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Stan And Ollie
Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in the silent film era, they later successfully transitioned to "talkies". From the late 1920s to the mid-1950s, they were internationally famous for their slapstick comedy, with Laurel playing the clumsy, childlike friend to Hardy's pompous bully. Their signature theme song, known as "The Cuckoo Song", "Ku-Ku", or "The Dance of the Cuckoos" (by Hollywood composer T. Marvin Hatley) was heard over their films' opening credits, and became as emblematic of them as their bowler hats. Prior to emerging as a team, both had well-established film careers. Laurel had acted in over 50 films, and worked as a writer and director, while Hardy was in more than 250 productions. Both had appeared in ''The Lucky Dog'' (1921), but were not teamed at the time. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Music Box
''The Music Box'' is a Laurel and Hardy short film comedy released in 1932. It was directed by James Parrott, produced by Hal Roach and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film, which depicts the pair attempting to move a piano up a long flight of steps, won the first Academy Award for Best Live Action Short (Comedy) in 1932."Here Are Complete Academy Awards" ''Hollywood Filmograph'', November 26, 1932, p. 9. Internet Archive. Retrieved May 13, 2019. The 1932 Academy Awards dinner and presentations were held at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on November 18. In 1997, it was selected for preservation in the |
Silent Film
A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when necessary, be conveyed by the use of inter- title cards. The term "silent film" is something of a misnomer, as these films were almost always accompanied by live sounds. During the silent era, which existed from the mid-1890s to the late 1920s, a pianist, theater organist—or even, in larger cities, an orchestra—would play music to accompany the films. Pianists and organists would play either from sheet music, or improvisation. Sometimes a person would even narrate the inter-title cards for the audience. Though at the time the technology to synchronize sound with the film did not exist, music was seen as an essential part of the viewing experience. "Silent film" is typically used as a historical term to describe an era of cinema p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Galaxy Of Stars
''Galaxy of Stars'' (1936) is a promotional short film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer only for MGM exhibitors in Europe and Africa, featuring Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ..., and rediscovered in 2005. Made in 1936, the 8.5-minute film presents about three minutes of Laurel and Hardy promoting eight MGM films, none of which feature the duo. The film is dubbed in French, with much of the comedy revolving around a telescope. Also featured in the clip was Laurel and Hardy regular James Finlayson playing their foil. References 1936 films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer short films American black-and-white films 1936 short films American comedy short films Laurel and Hardy {{short-comedy-film-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atoll K
''Atoll K'' is a 1951 Franco-Italian co-production film—also known as ''Robinson Crusoeland'' in the United Kingdom and ''Utopia'' in the United States – which stars the comedy team Laurel and Hardy in their final screen appearance. The film co-star's French singer/actress Suzy Delair and was directed by Léo Joannon, with uncredited co-direction by blacklisted American director John Berry. Plot Stan claims an inheritance left by his affluent uncle, significantly diminished by taxes and legal fees, leaving him cash-poor but with a dilapidated yacht and a private island in the South Seas. Stan and Ollie sail for the island alongside Antoine, a stateless refugee, and Giovanni Copini, an Italian stone mason hiding aboard the boat. During the voyage, the engine fails. Ollie's attempts to repair it prove futile, due to Stan's inadvertent mishandling of the components. Forced to use the sail, the crew contends with a storm at sea, which strands the boat on an uncharted island. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was founded on April 17, 1924, and has been owned by the Amazon MGM Studios subsidiary of Amazon (company), Amazon since 2022. MGM was formed by Marcus Loew by combining Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures and Louis B. Mayer Pictures into one company. It hired a number of well-known actors as contract players—its slogan was "more stars than there are in heaven"—and soon became Hollywood's most prestigious filmmaking company, producing popular musical films and winning many Academy Awards. MGM also owned film studios, movie lots, movie theaters and technical production facilities. Its most prosperous era, from 1926 to 1959, was bracketed by two productions of ''Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
20th Century Studios
20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company. It is headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles, which is leased from Fox Corporation. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures distributes and markets the films produced by this studio in theatrical markets. For over 80 years, 20th Century has been one of the major film studios, major American film studios. It was formed in 1935 as Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation by the merger of Fox Film Corporation and Twentieth Century Pictures, and one of the original "studio system, Big Five" among eight majors of Hollywood's Cinema of the United States#Classical Hollywood cinema and the Golden Age of Hollywood, Golden Age. In 1985, the studio remov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
B Movie
