The Golden Age of Comedy
Encyclopedia
The Golden Age of Comedy was a compilation
of silent comedy films (from
the Mack Sennett
and Hal Roach
studios),
released in 1957, written and produced by Robert Youngson
. Youngson had previously produced several award-winning short documentaries beforehand, and this was the first compilation of its kind in feature-length form. Initially,the film was only distributed by a small independent company (DCA) before being taken up by one of Hollywood's best known film studios, 20th Century Fox
. Its commercial success led Youngson to follow suit with other silent film compilations over the next decade. The film is often regarded as particularly bringing Laurel and Hardy
back into the public's notice after years of obscurity (they are the film's most predominately featured performers), but sadly Oliver Hardy
died around the time of the film's release in August 1957. The film was released (along with several other Youngson compilations) on DVD for the first time in the USA in 2007. Its main musical theme is derived from Chopin's Ètude Op. 10,No. 3, often known as "Tristesse".
Act One - The Laugh Factory. Featuring several Mack Sennett comedies. Films included are The Hollywood Kid,Wandering Willies,Musclebound Music,Wall Street Blues and Circus Today.
Act Two - Nobody Liked Them But The Public. Laurel and Hardy comedies,including Habeas Corpus
,The Second Hundred Years
,We Faw Down
(identified by its British title We Slip Up) and the famous climactic pie fight from The Battle of the Century
.
Act Three - The Cowboy Who Became a Legend.Featuring Will Rogers in Uncensored Movies.
Act Four - Two Unforgotten Girls. Featuring Carole Lombard in Run Girl Run and Jean Harlow in the Laurel and Hardy comedy Double Whoopee
.
Act Five - The Great Actor. Highlighting Ben Turpin in several shorts he made for Mack Sennett.
Act Six - A Comedy Classic. Laurel and Hardy's Two Tars
.
Act Seven - So Funny,So Sad. An extract from a Harry Langdon comedy, The Luck O' The Foolish.
Act Eight - Animal Comedy. Several examples of humour from animals such as dogs, cats and lions, with Billy Bevan, Charley Chase, Andy Clyde, Harry Gribbon and Kewpie Morgan. Titles featured include The Sting of Stings and Nip and Tuck.
Finale - Two Men On a Street. The shin-kicking, pants-ripping street battle sequence from Laurel and Hardy's You're Darn Tootin'
.
Product bundling
Product bundling is a marketing strategy that involves offering several products for sale as one combined product. This strategy is very common in the software business , in the cable television industry Product bundling is a marketing strategy that involves offering several products for sale as...
of silent comedy films (from
the Mack Sennett
Mack Sennett
Mack Sennett was a Canadian-born American director and was known as the innovator of slapstick comedy in film. During his lifetime he was known at times as the "King of Comedy"...
and Hal Roach
Hal Roach
Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach, Sr. was an American film and television producer and director, and from the 1910s to the 1990s.- Early life and career :Hal Roach was born in Elmira, New York...
studios),
released in 1957, written and produced by Robert Youngson
Robert Youngson
Robert Youngson was a film producer, director, and screenwriter.Born in Brooklyn, New York, he was responsible for reacquainting movie audiences with the work of the great silent comedians. His feature-film compilations The Golden Age of Comedy and When Comedy Was King were popular successes...
. Youngson had previously produced several award-winning short documentaries beforehand, and this was the first compilation of its kind in feature-length form. Initially,the film was only distributed by a small independent company (DCA) before being taken up by one of Hollywood's best known film studios, 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
. Its commercial success led Youngson to follow suit with other silent film compilations over the next decade. The film is often regarded as particularly bringing Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
back into the public's notice after years of obscurity (they are the film's most predominately featured performers), but sadly Oliver Hardy
Oliver Hardy
Oliver Hardy was an American comic actor famous as one half of Laurel and Hardy, the classic double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted nearly 30 years, from 1927 to 1955.-Early life:...
died around the time of the film's release in August 1957. The film was released (along with several other Youngson compilations) on DVD for the first time in the USA in 2007. Its main musical theme is derived from Chopin's Ètude Op. 10,No. 3, often known as "Tristesse".
Cast
(Featured Performers)- Stan LaurelStan LaurelArthur Stanley "Stan" Jefferson , better known as Stan Laurel, was an English comic actor, writer and film director, famous as the first half of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy. His film acting career stretched between 1917 and 1951 and included a starring role in the Academy Award winning film...
- Oliver HardyOliver HardyOliver Hardy was an American comic actor famous as one half of Laurel and Hardy, the classic double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted nearly 30 years, from 1927 to 1955.-Early life:...
- Will RogersWill RogersWilliam "Will" Penn Adair Rogers was an American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer, film actor, and one of the world's best-known celebrities in the 1920s and 1930s....
- Ben TurpinBen TurpinBen Turpin was a cross-eyed American comedian and actor, best remembered for his work in silent films.-Personal life:...
- Harry LangdonHarry LangdonHarry Philmore Langdon was an American comedian who appeared in vaudeville, silent films , and talkies. He was briefly partnered with Oliver Hardy.-Life and career:...
- Carole LombardCarole LombardCarole Lombard was an American actress. She was particularly noted for her comedic roles in the screwball comedies of the 1930s...
