SilentComedyMafia.com

Hi – long time reader, first time poster. Does anyone have a line on this individual? Here’s an Exhibitors Herald review of SAY IT WITH FLOWERS: The first reel of this comedy has nothing to do with flowers. It does take a lot of the stunts used by Buster Keaton, the elevator stuff, the sad face, lo...

Is there ever a rhyme or reason for pie throwing antics? I would submit there is but who knew PETA was writing film reviews back in 1921. Gary J. Well, the monkey scene is a bit disconcerting, because the animal does indeed look uncomfortable. And of course the rhyme and reason for pie-throwing is ...

Several years ago, on the good old alt.movies.silent newsgroup(back when it was still the “good old alt.movies.silent newsgroup”), I posted a piece on the most disgusting silent film comedy team of all time, Maggott and Pustule, and their Producer, Dr Henry Vermin, ne’ Dr. Heinrich Vehrmann, which t...

Mike Schlesinger wrote:Just out of morbid curiosity, why wasn't the booklet included with the DVD set? Too costly?

Mike S.

Yep.

RICHARD M ROBERTS (just out of equally morbid curiosity, why do you have to have blue letters?)

I picked up a 16mm print of this. I bid on it since I knew it was a Roach film. Other than it stars Jack Haley, I know nothing about it. Any ideas? Is it a decent film? It's an okay Jack Haley comedy, and Rosina Lawrence is in it. TCM has run it from time to time, and I watched it years ago, but no...

There's an interesting, but also ridiculous conversation going on on Dave Kehr's blogsite about BECOMING CHARLEY CHASE, which also underlines why auteurists really will never get Silent Comedy, nor much else in film history for that matter. I really love the references to "McCarey's FLUTTERING ...

While they are not under the radar, I think the W.C.Fields Sennett shorts are the high water mark of Sennett sound shorts. I have not seen a short talkie from the other Sennett stars like Clyde , Beebe, or Gribbon, that compare to Fields' Sennett shorts. A while back someone told me there was an ea...

Watching Speedy and Welcome Danger back to back on TCM was a perfect illustration of this. Speedy looked like it was shot yesterday. Crystal sharp, with rock steady registration and perfect exposure. Then Welcome Danger came on: soft, grainy and flickering exposure. Both were presumably shot on pan...

The reason for the cutting of NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE (which was it's only title either in previews as a feature or it's release as a short, the title BANK NIGHT was only a working title that was quickly scrapped) was actually very simple, MGM wouldn't release it as a feature. Louis B. Mayer had absolute...

Anyone out there know when Buster's four AIP films were shot? The first (Pajama Party) was released in late 1964, the other three in mid '65. I'm not entirely sure how AIP's production schedule worked vs. their release schedule (were they shot in clusters and release over time?), so any insights wo...