Stan Laurel: A Life on Film - looser than loose publishing

M A Y , 2005
I S S U E N º HOLLYWOOD 4368
The Internet Noiseletter of the On The Loose tent (Oasis Nº 206) of the Sons of the Desert
NEXT MEETING
May 21st, 2005
7:00 pm ~ 12:00 am
at
188 Seames Drive Manchester, NH
Join us for an evening of film (titles both familiar
and obscure), scholarship and finger food (take your eats
right over there). With the May 21st, 2005 meeting, On The
Loose takes a renewed purpose in tackling the “loving study
of the persons and films of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.”
In the past few weeks, eh, months, ahem, years, bhhrr, nearly a decade now, we have been steadily drifting away from
the absolute purity of that purpose. Now, while we have
not drifted so far away that the far shores presently reside
on distant continents (or in-continents as may be the case
with some of our members), it certainly wouldn’t hurt to
put our shoulders together, row for the beach and hope sincerely that we wind up somewhere in the vicinity of Culver
City. That doesn’t mean. however, that we won’t find ourselves now and again passing the Christie Studios, the
Keaton lot, Mr. Sennett and company, or hanging from a
telephone pole in the company of a certain cross-dressing
ape friend. On the other hand, we will at all cost avoid wandering too far afield with the child-demons: Sunny McKean,
Arthur Trimble and Mickey “himself” McNausea.
Stan Laurel:
A Life on Film
A New Series Beginning With the May 21st
Meeting of On The Loose
E DITORIAL
S OME OF YOU WILL PAY NO ATTEN -
TION TO THE WORDS YOU ’ RE ABOUT
TO READ . I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO
WRITE THEM , RESPOND TO YOUR
HALF - ASSED QUERIES ( ALL OF WHICH
COULD BE ANSWERED BY SIMPLY
STUDYING THE TEXT THAT FOLLOWS )
AND
DISMISS
YOUR
SHAMEFUL
BEHAVIOR AS THE PRIMARY REASON
WHY THE S ONS OF THE D ESERT
NEVER GET ANYWHERE .
I will not aggravate you by suggesting that the
things I write in this column are of any importance to you
or the ideas that weigh heavily upon your minds, but please
try and take note of the following pointless statements anyway. This is the first issue of Looser Than Loose of the Air
to be committed to a file-based format. All of the previous
versions of this little newsletter have been created using
Microsoft Outlook Express, which does not display the
message content consistently from browser to browser.
Accordingly, we have embarked upon this pdf experiment
in an effort to enhance the discomfort you feel each time
you open your mailbox and find some message from the
Stevensons milling around the place waiting eagerly to ruin
your day. Amazingly enough, some of you have actually
expressed what can only be described as a self-flagellating
desire to print and archive these missives, which to me are
on a par with such things as laundry lists, Radio Shack circulars and letters to the Editors of the New York Times.
Nevertheless, here is your printable edition of Looser Than
Loose of the Air.
Now, here’s a really unimportant point: as all of the
Outlook Express-based messages were created with
absolutely no thought given to their pemanence (no importance having been attached to their existence in the first
place) and as we frequently purge our e-mail boxes to make
room for all those fascinating internet advertisements, we
cannot furnish you with any previous copies of this
newsletter. You may consider this issue to be the first of its
kind and, therefore, number one in the series. Unless you
saved them in your own mailboxes, all of the previous LTLs
have been irretreivably lost in the ether. By the way, all of
the new LTLs will be archived and available at any given
time to virtually anyone who wants them.
You may be asking yourself why you have received
this document. Well, it may be that we simply don’t like
you and wanted to insult you before you put us on your
Christmas card list. Perhaps we do like you and want to
draw you into poking fun at the dopes and malcontents in
our midst. Or, maybe we just want to sell you somethingwith our fascinating internet advertising (the most likely
scenario). In the end I suppose it doesn’t really matter.
You’re Sons of the Desert and probably haven’t digested a
word of this column anyway.
~D.S.
P ROGRAM G UIDE
For the 21st May Meeting
The screenings will begin at 7:30 pm and continue
as long as the audience can stand it. As soon as they can’t
stand it, the Keeper of the Celluloid’s job will be considered
complete and probably even successful. If it looks as though
the audience is going to outlast the Keeper of the Celluloid,
everyone’s drinking will be heavily increased. If that fails to
work, the management will have no choice but to resort to
the “nuclear option” and begin showing Chaplin shorts.
Films and Other
Projected Matter
Leave ‘Em Laughing (Roach-M-G-M, 1-28-28) with
Edgar Kennedy, Viola Richard, Charlie Hall and
Dorothy Coburn. DVD (Lost Films series) with a substitute score.
