Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog

Poodles Hanneford: Bareback Rider Movie Comedian

noreply@blogger.com (Paul F. Etcheverry) — Sat, 16 May 2026 17:58:58 +0000

As the gang here in the Hudson Valley wishes we could take a Star Trek teleportation device - used or new - directly to the San Francisco Bay Area to enjoy the annual Charlie Chaplin Days event presented by the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum this weekend, we doff our Max Linder top hat to a lesser known but marvelous silent movie comedian, the great Poodles Hanneford (1891-1967).

We'll start with the following presentation by the Chapman Museum (pride of Glens Falls, NY) on the bareback ridin' movie comedian.

Edwin "Poodles" Hanneford, king of the circus bareback riders, entertained audiences for 4+ decades; his last onscreen appearance was in Charles Walters' 1962 film Billy Rose's Jumbo. Grizzled baby boomers may recognize Poodles as one of the circus performers from the 1935 Shirley Temple - Joel McCrea flick Our Little Girl.

The bio posted by the Chapman Museum adds: Originally from Ireland, Poodles was described by Life Magazine as “the world’s greatest equestrian clown.” He began working for Ringling Brothers in 1917, and appeared in films and on many popular U.S. television shows. He lived on Ridge Road and Kattskill Bay.

Wikipedia adds, "Praised by Buster Keaton as "the only trained acrobat I ever saw who could take a fall and make it look funny," Poodles is considered among the greatest trick riders in history. He was the first to perform a somersault from one running horse to another. He held a Guinness Book of World Records record for performing a running jump onto a horse and stepping off 26 times in a row."

Notably, in the following excerpt from Ain't It The Truth (1928), Poodles is wearing a Buster Keaton style porkpie hat.

Poodles did somersaults, handsprings and other acrobatics thought to be impossible (on or off of a horse) and even worked with slapstick king Roscoe Arbuckle when the big fella was directing 2-reelers as "William Goodrich." Here's Poodles with frequent Buster Keaton co-star "Big Joe" Roberts.

His astonishing skills as a bareback rider are the core of several classic comedy shorts Hanneford starred in, such as Circus Daze.

In the opinion of the silent comedy fans here, the very best 2-reelers produced by the Weiss Brothers/Artclass Productions are those starring Poodles Hanneford. With apologies to the frequently hilarious Ben Turpin and Snub Pollard, the Poodles Hanneford comedies are the reason we recommend VCI Entertainment's Weiss-O-Rama 2-DVD set.

And, yes, it's true - Poodles Hanneford, acrobat, rider and comedian supreme, met Charlie Chaplin back in 1917. Happily, the beat goes on in 2026 with Tommy Chapay Hanneford, the latest generation of the Royal Hanneford Circus tradition.

In closing, and with another Max Linder top hat tip to physical comic and bareback rider supreme Poodles Hanneford, by all means, San Francisco Bay Area residents, do head over to the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum and the Edison Theatre at 37417 Niles Boulevard in Fremont this weekend for the 2026 version of Charlie Chaplin Days.

Harry Sweet Was Sweet

noreply@blogger.com (Paul F. Etcheverry) — Sat, 09 May 2026 16:18:00 +0000

Obscure or lesser known movie comedians, anyone? Here's one of our favorites: Harry Sweet (1901-1933).

Harry Sweet was an uber-goofball slapstick artiste and writer-director-star in the 1920s and early 1930's.

Harry Sweet, gifted physical comedian and acrobat, starred in zany short subjects for Mack Sennett, Joe Rock, Century Comedies and most memorably RKO Radio Pictures.

Here he is with comedy queen (and prototype for cartoondom's Olive Oyl) Gale Henry in WHAT, NO SPINACH?

Why are we at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog wild about Harry? Because his starring vehicles, especially the early 1930's talkies, are wacky beyond belief! His uninhibited style is akin to comics from many decades later, from Jerry Lewis to the Pythons to Rik Mayall to Chris Farley to Melissa McCarthy.

Readers will note quite a few familiar faces from Hal Roach Studios and the Columbia Shorts Department in the supporting cast of the following opus from Sweet's starring series for RKO.

Am taken aback by how few Harry Sweet starring vehicles, both silents and talkies, have been posted on YouTube, Daily Motion, Vimeo, Internet Archive, even given that he passed over 90 years ago. While he didn't, as Harold Lloyd did, headline a gazillion films, those Harry Sweet starring vehicles the gang here have seen (most via prolific YouTube poster Joseph Blough and San Francisco Bay Area filmmaker and vintage comedy expert Lory-Michael Ringuette) are riotously funny.

Sweet was most adept in the pratfalling art of physical comedy.

Invariably, Ed Kennedy 2-reelers written and directed by Harry Sweet are a hoot!

Shortly after writing and directing the hilarious Next Door Neighbors, Harry launched the "Mr. Average Man" series starring slow-burnin' Edgar Kennedy in 1931.

For more info, read the following Harry Sweet bio from the long gone but insanely informative Hollywood Oblivion website.

Meanwhile, we hope more long lost films Harry Sweet directed and/or starred in will miraculously turn up, as a Fox short subject starring wiseguys Bobby Clark & Paul McCullough did.

