THE NEW LAUREL & HARDY BLU-RAY!

FROM AMAZON:

A world premiere for all the Laurel and Hardy fans!

Deluxe 2-disc Blu-ray Edition

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy first appeared on film together in 1921, after an initial period in their careers spent apart. The two would formally team up in 1927 and found success by following a simple comic formula that displayed the hilariously ambitious and anarchic qualities of their joint personality. Laurel & Hardy: Year One, The Newly Restored 1927 Silents, as proudly presented by Flicker Alley and Blackhawk Films, offers fans new and old the rare opportunity to observe the evolving partnership of the slapstick comedy team that would reach enormous popularity. Featuring all new restorations sourced from

best available materials contributed by archives and collectors around the world restored by Blackhawk Films and Lobster Films in Paris, this comprehensive deluxe Blu-ray 2-disc collection features thirteen extant films produced in 1927 and two additional films from before they were officially a team.

It includes new scores from some of the best silent film composers working today, such as Neil Brand, Antonio Coppola, Eric le Guen, and Donald Sosin. Arthur Stanley Jefferson for a time understudied Chaplin in England and the US, meanwhile Oliver Norvell Hardy was a talented actor in comedies and melodramas, yet neither had reached the status of movie star.

It became clear upon their merging together that their contradictory physiques and personalities complimented each other perfectly. The team would go on to produce numerous projects together that reached wide acclaim, eventually becoming nearly unanimously considered by film critics, scholars, and movie fans alike, the funniest comedy duo in film history.

REMEMBERING MR. HARDY

 On this date, 66 years ago, the world lost one of its brightest and funniest comedians. 

We remember Oliver Hardy, who, as his plaque declares, was: 

"A GENIUS OF COMEDY. HIS TALENT BROUGHT JOY AND LAUGHTER TO ALL THE WORLD."

Happy Fourth of July!

Stan Laurel - Born on this day, 133 years ago.

OLIVER HARDY'S BIRTHDAY

LOVE & DEATH

As I was strolling across a field near my home, I suddenly felt a strange chill running through my spine and a weird sense of anxiety overcame me, when suddenly I turned around and saw this tall and mysterious figure standing right beside to me. A cold breeze swiftly encircled my entire body and I knew then and there I was next to Death itself.  Fortunately, the alarm went off and I woke up.  I then remembered I had fallen asleep a few hours before, watching Woody Allen's 1975 film "LOVE AND DEATH". Whew!

Would you believe GET SMART premiered 57 Years Ago?

 On September 18, 1965, the celebrated, funny, Emmy Award winning and still famous TV series GET SMART premiered on NBC. Created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, produced by Leonard B. Stern, Arne Sultan, Jay Sandrich, Jess Oppenheimer, Burt Nodella, Chris Hayward and starring Don Adams as Maxwell Smart, Agent 86 of CONTROL, Barbara Feldon as Agent 99 and Edward Platt as the Chief, ran for 5 seasons and 138 episodes until 1970.

The premise of course was simple: a spoof of James Bond films and the entire spy thriller genre, featuring a bumbling secret agent working for an ultra-secret organization known as CONTROL. The series would feature memorable characters sharing the TV screen with Maxwell Smart such as Agent 99, a beautiful female spy who's smarter than Smart; The Chief, head of CONTROL who keeps sending agent 86 on important and delicate missions in spite of Smart's customary bungling; Hymie the Robot, an almost human robotic agent; Larrabee, an agent who is even dumber than Max; Ludwig Von Siegfried, a recurring archvillain who is the vice president in charge of public relations and terror at KAOS, the comedy counterpart of 007's SPECTRE; Stryker, his henchman, among several other equally remarkable characters.

Barbara Feldon (Agent 99) and Don Adams (Agent 86)

The (perennially out-of-order) Cone of Silence

Edward Platt as the Chief, head of CONTROL

Bernie Kopell as KAOS chief operative Ludwig Von Siegfried

The great theme song written by Irving Szathmary:

GET SMART opening credits

Dick Gautier as Hymie The Robot

Robert Karvelas as Larrabee

Many catchphrases from the show became part of American pop culture like:

 "Sorry about that, Chief!"

Maxwell Smart: You see the moment I suspected there was something wrong with this old scow, I immediately telephoned headquarters and I happen to know that at this very minute seven coast guard cutters are converging on this boat. Would you believe it? Seven.

Mr. Big: I find that pretty hard to believe.

Maxwell Smart: Would you believe six?

Mr. Big: I don't think so.

Maxwell Smart: How about two cops in a rowboat?

Beautiful Barbara Feldon in the premiere episode of GET SMART

The TV Show also spanned a series of comic books and paperbacks.

There is an almost infinite list of great bits of dialogue, funny gags, ridiculous gadgets, hilarious characters and bits of business to write about but the best way to remember GET SMART is by watching and rewatching the show which I never get tired of doing!

THE SEVENTY YEAR ITCH

THE SONS OF THE DESERT 22nd INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION!

The 22nd International Convention of the Sons of the Desert is being held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from August 17th to the 22nd, hosted by the Albuquerque Busy Bodies Tent, Oasis 29.

All participating delegates are already having the time of their lives at the Hotel Albuquerque and most of their wives think they are in Honolulu. That's a darb!

Hosted by the Albuquerque Busy Bodies - Oasis 29

Some personal affairs precluded me from attending the festivities this year but I am crossing my fingers hoping I will be able to partake of the forthcoming event a couple of years from now, wherever and whenever it may be held. (As long as I don't have to take the Oath from our Exhausted Ruler).

This was the logo of the now defunct BULLFIGHTERS TENT of MEXICO CITY.

More Senior Moments!

But I'm almost sure even millennials have trouble with this!

"Here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!"

 

Of course, that was one of Oliver Hardy's most familiar catchphrases along with "Why don't you do something to help me?" and "Hard boiled eggs and nuts! Hmmh!"  Unforgettable words, always directed at his slow-witted partner Stan Laurel in their many short films from the 1930s. Unlike most comedy double acts who consisted of a funny guy paired with a straight man, Laurel and Hardy were a comedy team formed by two equally funny comedians, each one in his own particular style which complemented and counterbalanced the other.  Considered by many film scholars as being the greatest comedy team ever, Laurel & Hardy have always remained a very important and recurring part of my life. Every mistake, downfall, calamity, disaster, stupid move, wrong turn or spill I've experienced in my daily existence, always remind me of something that happened to The Boys. And then I realize I am not alone, for Laurel & Hardy were echoing all humanity with its many shortcomings and foibles. Therefore, I will always remain grateful that Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy existed and even though they are gone now, their influence still remains with me and those like me who remember them fondly.

'Twas Ever Thus!

I was 6 years old when Ollie passed away and I vaguely remember my grandfather making some comments about it. I guess I was much too young to be really impressed mainly because most of the comedians I watched on TV from the silent era and early talkies had almost all died by then, a fact my parents were quick to provide whenever they saw me watching those films.

“Hey, ma! Look at this funny guy here! Who’s he?”

“Oh, he’s Harry Langdon. He’s dead now!”