Big Business (Roach-M-G-M, 4-20-29) with James
Finlayson, “Tiny” Sandford and Lyle Tayo. DVD
British Universal release with organ score.
Bacon Grabbers (Roach-M-G-M, 10-19-29) with Edgar
Kennedy, Charlie Hall, Jean Harlow and Harry
Bernard. 16mm with original organ track.
Angora Love (Roach-M-G-M, 12-14-29) with Edgar
Kennedy and Charlie Hall. DVD (Lost Films series) with
original organ track.
Locations Tour (1997) Video and slides shot in and
around Los Angeles, Culver City and Malibu. The visiti includes Main Street, the Big Business and Bacon
Grabbers houses, Thelma Todd’s Sidewalk Café and
the Oceana. Video and 35mm slides transferred to DVD.
Stan Laurel: A Life on Film
In this series we will attempt to show every
piece of film available to us in which Stan played a
role. Whether writing, directing or starring, Mr. Laurel
chalked up a significant number of credits. Our intent
is to provide a comprehensive look at these films in
chronological order by the date of release.
Just Rambling Along (Rolin Film Cº.- Pathé
Exchange, 11-3-18) with James Parrott, Noah Young
and Marie Mosquini. NTSC Video with acoustic score.
Hustling For Health (Rolin Film Cº.- Pathé
Exchange, 2-2-19) with Frank Terry, Marie Mosquini
and Bud Jamison. Laser Disc (L&H & Friends) with a
substitute acoustic score.
Huns and Hyphens (Big V Special Comedies Vitagraph Pictures, 9-23-18) with Larry Semon, Frank
“Fatty” Alexander and Madge Kirby. PAL Video.
Extra Stuff
Let’s Do Things (Roach-M-G-M, 6-6-31) ZaSu Pitts Thelma Todd series; with George Byron, Jerry Mandy,
Dorothy Granger, Mickey Daniels, Mary Kornman,
Dave Sharpe, Gertie Messinger, Charlie Hall, Leroy
Shield and company. 16mm - we’re showing them all in
sequence again (ZaSu-Thelma and Thelma-Patsy). If all
goes well, it should take just over three years.
NOT COMING ATTRACTIONS
Dry and Thirsty (Christie - Educational, 2-16-20) with
Billy Bletcher and Vera Reynolds. L&H fans will perhaps remember Billy for his audio work in the films:
Beau Hunks, Me and My Pal, and The Midnight Patrol.
He also appeared briefly in the feature Babes in Toyland
as the chief of police. His more consistently visible
work at Roach includes the Schmaltz Brothers and
Taxi Boys series. You may best remember him, however, as the voice of the cake in the Our Gang short
Birthday Blues. This print is a new acquisition from
Britain. It is, unfortunately, incomplete but offers a
look at a familiar bit player in an early starring role.
16mm with an acoustic score.
Three Tough Onions (Cameo-Educational, 5-20-28)
with Monty Collins. Directed by Jules White. 16mm
with an electric score.
A Song for Europe (Channel 4 Television, 1996) Father
Ted series with Dermot Morgan, Ardal O’Hanlon,
Frank Kelly and Pauline McLynn. PAL DVD.
Finger Food and
Cocktails
All men sing when they’re in their cups
Feel free to bring chips, pretzels, nuts (in May) etc.
if you wish to do so. There will be peperoni, cheese and Ritz
crackers present as well as the usual chips and the unusual
salsa. The drink for the evening is a concoction about which
the management of the Pink Pup is proud to boast. It is
called the Strawberry Kidney Stone and believe you me,
folks...we’re not kidding. This thing will turn your bladder
into a fully equipped volunteer fire department. If you
don’t believe me, just wait ‘til you pass those ladders.
Toasts & Songs
You were going to have me stuffed!
Toasts are back! And if you would like to offer
a reason for your fellow members to increase the
amount they are likely to imbibe over the course of a
single evening, please step up to the plate and put
your mouth where your money went. This month we
will be raising our glasses to Stan, Babe, Jimmy, Mae,
Charlie, Thelma and the dear old Culver building which proves that we’ll drink to just about anything in
Manchester, New Hampshire.
Why Chaplin Doesn’t Work With A
Contemporar y American A udience.
I have always said that when I get to heaven, assuming that Mr. Chaplin gets there as well, I will have the opportunity to ask him all about the filming of the rooftop chase in
The Kid. If, on the other hand, I wind up in hell, I expect that I’ll
be forced to watch it again.