- Jean HarlowJean HarlowJean Harlow was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. Known as the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde" , Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute...
- Charley ChaseCharley ChaseCharley Chase was an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director, best known for his work in Hal Roach short film comedies...
- Edgar KennedyEdgar KennedyEdgar Livingston Kennedy was an American comedic film actor, known as "the king of the slow burn". A slow burn is an exasperated facial expression, performed very deliberately; Kennedy embellished this by rubbing his hand over his bald head and across his face, in an attempt to hold his temper...
- Billy BevanBilly BevanBilly Bevan was an Australian film actor. He appeared in 254 American films between 1916 and 1950....
- Andy ClydeAndy ClydeAndy Clyde was a Scottish movie and TV actor whose career spanned more than four decades. He broke into silent films in 1925 as a Mack Sennett comic...
- Harry GribbonHarry GribbonHarry Gribbon was an American film actor. He appeared in 144 films between 1915 and 1938.He was born in New York, New York, and died in Los Angeles, California. He was the brother of actor Eddie Gribbon....
- Charles MurrayCharles Murray (actor)Charles Murray , was an American film actor of the silent era. He appeared in 283 films between 1912 and 1938...
- Louise CarverLouise CarverLouise Carver was an American actress who performed in grand opera, stage, nickelodeon, and motion pictures.-Biography:...
- Kewpie Morgan
- Daphne PollardDaphne PollardDaphne Pollard was an Australian actress in American films, mostly short comedies. She was also a vaudeville performer and dancer.-Diminutive stage star:...
- Madeline HurlockMadeline HurlockMadeline Hurlock was a silent film actress, hailing from Federalsburg, Maryland.Hurlock appeared in many short comedies for Mack Sennett, starting as one of the Sennett Bathing Beauties in 1923, and was one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1925. She was a talented comedian, also known for her...
- Keystone Cops
- Vernon DentVernon DentVernon Bruce Dent was a comic actor who appeared in over 400 films in his career. He co-starred in many short films for Columbia Pictures, frequently as the foil to the Three Stooges.-Early career:...
- Mack SennettMack SennettMack Sennett was a Canadian-born American director and was known as the innovator of slapstick comedy in film. During his lifetime he was known at times as the "King of Comedy"...
Plot Details
The film is divided into nine separate acts, each with their own title card.Act One - The Laugh Factory. Featuring several Mack Sennett comedies. Films included are The Hollywood Kid,Wandering Willies,Musclebound Music,Wall Street Blues and Circus Today.
Act Two - Nobody Liked Them But The Public. Laurel and Hardy comedies,including Habeas Corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
,The Second Hundred Years
The Second Hundred Years
The Second Hundred Years may refer to:* The Second Hundred Years , a 1927 Laurel and Hardy film* The Second Hundred Years , a 1967 television series...
,We Faw Down
We Faw Down
We Faw Down is a 1928 two-reel silent comedy starring Laurel and Hardy and directed by Leo McCarey. It was shot in August and September 1928, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on December 29 of that year, with synchronized music and sound effects in theaters wired for sound.The plot line was...
(identified by its British title We Slip Up) and the famous climactic pie fight from The Battle of the Century
The Battle of the Century
The Battle of the Century is a 1927 Hal Roach two-reeler starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, who, although just teamed, had yet to take on their recognisable Stan and Ollie characters on a more or less permanent basis. A young Lou Costello can be seen in an early scene as a member of the...
.
Act Three - The Cowboy Who Became a Legend.Featuring Will Rogers in Uncensored Movies.
Act Four - Two Unforgotten Girls. Featuring Carole Lombard in Run Girl Run and Jean Harlow in the Laurel and Hardy comedy Double Whoopee
Double Whoopee
Double Whoopee is a 1929 Hal Roach Studios silent short comedy starring Laurel and Hardy. It was shot during February 1929 and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on May 18 of that year.-Synopsis:...
.
Act Five - The Great Actor. Highlighting Ben Turpin in several shorts he made for Mack Sennett.
Act Six - A Comedy Classic. Laurel and Hardy's Two Tars
Two Tars
Two Tars, directed by James Parrott and released in 1928, is recognized as one of Laurel and Hardy's greatest films. A silent film, it largely consists of a 'reciprocal destruction' involving motorists in a traffic jam, which has much inventive mayhem with the destruction of various...
.
Act Seven - So Funny,So Sad. An extract from a Harry Langdon comedy, The Luck O' The Foolish.
Act Eight - Animal Comedy. Several examples of humour from animals such as dogs, cats and lions, with Billy Bevan, Charley Chase, Andy Clyde, Harry Gribbon and Kewpie Morgan. Titles featured include The Sting of Stings and Nip and Tuck.
Finale - Two Men On a Street. The shin-kicking, pants-ripping street battle sequence from Laurel and Hardy's You're Darn Tootin'
You're Darn Tootin'
You're Darn Tootin' is a 1928 Laurel & Hardy silent comedy short, produced by Hal Roach. It was shot in January 1928 and released April 21, 1928, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
.
Crew
- Narrated by Dwight Weist and Ward Wilson
- Music By George Steiner
- Written and Produced by Robert Youngson