American Slapstick
SYNOPSIS:
Irreverent, anarchic, and truly American! These are the silent comedians: immigrants, outcasts and hard-up outsiders who personified the American Dream, becoming movie stars, heroes, icons. And here are their films! If you're looking for subtlety and refinement, drop this disc and run away. Inside, expect to find: exploding cars, innocent bystanders smacked in the head with hammers, underwear models chased by cross-dressing villains, auctioneers crawling across airplane wings to retrieve false teeth, memory-impaired lovers, somnambulists, drunken reprobates, deranged acrobats, and the Keystone Kops.
17 new-to-DVD silent comedy classics and archival rarities! The first film directed by Charlie Chaplin! The best film by his brother Syd--never before on home video, never on TV, never seen before now! Early screen appearances by Harold Lloyd and Stan Laurel! Billy West, The Cubic-Chaplin-Zirconia of silent film, running amok with Oliver Hardy! Landmark shorts by such comedians as Charley Chase, Snub Pollard, Billy Bevan, and Larry Semon! Comedienne Frances Lee chasing her stolen nightie! PDF reprint of original 1915 Chaplin promotional book!
DISC ONE:
DISC ONE:
CAUGHT IN THE RAIN • Charlie Chaplin • 1914, 13 min
The legendary story goes like this: Mack Sennett hired a young comedian named Charlie Chaplin in 1914 to play opposite his then-biggest star, Mabel Normand. “Creative disagreements” ensued, and Normand wanted Chaplin out. Sennett called Chaplin into his office, planning to fire the young upstart, but received a frantic telegram from NY booking agents begging for more Chaplin films. So, instead of firing him, Sennett allowed Chaplin to start directing his own films. CAUGHT IN THE RAIN is (more or less) the first shorts Chaplin directed. It features elements both distinctive to Chaplin (such as his drunk act, a mainstay of his early films) and to Mack Sennett’s Keystone (yup, we get an appearance of the fabled Keystone Kops).
LAUGHING GAS • Charlie Chaplin • 1914, 11 min
Chaplin’s years at Keystone are his least celebrated period. Keystone already had one breakout star, Mabel Normand, when Chaplin came along and taught them what true stardom was all about. The rapid pace of production gave Chaplin a crucial platform on which to develop, test, and refine his comic identity—honing his talent over the course of 35 films. These early works are seminal if crude: the comedy is rough, in all senses of the word. This is one of Chaplin’s most violent films.
The legendary story goes like this: Mack Sennett hired a young comedian named Charlie Chaplin in 1914 to play opposite his then-biggest star, Mabel Normand. “Creative disagreements” ensued, and Normand wanted Chaplin out. Sennett called Chaplin into his office, planning to fire the young upstart, but received a frantic telegram from NY booking agents begging for more Chaplin films. So, instead of firing him, Sennett allowed Chaplin to start directing his own films. CAUGHT IN THE RAIN is (more or less) the first shorts Chaplin directed. It features elements both distinctive to Chaplin (such as his drunk act, a mainstay of his early films) and to Mack Sennett’s Keystone (yup, we get an appearance of the fabled Keystone Kops).
LAUGHING GAS • Charlie Chaplin • 1914, 11 min
Chaplin’s years at Keystone are his least celebrated period. Keystone already had one breakout star, Mabel Normand, when Chaplin came along and taught them what true stardom was all about. The rapid pace of production gave Chaplin a crucial platform on which to develop, test, and refine his comic identity—honing his talent over the course of 35 films. These early works are seminal if crude: the comedy is rough, in all senses of the word. This is one of Chaplin’s most violent films.
A SUBMARINE PIRATE • Syd Chaplin • 1915, 26 min
Syd Chaplin was a trained seaman who joined Fred Karno’s touring company, and then did the most important thing he would do in his entire life: introduce younger half-brother Charlie to the world of acting. Charlie soon overtook him, and everyone else, but Syd continued to appear in Charlie’s films (such as THE BOND) and manage his brother’s business affairs. Keystone produced a handful of Syd’s solo efforts, of which this rarely seen gem is often cited as the best.
CUPID’S RIVAL • Billy West • 1917, 28 min
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Charlie Chaplin must have been quite flattered by the likes of Lupino Lane, Billie Ritchie, and Harold Lloyd’s “Lucky Luke.” Of these, Billy West was remarkable for mimicking Chaplin’s mannerisms so precisely as to fool many audiences. Chaplin told West, “You’re a damned good imitation but that’s all you are.” West has fallen into obscurity—ever see a Billy West DVD Collection?—but he was a truly gifted, if unoriginal, comic talent. Here he co-stars with a young Oliver Hardy as a jealous, cross-dressing artist. Is it Keystone or is it Memorex?
THE BOND • Charlie Chaplin • 1918 9 min
A promotional short in which Charlie (with his regular costars Mack Swain and Edna Purviance) does his part for the US effort in World War I.
BONUS FEATURE:
Syd Chaplin was a trained seaman who joined Fred Karno’s touring company, and then did the most important thing he would do in his entire life: introduce younger half-brother Charlie to the world of acting. Charlie soon overtook him, and everyone else, but Syd continued to appear in Charlie’s films (such as THE BOND) and manage his brother’s business affairs. Keystone produced a handful of Syd’s solo efforts, of which this rarely seen gem is often cited as the best.
CUPID’S RIVAL • Billy West • 1917, 28 min
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Charlie Chaplin must have been quite flattered by the likes of Lupino Lane, Billie Ritchie, and Harold Lloyd’s “Lucky Luke.” Of these, Billy West was remarkable for mimicking Chaplin’s mannerisms so precisely as to fool many audiences. Chaplin told West, “You’re a damned good imitation but that’s all you are.” West has fallen into obscurity—ever see a Billy West DVD Collection?—but he was a truly gifted, if unoriginal, comic talent. Here he co-stars with a young Oliver Hardy as a jealous, cross-dressing artist. Is it Keystone or is it Memorex?
THE BOND • Charlie Chaplin • 1918 9 min
A promotional short in which Charlie (with his regular costars Mack Swain and Edna Purviance) does his part for the US effort in World War I.
BONUS FEATURE:
- Bonus Compilation Getting Ahead (5 min)
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