Slapstick Follies (And Other Fine Messes) May 15, 2009

Event: “Slapstick Follies (And Other Fine Messes)”. Guest curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present an evening of old-timey, goofball, side-splitting humor. Shorts and a few silent films from the early days of Hollywood including the rarely seen or screened “Down Memory Lane” (b+w, 1949), a feature-length compilation of Mack Sennett’s comedies featuring (as host) the first appearance of Steve Allen and Mack himself. Plus “Hog Wild” (b+w, 1930), one of the best Laurel & Hardy shorts; “One Wet Night” (b+w, 1924), from the Hal Roach Studio, “Air Express” (b+w, 1937) and an eye-popping, mind-blowing Busby Berkeley clip!
Date: Friday, May 15, 2009 at 8:30PM
Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street, San Francisco 94110
Admission: $10.00 RSVP Only to: 415-558-8117 or [email protected]
Web: http://www.flarerecord.com

"Slapstick Follies
(And Other Fine Messes)”
Comedy Classics From Cinema’s Early Days

On Friday, May 15, Guest Curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present an evening of classic slapstick comedy from the early days of Hollywood, with a focus on the Mack Sennett and Hal Roach Studios. Just the tonic for tough times! Showtime is 8:30PM and admission is $10.00. Seating is limited so RSVP is preferred to: [email protected] or 415-558-8117.

Films Include:

“Down Memory Lane” (b+w, 1949)
This 1949 film can claim two firsts: the first feature-length compilation of early and classic comedy silent films and shorts and the first film appearance of comedian/actor/musician/TV host Steve Allen (still a DJ at the time and without his trademark glasses!). The “plot”, written by Allen, is basically a set-up to introduce the best of the Mack Sennett Studios: W.C Fields, bug-eyed Ben Turpin, Bing Crosby (with some fine crooning), “Madcap” Mabel Normand, Gloria Swanson, even Mr. Sennett himself and many more!

“Hog Wild” (b+w, 1930)
Perhaps the best and funniest Laurel & Hardy short- Oliver Hardy, with Stan Laurel’s “help”, attempts to install an antenna on the roof so that his wife can “get Japan” on the radio. How many times will Stan knock Oliver off the roof? In the final attempt, Stan inadvertently starts his car as Oliver climbs the ladder (on the back of the car), and the two go careening out of control through town…

“One Wet Night” (b+w, 1924, silent)
Directed by William Watson for Universal Pictures, the great Alice Howell, Neely Edwards and Bert Roach are none too concerned that it’s raining out as they have a warm house, umbrellas and a nice covered horse-less wagon…

PLUS the animated short “Air Express” (b+w, 1937) starring monkey pals Meany, Miny and Moe in their last cartoon from the Walter Lantz Studio and a mind-blowing and eye-popping clip from Busby Berkeley’s “Dames” (b+w, 1934).

About Mack Sennett:

Often called "The King of Comedy" Mack Sennett was born Mikall Sinnott in the Eastern Townships south of Montréal, Québec. Oddly enough, for a man who would end up with that title, he actually started out wanting to be an opera singer. Whatever his ambitions were, his parents moved to Connecticut when he was 17 and in 1902 he was working as a common laborer. In a twist of fate that proved invaluable he had a chance meeting with vaudeville star, and fellow Canadian, Marie Dressler which led to a letter of introduction to New York producer David Belasco. Although that led nowhere, Mack stayed in New York and eventually drifted into acting.

His earliest theatrical specialty was his unique portrayal of a policeman. While many, if not most, actors played cops as figures of fear as well as fun, Sennett played the role in a far more comedic manner, usually as figures of authority who were really nothing more than bumbling fools not capable of doing the job properly. This take on the men in blue would form the foundation, a few years later, when Sennett would create his own studio and the famous Keystone Kops. But like many stage performers in this era, he was drawn to the new medium of film. He began appearing in movies in 1908 at the Biograph Studio, many of them directed by the great D.W. Griffith. Writing years later in his autobiography, Sennett said of Griffith, "He was my day school, my adult education program, my professor." Depending on which source you read the reasons for Sennett starting of his own production company can be a bit confusing. A common thread, however, is that he wasn't much of an actor, despite a long list of credits. But no one doubts Sennett's love of the business and his ability to develop story ideas, scripts, and talent. Just four years after starting in the movies, he co-founded the Keystone Film Company in 1912.

The start of Keystone is a movie in itself. Apparently Sennett had some fairly hefty gambling debts and he met with some bookies to try to convince them that they would make far more money if they forgot about his debt but invested in his new idea of starting his own film company. Sources vary with more than one claiming his two partners, Adam Kessel and Charles Baumann were bookies, while other, more accurate sources identify them as experienced independent producers with a respectable track record. Whatever the truth may be, Sennett was soon head of his own studio and he began to mercilessly raid his former employer, Biograph, of many of their best actors. Sennett was not just a gambler, he also got caught up in land speculation and once tried to develop a large tract of land in Hollywood. To promote his scheme he erected a huge sign. Look familiar? When the sign fell into disrepair city officials removed the word "land" and had the rest of the sign rebuilt. It is, perhaps, the most lasting symbol of Hollywood, and it started thanks to Mack Sennett.

Soon Keystone would produce films with actors like Mabel Normand, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, and Ben Turpin. When a young comic fresh from the stages of the English music halls began knocking on doors it was Mack Sennett who nabbed Charlie Chaplin. His ability to spot talent became legendary. Sennett helped develop some of the greatest names from that era and even later when he left Keystone to go to Paramount Pictures. People like Gloria Swanson, Carole Lombard, Bing Crosby and W.C. Fields owed a major part of their success to Mack Sennett. (From Northernstars.ca website)

Curator Biography:
Pete Gowdy (aka DJ Chas Gaudi) is host of San Francisco’s Shellac Shack, a weekly 78 rpm listening party and a DJ specializing in vintage sounds: soul, jazz, country, punk and new wave. A graduate of the Vassar College Film Program, he is an associate producer of Marc Huestis Presents, the long-running movie legend tributes at the Castro Theatre.

Official Website: http://www.flarerecord.com