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Pie Fight
Pieing or a pie attack is the act of throwing a pie at a person. In pieing, the goal is usually to humiliate the victim while avoiding actual injury. For this reason the pie is traditionally of the cream variety without a top crust, and is rarely if ever a hot pie. In Britain, a pie in the context of throwing is traditionally referred to as a custard pie. An aluminium pie pan or paper plate filled with whipped cream or more typically, shaving foam can substitute for a real pie. Brought to a widespread audience as the 'pie-in-face' gag in silent film comedies, pieing may sometimes be intended as a harmless practical joke. However, it can also be used as a means of political protest directed against an authority figure, politician, industrialist, or celebrity, and perpetrators may regard the act as a form of ridicule. Non-consensual pieing is a punishable offence in criminal law, and depending on jurisdiction is a battery but may also constitute an assault. Non-consensual piein ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fred Karno
Frederick John Westcott (26 March 1866 – 17 September 1941), best known by his stage name Fred Karno, was an English theatre impresario of the British music hall. As a comedian of slapstick he is credited with popularising the custard-pie-in-the-face gag. During the 1890s, in order to circumvent stage censorship, Karno developed a form of sketch comedy without dialogue. Cheeky authority-defying playlets such as ''Jail Birds'' (1895) in which prisoners play tricks on warders and ''Early Birds'' (1899), showing the poverty and realities for the poor of London's East End, can be seen as precursors of movie silent comedy. Many of his comics subsequently worked in film and used Karno material throughout their work. Film producer Hal Roach stated: "Fred Karno is not only a genius, he is the man who originated slapstick comedy. We in Hollywood owe much to him." Among the music hall comedians who worked for him were Charlie Chaplin and his understudy, Arthur Stanley Jefferson, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shivering Shakespeare
''Shivering Shakespeare'' is an ''Our Gang'' short film directed by Anthony Mack. Produced by Hal Roach and released to theaters by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it was the 95th ''Our Gang'' short to be released. Plot The gang participates in a play entitled ''The Gladiator's Dilemma'' written, produced and directed by the wife of Kennedy the Cop. The badly written play goes comically wrong as the young actors forget their lines, miss their cues, and deal with unwieldy props and costumes. The audience members, unruly teenage boys, mercilessly heckle the actors and torment them by throwing food. The movie ends with everyone in the auditorium participating in a pie fight. Mrs. Kennedy sees the play being completely ruined and orders everyone to stop. The kids turn to Mr. Kennedy. He nods, giving them permission, and all the kids throw their pies at her. Production notes ''Shivering Shakespeare'' was the final ''Our Gang'' comedy directed by Robert A. McGowan, who was billed as "Anthony Mac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Our Gang
''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, also the producer of the Laurel and Hardy films, ''Our Gang'' shorts were produced from 1922 to 1944, spanning the silent film and early sound film periods of American cinema. ''Our Gang'' is noted for showing children behaving in a relatively natural way; Roach and original director Robert F. McGowan worked to film the unaffected, raw nuances apparent in regular children, rather than have them imitate adult acting styles. The series also broke new ground by portraying white and black children interacting as equals during the Jim Crow era of racial segregation in the United States.Leonard Maltin, Maltin, Leonard (1994). ''The Little Rascals: Remastered and Uncut'', vol. 22, introduction. Videorecording. New York: Cabin Fever Entertainment/Hallmark E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oliver Hardy
Oliver Norvell Hardy (born Norvell Hardy; January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his comedy partner Stan Laurel in 107 short films, feature films, and cameo roles. He was credited with his first film, ''Outwitting Dad'', in 1914. In most of his silent films before joining producer Hal Roach, he was billed on screen as Babe Hardy. Early life and education Oliver Hardy was born Norvell Hardy in Harlem, Georgia. His father, Oliver, was a Confederate States Army veteran of the American Civil War who had been wounded at the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, and was a recruiting officer for Company K, 16th Georgia Regiment. The elder Oliver Hardy assisted his father in running the remnants of the family's cotton plantation. He then bought a share in a retail business and was elected full-time Tax Collector for Columbia Co ... [...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] |
The Battle Of The Century