Starting Wednesday: The 29th San Francisco Silent Film Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Paul F. Etcheverry) — Sat, 02 May 2026 16:40:00 +0000

Photo by Tommy Lau

Classic movie aficionados lucky enough to both be within a close distance of San Francisco and have some dough-re-me on hand to spend will get quite the treat when the San Francisco Silent Film Festival hits the Castro Theatre from May 6-10.

Returning to the big screen from 100+ years ago ready to rock the house - silent movies at their operatic best, accompanied quite literally by a symphony orchestra. San Francisco's 29th Silent Film Festival will return to the hallowed "movie palace" aisles of the Castro Theatre after presenting at the Orinda Theatre in 2025.

This Wednesday evening the San Francisco Silent Film Festival returns in high style with Erich von Stroheim's wonderfully indulgent epic QUEEN KELLY (1929), starring Gloria Swanson at her unapologetically over-the-top best, with musical accompaniment by composer Eli Denson conducting the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Orchestra.

Among the international lineup of cool classic movies at the 29th San Francisco Silent Film Festival: King Vidor's innovative THE CROWD

The last film of F.W. Murnau, his collaboration with documentary filmmaker Robert Flaherty, TABU: A STORY OF THE SOUTH SEAS

Also on the 29th SFSFF bill: William Wyler's western BLAZING DAYS, Abram Room's time capsule tale of life in 1927 Russia BED AND SOFA, the 1926 "Lubitsch touch" charmer and Roaring Twenties piece SO THIS IS PARIS

And. . . William de Mille's MISS LULU BETT, the British sci-fi flick HIGH TREASON, Carl Dreyer's 1922 film LOVE ONE ANOTHER and two "city symphony" pieces from Nice and Paris, Á PROPOS DE NICE (co-directed by Jean Vigo and Boris Kaufman) and RIEN QUE LES HEURES, directed by Alberto Cavalcanti.

Matinee idol star power will be provided by the aforementioned Gloria Swanson, director/actor Harry Piel, a pre-Josef Von Sternberg Marlene Dietrich, megawatt It Girl Clara Bow in HULA, an early appearance by the great Myrna Loy and THE CAVEMAN, a witty farce featuring the tragic albeit wonderful comic character actress Marie Prevost.

Our pals Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy will headline the Saturday morning show.

Animation, this blog's favorite cinematic genre, will be represented by the Japanese Paper Film Project. The Bucknell University-based initiative worked with Japanese museums, film archives, and individual collectors to digitize and preserve more than 200 films, in this program early animated works made on paper, not celluloid.

Chicago film preservationist Kyle Westphal adds, “the project has successfully recovered the world of lost paper print movies made expressly to be exhibited on home projectors manufactured by Osaka’s Katei Toki and Tokyo’s REFCY and Tsukiboshi firms from 1932 to 1938. With the Japanese animation industry facing hard times, these firms bypassed theaters and took their wares directly to consumers."

The free AMAZING TALES FROM THE ARCHIVES program will be back to highlight film preservationists and the great work of film archives around the world. Presenting: Kyle Westphal of the Chicago Film Society, the Danish Film Institute’s Thomas Christensen, Filmmuseum Düsseldorf's Andreas Thein and Carlo Chatrian of the Museo Nazionale del Cinema in Turin.

Spectacular silent movies in big screen glory are never (in 1926 or 2026) actually silent, so the San Francisco Silent Film Festival presentations feature a wide array of terrific accompanists, including the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, Duo Yumeno, Stephen Horne, Mas Koga, Guenter Buchwald, Frank Bockius and Wayne Barker.

The official San Francisco Silent Film Festival press release adds:

Germany’s Weimar period was one of the most vibrant and influential moments in cinema history. Stretching from the end of WWI until the Nazi takeover, Weimar films were at the forefront of stylistic and technical innovations and created narratives that underpin film genres like horror, film noir, and sci-fi to this day.

Our friends at WeimarCinema.org write, “[Weimar] is also shorthand for all things modern, not only in its promotion of gender equality and sexual emancipation, but also in its spirit of experimentation in the arts.

Weimar is still associated with urban modernity and the ever-present dangers of a backlash. Whatever the final verdict, Weimar's tumultuous 14-year period is one of the richest and most consequential in modern history."

We are excited to present four very different, very rare, Weimar titles at this year’s festival, all in beautiful new restorations, all with live musical accompaniment!

Deutsches Filminstitut’s restoration of SENSATION IM WINTERGARTEN demonstrates Max Green’s gorgeous camerawork featuring Berlin’s fabulous Wintergarten (it didn’t survive WWII) and other Berlin locations. This rousing melodrama about a world-famous trapeze artist stars Austrian actor Paul Richter who played Siegfried in Fritz Lang’s Die Nibelungen.

Proof that film restoration can be as exciting, with as much down-to-the-wire pacing as modern film production, Filmmuseum Düsseldorf just found additional material to add to their superb restoration of HIS GREATEST BLUFF and archivist Andreas Thein is working round the clock to prepare the film for its closeup at the festival.

We’re pleased to introduce San Francisco audiences to a major star of the Weimar period who is virtually unknown today, actor/director Harry Piel. Piel’s action films were huge box office draws—this one involves priceless jewels, slick-haired crooks, and Piel in dual roles as twin brothers! And a star turn by Marlene Dietrich in one of her earliest screen appearances.

