scripts they think of a list of lines making reading a script that simply gives great detail into the action quite enlightening. It is a fascinating insight to see that some of the scripts for the silent films are actually much longer than for the talkies. It is also interesting to note the difference between the earliest scripts and the later. The earliest scripts leave little room for improvisation describing every action on screen. However, some of the later scripts would simply hint at some of the slapstick action allowing the comedians to improvise greatly.
These scripts are compiled by entertainment historian and Laurel and Hardy expert Randy Skretvedt. Having read through many scripts, he selects ones that he knows we be especially fascinating to those who know these films by heart. He also writes introductions before each of the scripts. He gives insight into the changes from script to screen as well as some behind the scenes information about some of these films. His writings are often times also very essential to Laurel and Hardy fans.
Probably the most fascinating of these scripts is the first one, which is a script for a film that was never filmed. What makes this more fascinating is it would have been the first film that the duo would have made together for the Hal Roach Studio.
As well as being a very fascinating and enlightening read, this book is also a lot of fun to read. Though nothing tops the films themselves for comedy, many of these scripts still had me laugh out loud a few times.
One wouldn't think a book of movie scripts could give this much insight into the making of these classic comedies. However, this is one of the most informative books made about the comedy duo. It is also a heck of a lot of fun.
One of the highlights of a movie buffs year is the annual Cinecon film festival, this year taking place at the Writers Guild of America Theater in Beverly Hills. This festival is a four-day weekend (August 29-September 1) mostly made up of rare and obscure films (some of which you won't be able to watch anywhere else) as well as new restorations of classic films. Though there are some movies from the 1950's and 60's, the bread and butter of the festival are films from the 1910's, 20's, 30's and 40's with a passion for the type of B movies that greatly outnumbered the more prestigious films of that era. Some of the highlights for this year include special guests such as Ann-Margret, Juliet Mills, Mamie Von Doren, Pat Boone, Maxwell Caulfield and the family of silent film actress Myrtle Gonzalez, new restorations of two classic silent Laurel and Hardy shorts, restorations of Max Fleischer cartoon shorts, Modern Love (1929) a rare feature film featuring the great Charley Chase, the Marion Davies feature It's a Wise Child (1931), the great James Stewart western The Rare Breed (1966), a panel on the making Bride of Frankenstein (1935), some rare television appearances from Dick Van Dyke (there is always a brief portion dedicated to vintage TV in this festival) and one of Charlie Chaplin's best short films (Easy Street (1917)). If you don't have any plans this Labor Day weekend, there is no better way to spend it then going to Cinecon. To buy tickets or view the full schedule go to Cinecon's website by clicking on this link.
For any of those whose idea of a classic movie skewer more towards the 1990's, you are covered as well. Some truly delightful films from the 1990's are returning to regular movie theaters. First up is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990). This live action film starring our favorite shell wearing and pizza eating heroes is returning to theatres as a Fathom Event on August 17 and 20. A one-night event with the two Tim Burton directed Batman movies (Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992)) will be playing at 160 select AMC theaters in Dolby on August 25. Very exciting for me especially is that Casper (1995) will be returning to movie theaters for its 35th anniversary starting on October 3. Just in time for Halloween, this delightful family film will hopefully delight new audiences on its return to the screen. Though this movie has more than a few detractors and doesn't have the best critical reception, it holds a special place and my heart and is a Halloween tradition for me. I can't wait to see these delight 1990's films on the big screen and become a kid once again (I was born in the 1990's).
This 1975 book by Laurel and Hardy biographer, cartoonist Al Kilgore and Hal Roach Studio historian Richard W. Bann is a very fun read. Much of the book consists of stills from most of their films (with the exception of the lost films, the movies where they have cameos and the Fox movies) and text explaining what is happening in each of the scenes and giving a recounting of many of the gags. The result is almost a hybrid of a picture book and a comic book. Luckily many of these films are still quite funny and enjoyable in this format, making this book a blast to read. For the films that don't receive this full treatment, there usually one picture from the film and a story summary.
Though this is a light and fun read, it is not devoid of information either. Each film receives a list of credits as well as working titles and release dates. There are short but informative bios of both members of the comedy team and brief summaries of each major change in their movie careers. However, when it comes to how informative it is, it has obviously been eclipsed by Randy Skretvedt's Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies. Though the same can be said for every Laurel and Hardy book and still for what it is this is surprisingly informative.
