Lost? I thought the survival rate of their sound shorts was quite high, since they were in constant circulation. The problem, particularly with some of the Stooges, is that the original negatives were used so many times that many of them got worn. Luckily, based on what they look like on DVD, original elements are not lost.
Fortunately, not only has Sony gotten aggressive with preserving and transferring their elements (my source says they've actually got transfers on all of the sound comedy shorts), they've been striking new 35mm prints of them for festivals. When I was at a lab several years ago, I saw they were printing up NERVOUS SHAKEDOWN, and it warmed my heart knowing that Dudley and Hugh Herbert would be on the screen once again!
Last month, the Capitol Theatre in Rome, NY ran as part of their Capitolfest line-up a new print of the Charley Chase short, THE AWFUL GOOF. It had a great audience reaction, but it was a stunner of a print. Sharp, with good, solid blacks, just like the old days. I wish more people could see these shorts this way.
The bottom of the barrel are the solo Besser shorts. They consist entirely of fat jokes, usually at the liberty of actors that are morbidly obese and seem to have genuine glandular problems.