Danish director Carl Th. Dreyer, known for his silent-era masterpieces The Passion of Joan of Arc and Vampyr among others, travelled to Germany to make LOVE ONE ANOTHER in 1922. Based on a best-selling Danish novel, the film is set during the Russian revolution of 1905, a time of massive anti-Jewish violence. We are grateful to the Danish Film Institute for restoring this rarity and returning Dreyer’s moving depiction of anti-Semitism’s sinister harms to the world.

BOOKKEEPER KREMKE is the story of vainglorious payroll clerk (Hermann Vallentin) who loses his job to automation in a Germany plagued by inflation and unemployment. Ukrainian-born Anna Sten has her German film debut as his daughter Lene. This was director Marie Harder’s only narrative film, and it is a vivid portrait of its time. Harder, who was a Social Democrat went to Mexico after the Nazis banned the party and died in a plane crash near Popocatépetl in 1936. Thanks to the Deutsche Kinemathek for this dazzling restoration.

Imogen Sara Smith writes in our program book, “Watching films from the late Weimar era is both poignant and suspenseful, like watching people skate on thin ice in the last rays of sun before an approaching storm front.” There are parallels to our own time.

For more, go to the San Francisco Silent Film Festival website.

It's Walter Lantz Weekend at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Paul F. Etcheverry) — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 03:19:46 +0000

This weekend, we pay tribute to pioneering animation producer and director Walter Lantz (1899-1994). Posted a Lantz cartune-filled salute to Walt and Woody back in December 2024, but dang it, that ISN'T ENOUGH!

Do we LOVE Woody (both the woodpecker and San Francisco Giants curveballing LHP Kirk "Woody" Reuter), Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Andy Panda, Buzz Buzzard, Chilly Willy, and the excellent Swing Symphonies and Musical Miniatures series?

Yes, emphatically!

Here's Walter with his wife and ace cartoon voice artist Gracie Stafford Lantz (the voice of Woody Woodpecker after the departure of voiceman/storyman Ben Hardaway).

Walter Lantz began producing cartoons for J.R. Bray back in the silent era, with the Dinky Doodle, Unnatural History and Pete The Pup series. Walter appears in many of his silent era productions!

Over his many decades producing animated cartoons, Mr. Lantz was assisted very aptly by, to name just a few extremely talented collaborators, directors Shamus Culhane, Tex Avery, Dick Lundy, Alex Lovy, Don Patterson, Sid Marcus and Jack Hannah, animators Pat Matthews, Grim Natwick, Emery Hawkins, Manuel Moreno, Bill Nolan, Clyde Geronimi, Ray Abrams, Les Kline, Laverne Harding, Paul Smith, Art Davis, avatars of layout, backgrounds and character designs Philip DeGuard, Art Heinemann, Ray Huffine and Art Landy, storymen Ben "Bugs" Hardaway, Milt Schaffer and Cal Howard, voice artists Dick Nelson, Lionel Stander, Daws Butler, Dallas McKennon and (sometimes, before 1941) Mel Blanc, plus excellent music men Jimmy Dietrich, Frank Marsales and Darrell Calker.

Now, let's bring on the Walter Lantz "Cartunes", starting with WOODY THE GIANT KILLER.

LOVE the terrific Swing Symphonies by the Walter Lantz Studio, especially The Greatest Man In Siam and Abou Ben Boogie!

Indeed, our mission, just a few days short of Walter's 127th birthday on Monday, is to continue deluging you with vintage Walter Lantz "Cartunes", starting with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit.

The gang at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog remain enthusiastic about the Lantz Ozzies of the early talkie era.

Here's the color segment (preceding the Ted Eshbaugh Studio's Goofy Goat Antics and the Disney Silly Symphony Flowers And Trees) starring Ozzie from the 1930 Universal feature THE KING OF JAZZ.

A caricature of Paul Whiteman, bandleader and star of The King Of Jazz appears in an Oswald The Lucky Rabbit cartoon, My Pal Paul.

Lantz' Oswald cartoons from 1929-1931 are filled with wonderful, cartoony, imaginative, way-out ideas and Bill Nolan's extra rubbery animation.

We close this too brief homage to the great Walter Lantz with cartoons directed by the equally great Tex Avery during his brief second stint there. That's right, the Tex Avery, whose first act after leaving the employ of Walter Lantz and joining the ragtag Leon Schlesinger Studio, producers of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, was to create "Termite Terrace" and give the middle finger to that other more famous Walt. Avery directed Porky's Duck Hunt (1937) and A Wild Hare (1940), effectively throwing down the gauntlet.

As always, the blazing and ever-inventive comic genius of Tex Avery is quite something to behold. Too bad Tex never met Buster Keaton when they were both working on the MGM lot.

April's Silent Comedy Kings And Queens

noreply@blogger.com (Paul F. Etcheverry) — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 07:25:00 +0000

As fate would have it, the month of April is notable for birthdays of outstanding comedians and comediennes from silent movies.

Born between April 16 and April 20: Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977), Wanda Wiley (1902-1987), Fay Tincher (1884-1983) and that "glasses guy," Harold Lloyd (1893-1971).

