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Musings on André Deed
The Fashionable Sport (Gli sport alla moda) (1910) I offer today's blog post as a tribute to André Deed, who is the first comedian spotlighted in my book Eighteen Comedians of Silent Film. I continue...
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Thoughts on a Few Films of 2014
This was an exceptionally good year in film. My favorite film was Boyhood,which many critics have put at the top of their lists. Today, I would like to draw attention to other quality films of the...
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Burn the Old Films
Appreciation for classic films is rapidly diminishing. The greatest and most frustrating reason is that classic films have become incompatible with modern day political correctness. This is the clear...
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Merry Jerry
George Ovey starred as "Merry Jerry" in more than 100 Cub Comedies from 1915 to 1917. He stood with both of his feet pointed inwards just like a later Jerry. Here is a few production stills, ads...
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The Bold and the Bald: The Ted Healy Story
Wise-cracking Ted Healy, whose comic performances enhanced vaudeville programs, Broadway productions and major motion pictures, was a prominent, well-respected entertainer of the 1920s and 1930s. But...
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The Marcel Perez Collection
Robinet Is Jealous (1914) My boundless love of silent film comedy made it impossible for me to resist purchasing The Marcel Perez Collection. The collection includes ten short films starring and...
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A Sampling of Comedy Films from 1908
My research on comedy routines had me poring through 1908 to 1921 editions of Moving Picture World to glean plot details from the magazine's "Stories of the Films" and "Comments on the Films" sections....
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Bad Grief!
A person grieving the death of a loved one will resort to desperate measures to cope with their loss. This idea has been explored in strange and disturbing ways in two recent films, Wake Wood and I...
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Hollywood Madness!
Hollywood has been less than realistic in its depiction of mental illness. This can be seen clearly in two films, A Beautiful Mind (2001) and As Good As It Gets (1997).A Beautiful Mind (2001) is a...
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A Fat Kid and a Thin Kid
For years, I wanted to see Fireman Save My Child (1954). The film was developed as a vehicle for Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, but Costello got sick before principal photography began and Universal...
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A Sneeze
Ben Turpin in He Looked Crooked (1917)Laurel and Hardy in Bonnie Scotland (1935)Woody Allen in Annie Hall (1977)
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An Honorable Mention: Frank Daniels
Frank Daniels, an illustrious stage actor, came out of a brief retirement to make his film debut for Vitagraph in 1915. In his association with Vitagraph, he starred in two feature films and nearly...
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The Russian Reversal Joke
Lily Rothman recently outlined the history of an old stand-up joke on the Time website. The joke is first known to have turned up on the 1958 Oscars. Bob Hope, who had just returned from a tour in...
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Feminism in Middle-earth
In 2001, I went through an acrimonious divorce. I was so devastated by the experience that I couldn't be bothered to maintain proper grooming habits or keep to a healthy diet. I became so unkempt and...
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Scary Mirrors
Early films exploited an old superstition that a mirror could be a portal to a demon netherworld. A demonic mirror could absorb human energy and even steal a person's soul. It was believed at one...
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Bits and Pieces
I wanted to share a few images and film clips that I came across recently. Many of the film clips came from a YouTube channel created by film collector Tommie Hicks, Jr. Here is Harry Langdon featured...
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Getting Everyone into The Frame
Publishers prefer to feature a photograph on the cover of a film book. It isn't an unreasonable idea. After all, film history is mostly about images. Dramatic tableaus and photogenic faces leave a...
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The Mystery of the King of Kinema
I am proud to have been interviewed for this film. I am even prouder to say that I lost a great deal of weight since the interview. So, don't be too distracted by my big belly.
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It's Doesn't Make You as Bad Person to Dislike Dreadlocks
We interrupt this film blog for a serious message. If you came here today for film criticism, film analysis or film history, I must report that my usual ongoing discussion of films has been suspended...
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