Friday, August 31, 2018

Ten Comedies a Year for Fatty -- August 31, 2018


Moving Picture World, 17-August-1918
One of the highlights of Roscoe Arbuckle's "The Cook" is Buster Keaton's Egyptian dance.

Moving Picture World, 03-August-1918
"...so successful in the past months as box office attractions that the number of productions have been increased from eight to ten a year."

Moving Picture World, 10-August-1918
The Comique Company moved to the Diando studios in Glendale.  Lou Anger introduced Roscoe to Buster.

Moving Picture World, 10-August-1918
"The Cook" is one of the best Arbuckle-Keaton-Al St John-Luke the Dog.

Moving Picture World, 24-August-1918
Roscoe served tea at San Francisco's California Theater to raise money for the Red Cross.

Moving Picture World, 31-August-1918
The move to the Diando studio was only temporary.

Moving Picture World, 31-August-1918
Meanwhile, Buster was on his way to service in the US Army.  More about Buster going to war:
https://bigvriotsquad.blogspot.com/2018/02/buster-keaton-goes-to-war-february-12.html

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Henry Lehrman's Smashing, Dashing, Merry, Fairy Sunshine Comedies -- August 29, 2018

Moving Picture World, 10-August-1918
Henry (Pathé) Lehrman started out at Biograph, then went to Keystone with Mack Sennett, then left Sennett to found L-KO (Lehrman Knock-Out) Komedies. He left L-KO to produce Sunshine Comedies for Fox. Sunshine Comedies frequently featured pretty girls and lions. Many of the films were lost in a big fire at Fox.

Moving Picture World, 17-August-1918
"Cleverest Comedies Issued."

Moving Picture World, 31-August-1918
"Over the Top."

Moving Picture World, 03-August-1918
"Quintet of Sunshine Comedy Contributors."

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

The Eyes of Julia Deep -- August 28, 2018

Moving Picture World, 24-August-1918
Mary Miles Minter was a young, beautiful actress who took many parts that could have been played by Mary Pickford. She was very popular, but she got tangled up in the case of the murder of director William Desmond Taylor, which quickly ended her career.

Moving Picture World, 24-August-1918

Monday, August 27, 2018

Tuesday Weld 75 -- August 27, 2018

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Today is Tuesday Weld's 75th birthday.  I remember seeing Tuesday Weld in lots of things on television and reading her name in the paper.  I wanted to know why parents would name their kid Tuesday.  I later learned that she had named herself Tuesday.  It turns out she had a horrible childhood, but she appeared in many good movies and television shows and was nominated for an Academy Award.  I hope she is happier now than she was when she was young.

Sunday, August 26, 2018

Neil Simon, RIP -- August 26, 2018

Time, 15-December-1986
I'm sorry to learn that Neil Simon has died.  He made lots of people laugh.

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The Sunshine Boys is one of my favorites because it recreates Gallagher and Shean's Doctor Kronkite act.

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I like many things he did, but The Odd Couple has some of the best lines.

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Laughs That Linger, Roars That Reverberate -- August 23, 2018

Moving Picture World, 14-April-1917
Billy West closely imitated Charlie Chaplin in a long series of comedies for different studios. While Chaplin was making the excellent Mutual comedies, West was making imitations of Chaplin's Essanay comedies. King-Bee often came up with some interesting ads, but I couldn't find any from August, 1918.  Here is one from April, 1917.

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Harold Lloyd -- One of the Screen's Finest Comedians -- August 21, 2018

Moving Picture World, 24-August-1918
Tamar Lane, movie critic of the Boston Evening Record, wrote "Harold Lloyd, one of the screen's finest comedians, and one whom we think will some day take his place along side of Chaoplin and Arbuckle as a wholesale producer of laughs."

Moving Picture World, 10-August-1918
Eleven Rolin employees were in the military.  My favorite: "Max D Hamburger, cook at the Presidio, San Francisco."

Moving Picture World, 10-August-1918
Harold Lloyd's "Kicking the Germ Out of Germany" was frequently included on all war programs at theaters.

Moving Picture World, 10-August-1918
Harold Lloyd's co-star Bebe Daniels signed up for a third year with Rolin.

Sunday, August 19, 2018

Coming! A Brand New Charlie Chaplin Comedy -- August 19, 2018

Moving Picture World, 03-August-1918
I think Charlie and Syd are with Olga Petrova, whose real name was Muriel Harding.

