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This weekend marked the launch of a major retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, Seriously Funny: The Films of Leo McCarey. Most of his major features will be shown, including Duck Soup, The Awful Truth, Going My Way, etc., so there will be lots of great material screened in the weeks ahead. But although the features are all talkies I’m posting this note in Silent News, because a number of excellent silent shorts from McCarey’s apprenticeship at the Hal Roach Studio are on the bill as well. These are comedies he either directed or supervised, starring Laurel & Hardy, Charley Chase, Mabel Normand, Max Davidson, and the rest of the familiar Roach team of the era.

Last night the series kicked off with a splendid evening of comedy two-reelers, including that recently restored classic The Battle of the Century. And as icing on the cake, accompaniment was provided by a full orchestra, Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks, who—in case you haven’t seen them on Boardwalk Empire—specialize in music of the 1920s and ‘30s. The music was a particular treat, as it consisted of a number of popular tunes of the era, deftly selected to support the films, beautifully played on vintage instruments.

Naturally, much of the excitement derived from seeing the restored Battle, and it went over like gangbusters, but where sheer laughs are concerned I’d say its reception was equaled, if not surpassed, by the Charley Chase short Mighty Like a Moose. That one has always been a particular favorite of mine, and I’ve seen it with an audience on at least one other occasion I can recall, but last night it really scored big. Also on the bill were L&H in Putting Pants on Philip, and Mabel in Should Husbands Walk Home?

At the top of the show, before any introductory remarks were made, Mr. Giordano led the band in the Star Spangled Banner, promptly followed by La Marseillaise. We all stood. Many sang along (although few knew the lyrics to the French National Anthem, but there were some people present who did), and at the end, there were cheers. It was a moving acknowledgement of the difficult times in which we live, whereas the films themselves served as therapy. The best medicine, sometimes anyway, is laughter. And do we ever need it now!

I was there too (sold out!) and could not have said it better!

Isn't it Should Men Walk Home? How was the print quality of this entry? Everything I find on the web is in such poor condition that it's unwatchable.

elliothearst wrote:Isn't it Should Men Walk Home? How was the print quality of this entry? Everything I find on the web is in such poor condition that it's unwatchable.

The print, though would say was the least pristine of the four shorts shown, was in pretty good condition - very watchable and thoroughly entertaining. Great to see Mabel in something I hadn't seen before.

elliothearst wrote:Isn't it Should Men Walk Home? How was the print quality of this entry? Everything I find on the web is in such poor condition that it's unwatchable.

Yes, thanks, I'm always mixing up that title with the other variants of the era: Should Husbands Be Watched, etc. The print was so-so, not the greatest, but watchable. I've seen that short three times, at three different screenings in NYC, and it's never looked great. Come to think of it, it may very well have been the same print I saw, all three times.

Part of the issue with the appearance of the print of Should Men Walk Home? had nothing to do with the print. There was quite a bit of light spilling onto the screen from the musicians' stand lights, as there is no sunken pit in Titus 1. The film looked much, much better at yesterday's matinee (accompanied by some guy playing the organ). The print screened is an extremely rare 16mm.

This is an occupational hazard with ensemble accompaniment for silent films in many cases. One of the "City Lights" shows I was part of last fall had this problem, where the lower quarter of the screen was slightly washed out; the second show, which was in a hall with a sunken orchestra pit, was fine.

Ben

I would concur with the above comments re: MIGHTY LIKE A MOOSE getting the best reaction - at least on Friday night, that is. I had seen the short a couple times before but had forgotten just how hilarious it was. And there's always an added benefit to seeing it in front of a packed house.

The surprise of the night for me was Mabel's SHOULD MEN WALK HOME? Thought it was very funny. Personally I didn't notice the print issues. (I noticed them more with PUTTING PANTS ON PHILIP, which has aired on TCM in a much cleaner/brighter version.)

The hardest work that Dave Kehr and I had to do in putting this Leo McCarey retrospective together was locating and getting a hold of the best screenable prints, especially for the 20 Hal Roach shorts. It's ended up being a combination of 35mm, 16mm, and DCP, from multiple archives, studios, and private collectors. We didn't include MY SON JOHN because we couldn't get a good version, and felt that we would be ripping off our audience if we just projected the Blu-Ray release.

This past Friday night I returned to MoMA for another program of two-reel comedies from the Hal Roach Studio. (All four were talkies made in 1929, but I think it makes more sense to discuss them here, rather than start a new thread.) Charley Chase starred in two of the shorts: The Big Squawk, his very first talkie, and Snappy Sneezer, which I believe was the third talkie he appeared in—and his first to co-star Thelma Todd. The other two shorts starred Edgar Kennedy. Dad’s Day was a domestic sitcom that was something of a precursor to Kennedy’s ‘Average Man’ series for RKO, while the other, Madame Q, was a parody of courtroom melodramas. The satirical object of the title is obvious, but as it turns out the premise had little to do with Madame X, aside from the fact that an attractive woman dressed in black is on trial for murder. Kennedy played the exasperated judge, but this one was more of an ensemble piece, with strong contributions from Eddie Dunn, Charley Rogers, Gino Corrado, and other familiar players.

The only one of these shorts I’d seen before was Snappy Sneezer, and I believe it was the strongest of the bunch, and seemed to be the audience favorite. But all four had their moments. Interestingly, despite the fact that these rarities were shown as part of the Leo McCarey retrospective, it would appear that he made little or no contribution to any of them, screen credits to the contrary. Richard Bann, film historian and preservationist, spoke at the screening, and told us that McCarey’s credits on these films—all of which were released after he departed the Roach Studio—were probably the result of a contractual obligation of some kind. It’s possible he left behind some scenarios that were utilized by others, but there’s no evidence either way.

In any case, whether McCarey was involved or not, these films were generally quite enjoyable. It was interesting to see how smoothly (comparatively speaking) the Roach crew adapted to sound. The performances were fairly relaxed over all, there was background music here and there, and occasional clever usage of sound effects.

I caught the same program when it was repeated Saturday afternoon, and enjoyed it very much. It's a pretty unusual experience for me these days to see an entire program of Hal Roach shorts, and every one was a first-time viewing for me. I agree Snappy Sneezer was the best of the bunch, and I have to say I think Madame Q was by far the worst, and it was hard to believe it was the same 2 reels as the other 3 shorts, it seemed to go for hours.

Salty Dog wrote: I caught the same program when it was repeated Saturday afternoon, and enjoyed it very much....I have to say I think Madame Q was by far the worst, and it was hard to believe it was the same 2 reels as the other 3 shorts, it seemed to go for hours.

I was there for the Saturday show too, and just to offer another opinion, I enjoyed MADAME Q very much, as did the friends I was with. It was the only one of the four shorts shown that I hadn't seen before. Of course my appreciation of finally getting to see this extremely rare film had a lot to do with my enjoyment of it. And also, I did know exactly what I was in for, having had for years copies of the script, music cue sheets and several stills. And being a big fan of co-star Jocelyn Lee also helped!

So, if this rarity ever screens anywhere again, I recommend each viewer give it a fair chance.