I have heard various film historians lament that
Chaplin’s inability to reach contempoary audiences owes
entirely to the idea that we no longer live in a sentimental age.
As much as I’d like to agree with this notion out of deference
to my friends, I cannot. You need only to turn on your television set to see that emotion and sentimentality have never been
so prominent in our culture as they are today. On an almost
daily basis, empathic, feminist super(girlie)men, whose very
lives are devoted to apologizing for having been born with
anatomical appendages that prevent the perception of glass
ceilings, parade themselves before national audiences lecturing
the rest of us about the evils of pursuing masculine ideas, i.e.
excellence, competition, and dominance through strength.
They are in touch with their feelings. They possess an essentially feminine soul. They regard the poor with supreme pity and
equate the tears it inspires with goodness. They are loaded to
the gills with sentiment, not to mention superiority. These are
just the kind of men with whom Chaplin would have eagerly
filled the world. Half-men, looney with the very idea of estrogen and imprisoned by their beholdence to sensitivity and
emotion. So, tell me again, how does that sentimentality argument work? Frankly, it doesn’t.
In short, sanguine or nostalgic soul searching has
nothing to do with the reasons for Chaplin’s present failings
with American film audiences. It is, instead, all about his lack
of optimism and inabiltiy to perceive and correctly interpret
the nature of American idealism.
The best way to illustrate this failure is to compare
Chaplin to his most effective rival: Harold Lloyd. On film,
Lloyd is immediately recognizable as a modern man despite
the vintage of his togs, his immediate surroundings or the vernacular present in the intertitles. Most importantly, like every
American worth his or her salt, he is fundamentally an optimist. Lloyd hungers and clamours for success. He never takes
his eyes off of the brass ring and always strives to win, which
is in keeping with the best of American historic traditions. Best
of all, he does win. Lloyd is, therefore, looked upon by any
American audience in admirable, even heroic, terms. In this
sense he is an icon in the same vein as New York City - recognizably great in any age. For instance, whether you are looking
at a photo of New York that dates from 1912, 1925, 1940 or
2005, there is an immediate and undeniable recognition of the
place in contemporary terms as well as the obvious historic
ones. It is the fundamental character of New York that impresses us and in the case of both Lloyd and that city, the basis for
our admiration is American optimism and individual achievement. We are prompted to consider just what can be done in
America.
If Lloyd is like Manhattan, then Chaplin is the embodiment of Ellis Island - an icon for the waves of souls arriving on
these shores at the height of the industrial revolution. He is a
character overwhelmed by the experience of seeking his fortune in the new world. He is the figure of the lowly immigrant
in constant conflict with the complexities of a foreign society.
His character behaves in a manner that every frustrated immigrant would have liked to embrace for himself or herself, but
dared not. Whether he is shoving the head of the street-corner
bully into a gas lamp or effecting a cheap kick in the ass of a
society figure, he is instantly the little Russian, Italian, German,
Irishman or desperate tramp of a hundred different origins
getting even with his circumstances on the cheap. As such,
Chaplin represents the social realities of our great grandparents and is, therefore, a relic belonging more to antiquity than
to us. He is a symbol of an American society that has been
almost completely erased by the dreams, optimism and
achievements of its children and grandchildren. It is not an
America that we know or understand. It simply doesn’t exist
anymore.
Chaplin, however, got the nature of America all
wrong. He defined it in almost purely negative terms. He was
a rejectionist who viewed a society based on capitalism and
opportunity as fundamentally flawed and unfair. It is almost
as if he guessed that American society would crumble into a
European-style class system under the weight of mass immigration - that a cultural and political system based on individualism and opportunity was too weak a thing to overcome the
inevitable Dickensian misery. Accordingly, it is as though the
“little tramp” was somehow forced to emigrate against his will
from one failed society to another and was then kicked in the
teeth by the shadow of optimism throughout his every
American adventure. Ironically, for all of Chaplin’s success in
the American entertainment industry, he failed miserably in
his ability to interpret the realities of American character and,
indeed, failed as an American himself in the process. That
inability to recognize the innate passion for achievement and
optimism in the people of this country is reflected entirely in
the figure of a little tramp who is perpetually downtrodden, or
at the very least stuck on the margins of society. Americans
will always find virtue in success and identify more readily
with those who strive to attain it than they will with a transient
European steerage passenger who rolls with life’s punches,
getting his licks in where he can.
