The Three Stooges made 190 two-reel comedies between 1934 and 1959. With numbers like that they were forced to find routines they could recycle and reuse over time. Indeed the word ‘recycle’ figures heavily into the filmmaking world of the Stooges. Plots were constantly recycled (detectives, haunted houses, fixing things
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2L9bOGx4Z8&t=24s Here’s ‘Gents In A Jam’ from 1952, written and directed by Edward Bernds. The best of the Shemp shorts were for the most part Bernds-helmed–his scripts were tighter and the jokes and sight gags better planned and delivered than the increasingly mechanical Jules White films of the period. I
Now this is going to take a little explaining. Yesterday I posted one of Robert Altman’s mid-60s Color-Sonics music ‘videos’ (check it out if you haven’t already–you’ll be glad you did). Here’s another one that he did with the famous ecdysiast Lily St. Cyr called ‘Don’t Call Me’. Except the
In the mid-sixties a company called Color-Sonics developed a visual jukebox that provided what were, in essence, the first music videos. Mini-films were made to accompany pop songs of the day and people could watch as well as listen to their favorite new tunes. The machine was loaded with 16mm
Here’s the trailer for Robert Altman’s first film, the independently produced 1955 teen hoodlum flick ‘The Delinquents’ (released in 1957). It was shot in Kansas City where Altman was then based, making industrial films and directing semi-amateur theatrical productions. The film apparently starred Tom ‘Billy Jack’ Laughlin (he’s not credited
Without reservation I can say that I find ‘A Plumbing We Will Go’ easily the best Three Stooges short ever made. But I’ll go further. I’ll go on record right now (yes, on record) and say that this is on par with Laurel & Hardy’s ‘Helpmates’ and ‘The Music Box’
Here’s a neat little five minute interview promo for the 1957 film ‘Fire Down Below’, starring Robert Mitchum, Rita Hayworth and Jack Lemmon. Ed Sullivan seems to have schlepped down to the films Trinidad location and filmed this little pre-EPK segment for broadcast on his show–it can’t be live, can
I freely admit to never having had any specific interest in Elvis. He’s been part of the wallpaper of pop culture in my mind ever since I was a kid–always identifiable, sometimes fun, more often than not a subject of ridicule or pity. Now, in light of Baz Luhrmann’s towering
There are several things that this morning’s cartoon lacks. 1) Color. 2) Humor. 3) Porky Pig, as we’ve come to know him. This Porky is grossly fat, can barely speak and appears to have no fidelity at all to his poor suffering little train, which manages to win a race
Here’s the (in)famous ballroom dancing match-up between James Cagney and George Raft from ‘Taxi’ (1932) directed by Roy Del Ruth. According to a dance savvy Youtube commenter: ‘Neither Raft nor Cagney are doing the Foxtrot. Mr. Raft is doing the Peabody and Mr. Cagney is mixing the Two Step into