Celebrate Silent Film
I left my house and went to a talking picture theater, where I obtained tickets to see Stan & Ollie. This review is a bit of a cheat because, while Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were paired during the silent era, the film does not go earlier than 1937.
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy try their hand at grave-robbing when a mad scientist offers them $500 for a fresh corpse. Grim and ghostly mayhem ensues when the pair try to snatch the occupant of a new grave.
Continue reading “Habeas Corpus (1928) A Silent Film Review”
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy share the screen as true co-stars for the first time in this long-lost comedy short. The boys play hobos who hide out in an empty mansion to evade a firefighting draft and then must deal with prospective renters. If this sounds familiar, it is. Laurel and Hardy remade it as Another Fine Mess.
Charley Chase meets the woman of his dreams but has to wriggle out of an arranged marriage in order to live happily ever after. His solution is to feign insanity, which backfires in the most hilarious way possible.
Continue reading “Crazy Like a Fox (1926) A Silent Film Review”
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy get jobs at a posh hotel and chaos ensues. Not the strongest of their silent shorts but this picture has one ace tucked away in its garter: a very young Jean Harlow.
Stan Laurel is hired by Priscilla Dean to romance her and make her husband jealous. Stan’s career as a lothario is hampered by the family butler (Oliver Hardy), a violent bully who intends to get rid of the interloper by any means necessary.
Continue reading “Slipping Wives (1927) A Silent Film Review”
Laurel and Hardy gets jobs at a swanky hotel and they perform them with precision and competence. Hee hee! Nope! They make a dog’s dinner of the whole thing and a good number of extras and supporting actors end up either face down in the mud or with what we like to call a wardrobe malfunction. One of the victims is a teenage, pre-fame Jean Harlow.
Continue reading “Double Whoopee (1929) A Silent Film Review”
The Wizard of Oz. A wonderful tale for children. It has everything a parent could wish for. Animal cruelty. Vomit. Sexual harassment. Racial stereotypes. What’s that? You think Oz shouldn’t have any of those things? Well, don’t tell Larry Semon, writer-director-producer-star of this version.
Continue reading “The Wizard of Oz (1925) A Silent Movie Review”