That guy responsible for the first 20th century British Invasion and the international popularity of both going out to the movies and buying home movies (on 8mm, 9.5mm, 16mm, 28mm, etc.), Charles Spencer Chaplin, was born on April 16, 1889. Let's celebrate his 137th birthday belatedly by binge-watching a slew of Charlot clips and films, shall we!

The Chaplin Mutuals are still incredibly funny after all these decades.

And Chaplin's subsequent First National short subjects have their moments as well.

Even Chaplin's earliest films for Mack Sennett's Keystone, produced in 1913-1914, can be quite hilarious.

Some Chaplin Keystones co-star the great silent movie comedienne Mabel Normand.

One favorite Chaplin Keystone is The Rounders, in which Charlie's teamed with the rotund yet graceful and inspired slapstick funmaker (as well as the filmmaking mentor of Buster Keaton) Roscoe Arbuckle.

Now MUST watch Photoplay Productions' (Kevin Brownlow and David Gill) outstanding Unknown Chaplin documentary yet again.

The athletic and winsome Wanda Wiley was among several groundbreaking women in the rough and tumble world of slapstick comedy.

She headlined a series of fast-paced action comedies for Universal Pictures.

Starting her movie career doing stunt work in westerns, Wanda, the excellent "daredevil comedienne", stuntwoman and comic actress headlined her own series for Century Comedies and J.R. Bray Productions.

A rare blend of silver screen comedienne and action hero, Wanda made 50 films between 1924 and 1927.

One of the funniest extant Wanda comedies, A Thrilling Romance, was featured on episode 16 of The Silent Comedy Watch Party.

How Wanda did not attract the attention of Universal head Carl Laemmle after these 50 films and continue her career, we'll never know.

For a stretch in the teens and early 1920's, Fay Tincher, born on April 17, 1884, was one of the top comediennes in motion pictures.

She had a 15 year movie career that spanned stints with The American Eclair Company, Komic Komedies, Triangle, Christie, and Universal.

Fay's funny and outrageous performances as the over-the-top Ethel The Stenographer in the Bill The Office Boy series for Komic Komedies made Fay a major movie star in 1914.

Fay, a reluctant comedienne of stage and screen whose background was in musical theater, went on to co-star in a series of 5-reel dramas and comedies with DeWolf Hopper at Fine Arts Film Company.

After leaving Fine Arts, she formed The Fay Tincher Comedy Company.

Fay, with ambitions to work behind the camera, produced and starred in a series for World Film Corporation.

Unfortunately, none of the three Fay Tincher Comedy Company films (Main 1-2-3, Some Job and Oh, Susie, Behave) survive. All that exists from the 1918 productions are stills.

Since film comedy in the silent era was frequently regarded as undignified and unladylike, not acceptable as a stepping stone to prestigious dramatic roles in feature films (or, for that matter, producing and directing), Fay hated getting cast as a comedy headliner and was very disappointed to see her World Film Corporation series end after three films. She headlined Christie Comedies beginning in 1919.

ROWDY ANN (1919) remains her best known film.

Most of her starring vehicles do not survive, so this diehard film buff is thankful for the few that do.

A super talented actress and comedienne, Fay retired from movies in 1930 after playing Min Gump in Universal's The Gumps series. She left show business, dropped out of the public eye and successfully evaded all interviews for the last 50+ years of her life.

And then there's that most swashbuckling of movie headliners, Harold Lloyd, whose films are still unequaled in their blend of comedy and thrills with the action hero ethos exemplified by Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.

Lloyd, the always indefatigable go-getter, regarded as one of silent comedy's Big Three, along with Chaplin and Keaton, was born on April 20, 1893.

Starting with Lonesome Luke and "glasses character" 2-reelers produced by Hal Roach's Rolin Co. in 1915-1917, Harold starred in numerous classic comedies.

In closing, here's Harold Lloyd's World Of Comedy - enjoy!

The diehard classic movie aficionados at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog salute silent comedy royalty big time! Laughs are our friend!

And This Blog Loves Norman McLaren

noreply@blogger.com (Paul F. Etcheverry) — Sat, 11 Apr 2026 16:51:00 +0000

Today we salute the innovative producer, director and animator Norman McLaren.

A splendid post from Scotland.com adds: Norman McLaren (1914–1987) was a pioneering Scottish-Canadian animator, director, and producer renowned for his innovative work at the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).

A pioneer in hand-drawn, abstract, and pixilation animation, he won an Oscar for Neighbours (1952) and a Palme d'Or for Blinkity Blank (1955).

That means it's time to get pixillated!

NEIGHBORS may be the first pixillated film this film buff ever saw in which the menacing creatures were humans and not prehistoric monsters!

A few years before the Beatles discovered Ravi Shankar, his soundtrack is a cornerstone of pixillated McLaren opus A Chairy Tale.

Along with the films of Oskar Fischinger, McLaren's work got this movie buff, unlike the viewer played by Mel Brooks in The Critic, to be just fine with colors, shapes, lines and movement synchronized to music as the beating heart of a short film, as seen in BEGONE DULL CARE.

Also admire anyone who would think of scratching the emulsion of the film and seeing what the heck happens! No budget, no problem!

Submitted for your approval, a selection of vintage Norman McLaren art films - he made over 60 - that make this blogger want to see them again.

Why are these shapes and designs so hypnotic? I don't know - play it again!

