TIME IS MONEY! THE CENTURY, RAINBOW, AND STERN BROTHERS COMEDIES OF JULIUS AND ABE STERN
Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2021 9:33 am
TIME IS MONEY! THE CENTURY, RAINBOW, AND STERN BROTHERS COMEDIES OF JULIUS AND ABE STERN by Thomas Reeder is now available!
This sequel of sorts to my earlier MR. SUICIDE: HENRY “PATHÉ” LEHRMAN AND THE BIRTH OF SILENT COMEDY continues the saga of Lehrman’s L-Ko Komedy Kompany under the new leadership of the Stern Brothers, and the subsequent comedy brands that evolved from it.
The reputation of the Sterns and their comedy brands—L-Ko, Century, Rainbow, and Stern Brothers Comedies—have suffered over the years, a combination of the inaccessibility of their films, a comparative lack of star power among their comedians, and, I might add, a touch of professional jealousy on the part of their competitors
“Our comedies are not to be laughed at!” was the quip most associated with the brothers and their films. A funny line, admittedly, but dead wrong. Purported to have been uttered by one of the Stern Brothers, this is another example of the legend becoming “fact,” and has defined—and tarnished—the lasting reputation of the brothers and their films. As Picture-Play Magazine put it back in 1930, “If all the stories, which are always told in dialect, ridiculing the Sterns, were laid end to end, they would extend from the city hall in Whittier, California, to the right elbow of the Statue of Liberty.”
The reality is that Julius and Abe Stern were important figures in the industry for most of the silent era, having a foothold from the very beginnings in 1905 and surviving–thriving–until its end in 1929. Businessmen foremost and creative artists secondarily, it didn’t hurt that they had a champion in no less than Carl Laemmle, Universal’s head and their supportive brother-in-law—for awhile, at least. Ultimately they were on their own, however, with a business model that worked for them throughout the silent era. Savvy investors as well, they were both millionaires by the time they retired, unlike so many of their peers who were left penniless by the Depression. Quietly living out their lives until their deaths—Abe in 1951 and Julius 1977—Julius’s humanitarian exploits included the sponsoring of the emigration of numerous Jews from Hitler’s Germany.
With a nearly six hundred one- and two-reel comedies to their credit from 1917 on—nearly nine hundred if you include the former L-Ko’s—their output was staggering. And while there were no Chaplins or Keatons in their ever-changing roster, their films boasted such dependable stars as Baby Peggy Montgomery, Alice Howell, Mack Swain, Gale Henry, Hughie Mack, Wanda Wiley, Charles Dorety, Jack Cooper, Harry Sweet, Jimmie Adams, Bud Jamison, Vernon Dent, Bartine Burkett, Phil Dunham, Max Asher, Buddy Messinger, and others far too numerous to list here, not to mention a whole menagerie of two- and four-legged animal friends. Helming these comedies was a veritable who’s who of comedy directors who would go on to considerable success in the industry, including the likes of Gus Meins, Alf Goulding, William Watson, Tom Buckingham, Arvid Gillstrom, Norman Taurog, Edward Ludwig, Jess Robbins, Charles Lamont, and Sam Newfield.
TIME IS MONEY! THE CENTURY, RAINBOW, AND STERN BROTHERS COMEDIES OF JULIUS AND ABE STERN finally reveals the intriguing and unbiased story of the lives and careers of Julius and Abe Stern. Lavishly illustrated with more than 300 rare photos, TIME IS MONEY! details the making of the brothers’ films, and delves into their previously undocumented, behind the scenes importance to Laemmle and the growth of Universal.
Now available through both Amazon.com and the publisher, BearManorMedia.com.
Foreword by Richard M Roberts. Afterword by Gilbert Sherman.
562 pages, 328 rare images. Hard-Cover: $45, Soft-Cover: $35.
For an autographed copy, please contact me at ThomasReeder@Live.com.
https://www.amazon.com/Century-Rainbow- ... oks&sr=1-6
This sequel of sorts to my earlier MR. SUICIDE: HENRY “PATHÉ” LEHRMAN AND THE BIRTH OF SILENT COMEDY continues the saga of Lehrman’s L-Ko Komedy Kompany under the new leadership of the Stern Brothers, and the subsequent comedy brands that evolved from it.
The reputation of the Sterns and their comedy brands—L-Ko, Century, Rainbow, and Stern Brothers Comedies—have suffered over the years, a combination of the inaccessibility of their films, a comparative lack of star power among their comedians, and, I might add, a touch of professional jealousy on the part of their competitors
“Our comedies are not to be laughed at!” was the quip most associated with the brothers and their films. A funny line, admittedly, but dead wrong. Purported to have been uttered by one of the Stern Brothers, this is another example of the legend becoming “fact,” and has defined—and tarnished—the lasting reputation of the brothers and their films. As Picture-Play Magazine put it back in 1930, “If all the stories, which are always told in dialect, ridiculing the Sterns, were laid end to end, they would extend from the city hall in Whittier, California, to the right elbow of the Statue of Liberty.”
The reality is that Julius and Abe Stern were important figures in the industry for most of the silent era, having a foothold from the very beginnings in 1905 and surviving–thriving–until its end in 1929. Businessmen foremost and creative artists secondarily, it didn’t hurt that they had a champion in no less than Carl Laemmle, Universal’s head and their supportive brother-in-law—for awhile, at least. Ultimately they were on their own, however, with a business model that worked for them throughout the silent era. Savvy investors as well, they were both millionaires by the time they retired, unlike so many of their peers who were left penniless by the Depression. Quietly living out their lives until their deaths—Abe in 1951 and Julius 1977—Julius’s humanitarian exploits included the sponsoring of the emigration of numerous Jews from Hitler’s Germany.
With a nearly six hundred one- and two-reel comedies to their credit from 1917 on—nearly nine hundred if you include the former L-Ko’s—their output was staggering. And while there were no Chaplins or Keatons in their ever-changing roster, their films boasted such dependable stars as Baby Peggy Montgomery, Alice Howell, Mack Swain, Gale Henry, Hughie Mack, Wanda Wiley, Charles Dorety, Jack Cooper, Harry Sweet, Jimmie Adams, Bud Jamison, Vernon Dent, Bartine Burkett, Phil Dunham, Max Asher, Buddy Messinger, and others far too numerous to list here, not to mention a whole menagerie of two- and four-legged animal friends. Helming these comedies was a veritable who’s who of comedy directors who would go on to considerable success in the industry, including the likes of Gus Meins, Alf Goulding, William Watson, Tom Buckingham, Arvid Gillstrom, Norman Taurog, Edward Ludwig, Jess Robbins, Charles Lamont, and Sam Newfield.
TIME IS MONEY! THE CENTURY, RAINBOW, AND STERN BROTHERS COMEDIES OF JULIUS AND ABE STERN finally reveals the intriguing and unbiased story of the lives and careers of Julius and Abe Stern. Lavishly illustrated with more than 300 rare photos, TIME IS MONEY! details the making of the brothers’ films, and delves into their previously undocumented, behind the scenes importance to Laemmle and the growth of Universal.
Now available through both Amazon.com and the publisher, BearManorMedia.com.
Foreword by Richard M Roberts. Afterword by Gilbert Sherman.
562 pages, 328 rare images. Hard-Cover: $45, Soft-Cover: $35.
For an autographed copy, please contact me at ThomasReeder@Live.com.
https://www.amazon.com/Century-Rainbow- ... oks&sr=1-6