It is a shame that Chaplin’s amazing gifts as a physical
comedian are so overshadowed by his entrenchment in the distant past, but in the end even those talents do not have the
power to wrest his feet from the cement he so eagerly stepped
in. During his lifetime, it was his obvious physical presence as
a living breathing person buoyed by his comedic ability that
made the great Chaplin relevant. In death, his work has fixed
him in time as a figure of the early twentieth century and has,
in a cultural sense perhaps, drawn him that much closer to the
world of Dickens. Sadly, even his purely comedic work is tainted by the image of a powerless victim of class inequity clamouring desperately over the rooftops in pursuit of an orphan.
Meanwhile, our country remains one where the brass ring is
still within the reach of the Harold Lloyds in our midst.
American dreams and American ideals are, like Mr. Lloyd and
New York, recognizably great in any age. By contrast, Mr.
Chaplin and Ellis Island are historic curiosities. Chaplin’s
shortcomings are not produced, therefore, by the absence of
sentimentality in our culture, but, instead, by the greatness and
promise of America asserting itself.
WE ARE TWINS!
In the best tradition of Agnes and Hives (can we
assume the surname to be Laurel?), the Another Fine Mess
tent of Northern Ireland has agreed to join the On the Loose
tent in an Our Relations twin oasis, super-deluxe catsafterme. Now, you might be asking yourself why. Well, I’ll
tell you. Another Fine Mess meets in County Down,
Ireland. Specifically, in the town of Comber which just happens to be the ancestral home of the Todd family - before they
took the ferry from Stranraer, Scotland to Dublin some time after
the flood. How cool is that? Two tents with a common connection: one organized in the birthplace of Thelma Todd
and the other in the birthplace of her father and family. I
think both Agnes and Hives would be pleased, not to mention Colonel Buckshot - last of the Kentucky Buckshots,
mind you. Let’s not forget the real Colonel Buckshot, whose
relatives probably ran the ferry from Stranraer to Dublin.
Dohhhhh.
Grand Shiek of Another Fine Mess, Keith Davidson
and Sheik in charge of Vice, Gordon Honeycombe, will be
looking into the prospect of locating Thelma’s relatives in
Comber. Thelma’s Aunt Alice Shaw (Todd) Raymond last
corresponded with the Irish wing of the family during the
1970s. On this end, Edna Todd-Bixby is looking into her
Aunt Alice’s letters in search of clues that might help in the
search for long-lost family members. This could well prove
to be one of the nicest projects that any group of Sons has
ever chosen to undertake.
Wouldn’t it be remarkable if we were able to bring
about some kind of reunion for Thelma’s 100th birthday
Celebration (July, 2006) in Boston! What do you think,
Keith?
Thelma and her brother William in 1910
Courtesy of Mark Edwards
IT IS AT THE PRINTERS!
HOT OFF THE BURNER!
Slapstick! Issue Number 11
Goes to Press
looser than loose publishing
56 Lavishly Illustrated Pages!
With Features on:
THE CAREER OF ANITA GARVIN
by Cole Johnson
COMEDY TEAMS OF THE TEENS
by Steve Massa
FORD STERLING AT UNIVERSAL
by Wendy Warwick White
Plus:
SLAPSTICON II REVISITED
by Tommie Hicks, Jr.
RESTORATION NEWS
TWO VINTAGE ARBUCKLE STORIES
and much more
Slapstick! Magazine is published twice yearly. The cost of an
annual subscription is $20 (U.S.) $30 (overseas). Send subscriptions to the address below and make checks payable to:
Scott Margolin, 286 Chestnut Hill Ave Nº 11, Brighton, MA
02135 USA
is edited by Cole Johnson and published by
Dave and Ali Stevenson
looser than loose publishing
A Brand New DVD from
Featuring six short films from the
greater world of Stan and Babe
All newly transfered from 16mm materials
except +
The Scholar (1918)
A King Bee short starring: Billy West
Costarring: Oliver Hardy
with appearances by Blanche Payson
and Edgar Kennedy. 2 reels
The Royal Flush (Approx. 1930)
An unidentified short starring: Billy Gilbert
Costarring: Gene Schuler. 1 reel
Madame Mystery (1925)
A Roach-Pathé short starring: Theda Bara
Costarring: Oliver Hardy and Directed by Stan Laurel
with appearances by Jimmy Finlayson,
Tyler Brook and William Gillespie. 175ft fragment
Constance Bennetts’
Daily Beauty Rituals (1937)
Commercial Film Made at Roach
Starring: Constance Bennet
Features music composed for Our Relations
some of it unused in the Laurel and Hardy feature
1 Reel; Color
+ A Man About Town (1923)
A Roach~Pathé short starring: Stan Laurel
Costarring: Katherine Grant and Jimmy Finlayson
with appearances by George Rowe and Eddie Baker
1 reel
+ 6 second clip of replacement video
at the very begining; New titles and intertitles
Winter Has Come (1923)
A Christie~Educational Comedy
starring: Dorothy Devore
Costarring: Babe London
1 reel; Blue “tinted”
* DIGITALLY REMASTERED SOUND TRACKS
* SILENTS HAVE BRAND NEW 78 RPM MUSICAL SCORES
* HIGHEST QUALITY ENCODING USING MINIMAL COMPRESSION
* NTSC REGION FREE
* ASPECT RATIO: PIXEL 10:11 (NTSC 4:3)
* FULL MENUS
* VIDEO MONTAGE WITH SELDOM SEEN PHOTOS AT START-UP
Additional inquiries: [email protected]
JUST $20
Payment in U.S. funds only, please!