For more, see the documentary Creative Process: Norman McLaren (1990) and read The Sprightly Civil Servant: Norman McLaren at the National Film Board of Canada, Michael Cicinski's essay that accompanies The Criterion Collection's McLaren box set.

Easter 2026 Means Wascally Wabbits

noreply@blogger.com (Paul F. Etcheverry) — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 16:32:00 +0000

Here at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog, today's holiday means Easter movies, rabbit-laden cartoons and TV show clips.

Kicking off the compendium of rabbit-packed Easter cartoons, here's the Easter egg-filled and downright rabbit-infested Silly Symphony Funny Little Bunnies.

The unequalled gold standard of Easter cartoons, not surprisingly, stars the Oscar-winning rabbit, Bugs Bunny.

That would be Easter Yeggs (1947), one of the very best cartoons ever helmed by director Robert McKimson.

We're delighted that METV has shown the Walter Lantz Studio's contribution to the Easter cartoon genre, Oswald The Lucky Rabbit in The Egg Cracker Suite (1943).

The Egg Cracker Suite is the last of the theatrical Oswald The Lucky Rabbit series.

Ozzy was subsequently purloined, along with all but a couple of the Disney animation staff, by Charles Mintz.

After a year of Winkler Oswalds, Mintz received the heave-ho from Carl Laemmle and Walter Lantz took over the character and made a gazillion Ozzy toons for Universal Pictures.

Happy Easter to all from Oswald, Bugs Bunny and Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog!

Goons, Pythons, Beyond The Fringe

noreply@blogger.com (Paul F. Etcheverry) — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 20:41:00 +0000

Today we spotlight the post-WW2 UK heroes of comedy: the British invasion that preceded the Rickenbacker-brandishing lads from Liverpool, beginning with The Goon Show

And Beyond The Fringe

And Peter Cook and Dudley Moore

In over 200 radio shows and a few TV and film appearances, The Goons - Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe - for all practical purposes threw out the comedy playbook and invented a new one.

Today is World Puppetry Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Paul F. Etcheverry) — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 19:13:00 +0000

Today, March 21, is World Puppetry Day. While this blog has not posted specifically about puppetry before, we've covered stop-motion animated films many times. The January 27, 2024 post Stop-Motion Saturday was devoted to a slew of puppetmaster/filmmakers, including Wladislaw Starewicz, Joop Geesink and George Pal.

Of course, World Puppetry Day invariably gets me thinking of the following tune!

As fate would have it, the singularly most perverse “golden age” animated cartoon features puppets. That would be the 1935 Charles Mintz Studio/Screen Gems opus, The Puppet Murder Case (1935), a brutal beaut from the often twisted crew led by Sid Marcus and Art Davis. Is this a sadistic cartoon? Yes. Kafka-esque? Indeed. Did this particularly vicious version of Scrappy richly deserve to be strung up like a puppet (as he does to Oopy/Vontzy, his hapless little brother)? Yes!

Only slightly less sadistic than Scrappy is the following Popeye cartoon, Puppet Love (1944), notable for the imaginative and bizarre animation of Jim Tyer. Just because he could, perennial bad guy Bluto builds a Popeye puppet which, of course, turns out to be a violent psycho. Boomerang actually ran this twisted cartoon!

Getting back to the topic of World Puppetry Day, here's some stop-motion fun from Bryclreem! Bear in mind, us guys who were never even close to tall, athletic and movie star handsome could squeeze the contents of an entire tube of Brycreem on our heads and definitely NOT get the result the puppets and humans in the following commercial enjoyed.

Some of our favorite puppets are in Bob Clampett's TV series Time For Beany ! Providing blazing voice-over genius to the puppet-packed proceedings: Daws Butler and Stan Freberg.

Stop-motion goes back to the beginning of movies, with cinema pioneers J. Stuart Blackton and Émile Cohl.

Cohl made a film titled Puppet’s Nightmare in 1908.

Back in the 1920's, stop-motion innovator Lotte Reineger animated using paper cut-outs in silhouette.

Our friend Steve Stanchfield has been posting some very cool stop-motion films on the Cartoon Research website. Here are two by puppetmaster Lou Bunin.

Bunin's stop-motion Alice In Wonderland is an amazing film.

Much enjoyed the two Stop-Motion Marvels Blu-rays that Steve and Thunderbean Animation staff put together.

Continuing on the topic of puppets, there's fantastic news regarding a new Blu-ray of The Puppetoon Movie.

Does the gang here love George Pal Puppetoons? Yes!

First saw The Puppetoon Movie, a feature-length compilation put together by George Pal and stop-motion historian Arnold Leibovit on the big screen back in 1987. After numerous viewings, still find George Pal's stylish 1930's musicals for Horlick's Malted Milk and Philips striking and weirdly beautiful.

Does the new George Pal Puppetoon Blu-ray look like a blast and a must-see? Absolutely!

Arnie Liebovit elaborates on his work restoring George Pal's work in the following podcast.

Another inventive puppetmaster/animator/filmmaker was Karel Zeman. Thanks to Castle Films, lots of us 16mm collectors are familiar with REVE DE NOEL (1945) a.k.a. A CHRISTMAS DREAM.

Karel Zeman's Adventures Of Baron Munchausen in particular is a must-see.

