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Pitts And Todd
Pitts and Todd were a 1930s movie comedy duo consisting of actresses ZaSu Pitts and Thelma Todd. Assembled by Hal Roach as the female counterparts to Laurel and Hardy, the duo's members changed over the years and included actresses Patsy Kelly, Pert Kelton and Lyda Roberti. History Roach had previously paired Anita Garvin and Marion Byron in 1928 and 1929, but only three films resulted. Pitts and Todd had both previously worked with Roach in various short films and feature films before filming 17 shorts for Roach from 1931 to 1933. The 1930 Leroy Shield song "Beautiful Lady" was used as the theme song for the Pitts and Todd films. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy made a guest appearance in the 1931 short ''On the Loose''. The 1932 short ''Show Business'' was directed by Jules White and was later reworked as the 1936 Three Stooges Columbia short ''A Pain in the Pullman''. These popular pre-code shorts featured frequent female physical comedy, human limb twister piles, and mugging ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term originated in ancient Greece: in Athenian democracy, the public opinion of voters was influenced by political satire performed by comic poets in theaters. The theatrical genre of Greek comedy can be described as a dramatic performance pitting two groups, ages, genders, or societies against each other in an amusing '' agon'' or conflict. Northrop Frye depicted these two opposing sides as a "Society of Youth" and a "Society of the Old". A revised view characterizes the essential agon of comedy as a struggle between a relatively powerless youth and the societal conventions posing obstacles to his hopes. In this struggle, the youth then becomes constrained by his lack of social authority, and is left with little choice but to resort to ruses w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stan Laurel
Stan Laurel (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, writer, and film director who was one half of the comedy double act, duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Hardy in 107 short films, feature films, and cameo roles. Laurel began his career in music hall, where he developed a number of his standard comic devices, including the bowler hat, the deep comic gravity, and the nonsensical understatement. His performances polished his skills at pantomime and music hall sketches. He was a member of "Fred Karno's Army", where he was Charlie Chaplin's understudy.McCabe 2005, p. 143. Robson, 2005 Retrieved: 18 June 2012. He and Chaplin arrived in the United States on the same ship from the United Kingdom with the Karno troupe. Laurel began his film career in 1917 and made his final appearance in 1951. He appeared with his comic partner Oliver Hardy in the film short ''The Lucky Dog'' in 1921, although they di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy Gilbert
William Gilbert Barron (September 12, 1894 – September 23, 1971), known professionally as Billy Gilbert, was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects and television shows beginning in 1929. Career Early life and vaudeville career The child of singers with the Metropolitan Opera, he was born in a dressing room at the Hopkins Opera House in Louisville, Kentucky. Gilbert began working in vaudeville at the age of 12, and later played in burlesque on the Columbia and Mutual wheels. Big break in films Gilbert was spotted by Stan Laurel, who was in the audience of Gilbert's show ''Sensations of 1929''. Laurel went backstage to meet Gilbert and was so impressed by him he introduced him to comedy producer Hal Roach. Gilbert was employed as a gag writer, actor and director, and at the age of 35 he appeared in his first film for the Fox Film Corporation in 1929. Gilbert broke into comedy shor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gus Meins
Gus Meins (March 6, 1893 – August 1, 1940), born Gustave Peter Ludwig Luley, was an American film director. He was born in Frankfurt, Germany. Career Meins started out in the 'teens as a cartoonist for the Los Angeles Evening Herald before becoming a comedy writer for Fox in 1919. In the 1920s, Meins directed a number of silent short subjects film series for Universal Pictures, including the '' Buster Brown'' comedies. He is best known as senior director of Hal Roach's ''Our Gang'' comedies from 1934 to 1936, and also as director of Laurel and Hardy's '' Babes in Toyland'' (1934). His assistant director was a young Gordon Douglas, who became senior director in 1936 when Meins left ''Our Gang'' for other directing jobs at Roach. Meins left Roach in 1937 over creative differences. Death In the summer of 1940, Meins faced prosecution of "morals charges", having been accused of sex offenses against six youths. The director swore his innocence but stated that the case would r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hal Roach Studios
Hal Roach Studios was an American motion picture and television production studio. Known as ''The Laugh Factory to the World'', it was founded by producer Hal Roach and business partners Dan Linthicum and I.H. Nance as the Rolin Film Company on July 23, 1914. The studio lot, at 8822 Washington Boulevard in Culver City, California, United States, was built in 1920, at which time Rolin was renamed to ''Hal E. Roach Studios''. History Roach saw significant success in the 1920s with series of short comedy films featuring stars such as Harold Lloyd, Snub Pollard, and the ''Our Gang'' kids. The studio produced both short films and features for distribution through Pathé Exchange until 1927, when it signed a new distribution deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. By the early 1930s, the studio had entered a golden age, with a line-up of many of film's most popular comedians, including Laurel and Hardy, Charley Chase, ''Our Gang'', Thelma Todd, and Zasu Pitts. As movie theaters began to favor d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Broadway Limited (film)
