Sons of the Desert
Brad Filippone
life and sometime in the next couple days that will change. I'll post my
opinion at that time.
Now if only I could find Way Out West and The Devil's Brother.
Brad
Scott MacGillivray
Brad Filippone wrote in message <9m254v$m61$6...@News.Dal.Ca>...
>Now if only I could find Way Out West and The Devil's Brother.
THE DEVIL'S BROTHER is available on the MGM/UA label, and WAY OUT WEST is
out on the Nostalgia Family Video label. Try www.moviesunlimited.com.
Jay Anthony
Just do a search for "Stan Laurel". If you type in Laurel and Hardy it
comes up zero. Blockheads is listed as low as $7.88 and SOTD at 7.99. Most
are VHS. There were a few DVD's.
--
Jay Anthony
http://clownsnthings.com
"Brad Filippone" <al...@chebucto.ns.ca> wrote in message
news:9m254v$m61$6...@News.Dal.Ca...
Brad Filippone
two reeler expanded into a feature. Indeed, it seems to have the plot
elements of the silent two reeler "We Faw Down." I'm sure this was
intentional, since they remade their own material often enough.
That being said, I can say that in my opinion, it deserves it's fine
reputation. I was chickling throuh the majority of the show.
The character's of the wives are very believable, unlike the usual L&H
wives I have seen, including those also playe by Mae Busch, though this is
partly due to the fact that this is a feature rather than a short.
Plot developments in most comedies of this nature tend to rather
predictable, but Stan's wife's sudden change of heart at the end managed
to take me by surprise for an excellent punchline.
Side note: isn't it interesting how in Laurel and Hardy movies we can
overlook the absurdities of fantastic coincidence? If this were real
life, what would be the chances of the Charlie Chase character being
Ollie's brother-in-law?
I know most of this stffl is old hat to most of you, sorry if I've bored
you :)
Looking for Devil's Brother and Way Out West now.
Brad
refining2
"I know most of this stffl is old hat to most of you, sorry if I've bored
you :)
Looking for Devil's Brother and Way Out West now."
Very entertaining observations on The Boy's wives in SOTD--and I agree with
your takes! We Faw done is excellent in its own right, and obviously parts of
SOTD were taken from it.
I saw Way Out West several years before I got a copy of The Devil's Brother
(Fra Diavolo). I'd watch WOW first, if possible, as it's a real classic.
Another great feature to get your hands on is The Bohemian Girl. This one is
like taking a good book to bed with you on a long winter's
night--extraordinarily entertaining.
Andy.
JVBGUY
>Side note: isn't it interesting how in Laurel and Hardy movies we can
>overlook the absurdities of fantastic coincidence? If this were real
>life, what would be the chances of the Charlie Chase character being
>Ollie's brother-in-law?
The chances in real life are slim to none - but the chances in Oliver Hardy's
life are much larger than that. That's what makes it so funny. In another
comedy, we would resent such an unbelievable coincidence, but in a Laurel and
Hardy comedy, we come to expect it, because they are walking proof of Murphy's
Law - everything that can go wrong will go wrong. In fact, it would be a
disappointment if something like that *didn't* happen.
By the way, did you notice in the Charley Chase scene, Stan does not say one
word throughout the entire sequence? He seems to spend the entire convention
with his mouth shut. I don't know why that strikes me as funny, but it does.
Just goes to show you that Laurel and Hardy were still silent comedians at
heart.
John B.
Laurel and Hardy Central (co-founder)
http://members.aol.com/lhcentral
Black and White Movies
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/black_and_white_movies
To email me, don't be a fool.
lynn paden
"JVBGUY" <jvb...@aol.comfool> wrote in message > By the way, did you
notice in the Charley Chase scene, Stan does not say one
> word throughout the entire sequence? He seems to spend the entire
convention
> with his mouth shut. I don't know why that strikes me as funny, but it
does.