Another devastatingly imaginative animator who made cinematic magic from puppets was Wladislaw Starewicz (1882-1965).

Hope to see such outstanding Starewicz films as The Magical Clock released on Blu-ray in the United States.

The Starewicz family and Doriane Films have made a few of these terrific films available on Blu-ray and DVD in Europe.

Wladislaw (a.k.a. Ladislaw Starewicz, Ladislas Starevitch, Ladislaw Starevitch and Ladislaw Starewitch) created astonishing cinematic works.

Starewicz, an entymologist turned animator, began making stop-motion films in 1912.

He began his career in Russia and relocated to France as a result of the 1917 revolution.

Wladislaw and Irina Vladislavovna Starewicz produced stop-motion films through 1958.

The Mascot (1933) packs more startling imagery into its 33 minute length than can be found in 140 minute feature films.

IIRC, the following Starewicz DVD is still available.

The visionary films of Starewicz inevitably compel one to delve deeply into a Willis O' Brien playlist.

Next up on World Puppetry Day: a piece on the great artist O'Brien mentored, Ray Harryhausen.

Can never see too many interviews with Ray Harryhausen.

Another all-time favorite is the great Charley Bowers.

Bowers' last stop-motion film was Pop & Mom In Wild Oysters (1941).

Bowers' blends of stop-motion animation with silent era slapstick remain astounding 100 years after they were produced.

How do we close a World Puppetry Day post? With Jim Henson commercials, of course. This blogmeister is preparing a pot of hot Wilkins Coffee for the occasion.

The Comic And The Champ

noreply@blogger.com (Paul F. Etcheverry) — Sat, 14 Mar 2026 16:27:00 +0000

Alas, we're unlike the superlative guitarist Johnny Winter, still alive and well on March 14, 2026.

Yes, the ragtag gang here is indeed Still Alive And Well during the raging and continuing dumpster fire that is the year of our lord 2026.

Actually, it's more like the year of our Screaming Lord Sutch.

Indeed, laughs are getting harder and harder to find these days - and that brings us to Billy Crystal.

Billy, born on this day in 1948, was one of the last cuts from those scheduled to perform in the first episode of Saturday Night Live in 1975 and would be on the short list, along with Michael McKean, of those who hosted SNL before becoming a cast member.

Not that surprisingly, present-day comments regarding Mr. Crystal's stand-up act way back in the 1970's and 1980's demonstrate that many young people have no idea who Sammy Davis Jr and Muhammad Ali were. The superstardom of both Mr. Davis, the seriously driven entertainer/Rat Pack cornerstone and the heavyweight champ back in those days is downright difficult to explain to those 25 and under in 2026.

Suffice to say that while Billy Crystal has done a gazillion things in showbiz over the past five decades, the favorite of this blog remains his eulogy at Muhammad Ali's memorial service.

Billy started his career, way back before he started appearing in the Susan Harris Productions show Soap, with a very funny impression of Muhammad Ali. The pugilist/social activist saw it and the two became lifelong friends.

Before Billy hosted SNL in 1983, there was his prime-time Billy Crystal Comedy Hour, co-starring SCTV stalwarts John Candy, Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas.

We like Saturday Night Live season 10 a great deal, even given its reliance on pre-taped segments and the downright astonishing fact that producers Dick Ebersol and Bob Tischler opted NOT to have Geena Davis or Andrea Martin in the cast.

Guaranteed to leave young'uns completely, utterly baffled: the following spoof of the hit 1980's TV series that teamed formidable comic character actress and former SNL cast member Jane Curtin with Susan St. James, co-star of McMillan & Wife (who was married to SNL's second producer, Dick Ebersol). Here's hopin' Kate Hepburn and Muhammad Ali got the joke and at least found it somewhat funny.

Fernando may be my singular favorite Billy Crystal persona.

Another standout from SNL season 10: the masochistic night watchmen played by Billy Crystal and Christopher Guest.

Still find it amazing to see Crystal, Guest, Eddie Murphy, Martin Short and Rich Hall - yes, all of them - together in the Broadway Gumby Rose sketch.

We respectfully tip the Jimmie Hatlo hat and wish a Happy Birthday to Billy, with additional hat tips, kudos, bravos and huzzahs going to Muhammad Ali, Johnny Winter - and the YouTube channel Saturday Night Network for terrific summaries of each season of the show, plus interviews with cast members.

March 7 is National Flapjack Day

noreply@blogger.com (Paul F. Etcheverry) — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 20:04:00 +0000

Staggering through March 2026 and noting that this year continues painfully and unrelentingly resembling the following. . .

Asking if anything can get one's mind off the dumpster fire even momentarily, the answer to that question remains an emphatic NO, although the next best thing is to celebrate NATIONAL FLAPJACK DAY!

That means it's flapjack time, starting with Mickey Mouse pancakes.

Even better and enthusiastically in the National Flapjack Day spirit: Cuphead!

Do we love pancakes too much? Could this blogger's long-suffering partner be featured in the Women Who Love Men Who Love Pancakes Too Much book?

Yes, guilty as charged.

Would $5 for all you can eat pancakes appeal to the gang at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog? Absolutely!

