Topic: Anyone have this?

[falsealarms]

A few years back, Kino put out a set called Cavalcade of Comedy: The Paramount Comedy Series 1929-1933. I'm wondering if anyone here has seen it and what your opinion of it is? Some of these rare shorts seem quite interesting.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s1876para.html

[metaldams]

Don't have it, but I've heard of it.  I would be interested in reading opinions from those who have it.

[falsealarms]

Here's another mostly positive review: http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/displaylegacy.php?ID=8272

In part, it says, "Mack Swain made his name as the mountainous foil for Charlie Chaplin but he gets top billing with Chester Conklin in the anarchic Cleaning Up (1930), a knockabout film featuring the pair as inept streetcleaners who accidentally find themselves on the police force, a plot structure that anticipates some of the films of the Three Stooges."

And here is the Burns/Allen one-reeler 100% SERVICE from this set, found via YouTube -

[youtube=425,350]Tx5nHGpg3Ys[/youtube]

[falsealarms]

Don't have it, but I've heard of it.  I would be interested in reading opinions from those who have it.

I blind bought this and it came today. I'm about halfway through it and so far the clear gem is CLEANING UP, a 1930 Sennett short with Chester Conklin and Mack Swain as street-sweepers turned cops. At one point, you can see a Hollywood Storage Co building (or an ad for it on a building) which made me think of Pauley's location piece in the latest 3S Journal. GETTING A TICKET, a one-reeler with Cantor, was solid. Nice 1929 humor -- B.C as in before the crash, not before Christ. FIT TO BE TIED with Burns and Allen was painfully slow and not nearly on par with their other entry on here, 100% SERVICE. One reel construction efforts THE PLASTERERS and PLASTERED were fun quick hitters, especially the latter which was chock full of physical mayhem. No real plot, just a bunch of guys causing all kinds of hell at a work site. Bing Crosby's SING, BING, SING was good though the print runs 12 minutes when IMDB lists a 19 minute run time. Jack Benny's BROADWAY ROMEO was neither bad nor good and held back by a camera which at times seemed like it never moved.

[metaldams]

I haven't seen CLEANING UP in years, but I remember that being a pretty good short.  Sounds like I'm a little more familiar with this set then I thought I'd be.  It's pretty cool you're checking out all this old comedy stuff, that was me a while ago.

You get around to Harold Lloyd yet?

[falsealarms]

I haven't seen CLEANING UP in years, but I remember that being a pretty good short.  Sounds like I'm a little more familiar with this set then I thought I'd be.  It's pretty cool you're checking out all this old comedy stuff, that was me a while ago.

You get around to Harold Lloyd yet?

Lloyd, not yet but it's probably inevitable. For years, I only bothered with the Stooges but the floodgates opened once I blind bought the Columbia Keaton set (largely due to advice from here).

[metaldams]

Lloyd, not yet but it's probably inevitable. For years, I only bothered with the Stooges but the floodgates opened once I blind bought the Columbia Keaton set (largely due to advice from here).

Lloyd's great.  I'll never forget the night, I wanna say in 2002, when I first saw Harold Lloyd. TCM showed SAFETY LAST, GIRL SHY, THE KID BROTHER, SPEEDY and HOT WATER from 8 PM 'til the wee hours of the morning, and I stayed up and watched the whole thing (ah, the good old days). 

I'll find some youtube clips later tonight.  If you want to explore further and don't want to spend too much money, try one of Kino's SLAPSTICK SYMPOSIUM sets.  If you're convinced you'll be a Lloyd fan, dive straight into the box set.

[falsealarms]

Though I've yet to see it, this has always struck me as one of the more iconic images of 1920's cinema -

[metaldams]

Though I've yet to see it, this has always struck me as one of the more iconic images of 1920's cinema -

The image doesn't show up on my work computer, but judging by the address, I'm assuming the clock scene from SAFETY LAST?  Most definitely.  That entire scene is awesome.

[metaldams]

The clock scene:

[youtube=425,350]QEcTjhUN_7U[/youtube]


A Harold Compilation

[youtube=425,350]shdzRq4BYWk[/youtube]

[falsealarms]

The clock scene is great.... edge of your seat stuff to say the least.

Even though I'm not a Yankees fan (Mets), this scene from 1928's SPEEDY caught my eye as a baseball fan:

[youtube=425,350]fl1qyTjbevg[/youtube]

[metaldams]

That's SPEEDY's main flaw.  As well paced the gags and stories are, Lloyd's character is a Yankee fan, which automatically means SPEEDY has his least sympathetic charcter.

Nah, I'm only kidding around, SPEEDY truly is an awesome movie the entire way, and yeah, it's got Boston's greatest pitcher from their dynasty in the teens making a guest appearance as well.  Just goes to show how big of a star Lloyd was back then, getting Babe Ruth in his film.  I believe one of his 60 homeruns from the '27 season was actually caught on film for SPEEDY.