''The Battle of the Century'' is a 1927 silent short film starring comedy double act Laurel and Hardy, who appeared in 107 films between 1921 and 1951. The film is famous for its use of more than 3,000 cream pies (although the Guinness Book of Records claims that as many as 10,000 may have been used) in the film's climactic pie fight. For many years, only three minutes from the film's second reel containing the pie fight was known to survive, as the footage had been included in Robert Youngson's 1950s film documentaries. However, the complete reel was rediscovered in 2015. It was released to the public on DVD and Blu-ray disc on June 16, 2020 as part of the ''Laurel & Hardy: The Definitive Restorations'' compilation of remastered films. Also in 2020, ''The Battle of the Century'' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Plot A broke Hardy arranges for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Behind The Screen
''Behind the Screen'' is a 1916 American silent short comedy film written by, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin, and also starring Eric Campbell and Edna Purviance. The film is in the public domain. Plot The film takes place in a silent movie studio. Charlie Chaplin plays stagehand named David who has an enormous supervisor named Goliath (Eric Campbell). David is overworked but is still labelled as a loafer by the lazy Goliath and his supervisor. A country girl (Edna Purviance) arrives at the studio in hopes of becoming an actress, but is quickly turned away by Goliath. Most of the other stagehands go on wildcat strike to protest their sleep being interrupted during their lunch break. Only David and Goliath remain on the job.The girl returns and stealthily dresses in one of the striking stagehand's work clothes. Disguised as a man, she gets a job as a stagehand too. David discovers that the new stagehand is actually a female. When he gives her a series of quick kisses, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered one of the film industry's most important figures. His career spanned more than 75 years, from childhood in the Victorian era until a year before his death in 1977, and encompassed both adulation and controversy. Chaplin's childhood in London was one of poverty and hardship. His father was absent and his mother struggled financially — he was sent to a workhouse twice before age nine. When he was 14, his mother was committed to a mental asylum. Chaplin began performing at an early age, touring music halls and later working as a stage actor and comedian. At 19, he was signed to the Fred Karno company, which took him to the United States. He was scouted for the film industry and began appearing in 1914 for Keystone Studios. He soon de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Short Film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits". In the United States, short films were generally termed short subjects from the 1920s into the 1970s when confined to two 35 mm reels or less, and featurettes for a film of three or four reels. "Short" was an abbreviation for either term. The increasingly rare industry term "short subject" carries more of an assumption that the film is shown as part of a presentation along with a feature film. Short films are often screened at local, national, or international film festivals and made by independent filmmakers with either a low budget or no budget at all. They are usually funded by film grants, nonprofit organizations, sponsor, or personal funds. Short films are generally used for industry experience and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mack Sennett
Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'. Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the Biograph Company of New York City, and later opened Keystone Studios in Edendale, California in 1912. Keystone possessed the first fully enclosed film stage, and Sennett became famous as the originator of slapstick routines such as pie-throwing and car-chases, as seen in the Keystone Cops films. He also produced short features that displayed his Bathing Beauties, many of whom went on to develop successful acting careers. Sennett's work in sound movies was less successful, and he was bankrupted in 1933. In 1938 he was presented with an honorary Academy Award for his contribution to film comedy. Early life Born Michael Sinnott in Danville, Quebec, he was the son of Irish Catholic John Sinnott and Catherine Foy. His parents married in 187 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Noise From The Deep
''A Noise from the Deep'' is a 1913 American short silent comedy film starring Mabel Normand and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. The film was directed and produced by Mack Sennett and also features the Keystone Cops on horseback. ''A Noise from the Deep'' still exists and was screened four times in 2006 in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City as part of a 56-film retrospective of all known surviving Arbuckle movies. Overview Normand throws the first pie known to ever be thrown on film in this ten-minute short about a gorgeous farm girl (Normand) in love with an obese farmhand (Arbuckle); the charming country couple wants to get married but are delayed by her father's insistence upon her choosing a different suitor. The movie was the first pairing of Mabel Normand and Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, who went on to become a sensationally popular romantic screen team and made seventeen films together; writer/director/actress Normand, the most prominent silent movie comedian, was an almos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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