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Illuminations from Lantern
Lantern is a new online search platform that allows researchers access to more than 800,000 pages of digitized film periodicals. My first effort using Lantern turned up a few interesting trade ads and...
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Silent Film Comedians in the Trade Magazines
Let's start with one of the first film comedy stars.Max LinderMax poses for a portrait. A caricature of Max.Max in dramatic form.Max greets Charlie Chaplin.Max with Chaplin again.Max attends a party...
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Spring Cleaning in August
I was cleaning out my computer folders and I found film clips, audio clips, screencaps and stills that I thought were interesting.I don't remember what I had planned to do with these screencaps from...
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Only Me
Lupino Lane received more than the usual amount of publicity for Only Me (1929), which featured the lively comedian going it alone in 24 distinctly different roles. I wrote about this film extensively...
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Ready, Aim,. . . Laugh?
A death by firing squad is a barbaric act dressed up with good manners and fine ceremony. It is fake civility to gently ask a man if he wants to wear a blindfold while a line of rifles are being aimed...
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The Short-lived Double Act of Buster Keaton and Lloyd Hamilton is Finally...
A question that was in my mind when I wrote my biography of Lloyd Hamilton was whether or not Hamilton ever socialized with Buster Keaton. Both men had a mutual drinking buddy, Lew Cody, who figured...
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The Pirates of the Palace: The Troubled Stage History of the Mirror Routine
The mirror routine, which has been often imitated, has succeeded in producing an endless series of reflections. It is, in effect, an infinity mirror illusion. It could also be compared to a Russian...
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A Pictorial Study of Waddy and Arty
One of my recent posts included a photo of Edison Studios' Waddy and Arty, one of film's first comedy teams. I only know of one Waddy and Arty film that is still around. The film is a one-reel comedy...
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A Mixed Bag of Fun
I continue to find interesting film clips, audio clips and image scans on the Internet. Let me share my latest discoveries.Buster Keaton managed to turn an old handshake routine into a running gag in...
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Buster Keaton: Television Icon
In his final years, Buster Keaton acted as a guest star on a number of popular television series. What's My Line? (1957)"A Very Merry Christmas" (The Donna Reed Show, 1958) "Once Upon a Time" (The...
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Stuck on You: The Handcuffs Routine
The handcuffs routine has been a stock sitcom routine for the last 64 years. It is the simplicity of the routine that has allowed it to flourish. No real set-up is required. All one needs to...
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Stuck!
A 1909 Lubin comedy, Father's Glue, begins with two mischievous boys spreading glue on a park bench. A man sits on the bench for a few moments and then, when he attempts to leave, he finds that he...
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E. S. P. (1958)
This may have been the dumbest idea for a game show. Here is a description of the series from Game Show Wiki: "Two contestants were placed in separate isolation booths and experiments were conducted...
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Two-reel Comedy Festival
I would consider these comedies a good night's entertainment.Marcel Perez in Oh, What a Day (1918)Perez always offered something imaginative in his comedies. I like his idea for an automatic bath that...
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Comedy Clippings
Let's go back to those thrilling days of yesteryear and revisit a few comedy icons of the past.Ben Turpin, Heinie Conklin (Charles Lynn) and Marie PrevostBillie Ritchie This is an interesting portrait...
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Making a Fuss About Russ
Russ Powell may not be an actor that is well known, but he turned up in character roles in a number of popular films. The Soul of Youth (1920) Patrolman JonesThe Slim Princess (1920) The Governor...
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I Take My Hat and I Bid You Adieu!
I bring you another hodgepodge today. I hope that you enjoy it.Let us start with the legendary, one-and-only Shemp Howard, who performs the hat mix-up routine in this scene from A Hit with a Miss...
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Gaumont Gets Stuck
I found a 1907 Gaumont Film Company catalog online. This catalog would have been useful when I was writing my recent "Stuck!" article. A number of films included in the catalog are about people...
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Soup Stains and Burnt Tongues
There is nothing particularly funny about a bowl of soup. Not the steam. Not the broth. Not the crackers. I had lentil soup the other day and it didn't even make me crack a smile. Yet, soup became...
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Never Trust a Dummy
In real life, the main use for a dummy is to model clothing. But it was different in early films. The dummy held vast potential for the many pranksters and con artists that populated the magical...
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