Silent comedies

[Formeruser012523]

Thought I'd ask what you Loungers think of them.

I'm forever wondering why my friends and/or family hear me say "silent" and run for the door like the rooms on fire. :bolt:

It's not that difficult to read, is it?

Personal fav, Harold Lloyd's "Girl Shy". :love:

 

[C-dot]

I love It, especially when Clara Bow makes William Austin buy her new clothes!

I've seen a few Buster Keaton comedies too, like Sherlock Jr. and Our Hospitality. They cracked me up! In college I took a film studies course in which we watched Sherlock Jr., and everybody in the course (except me) was balking. They ate their words after seeing it, of course

 

[LizzieMaine]

I love silent comedy. Lloyd is a favorite -- "Girl Shy" is also my pick for his funniest film. I'll watch the Chaplin Mutuals anywhere, any time -- "One AM" is about as funny as is possible for a film to get. Keaton's "The Navigator" is as crowd-pleasing a film as you'll ever see.

And I dearly love Harry Langdon. Brilliant, brilliant stuff, from his shorts to his features. "Three's a Crowd" is an extraordinary picture on many levels.

As far as non-comedian comedies of the silent era, check out some of the pictures Bebe Daniels made at Paramount in the late twenties, like "Feel My Pulse." She was very underrated as a comedy performer.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Love "Show People", starring Marion Davies and Billy Haines. Great onscreen chemistry between those two, as well. One gets the impression that they were pals off the set.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

Mabel Normand, she was amazing.

 

[HadleyH]

Everything that has been mentioned in this thread... plus also the Hal Roach comedies including the "Our Gang" series.

 

[rue]

I'm not a connoisseur, but I do love the ones I have seen

 

[Formeruser012523]

Everything that has been mentioned in this thread... plus also the Hal Roach comedies including the "Our Gang" series.

I loved these as a kid! Saw "Spanky" in person years ago. LOL!

Nice to know so many of you have good taste too.

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

I always loved Laurel and Hardy and Buster Keaton.

[video=youtube_share;g3cvUuRQtSc]http://youtu.be/g3cvUuRQtSc[/video]

 

[The Wolf]

W. C. Fields early silents (with that odd mustache) are a lot of fun, too. Check out "pool Sharks".

Sincerely,
The Wolf

 

[Doctor Strange]

I'm definitely a big silent comedy enthusiast from WAY back!

I began collecting silent comedies on film in the early 70s (e.g., Girl Shy in Super 8), and I just got the new Kino complete Keaton shorts set this month! (It was a steal - three discs for $22 from Amazon... Geez, I used to pay twice that for a single 16mm Keaton short print thirty years ago!)

There are a bunch of older threads on silent films, largely about comedies:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?8599-Your-favorite-silent-movies

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?40598-Harold-Lloyd-fan

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?37278-You-MUST-choose.-No-waffling

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?21626-Buster-Keaton

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?21202-Harold-Lloyd

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?6355-buster-Keaton-required-viewing

 

[VitaminG]

plenty of them still stand up. I've bought a few on dvd and my family generally enjoy them too. I think it was a surprise to them that they were actually making good funny movies back then, so few people taking the time to sit down and watch them now. Most modern peoples' exposure to that style of film seems to be an occasional awful keystone cop-like caricature slipped into modern films & tv shows. Drake & Josh pretending to be Laurel & Hardy does not fly.

Buster's The General and The Cameraman are among my faves. Big Chaplin fan too and loved Laurel & Hardy as a kid, although Olly always struck me as a gurning bully. Stan was the truly funny one.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Stan was also the brains of the operation. He was very hands-on with the writing, direction, and editing. Ollie was off to the golf course as soon as shooting ended, but Stan was the unsung creative genius behind the team.

 

[Formeruser012523]

LOVE The Cameraman! That's probably my favorite Keaton film, which is strange since it was with MGM. I know he fought with the studio over what gags he could do and what stunts they'd allow him to perform.

In your opinion, which Laurel & Hardy film/short is the best? Haven't seen many, but love what few I've managed to find.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Among the L&H silents, I really like You're Darn Tootin', Liberty (with its Lloyd-like high-rise girder sequence!), and Big Business. Among the talking shorts: Perfect Day, Brats (wherein they play themselves and their own children!), Below Zero, Hog Wild, and The Music Box. All the 1930s features have great moments... Sons of the Desert and Way Out West are often considered "best". Of course, I've loved March of the Wooden Soldiers since earliest childhood!

Unfortunately, I find a lot of young folks don't have the patience for the deliberate pacing of Laurel and Hardy's style. It was always a bit slow, but it seems downright glacial today, when gags are typically set up and sprung in an instant. My own kids - who enjoy Keaton and Chaplin - find them too darn slow.

 

[Formeruser012523]

The Music Box was one of the first ones I remember seeing. (Thanks, couldn't remember the name of that one!) Probably my favorite by them. March of the Wooden Soldiers sounds familiar, but it has been a looong time since I've seen any L&H films.