If I had any complaint about this book, it is that there is a rating system for each film (a certain number of derbies out of four) but no explanation for why this rating is given. Because of this, if you happen to disagree with the authors' opinions on certain films, no reason is given is to why they felt differently than you. This honestly annoyed me as I became very curious as to why they liked a film less than or I did or more than I did.
Run Time: 30 minutes. Studio: Joe Rock Comedies. Director: Joe Rock. Titles: Tay Garnett. Producer: Joe Rock. Main Cast: Stan Laurel, Julie Leonard, Lew Meehan. Cinematographer: Edgar Lyons. Assistant Director: Edgar Lyons.
The early silent solo shorts of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy before they teamed up hold a special place in my heart. That is because they were my introduction to silent movies. As a kid (I am in my early 30's now), my grandpa figured since I was a fan of classic cartoons like Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry and Popeye that I would also enjoy the classics of movie comedy. So, he got me cheap public domain DVDs (DVDs made of low-quality prints of the films that were in public domain) of Abbott and Costello, Three Stooges (luckily some of the best Stooges shorts are in public domain) and Laurel and Hardy. The Laurel and Hardy DVDs consisted of the Laurel and Hardy feature films Utopia (or Atoll K.) (1951) and The Flying Deuces (1939), the short film Tree in a Test Tube (1942) and a plethora of early silent solo comedy shorts of either Stan Laurel or Oliver Hardy. In hindsight these low-quality prints with random (and often ill-fitting) ragtime music for scores probably wasn't the greatest introduction to silent films. However, having just been introduced to them, I didn't know the difference. Though it would be a while until I became a true silent film enthusiast, I loved these films as a kid. They definitely firmly planted the seeds for a tree that would blossom later in my life. For this I will forever be grateful to those DVDs and these short films. One of my favorites of these shorts was the Stan Laurel short, West of Hot Dog (1924).
In this delightful western spoof, Stan inherits The Last Chance Saloon. However outlaw Bad Mike will inherit it if something were to happen to Stan. Naturally Bad Mike and his cronies try to kill Stan in order to get the saloon. Like many of the short films Stan Laurel made around this time, this was a parody of a popular movie. In this case that movie was West of the Pecos (1922) starring and directed by screen cowboy Neal Hart (who had worked at a wild west show before his movie career).
This is a fast paced and very entertaining short. While it may not be filled wall to wall laughs like an actual Laurel and Hardy short, there are some legitimately funny moments. One of my favorite bits is Stan's reaction to the stagecoach robbery. Stan's obliviousness to what is actually going on and his playfulness comes off as precursor to the character (though it is far from fully formed here) and comedy style that Stan would later become known for. This short also has some delightful little slapstick gags. One involving him ducking out the window always puts a smile on my face. Even when the gags don't inspire big laughs, they still help give this film a great comedic momentum. This is an unashamedly silly and cartoon-like comedy and there is something just incredibly fun and charming about that. The story is very basic, but it works as a perfect setup for all the comedic set pieces.
Moving Picture World, 1925
This director of this film was Scott Pembroke. Pembroke directed quite a few of the Stan's solo films both for the Joe Rock and Hal Roach studios. His work with Stan Laurel includes such shorts as Kill or Cure (1923), Short Orders (1923), Rupert of Hee Haw (1924), Mandarin Mix-Up (1924), Monsieur Don't Care (1924), Pie-Eyed (1925), The Snow Hawk (1925) and probably the best Stan solo short Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pryde (1925). Pembroke also directed some few silent movie serials including Winners of the West (1921), The Adventures of Tarzan (1921), The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1922) and The Social Buccaneer (1923) as well as some silent westerns starring cowboy star Bob Custer. His talkie work would include the early Jack Benny movie, The Medicine Man (1930) and the John Wayne B-Westerns The Lawless Nineties (1936) and The Oregon Trail (1936).
This film's producer was Joe Rock. Born in New York in 1891, Rock had begun his movie career as a stunt double for Mary Pickford. In 1916 he worked at Vitagraph as part of a comedy team with Earl Montgomery. Though these short comedies proved quite popular, they only lasted about four years when Vitagraph started to have the two comics appear in separate films. When Vitagraph let him go, Joe Rock started his own production company and started to produce comedies in which he would star. It wasn't long before Rock he was producing comedies starring other comedians including Jimmy Aubery and in 1924 Stan Laurel. As well as producing comedies with Stan and Jimmy, Joe Rock also produced a series of comedies called A Ton of Fun, which starred a trio of heavy-set comics ("Fat" Karr, "Tiny" Alexander and "Kewpie" Ross. The series of Joe Rock produced Stan Laurel shorts ended when Stan Laurel returned to the Hal Roach Studio. Rock was willing to let Stan go if Stan would not take any leading roles on screen. When Stan eventually appeared in starring roles in Roach shorts, this was brought to court. This caused Joe Rock's studio to become inactive as his assets were put into suspension. Luckily for Rock, Stan Laurel eventually asked for the case to be dismissed. Rock would later win an Academy Award for the short documentary film Krakatoa (1933). The documentary was about the island of Krakatoa both before and after the volcano eruption in 1883. He wouldn't pick up the award for 40 some years after winning it. Rock passed away on December 5, 1984, in Sherman Oak, California.