Not surprisingly, tons of expert advice on how to make flapjacks, from Epicurious to Bon Appétit to America's Test Kitchens to Michelin to New York Times can be found. We'll get it down to two videos: the ever-wisecracking Binging With Babish and Alton Brown's Good Eats.

Now we flip to flapjacks served by great movie comedians and animated cartoon characters. First and foremost: silent movie comedy queen Alice Howell, cavalierly flipping pancakes at 2:11 in the very funny 1920 opus Cinderella Cinders.

Next up: Los Tres Stupidos!

National Flapjack Day in Cartoonland commences with post-World War II Popeye serving green pancakes to his obnoxious nephews in Spinach Vs. Hamburgers. Noting the presence of an excerpt from the staggeringly racist Pop-Pie A La Mode in Spinach Vs Hamburgers, it remains flabbergasting that this cartoon was run constantly on TV in the 1960's. As far as National Flapjack Day goes, I personally would go to both Spinach Heaven and Wimpy's Hamburger Haven, with the sincere hope that Chef Popeye makes a spinach Spanish omelet to go with the green flapjacks!

The New Rochelle studio of Paul Terry produced several flapjack flippin' endeavors. Found the following two pancake-packed 1930's Terrytoons and it’s highly likely there are more.

While I like that in the following Terrytoon, the eatery Nick’s Coffee Pot is literally a coffee pot, it’s just a bit odd, even in the Cartoon Universe, that the clientele are insects.

Meanwhile, Chuck Jones, who, unlike Joe Barbera, would scoff at Terrytoons, starred one of his second-tier headliners, the ever-nonplussed Conrad Cat (from The Bird Came C.O.D. and Conrad The Sailor), as cheerful pancake-flipper in Porky’s Cafe.

This black & white Looney Tune is from 1942, the year when Chuck and crew produced such hilarious classic cartoons as My Favorite Duck and The Dover Boys. Note to readers: enjoy the following cartoon and pardon the inexplicable 1937 opening theme music.

Closing this National Flapjack Day post, we shall beckon back to the 1950's. It's astounding, especally to young people, that not all that long ago there actually was an Aunt Jemima's Kitchen restaurant at Disneyland and a national fast food chain named Sambo's. Yes, boomers who are still here (and eating) in 2026 actually dined at those restaurants. Some eateries were better than others and some were downright lousy! In particular, yellow pancakes were a bad sign of bad food to come.

As grotesque as these companies' product logos remain and as cringe-worthy as the chain resturants could be, they remind us who invented American cuisine and developed, among highly creative cookery in many U.S. cities, the amazing food of New Orleans, where no doubt spicy flapjacks can still be enjoyed.

We Like Zero More Than Zero

noreply@blogger.com (Paul F. Etcheverry) — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 17:10:53 +0000

Today we pay homage to one of the great comic actors and Broadway legends, Zero Mostel, the gifted, versatile character actor, comedian and star of stage and screen, born on this day in 1915. Just in case one has not seen the larger-than-life actor in awhile, here's a reminder. . .

Zero is still celebrated for his musical comedy mojo on Broadway in Fiddler On The Roof.

As well as his stage and screen heroics in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum.

And his role as the wonderfully conniving Max Bialystock in Mel Brooks' 1967 film of The Producers.

Zero's co-star Gene Wilder elaborates:

Found a couple of clips of Zero on TV from the late 1940's (on Ed Sullivan's Toast Of The Town) to the early 1960's.

Yes, it's true - Zero recorded an album. Like the review of it by The Comedy on Vinyl Podcast.

In closing, noting that there's a 2009 panel discussion featuring Mr. Mostel's friends and colleagues on YouTube, here is Zero on a very enjoyable Dick Cavett Show - enjoy!

We Salute Sid Caesar - and Caesar's Writers!

noreply@blogger.com (Paul F. Etcheverry) — Sat, 21 Feb 2026 18:29:09 +0000

Today, the blog shall binge-watch Sid Caesar, starting with his TV debut.

Do we LOVE Admiral Broadway Revue, Your Show Of Shows, Caesar's Hour and all the super-talented cast members from those series? YES! YES! YES!

The comedy-crazed gang at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog has watched Ten From Your Show Of Shows, an amazing document of early 1950's sketch comedy, numerous times.

The THIS IS YOUR STORY sketch from 10 From Your Show Of Shows, spoofing This Is Your Life, featuring Howard Morris as the affectionate Uncle Goopy, destroys me every time I see it.

Nobody, not even Victor Borge and P.D.Q. Bach, has taken on classical music quite like the ridiculously talented casts of Your Show Of Shows and Caesar's Hour.

The Caesar's Hour episode with guest star Benny Goodman (which aired on 11-1-1954) is particularly memorable.

After powering through an unrelenting decade-long torrent of comedy, Sid Caesar would be less visible in showbiz for a few years. Post Caesar's Hour, he appeared in this BBC Broadcast which aired on September 9, 1958.

Sid co-starred with 1000 other comedians in Stanley Kramer's It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World and appeared a slew of commercials, then dropped out of sight through the latter 1960's and the 1970's. He re-emerged in the early 1980's and was interviewed by David Letterman.

Sid Caesar also hosted a very good episode of the Dick Ebersol era Saturday Night Live in February 1983.

While Sid dropped out of sight, his writers, especially Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks would bring the world The Dick Van Dyke Show, Alan Brady and the 2000 year old man.