''Broadway Limited'' is a 1941 American film directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Victor McLaglen, Dennis O'Keefe and ZaSu Pitts. The film takes its name from the ''Broadway Limited'' train that the Pennsylvania Railroad used to run between New York and Chicago. Plot Movie director Ivan Ivanski (Leonid Kinskey) stages a publicity stunt involving actress April Tremaine (Marjorie Woodworth), railway worker Mike Monohan (Victor McLaglen), and a baby (Gay Ellen Dakin), which turns into a real kidnapping, leaving Tremaine caught in the middle. Cast *Victor McLaglen as Maurice "Mike" Monohan *Marjorie Woodworth as April Tremaine / Mary Potter *Dennis O'Keefe as Dr. Harvey North *Patsy Kelly as Patsy Riley *ZaSu Pitts as Myra Pottle *Leonid Kinskey as Ivan Makail Ivanski *George E. Stone as Lefty *Gay Ellen Dakin as Baby * Charles C. Wilson as Detective * John Sheehan as Conductor *Edgar Edwards as State Trooper *Eric Alden as State Trooper *Sam McDaniel Samuel Rufus McDaniel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Feature Film
A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originally referred to the main, full-length film in a cinema program that included a short film and often a newsreel. Matinee programs, especially in the US and Canada, in general, also included cartoons, at least one weekly serial and, typically, a second feature-length film on weekends. The first narrative feature film was the 60-minute ''The Story of the Kelly Gang'' (1906, Australia). Other early feature films include ''Les Misérables'' (1909, U.S.), ''L'Inferno'', ''Defence of Sevastopol'' (1911), '' Oliver Twist'' (American version), '' Oliver Twist'' (British version), '' Richard III'', ''From the Manger to the Cross'', ''Cleopatra'' (1912), '' Quo Vadis?'' (1913), ''Cabiria'' (1914) and ''The Birth of a Nation'' (1915). Description The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Overacting
Overacting (also referred to as hamming or mugging) refers to acting that is exaggerated. Overacting can be viewed positively or negatively. It is sometimes known as "chewing the scenery". Uses Some roles require overly-exaggerated character acting, particularly those in comedy films. For example, the breakthrough roles of Jim Carrey in '' Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'' and '' The Mask'' (both 1994) saw him portray the lead characters in a very flamboyant fashion, as the script required. He has since played several "straight" roles. Overacting may be used to portray an outlandish character, or to stress the evil characteristics of a villain. Actor Gary Oldman was almost typecast as an anti-social personality early in his screen career: the necessity to express villainous characters in an overtly physical manner led to the cultivation of a "big" acting style that incorporated projection skills acquired during his stage training. Oldman noted that he has given "over-the-top" perform ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Twister (game)
''Twister'' is a game of physical skill produced by Milton Bradley Company and Winning Moves Games USA. It is played on a large plastic mat that is spread on the floor or ground. The mat has six rows of large colored circles on it with a different color in each row: red, yellow, green, and blue. A spinner tells players where they have to place their hand or foot. The game promotes itself as "the game that ties you up in knots". Gameplay A spinner is attached to a square board and is used to determine where the player has to put their hand or foot. The spinner is divided into four labeled sections: left foot, right foot, left hand, and right hand. Each of those four sections are divided into the four colors (red, yellow, green, and blue). After spinning, the combination is called (for example: "right hand yellow") and players must move their matching hand or foot to a circle of the correct color. In a two-player game, no two people can have a hand or foot on the same circle; t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pre-Code Hollywood
Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known as the "Hays Code", in mid-1934. Although the Code was adopted in 1930, oversight was poor, and it did not become rigorously enforced until July 1, 1934, with the establishment of the Production Code Administration (PCA). Before that date, film content was restricted more by local laws, negotiations between the Studio Relations Committee (SRC) and the major studios, and popular opinion, than by strict adherence to the Hays Code, which was often ignored by Hollywood filmmakers. As a result, some films in the late 1920s and early 1930s depicted or implied innuendo, sexual innuendo, miscegenation, romantic and sexual relationships between white and black people, mild profanity, Recreational drug use, illegal drug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Pain In The Pullman
''A Pain in the Pullman'' is a 1936 short subject directed by Preston Black starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 16th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures starring the comedians, who released 190 shorts for the studio between 1934 and 1959. Plot The Stooges are small-time actors traveling by train to an engagement—and fleeing the landlady for their unpaid rent. They are told to put their pet monkey, Joe, in the baggage car, but are afraid he will get hurt. The baggage car door closes before they can get Joe in there, so they sneak Joe onto the Southern Pacific train with them. Joe eventually gets loose, and they have a hard time finding him and also getting up to their berth. They wind up making a lot of noises, and annoying all of the train's passengers, including Paul Payne ( James C. Morton) and Mr. Johnson, the stage manager and boss (Bud Jamison), the latter of which routinely hits his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Three Stooges
The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared over the act's run (with only three active at any given time): Moe Howard (born Moses Horwitz) and Larry Fine (born Louis Feinberg) were mainstays throughout the ensemble's nearly 50-year run and the pivotal "third stooge" was played by (in order of appearance) Shemp Howard (born Samuel Horwitz), Curly Howard (born Jerome Horwitz), Shemp Howard again, Joe Besser, and "Curly Joe" DeRita. The act began in the early 1920s as part of a vaudeville comedy act billed as "Ted Healy and His Stooges", consisting originally of Ted Healy and Moe Howard. Over time, they were joined by Moe's brother, Shemp Howard, and then Larry Fine. The four appeared in one feature film, ''Soup to Nuts'', before Shemp left to pursue a solo career. He was replaced by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