According to historian Robert Stone, this comedy was filmed in October 1924 at Universal Studios.
The following are some exhibitor's reviews from Exhibitors Herald. "WEST OF HOT DOG: Stan Laurel— The film on this was good out of Milwaukee Exchange. Judging from the way the crowd laughed this must have been a good comedy. We didn't think much of it. Two Reels. - W.T. Davis & Son. Rialto theatre, Sharon, Wis. - General Patronage." " WEST OF HOT DOG: Stan Laurel— This was not so good. Didn’t have much appeal. Copyright 1924. Films good. Rating 60. Two Reels. - J.W. Ryder, Jewel theatre, Verdale, Minn, Small Town Patronage." "WEST OF HOT DOG: Stan Laurel - Fair comedy. Two Reels. - Nicolaides Brothers, Amercian theatre, Scofield, Utah. General Patronage."
For anyone interested in seeing this film, you can watch it below on YouTube. It can also be found on numerous public domain DVDs.
Leonard Maltin's The Great Movie Shorts is a seminal book on classic short subjects. While this book is still incredibly enjoyable and informative today, to truly appreciate it, you must put into the context of the time it was written. At this time most writings about movie focused on "important" films, nearly all of which were feature length. A whole book long study of the live action short subject of the 1930's and 40's was something virtually unheard of. Today there have been many books written about classic short subjects (Leonard Maltin would even co-write another on (with Richard W. Bann), The Little Rascals: The Life and Times of Our Gang). As such this could have been a very basic history and still been an important book. That this is such a well-researched and incredibly informative (even today) book at this time makes it all the more impressive.
This book is broken up into multiple different sections. The first of these is brief history of each major (and some not so major) Hollywood studio and their output in the short subject field. The second is a survey of many of the classic short subject series. This section makes up the bulk of the book and as well as the surveys each series gets a filmography giving you a list of each film, acting and directing credits and a plot summary. This section includes the most popular and famous series such as Laurel and Hardy, The Three Stooges, Our Gang (AKA The Little Rascals), Joe McDoakes, Pete Smith (whose shorts play on TCM regularly) and Charley Chase. Also included are the sound shorts of the beloved silent comedians Buster Keaton and Harry Langdon (the talkie work of legendary silent comedy producer Mack Sennett is even chronicled in this book). Here you get a great picture of an overlooked part of the work of some true Hollywood legends. There are also many series here that even the most avid cinephiles will not have seen or maybe even heard of. Not all the series listed here are comedies as we also get a look at such series as Crime Does Not Pay, John Nesbit's Passing Parade and Screen Snapshots. After this comes surveys of various genres that were not talked about in depth elsewhere in this book (newsreels, travelogues, musicals and sports).
With all this the book marks a perfect introduction to those who wish to get further into classic short subjects, letting you know all aspects of the classic live action short subject, so that whatever your interests may be, you will know when to start. Maltin's writing also often fully reflects his passion for the subject and will make you want to seek out many of the films he has written about. Yet this book is equally essential to seasoned movie buffs. It's in-depth filmographies, look at obscure films (as well as the better-known ones), surprisingly in-depth histories and especially its quotes from many of those who worked on these films (many of whom Maltin talked to firsthand) make this just as essential reading for true cinephiles. Beyond this the book is simply a lot of fun to read.
This book would be reissued and updated in 2015, when it would be retitled Selected Short Subjects" From Spanky to the Three Stooges.
This book should have a treasured place in every movie buff's library. It certainly has a very cherished place in mine.
Run Time: 20 minutes. Studio: Hal Roach Studios. Director: Edgar Kennedy. Supervising Director: Leo McCarey. Titles: H.M. Walker. Producer: Hal Roach. Main Cast: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Otto Lederer, Anges Steele, Monty O'Grady, Christian J. Frank, Rolfe Sedan. Cinematographer: Floyd Jackman. Editor: Richard C. Currier.
