SMILEAGE GUARANTEED Ed Watz Thumbs Up on Amazon

[Richard M Roberts]

Hey Gang,

Ed Watz added a great five-star review for the Book on Amazon today:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098930 ... UTF8&psc=1


Here it is to save some of you a mouse click:

"Instant Classic: THE Essential Book on the Films of Hal Roach!
By Edward WATZ on November 15, 2013
Among Hollywood filmmakers, few individuals left a more lasting legacy than pioneering producer and director, Hal Roach. Roach, of course, was the man responsible for discovering or developing the comedy talents of Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy, Harold Lloyd, Our Gang (The Little Rascals), Thelma Todd, Charley Chase, and many other legendary performers. Hal Roach's amazing career began in nickleodeon days and continued for over half a century. Thanks to Roach's savvy and business sense, he saw the advantages of licensing his films for television and non-theatrical home use, ensuring that the public would not forget his contributions to the world of film comedy.

Although Hal Roach has been represented in books written about the films of Laurel & Hardy, Our Gang, and Harold Lloyd, the majority of his other series and comedy films -- many hundreds of them -- have not been discussed in book form previously. Film historian and raconteur extraordinaire Richard M. Roberts, together with his ace team of researchers Robert Farr and Joe Moore, has created a massive, 500-page comprehensive look at the entire output of Hal Roach Studios' motion pictures, from its inception in 1914 to its last theatrical release in 1948. Every single Roach production is included here - credits, cast and synopsis (when known) - and not just for the major stars. All of the lesser-known or neglected comics (Max Davidson, Snub Pollard, Eddie Boland, Gaylord Lloyd, Paul Parrott, etc.) are likewise discussed, including those whose films and careers are recounted here for the first time. Great talents whose careers were in decline, like Mabel Normand and Harry Langdon, made films for Roach, as did Broadway and stage favorites, like Will Rogers, Ted Healy, Eddie Foy, and others. Behind the scenes were creative minds who later became major directors, including Leo McCarey, George Stevens, and Frank Capra.

The next best thing to having author Richard M. Roberts speak about these films in person is reading his intelligent and entertaining observations in this book. Mr. Roberts paints a colorful and exciting milieu behind the working methods of the Roach studio (or "The Lot of Fun" as it was affectionately known by its employees). Films are evaluated and descriptions are peppered with invaluable information about production history, retakes, critical reaction and more - in short, the devil is in the details, and Roberts supplies plenty of background facts. All of this is neatly told in a personable, incisive, and witty style that makes the reader feel as though they are vicariously "making motion picture history" along with Roach and his employees, beginning in the early years of the Twentieth Century through the Word War Two era.

In addition, the book contains several hundred still photographs, posters, candid shots and more, most of which are new to me and each one of them a sheer delight. I cannot recommend this book highly enough for anyone interested in Hal Roach Studios or the history of Hollywood. To be sure, the work here is exhaustive, but the pleasure derived from it is sure to be refreshing. By all means, get this book!"


Thank You Ed for another fine five-star review, praise indeed from someone whose work has always set a standard I try to shoot for in my own scribblings. I love being called a “raconteur extraordinaire” and may just add that to my business cards.


RICHARD M ROBERTS

[Gary Johnson]

Break out the second printing of the book -- Watz has chimed in.
You know what pull he has over the sauerkraut noshing, stein toasting, tuba blasting, German contingent of film lovers out there.

[Ed Watz]

Break out the second printing of the book -- Watz has chimed in.
You know what pull he has over the sauerkraut noshing, stein toasting, tuba blasting, German contingent of film lovers out there.

When I can show THE PIP FROM PITTSBURGH to a battalion of Dutchmen who laugh in all the right places and applaud at the end, I know that my efforts have not been in vain.

[Gary Johnson]

That's the reason we shipped you overseas, Ed -- to spread the good word.