With the massive success of Laurel and Hardy, who producer Hal Roach had paired together after signing them separately in 1926 (they would remain with his studio until 1940), the man had the bright idea of creating a female counterpart duo, bringing together Zasu Pitts and Thelma Todd. The team would make seventeen popular shorts from 1931-33, their first two, Let’s Do Things and Catch-As Catch-Can, looked at here today. Like all good comedy teams, you have two very different character types. Zasu comes across as the slightly depressed, nervous and fretful brunette, while Thelma is a much more vibrant and colourful blonde dame. . . the former’s desperation often dragging her more put together friend into rather unorthodox situations. In Let’s Do Things, they find themselves as employees selling music for a giant department store... while looking for a way out of their dead-end jobs.
An observation I am sure many of you have made over the years is the general stupidity (and lack of skill) the villains, police or any other nefarious enemy has had in the movies. With the James Bond films being a prime example, it shows the low standards the maniacal mastermind must have had when hiring his henchmen – they cannot shoot, drive or seemingly do anything else, stumbling over each other in the process. Also think of John Wick or any other motion picture made over the past multiple decades. Well, it was this thought that struck me as I sat watching two early silent shorts from the comedic great Harold Lloyd (placed alongside Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton as the top comics of the silent era). Starting with 1919's Bumping into Broadway, it was the first time the actor donned his now-famous “glasses” character, usually just referred to as The Boy. A two-reeler that lasts twenty-five minutes, it has The Boy getting into all kinds of hijinks.
Showing off his immense skills in a rather unusual way, Buster Keaton heads to College in this 1927 feature that followed up The General; a Civil War set picture that is now known as a classic (and often considered his masterpiece), its expansive story bloated the budget and somehow brought lackluster reviews, leading to a rare bust at the box office. So, his next film (the above mentioned College) was designed to be more commercially viable and Keaton was reeled in, forced to be under the thumb of co-director James W. Horne (who according to Keaton, did virtually nothing) as well as producer Harry Brand (publicity chief for Keaton’s usual producer Joseph Schenck – he had just become president of United Artists), the latter constantly scrutinized every penny Keaton spent, making sure he didn’t go over budget like with The General. Further annoying the funnyman, the producer made sure that he received a "Supervised by Harry Brand" credit on the film. Receiving another batch of ungracious reviews, it was Keaton’s second bomb in a row. Despite that, College, like The General, is considered by most today to be a classic (though more of a middling effort compared to some of his other motion pictures).
Fans of one of the most popular Canadian films of all-time, 2006's Bon Cop, Bad Cop often wondered why a sequel was never made. . . well, out of the blue, eleven years later, everyone was just as surprised when Bon Cop, Bad Cop 2 arrived in theatres, catching many off-guard – very much like the original unexpected hit. Reuniting Colm Feore and Patrick Huard once again, the former, Martin Ward, is now a senior federal officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, while the latter, David Bouchard, is a provincial officer with the Sûreté du Québec. Unbeknownst to either, the former quasi-friends, who have grown apart over the years, are working the same case, though Bouchard is undercover.
Arguably the highest grossing Canadian domestic film of all-time (not including inflation), 2006's Bon Cop, Bad Cop skewers both official languages, pairing a stuffy English-speaking Provincial Police detective with a foul mouthed, bon vivant French detective for the Sûreté du Québec. Directed by Erik Canuel, the unusual pair are brought together when a body is found straddling the Ontario/Québec border sign (it is literally impaled on the metal welcome guidepost). Arguing over whose jurisdiction it falls under, Torontonian Martin Ward (Colm Feore) suggests that it is their case, as "his heart is in Québec", to which Montrealer David Bouchard (Patrick Huard – who also came up with the scenario for the film) wryly replies, "but his ass belongs to you".
Gaining prominence during The Great Depression, it is no secret why the silly, farcical slapstick comedy of The Three Stooges was a hit with audiences – as their crazy antics onscreen were able to give those watching a short respite from their complicated, downtrodden lives. Signing on with Columbia in 1933, the trio of nyuksters we all now know (Larry, Curly and Moe) became ‘short film’ icons in 1934 (prior to this, it was Ted Healy and His Stooges), continuously developing new projects (sometimes with Shemp or others) until their last in 1970 (their stint at Columbia ended in 1959 with their 190th feature) – an impressive run to say the least. Their first short of 1937 (and twentieth overall), Grips, Grunts and Groans (a very Stoogey title) finds the impoverished triumvirate riding the rails. Fleeing after getting the better of a pair of railroad police, they find themselves in a wrestling and boxing club, somehow befriending a behemoth named Ivan Bustoff (Harrison Greene). Run by the mob, the gangsters have placed a whopping bet on their wrestler.
Satirizing the stereotypical nature of Brits and Americans, John Cleese’s 1988 film A Fish Called Wanda, directed by Charles Crichton, is a kooky heist movie with loads of quirky humour. Following a gang of bank robbers, the group consists of a comic version of a femme fatale, Wanda (Jamie Lee Curtis), her secret lover pretending to be her brother, Otto (Kevin Kline), as well as an English duo, Georges Thomason (Tom Georgeson) and the severely stuttering Ken Pile (Michael Palin – he based the part on his father, who dealt with a similar issue). To further complicate things, Wanda is sleeping with Georges and is prone to flirting with Ken. Filled with doublecrosses and complications, Georges soon finds himself in jail – not knowing who put him behind bars. With only one quasi-witness, an elderly lady who spotted the man while they were driving away from the scene of the crime, the prisoner turns to his longtime compatriot Ken to finish the woman off in a way that will look accidental – knowing that without her, the case falls flat.