To order via e-mail: [email protected]
or send payment to:
LOOSER THAN LOOSE PUBLISHING
373 SOUTH WILLOW STREET #227
MANCHESTER, NH 03103
USA
ROM OUR MEMBERS
FL aurel
and Hardy Sketches From
Two of our Youngest Members!
Among the international members of the
On The Loose tent are Robert and Rosie Fraser of
Hatfield, England. It just so happens that they
are the nephew and niece of Ali (and yours truly)
Stevenson. R. & R. have great fun in writing and
performing sketches featuring Mr. Laurel and
Mr. Hardy. In a recent e-mail to Mrs. Wife,
Robert described some of them in detail. Here are
some pictures and one of their many sketches:
FROM OUR MEMBERS, (CONT.)
GIGGLING SAUCE
by Robert and Rosie Fraser
Cast
Stan Laurel: Robert Fraser
Ollie Hardy: Rosie Fraser
Giggling Sauce: Chester the Dog
This episode is based a little bit on, or perhaps a lot, on 'Laughing Gravy' and this is the story.
Stan and Ollie are in their house with their dog
Giggling Sauce. They are sitting down stroking
Giggling Sauce until a letter comes through the door.
Stan gets up and opens the letter and it says they are
bankrupt and the chosen one who has to leave is
Stan. Stan tells Ollie and Stan starts to pack. He
shook hands with Ollie, got Giggling Sauce, took one
last look at Ollie, leaves and shuts the door behind
him. Ollie sighs. Stan is walking down the path with
Giggling Sauce, he stops and takes another look at
the letter he checks his pocket and finds $1 in his
pocket and he looks back at the letter and rips it up
and goes back to the house. Ollie looks up. "Stanley"
he cries. They go to each other and embrace. Then
Ollie suddenly looks at Stan and says "Why did you
rip up the letter?" "'Cos I found out that I had $1"
Stan replies. Ollie slaps his head and that's the end
of that episode.
Thanks Robert and Rosie! Keep us posted!
COMING NEXT MONTH
In the next Issue of Looser Than Loose of the
Air we will look at how and why Thelma Todd was
turned from a comedic actress into a sideshow
attraction. We’ll also post the film program notes and
everything else associated with our unusual meeting
activities. You will not want to miss the June gathering of the On The Loose tent as it is our annual birthday celebration for Stan Laurel!
Coming June 18th, 2005
Above: The entrance curtain made by Mrs. Wife
(left) & marquee (right)
Below: The entrance curtain from inside the
theater
Above: From the entrance looking back toward
the far left corner of the theater
Above: From the front looking back toward the
booth. In the top right of the picture is a frame
containing the autographs of Lloyd Hamilton
and Earl Foxe on Lupino Lane’s application to
the Masquers’ Club. Lane’s auto has been
added to the set via an autograph book clipping.
Above: From about half-way back looking toward
the far right corner
Above: From the back looking toward the screen.
Above: A Scottish tam and pair of doe-skin
gloves that Thelma bought for herself during her
trip to Britain in 1933. I believe that they were
purchased in Edinburgh.
Above: The costume purse that Thelma used in
Fra Diavolo. It is visible breifly in the film as
she and Jimmy Finlayson exit the coach at the
Inn. She wrote her name in pencil on the manufacturer’s tag inside
Below: Two shots of the booth.
Above: The Comique’s half-assed theater organ.
Really, it’s not half as assed as the guy who
attempts to play it.
Above: A shot of the Stan Laurel check. It was
cashed on the day that Beau Hunks was
released (Dec. 12th, 1931) It has been framed
with an original Daily Production Sheet from
July 29th, 1931 - the day the “first fort” exteriors were
shot. A Taxi Boys auto-set is in the background
Above: More of the autographs. Two of the six
Patsy Kellys and a Charley Chase (right)
REcoMEMBER
to mark it down!
June 18th, 2005