Some of the best ideas for Laurel and Hardy comedies came from the simplest of places. In early January 1928, a gagman at the Hal Roach Studio saw a concert in the park. He mentioned this concert to Stan Laurel and supervising director, Leo McCarey. From this simple conversation came one of the most popular of Laurel and Hardy's silent output. Production for the film began that same January.
This short film features Stan and Ollie as musicians. They are playing in a band that is performing a concert in the park. When they ruin the concert and unintentionally drive the conductor crazy, they are fired. They try to make a living as street musicians but have little luck at this either. When the two get in an argument with each other this ends up leading to a massive conflict involving every passerby and the tearing of clothes.
This is a masterpiece of comedy. Not only are the gags funny on their own but the comedy here is perfectly structured. Though this film starts out quite funny, it continuously gets funnier as it goes on. Each gag sequence builds perfectly on the last until the film reaches its hilarious climax. The story itself may be slight, but it flows completely naturally and never feels as episodic as it easily could have in lesser hands. This is why when Robert Youngston later used the climax here for his compilation movie The Golden Age of Comedy (1958), it didn’t have the same effect as it does here. It is still funny there, but it is not as laugh out loud hilarious as it is when you watch the full short.
Those used to Laurel and Hardy's sound movies may be surprised to see that Stan is much more assertive here than he would be later. However, the Ollie character is completely formed here being the same character we know from the later films.
The bit where Stan and Ollie first start playing as street musicians begins with a single shot of the two doing a bit of business that lasts a whole 50 seconds. This shot perfectly shows just how great of a comedy team these two were, even this early in being a team. The scene is funny, and we never notice that the camera is held so long. Later there is a rare use of a tracking shot as Stan and Ollie walk down a street before Ollie falls in a manhole. These types of tracking shots were not common in silent slapstick comedies. However, this is the only way such a gag could be shot.
This film was directed by Edgar Kennedy, who is much better remembered as an actor. He has been called the master of the slow burn for his talent at showing his anger rise up slowly during frustrating moments. As an actor he is instantly recognizable to classic comedy fans as he worked with many of the most popular comics of the silver screen. Over his career he has appeared in film with Laurel and Hardy, The Marx Brothers, Charlie Chaplin, Mabel Normand, W.C. Feilds, Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton, Charley Chase, the Our Gang Kids (also known as The Little Rascals) and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. He even briefly was a Keystone Kop. He also starred in a series of short comedies. That series ran from 1931 to 1948 and would feature 103 entries. He would even occasionally appear in dramatic movies such as San Fransico (1936) and A Star is Born (1937). His directing career would be much less prolific with most of it dedicated to comedy shorts. He did direct one other Laurel and Hardy short, From Soup to Nuts (1928). Some of the other short films he directed starred the likes of Ben Turpin, Chester Conklin and Hal Graves. Actor Rolfe Sedan (who played a drunk in this film) would later state, "Edgar Kennedy - there was a wonderful guy. He was a man who knew his business as a director." This seemed to be the common consensus among those who worked on the films Kennedy directed as he was well respected by everyone on the set.
This film was shot in a total of ten days. The first three days of shooting were January 17-19 and consisted of the concert scenes (shot at Exposition Park in Los Angeles). On January 20th and 21st, some outdoor scenes were shot on the Roach Lot. The crew took Sunday the 22nd off from shooting. They then resumed shooting outdoor scenes (including the big pants ripping finale) on the 23rd, 24th and 25th. The final two days (January 26-27) of shooting were done indoors on a set on the Roach lot and consisted of the boarding house scenes. The film was released to movie theaters on April 27, 1927.
Frank Spauto (who played a bit role in the film) later spoke about the filming of the pants-ripping finale. "We worked for two days on that thing. The pants-ripping was probably towards the end of the second day. Truthy, I don't remember Kennedy directing this one. But the director was on a platform truck with two cameras; then they had a camera over on the far side of this flatiron-shaped building, a camera on the left side of the scene and one by the curb. This fellow on the truck directed the whole thing, but he had two assistant directors who would get the people placed and tell them where they should come in. The first kicking would start it all, and we extras would be somewhere around the building. Some of us where out of range with the camera. And the director would say, 'Action. Start coming in slowly now ... you get in there ... don't go to fast. Don't mob up. Then you walk in, you look, and you start kicking'!"