A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second half of a double feature, somewhat similar to A-side and B-side, B-sides in recorded music. However, the production of such films as "second features" in the United States largely declined by the end of the 1950s. This shift was due to the rise of commercial television, which prompted film studio B movie production departments to transition into television film production divisions. These divisions continued to create content similar to B movies, albeit in the form of low-budget films and series. Today, the term "B movie" is used in a broader sense. In post-Golden Age usage, B movies can encompass a wide spectrum of films, ranging from sensationalistic exploitation films to independent arthouse productions. In either usage, most B movies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Putting Pants On Philip
''Putting Pants On Philip'' is a silent short film starring British/American comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. Made in 1927, it is their first official film together as a team. Plot Piedmont Mumblethunder eagerly anticipates the arrival of his Scottish nephew, Philip, at a pier. Unfamiliar with Philip's appearance but armed with the knowledge that he becomes overwhelmed in the presence of women, Piedmont anxiously awaits his arrival. To his surprise, the misbehaving kilted man during a ship examination turns out to be Philip. Initially taken aback by Philip's effeminate appearance, Piedmont attempts to engage him in conversation and guides him through the town. However, Piedmont soon discovers that Philip is far from shy and, in fact, exhibits an unabashed fondness for women. His behavior leads to several embarrassing encounters, including inadvertently causing two women to faint by exposing himself while walking over a ventilator grate. Frustrated by Philip's conduct, Piedmont d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hal Roach
Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr. Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director and screenwriter, who was the founder of the namesake Hal Roach Studios. Roach was active in the industry from the 1910s to the 1990s. He is known for producing a number of early Media franchise successes, including the Laurel and Hardy franchise, Harold Lloyd's early films, the films of entertainer Charley Chase, and the ''Our Gang'' short film comedy series. Early life Roach was born in Elmira, New York, to Charles Henry Roach, whose father was born in Wicklow, County Wicklow, Ireland, and Mabel Gertrude Bally, her father John Bally being from Switzerland. A presentation by the American humorist Mark Twain impressed Roach as a young grade school student. Hal's first job was as a newspaper deliverer. One of his customers lived at Quarry Farm - Samu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Lucky Dog
''The Lucky Dog'' (1921) is the first film to include Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy together in a film before they became the famous double act, comedy duo of Laurel and Hardy. Although they appear in scenes together, Laurel and Hardy play independently. Laurel is the star as the hero of the film and Hardy plays the main villain opposite him. The film was screened as two reels, but some versions end abruptly after the first reel when Laurel is robbed by Hardy. Plot A hapless hero who is evicted for not paying his rent is befriended by a stray dog. The man encounters a thief in the process of robbing someone. The thief, who has accidentally placed his victim’s money into the young man's back pocket, turns from his first victim to rob the young man. The thief then steals the money that he had already stolen from the bemused young man who had thought that he was broke. The young man and the dog escape and the dog befriends a poodle. The poodle’s lady owner persuades the young ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bowler Hat
The bowler hat, also known as a Coke hat, billycock, bob hat, bombín (Spanish) or derby (United States), is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown, originally created by the London hat-makers Thomas and William Bowler in 1849 and commissioned by Lock & Co. Hatters of St James's Street, London. It has traditionally been worn with semi-formal and informal attire. The bowler, a protective and durable hat style, was popular with the British, Irish, and American working classes during the second half of the 19th century, and later with the middle and upper classes in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the east coast of the United States. It became the quintessential attire of City of London gents in the early 1900s, a tradition that lasted until the 1970s. Origins The bowler hat was designed in 1849 by the London hat-makers Thomas and William Bowler to fulfill an order placed by the company of hatters James Lock & Co. of St James's, which had been commissioned by a customer to de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marvin Hatley
Thomas Marvin Hatley (April 3, 1905 – August 26, 1986), professionally known simply as Marvin Hatley, was an American film composer and musical director, best known for his work for the Hal Roach studio from 1929 until 1940. Hatley wrote many of the musical cues appearing in the ''Our Gang'', ''Laurel and Hardy'', and ''Charley Chase'' films. His most memorable composition is "Dance of the Cuckoos" (also known as "Ku-Ku", or "The Cookoo Song"), which serves as Laurel and Hardy's theme song. He was also the "player piano" (performing off-screen) in '' The Music Box'' (1932). His work in Laurel and Hardy's films '' Way Out West'' and ''Block-Heads'' earned him nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Score. In 1939, Hatley was fired from the Roach studio. At the insistence of Stan Laurel, however, he did return to score one final Laurel & Hardy film, '' Saps at Sea''. Hatley went on to become a lounge pianist, and often remarked that he earned more money in that care ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
