Your taste in comedy outside The Three Stooges

pipboytaylor · **Reply #25 on:** June 17, 2010, 11:20:47 PM

As for me, I really have no taste at all for modern comedy. I keep most of my comedy viewing to the classics. As about as far forward as I get with comedy is John Candy films, some Dan Akyroyd and Chevy Chase stuff. For the classics I enjoy The Bowery Boys, The Little Rascals, Don Knotts, Andy Griffith and the Honeymooners. I also have an interest in the Jim Varney "Ernest" films. Good clean stuff. Oh yeah and one more great comedy classic team. Percy Kilbride and Majorie Main as Ma & Pa Kettle. I love those films!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Curly4444 · **Reply #26 on:** June 18, 2010, 12:11:01 AM

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I also have an interest in the Jim Varney "Ernest" films.

Dam, I guess they were right. A few people did actually see those movies.

Seamus · **Reply #27 on:** June 18, 2010, 06:17:20 AM

Quote from: falsealarms on June 17, 2010, 03:18:58 PM

For W.C Fields fans, which box set is better?

I hedged my bets and just bought both sets blind. I'd only seen a couple of his movies prior but figured I couldn't go wrong. I'm working my way through the movies chronologically, so the two sets pretty much gel into one big set for me. Just ordered the Criterion DVD of his short films too.

Just watched Poppy for the first time last weekend. Yeah, mostly "of historical interest" for being the filmed record of Fields' most-played stage role, but word is he was too ill to be working at the time Poppy was filmed, and it shows. And did these cheap love stories really sell tickets like hotcakes in the '30s? Thankfully the Fields canon has a much better comedy-to-musical-romance ratio than the Marx Brothers, but like falsealarms says, us fans have to do a lot of fast-forwarding through a lot of dated dreck to get to the good stuff.

Metaldams: I can only imagine the sputtering horrified letters Fields would have been shooting off if MGM tried to apply the "Thalberg treatment" to his movies. He could barely sustain a working relationship with Mack Sennett, fergodsake!

fishacura · **Reply #28 on:** June 18, 2010, 07:37:00 AM

Quote from: pipboytaylor on June 17, 2010, 11:20:47 PM

For the classics I enjoy The Bowery Boys, The Little Rascals,

The Little Rascals are my absolute favorite on so many levels. First of all, they're just plain funny. But on another level, it really gives you a sense of life during those times, IMO, more so than other comedies of the era. The difference in classes, the racism that was simply normal at the time, the interaction between children and adults. What fantastic films. I have much of the Leonard Maltin series on VHS but have been unable to find it on DVD....I'm looking for that complete set because his intros were terrific.

The Bowery Boys is another good one. I remember my dad watching them on Saturday mornings when I was a kid (repeats on PBS I believe in the 70s). Another one that's great from a historical perspective. The east side of NY was littered with these men's houses that people today probably wouldn't even know existed. Great stuff!

OldFred · **Reply #29 on:** June 18, 2010, 07:40:42 AM

My tastes in comedy are for the classics, like the Stooges, Marx Brothers, Charlie Chaplin, etc. They also include Jackie Gleason, Lucy, Jack Benny, Soupy Sales, Uncle Floyd up to Monty Python, who I believe were the last really great comedy team. I don't care at all for modern comedy, too much of it is too mean-spirited and adolescent. I've found that today's best movie comedies have surprisingly been the Pixar animated films. They're all character and situation driven and extremely well-written. The filmmakers don't dumb down the plots which makes the films accessible to both children and adults. The Pixar animated shorts are just as funny and clever and are just great fun to watch.

metaldams · **Reply #30 on:** June 18, 2010, 10:31:46 AM

Quote from: Seamus on June 18, 2010, 06:17:20 AM

Metaldams: I can only imagine the sputtering horrified letters Fields would have been shooting off if MGM tried to apply the "Thalberg treatment" to his movies. He could barely sustain a working relationship with Mack Sennett, fergodsake!