> Just goes to show you that Laurel and Hardy were still silent comedians at
> heart.
i know! like when ollie said "los angeles"-- it takes a moment, but then
stan gives him a look like "what the hell?"
makes me wish i was there at the end, when oliver hardy couldn't talk, and
stan didn't--both pantomiming their last conversation.
jamison
Brad Filippone
: Brad wrote:
: >Side note: isn't it interesting how in Laurel and Hardy movies we can
: >overlook the absurdities of fantastic coincidence? If this were real
: >life, what would be the chances of the Charlie Chase character being
: >Ollie's brother-in-law?
: The chances in real life are slim to none - but the chances in Oliver Hardy's
: life are much larger than that. That's what makes it so funny. In another
: comedy, we would resent such an unbelievable coincidence, but in a Laurel and
: Hardy comedy, we come to expect it, because they are walking proof of Murphy's
: Law - everything that can go wrong will go wrong. In fact, it would be a
: disappointment if something like that *didn't* happen.
Hits the nail right on the head (of course it would be Ollie's head in one
of the movies.
: By the way, did you notice in the Charley Chase scene, Stan does not say one
: word throughout the entire sequence? He seems to spend the entire convention
: with his mouth shut. I don't know why that strikes me as funny, but it does.
: Just goes to show you that Laurel and Hardy were still silent comedians at
: heart.
Never even occured to me, but you're right. It's in keeping with their
characters though. Ollie is usually the spokesman. If Stan did open his
mouth he'd probably say something to get them in trouble.
Brad
James L. Neibaur
stood back and let Oliver and Charley have the scene to themselves.
JN
Please visit the most poorly designed web pages online:
my Favorite Movies web page:
http://hometown.aol.com/jimneibr/myhomepage/movies.html
and my Favorite Performers web page:
http://hometown.aol.com/jimneibr/myhomepage/rant.html
JVBGUY
>stood back and let Oliver and Charley have the scene to themselves.
>
>JN
>
Good point. It would be tough for Stan to compete with such a boisterous
comedian as Chase. And I suppose it was a sign of the respect he had for Chase
and Hardy that he figured they would do plenty to make that scene funny without
him.
And yet he still manages to grab a few laughs for himself with his reactions.
Derek Petro
to Ollie and Charley's drinks to carry on a conversation!
"JVBGUY" <jvb...@aol.comfool> wrote in message
news:20010825210132...@mb-df.aol.com...
lynn paden
news:20010825210132...@mb-df.aol.com...
he
> >stood back and let Oliver and Charley have the scene to themselves.
> >
> >JN
> >
>
> Good point. It would be tough for Stan to compete with such a boisterous
> comedian as Chase. And I suppose it was a sign of the respect he had for
Chase
> and Hardy that he figured they would do plenty to make that scene funny
without
> him.
>
> And yet he still manages to grab a few laughs for himself with his
reactions.
i've only seen some chase silents-- was he this boisterous in his talkies?
or was he playing over the top because the guy is supposed to be a bit of a
jerk?
jamison
JVBGUY
>or was he playing over the top because the guy is supposed to be a bit of a
>jerk?
>
>
>jamison
I've seen a fair amount of Chase talkies and he never really nailed down a
character. Sometimes he was a henpecked husband, other times he was a good
natured fool. His loud boisterous character in SONS was sort of different for
him.
There is a Columbia short called THE HECKLER where he plays an even more
obnoxious character at a tennis match and a ballgame. It's very funny,
although it is in the latter-day Saturday Night Live style of comedy - one loud
and annoying character making things miserable for everybody around him.
So actually when I said that Stan might have figured it would have been tough
to compete with such a boisterous comedian as Chase, I misspoke. I meant to
say a boisterous character as Chase was playing.
I wonder why that was the only film he and the Boys ever worked in together
(not counting the L&H cameo in Chase's ON THE WRONG TREK). They worked really
wonderfully together. I could see Chase playing an annoying neighbor with whom
Stan and Ollie get into scuffles.
refining2
"It seems to me that if you watch closely, Stan is too busy helping himself
to Ollie and Charley's drinks to carry on a conversation!"