Moving Picture World, 03-August-1918
Charlie and his friend Douglas Fairbanks strike Napoleonic poses in this photo.  The caption imitates ads that vaudeville acts would put in Variety.  Bill West was probably Chaplin imitator Billy West and Frank Farnum was probably actor Franklyn Farnum, who had a very long career in movies.

Moving Picture World, 03-August-1918
"Coming!  A Brand New Charlie Chaplin Comedy."  Essanay was still trying to make money out of Charlie Chaplin's work.  They took pieces of released ("Police") and unreleased (Life) Chaplin shorts to produce Triple Trouble.

Moving Picture World, 03-August-1918
"Genuine Chaplin Comedies Drawing Tremendous Crowds." Meanwhile, Essanay was also rereleasing individual Chaplin movies, along with the Snakeville Comedies, which are not nearly as funny.

Moving Picture World, 03-August-1918
"The comedy is new throughout.  Although Chaplin has not been working with Essanay for some years the company states that this film is not a reissue nor a rehash, but a new film in its entirety."  Not true.

Moving Picture World, 10-August-1918
In 'Triple Trouble' we are offering you a NEW Charlie Chaplin picture in its entirety." 

Moving Picture World, 17-August-1918
"Book only the genuine Charlie Chaplin Comedies."  This is ironic coming from the company that distributed Chase Me Charlie and made "Triple Trouble."

Moving Picture World, 17-August-1918
"'Triple Trouble' Genuine Says Spoor."  George K Spoor was the "Ess" in "Essanay."

Photoplay, August, 1918
A letter from Chaplin asks people to look for his signature to identify genuine films.

Motion Picture News, 03-August-1918
"Shoulder Arms," his second First National release, was to be Chaplin's longest film yet.  He threw out the first reel showing his character's life before the army.

Moving Picture World, 10-August-1918
I like the photo of Chaplin.  The telegram from Chaplin (I added punctuation for readability): "Trade papers announcing Essanay issue of Triple Trouble as a new Chaplin picture just arrived on coast. This is not a new Chaplin but from the advertising layout in trade review must be nothing but the discarded portions of Police the last picture made by Charlie Chaplin for Essanay.  First National should stop these misleading statements and advertising which must be stamped out." 

Moving Picture World, 24-August-1918
A letter addressed to distributor George Kleine says "Believing that a great injustice has been done to the Essanay Company as well as yourselves by the Trade Paper advertising of one of your competitors in conjunction with the release of Charley Chaplin in 'TRIPLE TROUBLE'..."

Moving Picture World, 24-August-1918
First National fired back with "Here's Trouble for 'Triple Trouble.'"  It quotes a newspaper article with the headline: "'Triple Trouble' is Atrocious Patch Quilt of Ancient Slapstick Reels."  Keep in mind that these "ancient slapstick reels" were about three years old.

Moving Picture World, 31-August-1918
"Thanks for the Trouble on 'Triple Trouble.'"  This thanks the competitors (Charlie Chaplin) who spread the word about the movie.

Moving Picture World, 25-August-1918
Moving Picture World, 24-August-1918
The author visited Chaplin while he was working on "Shoulder Arms."

Moving Picture World, 24-August-1918
"How Charlie Captured the Kaiser" was an animated short produced by the Nestor Company and released by Universal. Everyone was trying to cash in on Chaplin.

Moving Picture World, 24-August-1918
Rollie Totheroh photographed all of Chaplin's movies from the late Essanays to Monsieur Verdoux. His grandson David Totheroh used to post on alt.movies.silent.

Friday, August 17, 2018

Mae West 125, Evelyn Ankers 100, Robert De Niro 75 -- August 17, 2018

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I was going through my notes and I saw that three actors celebrated their birthdays on August 17.  Mae West was born 125 years ago in 1893.  Evelyn Ankers was born 100 years ago in 1918.  Robert De Niro was born 75 years ago in 1943.

Film Daily, 06-June-1934
Mae West had a long and successful career in vaudeville, on Broadway, in movies, on radio and in nightclubs.  She was a good writer.

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Evelyn Ankers appeared in many Universal horror films, including The Wolf Man with Lon Chaney, Jr.

Film Daily, December 10, 1941
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Robert De Niro has been a great actor for a long time, in movies like The Godfather, Part II and Raging Bull.  He has also done stage work.

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