Actually, just about every great comedian Sennett had left him and went on to do better things. Sennett had a very strict and limited comedy formula plus he didn't pay as well as others.

Fields receiving the "Thalberg treatment" would've been a disaster. The letters, on the other hand....... Thank God he got his major film break with Paramount.

BeAStooge · **Reply #31 on:** June 18, 2010, 11:28:25 PM

Quote from: fishacura on June 18, 2010, 07:37:00 AM

The Little Rascals are my absolute favorite on so many levels. First of all, they're just plain funny. But on another level, it really gives you a sense of life during those times, IMO, more so than other comedies of the era. The difference in classes, the racism that was simply normal at the time, the interaction between children and adults. What fantastic films. I have much of the Leonard Maltin series on VHS but have been unable to find it on DVD....I'm looking for that complete set because his intros were terrific.

A complete Hal Roach Studios, "talkie," chronological set is available, released 2 years ago by Genius Entertainment under license from RHI (a sister-company of Hallmark). But for reason(s) unknown, of the eighty 1929-1938 talkies, 13 provided by RHI were transferred from Blackhawk prints, and not the original restorations from the 1994/1995 VHS/LaserDisc editions.

The Leonard Maltin introductions are not included.

Regardless, a worthwhile recommendation.

Quote

The Bowery Boys is another good one. I remember my dad watching them on Saturday mornings when I was a kid (repeats on PBS I believe in the 70s). Another one that's great from a historical perspective. The east side of NY was littered with these men's houses that people today probably wouldn't even know existed. Great stuff!

Since March 2010, TCM's shown a Bowery Boys film every Saturday morning @ 10:30AM Eastern. TCM also has a Bowery Boys marathon coming up on Friday 7/23. The screenings are pre-empted in August for TCM's "Summer Under the Stars" celebration... the Bowery returns for September Saturdays.

falsealarms · **Reply #32 on:** June 20, 2010, 11:04:30 AM

It doesn't seem like W.C Fields is remembered much today. Maybe some of is that he died earlier/much earlier than any of the Stooges, any of the Marxes, Laurel, Hardy, Abbott or Costello. People like Moe and Groucho were making TV appearances into the 1970's, nearly three decades after Fields died. Had Fields gotten the role of the wizard in the Wizard Of Oz, that probably would have done wonders for his legacy.

falsealarms · **Reply #33 on:** June 21, 2010, 03:05:20 PM

Recommended W.C Fields reading

http://www.moderndrunkardmagazine.com/issues/52/52-driven-to-drink.html

JazzBill · **Reply #34 on:** June 21, 2010, 09:22:14 PM

How can you not like this guy ? He was great!!!!!!

[youtube=425,350]cF4H0WfuiM8[/youtube]

12Medbe · **Reply #35 on:** June 21, 2010, 10:37:58 PM

I really enjoy Improv Comedy like "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" and Sketch Comedy like "All That" and "SNL"

Blystone · **Reply #36 on:** June 22, 2010, 03:20:44 AM

Fields, of course... "The Great Man," a.k.a. Charles Bogle, Otis Cribblecoblis, Elmer Prettywillie, and other strange monikers.

Also, Ernie Kovacs!

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/nw-Q66mN56w&hl=en_US&fs=1&" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/nw-Q66mN56w&hl=en_US&fs=1&</a>

Double Deal Decker · **Reply #37 on:** June 22, 2010, 05:48:06 AM

The Bowery Boys, aka "East Side Kids !!" Always liked them. They used to be on Saturdays and Sundays when I was growing up. Along w/The Three Stooges , they taught me "ig-pay atin-lay !!!"

FineBari3 · **Reply #38 on:** June 22, 2010, 07:55:50 AM

That Kovacs clip was fantastic! I never got to see a lot of his stuff, and I really should check out YouTube now.

I wonder if he based that character on anybody in his family or neighborhood growing up? He reminded me of my 9th grade German teacher from Hungary (with the same name as this guy)! He also looked like my great-grandfather! A lot of people in Pittsburgh sounded like that up until the last 30 years or so.