Going a step beyond your observation, by making an observation of my own---
I think this scene exhibited for Stan and Ollie the juncture at which the
pinnacle of their " closeness as a twosome " had reached a true height in their
careers. They were so close in their togetherness as their on-stage characters
Stan and Ollie that at the time of this feature they had virtually everything
in common (on stage). Even their wives were best friends with each other, not
that their wives were best friends with their respective husbands.
As they were characterized as "extremely close" in an earlier short, Their
First Mistake, and very close in a short prior to that in Be Big, they were
seemingly even closer in the "matured" developmental stage of their characters
in SOTD.
This cohesive aspect of The Boys by this time in their careers makes SOTD such
a "potent and power-packed" flik, IMHO.
Why don't we all take time out to watch Sons Of The Desert again, really soon?
Andy.
Elmer Pintar
Elmer Pintar
Scott MacGillivray
lynn paden wrote in message ...
>i've only seen some chase silents-- was he this boisterous in his talkies?
>or was he playing over the top because the guy is supposed to be a bit of a
>jerk?
Definitely over the top and jerky! According to Brian Anthony, Chase's
biographer, Charley didn't want his two teenage daughters to see SONS OF THE
DESERT because he felt the "jerk" character was obnoxious and unlike his
usual self.
James L. Neibaur
>or was he playing over the top because the guy is supposed to be a bit of a
>jerk?
He could play the boisterous character (THe Heckler is the best example), but
could also play the shy, stammering type (Girl Grief may be the best example).
Eric Perlin
> Why don't we all take time out to watch Sons Of
> The Desert again, really soon?
Good idea, although I just watched it about two weeks ago.
I watched it with a neighbor (no, not Jim Neibaur) who was unfamiliar with L&H
but was a Honeymooners fan. She didn't know which was Laurel and which was
Hardy, but said, "I like the one that imitates Jackie Gleason."
James L. Neibaur
My last name is pronounced Ny-bur not Nay-bur. I never portrayed Gomer Pyle.
Brad Filippone
: refining2 <refi...@aol.com> wrote...
: > Why don't we all take time out to watch Sons Of
: > The Desert again, really soon?
: Good idea, although I just watched it about two weeks ago.
As the person who started this thread, I only just watched it a few days
ago. Do I have to watch it again already? :)
Well, not that it's that bad a prospect.
: I watched it with a neighbor (no, not Jim Neibaur) who was unfamiliar with L&H
: but was a Honeymooners fan. She didn't know which was Laurel and which was
: Hardy, but said, "I like the one that imitates Jackie Gleason."
Babe was indeed talented to imitate the routine of a man not yet famous.
Brad
Matthew W. Miller
>I wonder why that was the only film he and the Boys ever worked in
>together (not counting the L&H cameo in Chase's ON THE WRONG TREK). They
>worked really wonderfully together. I could see Chase playing an
>annoying neighbor with whom Stan and Ollie get into scuffles.
There's another Chase short, 'Call of the Cuckoos', where the Boys play
annoying neighbors to *him*! Another one I've got to see one of these
days.
--
Matthew W. Miller -- mwmi...@columbus.rr.com
JimReid56
>annoying neighbors to *him*! Another one I've got to see one of these
>days.
>--
Actually, Call of the Cuckoos is a Max Davidson short with Stan, Babe, Chase
and Jimmy Finlayson doing cameos. It's very funny.
Brad Filippone
: >There's another Chase short, 'Call of the Cuckoos', where the Boys play
My introduction to L&H was when I was quite young. There was a TV series
called "The Original Laurel and Hardy" (there were others?)
While they showed the L&H silents, they also showed numerous Laurel only
shorts. Being so young I was always confused by these ones, for some
reason I couldn't recognize Laurel with his usual attire and generally
didn't enjoy them as much.
They also showed "Call of the Cuckoos" and for some reason I didn't notice
the pair in the brief scenes they are in. I DO remember not laughing much
at the absurdities of the new house Davidson bought. As one thing after
another went wrong I found I couldnkt laugh, but I felt sorry for the
house's new occupents.
I saw it again years later when a local channel ran that old series again.
This time I laughed with it. It's amazing how the mind of a child, in
this case myself, works, isn't it?