DISC THREE:
LUKE’S MOVIE MUDDLE • Harold Lloyd • 1916, 10 min
Fans of Harold Lloyd may find him almost unrecognizable here. Lloyd found eternal fame with his “glasses character,” but before then had been a huge box office draw playing Chaplin-imitation “Lucky Luke.” Lloyd admitted these early shorts were deficit in imagination, but they were some of silent comedy’s biggest hits at the time. Most of the Lucky Luke shorts were destroyed in a 1943 fire; this is one of the few to survive. One of the many stories about how Lloyd created his “glasses” character says that he was inspired by supporting player Earl Mohan’s appearance in this short.
PAY YOUR DUES • Harold Lloyd • 1917, 13 min
This is one of the last single-reel shorts Lloyd made. It is chiefly notable for implying—but not actually using—the kind of daredevilry Lloyd would make his trademark.
THE NONSKID KID • Eddie Boland • 1922, 10 min
Eddie Boland was a minor player at the Hal Roach lot usually to be seen in supporting roles opposite the likes of Harold Lloyd or Snub Pollard. For a few years, he had his own starring run of shorts, frequently cast alongside child star Earnest “Sunshine Sammy” Morrison. The original star of Hal Roach’s Our Gang comedies, Morrison also briefly starred in his own solo series. As the street urchin who ruins Boland’s car, Morrison plays much the same role he did with Lloyd in the later short Get Out and Get Under. Boland makes little of an impression even here in a starring role, but Morrison remained in hot demand as one of the most prolific child comics of the silent era.
SOLD AT AUCTION • Snub Pollard • 1923, 21 min
When Harold Lloyd took some sick days in 1919, Roach turned to Snub Pollard to fill the gap, establishing one of silent comedy’s strangest stars. Pollard had a fascination for elaborate contraptions, and a strikingly cinematic sense of humor. Where his contemporaries obsessed over developing “personalities,” Pollard went joke-happy with a demented brand of comedy not unlike what might happen if you let an escaped mental patient make movies. Full of supporting players familiar from the Harold Lloyd and later Laurel and Hardy series, this bizarre short was directed by Charlie Chase (under his true name, Charley Parrott) and is one of the most ridiculous movies in this entire DVD set.
SMITHY • Stan Laurel • 1924, 13 min
Like Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laurel was an English actor touring with the Karno troupe, who left the stage for a life of silver screen pratfalls. Years before he found immortality teamed with Oliver Hardy, Stan starred in an on-again/off-again series of shorts variously produced by Hal Roach and Joe Rock. Unlike most of his solo work, SMITHY closely models the kind of film we would later make with Ollie: meticulously plotted property damage.
FORGOTTEN SWEETIES • Charley Chase • 1927, 20 min
Thankfully, Chase today is enjoying a long overdue reappraisal as one of silent comedy’s greatest talents. Where his contemporaries built their films around gimmicky personas, Chase’s shorts are situational comedies of manners. They are a snapshot of life in the 1920s, and a direct forerunner to today’s TV sitcoms. Chase started at Keystone, fresh out of vaudeville, and alternated between acting and directing (under the name Charles Parrott). He directed films for Lloyd Hamilton, Snub Pollard, Our Gang, and the Three Stooges, and continued to star in his own series well into the sound era.
LUKE’S MOVIE MUDDLE • Harold Lloyd • 1916, 10 min
Fans of Harold Lloyd may find him almost unrecognizable here. Lloyd found eternal fame with his “glasses character,” but before then had been a huge box office draw playing Chaplin-imitation “Lucky Luke.” Lloyd admitted these early shorts were deficit in imagination, but they were some of silent comedy’s biggest hits at the time. Most of the Lucky Luke shorts were destroyed in a 1943 fire; this is one of the few to survive. One of the many stories about how Lloyd created his “glasses” character says that he was inspired by supporting player Earl Mohan’s appearance in this short.
PAY YOUR DUES • Harold Lloyd • 1917, 13 min
This is one of the last single-reel shorts Lloyd made. It is chiefly notable for implying—but not actually using—the kind of daredevilry Lloyd would make his trademark.
THE NONSKID KID • Eddie Boland • 1922, 10 min
Eddie Boland was a minor player at the Hal Roach lot usually to be seen in supporting roles opposite the likes of Harold Lloyd or Snub Pollard. For a few years, he had his own starring run of shorts, frequently cast alongside child star Earnest “Sunshine Sammy” Morrison. The original star of Hal Roach’s Our Gang comedies, Morrison also briefly starred in his own solo series. As the street urchin who ruins Boland’s car, Morrison plays much the same role he did with Lloyd in the later short Get Out and Get Under. Boland makes little of an impression even here in a starring role, but Morrison remained in hot demand as one of the most prolific child comics of the silent era.
SOLD AT AUCTION • Snub Pollard • 1923, 21 min
When Harold Lloyd took some sick days in 1919, Roach turned to Snub Pollard to fill the gap, establishing one of silent comedy’s strangest stars. Pollard had a fascination for elaborate contraptions, and a strikingly cinematic sense of humor. Where his contemporaries obsessed over developing “personalities,” Pollard went joke-happy with a demented brand of comedy not unlike what might happen if you let an escaped mental patient make movies. Full of supporting players familiar from the Harold Lloyd and later Laurel and Hardy series, this bizarre short was directed by Charlie Chase (under his true name, Charley Parrott) and is one of the most ridiculous movies in this entire DVD set.
SMITHY • Stan Laurel • 1924, 13 min
Like Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laurel was an English actor touring with the Karno troupe, who left the stage for a life of silver screen pratfalls. Years before he found immortality teamed with Oliver Hardy, Stan starred in an on-again/off-again series of shorts variously produced by Hal Roach and Joe Rock. Unlike most of his solo work, SMITHY closely models the kind of film we would later make with Ollie: meticulously plotted property damage.
FORGOTTEN SWEETIES • Charley Chase • 1927, 20 min
Thankfully, Chase today is enjoying a long overdue reappraisal as one of silent comedy’s greatest talents. Where his contemporaries built their films around gimmicky personas, Chase’s shorts are situational comedies of manners. They are a snapshot of life in the 1920s, and a direct forerunner to today’s TV sitcoms. Chase started at Keystone, fresh out of vaudeville, and alternated between acting and directing (under the name Charles Parrott). He directed films for Lloyd Hamilton, Snub Pollard, Our Gang, and the Three Stooges, and continued to star in his own series well into the sound era.
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