I wonder what he was saying in Hungarian?

archiezappa · **Reply #39 on:** June 22, 2010, 10:17:42 AM

Outside of The Three Stooges, I like The Marx Brothers, Abbott & Costello, Laurel & Hardy, Martin & Lewis.

I also like all the Mel Brooks movies. Great body of work with interesting cross-references between all the films.

From TV, I like The Monkees. They were filmed at Columbia and utilized lots of the same sets that were used in later Stooges films. It's been interesting recognizing those sets like that. Also, their comedy is like the old comedy teams, especially The Marx Brothers.

Wayne's World is a movie that also reflects the old comedy teams. Too bad Myers and Carvey couldn't get along in real life, apparently. They would have been great, had they stayed together.

I also enjoy the occaisional Charlie Chaplin film. My favorites of his: "Modern Times" and "The Gold Rush."

FineBari3 · **Reply #40 on:** June 22, 2010, 04:05:58 PM

Quote from: archiezappa on June 22, 2010, 10:17:42 AM

From TV, I like The Monkees. They were filmed at Columbia and utilized lots of the same sets that were used in later Stooges films. It's been interesting recognizing those sets like that. Also, their comedy is like the old comedy teams, especially The Marx Brothers.

YES! I have recently re-re-discovered the Monkees and knew that they utilized a lot of the same things, even supporting actors! I literally discovered the Stooges and the Monkees on the same day in 1979.

JazzBill · **Reply #41 on:** June 22, 2010, 04:48:28 PM

Quote from: Blystone on June 22, 2010, 03:20:44 AM

Fields, of course... "The Great Man," a.k.a. Charles Bogle, Otis Cribblecoblis, Elmer Prettywillie, and other strange monikers.

Also, Ernie Kovacs!

Hi Pils.... Nice to hear from you again. Kovacs was way ahead of his time.

falsealarms · **Reply #42 on:** June 22, 2010, 11:32:01 PM

Watched INTERNATIONAL HOUSE tonight... my 1st Fields film. It was solid even though Fields wasn't the featured star. The Rose Marie song wasn't any good but the Cab Calloway (who I've been exposed to in the past) was good. Fields stole the show in the scenes he was in. It was interesting to see a young George Burns -- for someone my age (24) any memories of Burns are as an old, old man.

Blystone · **Reply #43 on:** June 23, 2010, 02:28:01 AM

What? I'll neither confirm nor deny that I'm this "Pils." The name is Sousé, Egbert Sousé. Accent grave over the "e."

As to "International House," that film caused one of the earliest and biggest battles between the Hollywood studios and the Hays Office. Since it's basically a top-name Vaudeville revue, filmed just like it would have been staged on Broadway (with some added special effects that couldn't be done onstage), it's full of naughty suggestive gags!

They're all really innocent by today's standards, though. W.C. Fields and Peggy Hopkins Joyce had both been headliners in the Ziegfeld Follies of the 1920's, and so here we get an idea of what those shows must have been like.

It's surprising what the censors missed: "Reefer Man," and the "pussy" routine at the end! Somehow, those segments weren't cut. Amazing.

Seamus · **Reply #44 on:** June 23, 2010, 12:54:11 PM

Quote from: falsealarms on June 22, 2010, 11:32:01 PM

Watched INTERNATIONAL HOUSE tonight... my 1st Fields film. It was solid even though Fields wasn't the featured star. The Rose Marie song wasn't any good but the Cab Calloway (who I've been exposed to in the past) was good. Fields stole the show in the scenes he was in. It was interesting to see a young George Burns -- for someone my age (24) any memories of Burns are as an old, old man.

Yeah, it occurred to me while watching IH for the first time a few weeks ago that George Burns is the only comedian of his time (hell, maybe the only actor of his time, period) who's enduring image with the general public today is from his aged twilight years, long after his career peak. Probably due to his career resurgence in the '70s coupled with the fact that his heyday work isn't nearly as well remembered as that of his contemporaries. International House was the first and only time I've seen him and Gracie doing their thing, so that was an added treat.

