Topic: Defining short/feature

[stoogesfan06]

If you had to pick a defining short and/or feature for these comedians/teams, what would yours be?

The Three Stooges: A Plumbing We Will Go (tough choice)
Laurel And Hardy: The Music Box (short) Way Out West (feature)
Abbott And Costello: A&C Meet Frankenstein
The Bowery Boys: Live Wires
Martin and Lewis: My Friend Irma
Little Rascals: A Lad An' A Lamp
Charlie Chaplin: Easy Street (short) The Gold Rush (feature)
Buster Keaton: One Week (short) Sherlock Jr (feature)
Bob Hope: The Lemon Drop Kid
Marx Brothers: Horse Feathers

Those were the ones I'm personally familiar with, which is why I chose them. If you have any other comedians/teams you think I missed out on, please provide your own.

[Paul Pain]

I'm trying to think in terms of "What is the short that best shows what they do best?"  I answer this as I do because I am far from complete on most comedians, but...

The Three Stooges: DISORDER IN THE COURT
Buster Keaton (short): THE PLAYHOUSE
Buster Keaton (feature): STEAMBOAT BILL, JR.
Harry Langdon (short): FEET OF MUD
Harry Langdon (feature): THE STRONG MAN

[stoogesfan06]

I almost went with Disorder, and the Playhouse for Stooges and Keaton. But as I said, there were so many good choices. And I'm not to familiar with Harry Langdon, so I might check those out. I know who he is, but I'm not so heavy on his body of work. And Steamboat Bill Jr was def a top 5 Keaton movie. Truly a genius

[metaldams]

I’ll have to give these some thought.  Defining and favorite are not necessarily the same thing.  Good topic.

[metaldams]

Three Stooges: A PLUMBING WE WILL GO.

Reason: It’s a Curly short, there’s a ton of comic destruction and they confront both high society and the law.  Plus all three get their moments to shine.  As close as definitive for me.

Will come up with others later.

[metaldams]

Charlie Chaplin

Film: The Gold Rush (1925)

Reason:  He’s completely independent at this point.  It’s 1925, so he’s purely in the silent era, not making sound concessions in silent films like he did in the thirties.  He’s on a run of films that constitute the peak of his artistry.  Chaplin hinself said this is the film he wants to be remembered by.  All good enough for me.

[metaldams]

Harold Lloyd - THE FRESHMAN (1925)

Reason:  SAFETY LAST! is probably Harold’s most iconic and THE KID BROTHER is my favorite - yet I chose neither.  The former was produced by Roach and Harold eventually became his own man and pretty much stayed that way.  I also view Jobyna Ralston as Harold’s definitive leading lady, as much as I like Mildred.  So why not THE KID BROTHER, which fits all my criteria above?  The reason is I associate Harold with the twenties and THE KID BROTHER is a frontier days period piece.  So that leaves my choice as THE FRESHMAN.  The football game at the end is pretty iconic, there’s a bunch of great gags and comic situations, and Harold basically just wants to belong.  Sounds like Harold.  Add Jobyna and their chemistry and this is what I consider definitive.

[Umbrella Sam]

A really interesting idea for a thread and honestly one I’ll really have to think about for a lot of these. That being said, one that came immediately to mind for me was:

Laurel and Hardy - TOWED IN A HOLE (1932)

This one was easy for me because the film really only stars Laurel and Hardy for the majority of it and therefore the film is able to work specifically off of their personalities. Even though the majority of their work is on the boat, the fact that it’s still docked and not out to sea gives them the proper amount of space to work with. It doesn’t feel cluttered or boring without multiple locations/actors. It’s just Laurel and Hardy messing things up in the way Laurel and Hardy do, and for that, I think it is a perfect representation of the duo.

[7stooges]

The thing that I struggle with when it comes to a defining title is that a lot of these comics did multiple recurring genres that could be their own group. I may have to play with this a bit.

The Three Stooges: Going to go with A-PLUMBING WE WILL GO. While I do find DISORDER IN THE COURT to be the best, it plays out almost like a stage production. PLUMBING feels more like a typical Stooges short - but the epitome of that. For the Shemp era, BRIDELESS GROOM takes my vote.

Laurel And Hardy: Tough choice between THE MUSIC BOX and HELPMATES. But I'm probably going to lean towards the former. Part of the fun of Laurel and Hardy's films are the bizarre characters they come across, and Billy Gilbert's short-tempered professor takes the cake. Feature is a toss-up between SONS OF THE DESERT (the best of the 'Laurel & Hardy Vs. the Wives' films) and WAY OUT WEST. BLOCK-HEADS just barely inches behind but I mainly focus on the reunion scene as a "defining" moment. THE DEVIL'S BROTHER tops in the Operetta category. I'll add BIG BUSINESS as a defining silent short. A small issue builds into total chaos. Plus, it's got Jimmy Finlayson getting in on the fun.

Abbott And Costello: In terms of the horror comedies, MEET FRANKENSTEIN easily wins top slot, though HOLD THAT GHOST isn't far behind. I'd add BUCK PRIVATES as a top tier non-horror comedy. It's a great introduction to the team, with everything feeling fresh and new, and the guys displaying a high energy that wouldn't always show up later down the road.

The Bowery Boys: Once again, I find myself splitting things up into 'horror' and 'not horror.' For the former, probably going to say THE BOWERY BOYS MEET THE MONSTERS - just a fun takeoff on the B-horror genre. MASTER MINDS isn't far behind, though. BLUES BUSTERS takes my vote as the best non-horror BB flick. It was easily the most creative use of the 'Sach Gets a Superpower' formula, and it even has some heartfelt moments in it. I'm tempted to add a category for service comedies (for which I'd say the gag-packed LET'S GO NAVY!), and I'm really tempted to throw in the criminally underrated BLONDE DYNAMITE as a great introduction to the characters...   

Martin and Lewis: The most part, I feel the M&L movies didn't really show the team off properly, often splitting them up. THE COLGATE COMEDY HOURS are where we really get to see them shine. For the movies, ARTISTS AND MODELS is a rare exception.

Little Rascals: From the silent era, I'm going to say either THE CHAMPEEN! or DOGS OF WAR! For the early sound years, TEACHER'S PET, DOGS IS DOGS, FREE WHEELING, or HI'-NEIGHBOR!. For later 'Alfalfa' years, DIVOT DIGGERS, HEARTS ARE THUMPS, NIGHT 'N' GALES, FISHY TALES, or any of the FOLLIES shorts.

Marx Brothers: Either HORSE FEATHERS or ANIMAL CRACKERS.

W.C. Fields: IT'S A GIFT and THE BANK DICK.