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.
This week I’m bringing us back ninety-one years to 1923. The silent era was dominated by a few comic juggernauts. Even to this day, the names of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton are synonymous with their great silent films featuring brilliant physical comedy. One name that has almost been lost to time though is Harold Lloyd, who completed the triumvirate of powerhouse comedians in the 1920's.
Last Tuesday, I was lucky enough to play in the Pro-Am Golf Tournament that was part of the week long festivities of the PGA Canada Tour event known as the Great Waterways Classic which was held at Upper Canada Golf Course in Morrisburg. The weather was beautiful, the course was in excellent shape, and our group teed off with pro golfer Riley Wheeldon – who, as of today, is the top moneymaker on the Canadian Tour this year. It was a superb day full of memorable moments and it did not take too long before the conversation turned to movies. It may be no surprise but Wheeldon’s favourite film of all-time is the classic 1996 golf comedy Happy Gilmore.
For almost 100 years, Disney has entertained family audiences with their amazing live-action and animated films. One of my favourites is the oft forgotten 1968 pirate tale Blackbeard’s Ghost.
As you can probably tell from my other reviews, most of the films that I choose are not family friendly, which is why I have decided to change course and review what I feel is an often overlooked comedy, the 1989 John Hughes’ movie Uncle Buck.
There are many different DVD/Blu-Ray companies that release films to the public, but the one that is definitely the most impressive and in-depth is Criterion. Their collection consists of "important classic and contemporary films" that are brought to you in the highest quality audio and video transfers. Each movie also comes with a plethora of excellent special features that highlight the importance of the film. The Criterion Collection is aimed at film aficionados and it shows.
No, I will not be talking about country music or Shania Twain, but this line aptly describes what either of the two main characters could have said during the 1959 classic comedy Some Like It Hot.