As for the "pussy" gag, I seem to remember reading that there was much discussion over whether to leave it in, and I think they even refilmed that scene for some markets to replace the word with the more benign "cat," so I don't think it escaped scrutiny entirely.

falsealarms · **Reply #45 on:** June 26, 2010, 12:36:38 AM

Recent Fields-related interview (17 min)

W. C. Fields' granddaughter, Harriet Fields, and film historian/silent film accompanist Ben Model look back on the life and work of the comic great W. C. Fields.

OldFred · **Reply #46 on:** June 26, 2010, 12:22:06 PM

Quote from: falsealarms on June 26, 2010, 12:36:38 AM

Recent Fields-related interview (17 min)

W. C. Fields' granddaughter, Harriet Fields, and film historian/silent film accompanist Ben Model look back on the life and work of the comic great W. C. Fields.

Thank you. I plan to see this exhibit soon.

falsealarms · **Reply #47 on:** June 26, 2010, 03:43:14 PM

As I make my way through those Fields box sets this weekend, some thoughts...

IT'S A GIFT -- This was very good with several laugh out loud moments. The shaving scene, the porch scene, and the grocery store scenes were especially good. Amazingly, the actress who played Fields' daughter is still alive and actually has a credit on IMDB from 2009. She's 93 now.

YOU CAN'T CHEAT AN HONEST MAN -- Not nearly as good as IT'S A GIFT. Kind of a run of the mill effort at best. Fields seemed smothered/pushed to the background by the ventriloquist and his dummy, an act that was rather dull. Seemed more like an Edgar Bergen film than a Fields film.

Seamus · **Reply #48 on:** June 26, 2010, 04:40:09 PM

Quote from: falsealarms on June 26, 2010, 03:43:14 PM

YOU CAN'T CHEAT AN HONEST MAN -- Not nearly as good as IT'S A GIFT. Kind of a run of the mill effort at best. Fields seemed smothered/pushed to the background by the ventriloquist and his dummy, an act that was rather dull. Seemed more like an Edgar Bergen film than a Fields film.

I saw this for the first time last weekend, and this was pretty much my feeling too. Bergen's ventriloquist act hasn't aged well, and seems to rest on the false premise that unfunny smart-alecky quips will somehow become funny when you say them through a puppet. The scenes with Bergen and McCarthy made me feel like I was watching a kid's movie, and that scene in the balloon was just not good. I did enjoy watching Fields crash the high-society party, and his attempt at a ventriloquist act of his own made me chuckle (especially if you think of it as Fields satirizing Bergen's act as the lame gimmick it is).

I watched the other Fields "team-up" movie - My Little Chickadee - last night. A definite step up from Honest Man. Fields comes across as more of an equal partner in this one, and I'll take Mae West over Bergen and his dummy schtick any day. But still a pretty average-at-best entry in the Fields canon.

Man on the Flying Trapeze has them both beat by a long way. That one's closer in spirit to It's a Gift, and almost as good in my opinion.

Looking forward to finally watching the revered Bank Dick next....

falsealarms · **Reply #49 on:** June 26, 2010, 10:55:04 PM

Watched MY LITTLE CHICKADEE ... it was decent, nothing really special. Westerns aren't often my thing and this was no exception. Fields again seemed a bit smothered by the presence of West. Interesting aspects were seeing Margaret Hamilton (WIZARD OF OZ) and Joseph Calleia (GOLDEN BOY).

So far I've watched INTERNATIONAL HOUSE, IT'S A GIFT, MY LITTLE CHICKADEE, and YOU CAN'T CHEAT AN HONEST MAN. The first two were strong and worthy of multiple viewings while the latter two were mediocre single-watch affairs.

I think better times are ahead with entries like THE BANK DICK and YOU'RE TELLING ME.

Anyone here ever read Ronald Fields' book W.C FIELDS: A LIFE ON FILM? I found a copy online for 2.27 and am awaiting its arrival.