An amazing number of Hal Roach Shorts on Turner

[BERIGAN]

When I say amazing, I mean amazing! 161 shorts and features!!!

Here is the start of the lineup tomorrow at 8 pm with Our Gang shorts(53 during the month, 40 in 24 hours!)

(Eastern times listed)

http://www.tcm.com/schedule/index.jsp?startDate=1/4/2011&timezone=EST&cid=N

Back in the 70's a hamburger joint called the Ground Round showed silent short films(Pretty smart when you think about it, didn't matter if anyone was talking) and that was where I saw Charlie Chaplin for the first time, and the Our Gang silent films, which I have never seen since....I remember liking them a lot as a kid, curious to see how good they seem now....

And here is the main page about the films

http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=354583

It's a crying shame Charley Chase is just about completely unknown today, and while he wasn't as "big" as Chaplin, Keaton, Harold Lloyd, or Harry Langdon in the silent era, he was still pretty well known then, and IMHO, translated better to talkies than any of them(save perhaps Lloyd) but sadly he only made shorts except for a feature or two. After being canned by Roach, He went on to direct the 3 Stooges in some of their shorts, and made some really funny shorts himself at Columbia. They were supposed to put out all of those shorts like they did the 3 Stooges, but the economy went south before that happened.

Info on his career at TCM

http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=354591&mainArticleId=354583

Well, don't want to bore people too much(too late!) but many of the other shorts really deserve to be seen, the few "The Boyfriends" shorts I have seen were about as funny as any shorts, but who has heard of them???

The Thelma Todd shorts with Patsy Kelly can be hit or miss, but they made a great team. Have only seen One Thema Todd-Zasu Pitts short, so am looking forward to seeing more of them. Never seen any of the Patsy Kelly-Lyda Roberti Shorts. I have heard Lyda Roberti sing a few songs, in her very unique style(check out College Rhythm on youtube) but never seen her in a short...Oh yeah, and a 24 hour marathon of Laurel and Hardy! No way in the world to record even half of the stuff, but if you like your comedy old timey, this is the month for you!

Edited January 19, 2011 by BERIGAN

[alocispepraluger102]

awesomw--thanks

[BERIGAN]

Laurel And Hardy marathon starting tonight, 8 PM EST

http://www.tcm.com/schedule/index.jsp?startDate=01/11/2011&timezone=EST&cid=N

[BruceH]

I remember when they used to show Our Gang shorts on TV all the time. Sound ones, though. Now you mention them and kids don't know what the hell you're talking about.

(I remember the Ground Round, too, though the one in our area stopped showing silent films somewhere in the late 70's I think.)

[Chuck Nessa]

Hot sure if these belong to Hal, but...

[BruceH]

Didn't the Shakey's Pizza chain also show silent comedy for a while? I seem to recall that, at least in Iowa.

[Big Al]

Laurel And Hardy marathon starting tonight, 8 PM EST

http://www.tcm.com/schedule/index.jsp?startDate=01/11/2011&timezone=EST&cid=N

And I DVR'd every single one of 'em! And they STILL make me howl!

I like this bit from the TCM page, in which Laurel explains their method, which I'd never really known before but it all makes sense after reading it:

Ritualizing the joke and slowing it down to a crawl seemed a perverse idea in the age of slapstick pandemonium, but Stan had made a vital discovery. Many years later, an aged and long-retired Stan Laurel sat down with the writers of Johnny Carson's Tonight Show and explained his comic philosophy. In Stan's eyes, the key was to tell the audience what he was going to do, then do that thing, then tell them what he had done. In other words, a single joke became three. To see the idea in action, consider this moment from the 1933 short Twice Two: Oliver Hardy is seated at his desk, pretentiously tapping out a letter on his typewriter. He pauses to take a drink of water, and carefully places the glass next to the typewriter. The action is so mannered and precise, and given such pride of place in the scene, our attention is focused on that glass and its precarious position at the edge of the desk. Sure enough, just as predicted, the instant he hits the return lever, the carriage shunts rapidly across and hits the glass, upending it into Ollie's hat. Full of disappointment and shame, Ollie lifts up his water-filled hat, exchanging a tired, knowing glance at his friend Stan. Where is the laugh in this scene? The anticipation of the inevitable disaster? The actual moment of disaster? The reaction? It is all three, one at a time, multiplied on top of each other.

[BERIGAN]

super fast post, check out the stuff on tonight! Not sure if in any way the directors playhouse stuff is Hal Roach related, but there are some fascinating (in theory) casts in these shows, Errol Flynn, Dennis Hopper, John Wayne, etc...then Harry Langdon shorts

http://www.tcm.com/schedule/index.jsp?startDate=01/18/2011&timezone=EST&cid=N

[BERIGAN]

Laurel And Hardy marathon starting tonight, 8 PM EST

http://www.tcm.com/schedule/index.jsp?startDate=01/11/2011&timezone=EST&cid=N

And I DVR'd every single one of 'em! And they STILL make me howl!

I like this bit from the TCM page, in which Laurel explains their method, which I'd never really known before but it all makes sense after reading it:

Ritualizing the joke and slowing it down to a crawl seemed a perverse idea in the age of slapstick pandemonium, but Stan had made a vital discovery. Many years later, an aged and long-retired Stan Laurel sat down with the writers of Johnny Carson's Tonight Show and explained his comic philosophy. In Stan's eyes, the key was to tell the audience what he was going to do, then do that thing, then tell them what he had done. In other words, a single joke became three. To see the idea in action, consider this moment from the 1933 short Twice Two: Oliver Hardy is seated at his desk, pretentiously tapping out a letter on his typewriter. He pauses to take a drink of water, and carefully places the glass next to the typewriter. The action is so mannered and precise, and given such pride of place in the scene, our attention is focused on that glass and its precarious position at the edge of the desk. Sure enough, just as predicted, the instant he hits the return lever, the carriage shunts rapidly across and hits the glass, upending it into Ollie's hat. Full of disappointment and shame, Ollie lifts up his water-filled hat, exchanging a tired, knowing glance at his friend Stan. Where is the laugh in this scene? The anticipation of the inevitable disaster? The actual moment of disaster? The reaction? It is all three, one at a time, multiplied on top of each other.

Big Al, that's very interesting! They were so much more than pie in the face comedians that I am afraid most people know them as...if they know of them at all.

I have only seen some of them(put a bunch on DVD's) but there were a couple that really stood out, the one that had them living in an apartment, with a dog(that sort of thing was frowned upon then as well) and the dog started barking, and the landlord told them to get rid of the dog, or else! Of course it was the middle of winter...the looks Hardy gave the camera 4-5 times after the latest catastrophe, were just brilliant! Don't know how he could convey so much without saying a word, and give a of variation of his exasperated "look" each time...who else could do something like that???

I also loved the one where as navy guys on leave, they take a couple girls for a canoe ride(A big canoe/flat bottomed boat) in the park and by the end of the 2 reeler they are joined by what, 20+ people standing with them??? Classic!

Edited January 19, 2011 by BERIGAN