The main cameraman on this film was Floyd Jackman. Floyd's older brother Fred had been a very prolific cameraman for the Mack Sennett Studio in the late teens and it wouldn't be long before Floyd also joined the movie business. Floyd had made a few westerns for Warner Brothers before moving to the Hal Roach lot. His first movie at the Roach lot was the dramatic feature film, Call of the Wild (1923). He would go on to work on the various short comedies starring the likes of Charley Chase, Mabel Normand and Max Davidson. You're Darn Tootin' was his last known film, as he would leave the movie business to become a dentist. His assistant cameraman on this film was Earl Stafford, who had begun his movie career at the Mack Sennett studio shooting short comedies starring the likes of Harry Langdon and Bill Bevan.
The little kid here is Monty O'Grady. This is one of the rare Hal Roach films he appeared in. His most famous role is in the classic Mary Pickford movie, Sparrows (1926). After the silent era, O'Grady would briefly leave movies, only to come back in 1938 as an adult. From 1938 to 1996, O'Grady would become a constant presence in movies and TV shows, though mostly as an extra. He was 11 when he made this picture and lived to 84 years old, passing away two days after his 84th birthday (March 8, 2000). The conductor is played by Otto Lederer. Though not well remembered Otto Lederer was in around 120 movies from 1912 to 1933. However, from 1932 to 1939, he would work primarily as a makeup artist. Probably his most famous role was in the revolutionary part-talkie film, The Jazz Singer (1927), where he played the comedy relief. He was born in 1886 in Prague and passed away at The Motion Picture Home in Woodland Hills, California on September 3, 1965. The landlady is played by Agnes Steele. Born on August 22, 1881, in Melbourne, Australia, she mostly played small uncredited roles in movies from the early 1920's until her death on March 3, 1949. This is her only known role at the Hal Roach Studios. She was in the feature film, My Old Dutch (1926), which also features Edgar Kennedy. It has been speculated that perhaps this is how she ended up in this short. The policeman was played by Christian J. Frank. He was born in New York in 1890 and began his screen career in 1920, mostly working in small roles like his one here. Silent comedy fans might recognize him from his roles in the Harry Langdon films, The Sea Squawk (1925) and His First Flame (1927). He continued acting in movies until 1948. He passed away on December 10, 1967, in Los Angeles.
The title for this film must have been considered too American for overseas audiences as in the UK, it was released under the name, The Music Blasters, which many comedy historians believe was the working title for this short.
A few gags in this film may need explanation to a modern audience. On intertitle states “Very well, Sister McPherson, we go.” This is a reference to Aimee Semple McPherson, a Megachurch founder who was especially well known for her sudden 1926 disappearance and the large media circus around her return. She was also very well known for always asking for donations. The year this film was released Variety ran a story about her during a radio broadcast asking a worship musician to play another song, but the mike accidently also picked up her telling the musician to keep it short so that there would be time for collection. Earlier in the film there is a shot of the sheet music for the concert which states that it was arranged by W.C. Polla. William Conrad Polla was a popular novelty pianist around this time, who wrote the song Dancing Tambourine. He was also known for making orchestral arrangements for pieces by composer William Christopher Handy, best known for the jazz and blues standards Saint Louis Blues and Beale Street Blues. Below is Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra's 1927 recording of Dancing Tambourine.
Here are two exhibitors' reviews from Exhibitor's World Herald. "YOU'RE DARN TOOTIN': Laurel-Hardy - Good except finish which took off good flavor. Two Reels. - M.W. Mattecheek, Lark Theatre, McMinnville, Ore. - General Patronage." "YOU'RE DARN TOOTIN': Laurel-Hardy - Without a doubt this team cannot be beat. A Laurel and Hardy poster on your front means twenty minutes of real entertainment in your theatre. Print very good. Two Reels. - Stephen G. Brenner, New Eagle Theatre, Baltimore, Md. - General Patronage." An issue of the Motion Picture News (dated June 9, 1928) stated, "'Valley of the Giants' at the United Artists theatre was another unsuccessful film that was noticeably below par from every standpoint. The real hit of the bill was the Laurel-Hardy comedy, 'You're Darn Tootin'.' Even this though couldn't make a good show all alone, so the box office was very weak as a result."
For anyone interested, this film can be watched on YouTube below. It is also on the essential Flicker Alley Blu-ray set, Laurel and Hardy: Year Two.
Resources Used
Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies by Randy Skredvedt
Laurel and Hardy Year Two Blu-ray set liner notes by Randy Skredvedt
Laurel and Hardy Year Two Blu-ray set audio commentary by Randy Skredvedt
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