When it became apparent to comedy geeks just how truly exceptional and extraordinary such performer/writers as Sid Caesar and Ernie Kovacs were, numerous events and interviews followed.

In particular, a 2014 tribute to Sid by Carl and Mel is very enjoyable.

The Writers Guild Foundation interview with Carl Reiner is a must-listen.

Larry Gelbart recalls his stretch working with Sid.

The crew's favorite episode of the very entertaining Serious Jibber-Jabber with Conan O'Brien series featured Mel Brooks.

While individuals in my age group generally went ga-ga for Star Trek and Star Wars, as much as I enjoy both sci-fi series, obsession was reserved for the silent era comedy greats (all of them), Your Show Of Shows, the Marx Brothers, W.C. Fields, Hal Roach Studios, Mel Brooks movies, SCTV (Second City Television) and visionary animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett.

For more classic comedy featuring Sid Caesar (plus the brilliant Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris and Nanette Fabray), check out the following outstanding playlist (which largely consists of complete episodes of Admiral Broadway Revue), as well as a hilarious sketch-filled playlist from Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour.

Looney Tunes Celebrate Valentine's Day Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Paul F. Etcheverry) — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 23:34:00 +0000

Have celebrated Valentine's Day either with cartoons or the classic comedy of Jack Benny (who was born on February 14, 1894). This year, it will be cartoons!

The most wonderfully caustic and cynical Valentine's Day cartoon is PORKY'S ROMANCE (1937), directed by Frank Tashlin. Did Tash have a romance that went terribly wrong while making this? Who knows - here's a detailed review of the Tashlin classic from Anthony's Animation Talk.

In HONEY’S MONEY (1962), the second most caustic and cynical of all Valentine's Day cartoons, ever-unscrupulous Yosemite Sam, only romantic about blowing things up, brazenly marries for riches. It doesn't work out well for Sam.

Pettin' In The Park (1934) is the seventh Warner Brothers cartoon produced by the new Leon Schlesinger studio. Sound engineer supreme Bernard Brown is the credited director. After Warner Brothers parted ways with the Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising studio, which produced Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes as independent contractors from 1930-1933, Leon Schlesinger opted to start an in-house cartoon production house.

This musical tale of Sunday afternoon romance, featuring a few enjoyable sight gags and pre-Code moments, looks good in comparison to Buddy's Day Out and I've Got To Sing A Torch Song, the dreadful debut films by the new Schlesinger crew. The most interesting thing about this goofy musical opus, besides the song from Gold Diggers Of 1933, is the swim race sequence. Bob Clampett, one of the very young guys who worked on this cartoon remembered this and liked it enough to bring it back a few years later in Porky's Naughty Nephew (1938).

What character gets black cats painted with white stripes into the mood for Valentine's Day? That would be what Chuck Jones called "the Charles Boyer skunk," he hopelessly romantic yet seriously delusional Pepe LePew.

And This Blog Loves Unorthodox Stand-up Comedians

noreply@blogger.com (Paul F. Etcheverry) — Sat, 07 Feb 2026 20:15:36 +0000

High atop the list of reasons we're here writing a blog on a bordering on frigid winter day is . . . comedy. Used to see lots of San Francisco stand-up comedy way back when, many moons ago (1970's and 1980's), in the olden days of the Holy City Zoo on Clement Street and the Other Cafe in the inner Sunset. Got lucky and saw a 1:00 a.m. set by Robin Williams!

Definitely prefer stand-up comedians who are off the beaten path. Two favorites: Gilbert Gottfried and Stephen Wright!

Sought out Stephen Wright's appearances on The Tonight Show, David Letterman and The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson.

Love stand-up comics who are not just off the beaten path but WAY off the beaten path. Two stand-ups along those lines who used to appear frequently in the San Francisco Bay Area were Bob "The Ol' Rube" Rubin and Bobcat Goldthwait, just two among a slew of talented and way-out comedians back then.

The only comedian I can think of recalling Stephen Wright in exploring the cosmos of the stand-up comedy universe was the late, great Mitch Hedberg (1968-2005).

And that brings us to the main topic of today's post on unorthodox standup comics: Emo Philips, born on this day, February 7, in 1956, a fabulous year for rockabilly, jazz, blues, Frank Sinatra at Capitol Records and outstanding sketch comedy starring Sid Caesar and Ernie Kovacs.

Emo Philips was hitting the big time during the same era (1980's) as Bobcat Goldthwait and Bob Rubin.

TV's Weird Al Yankovic Show had its share of very funny bits involving Emo Philips.

We extend a big time Max Linder top hat tip to Emo and all the outstanding stand-ups of yore!

Goodbye To All-Time Comedy Great Catherine O' Hara

noreply@blogger.com (Paul F. Etcheverry) — Sat, 31 Jan 2026 15:46:00 +0000

On January 30, 2026, an awful day capping yet another hideous week in a horrible year. . .

We got the sad news that Catherine O'Hara, one of our greatest comediennes, has passed at 71.

Loved her work over 50+ years!

Do we like ending this horrendous month saying farewell to comedy genius, improv champion and actress supreme Catherine O'Hara, most recently known for her role as Moira Rose on Schitt's Creek? NO!!!

There have been terrific tributes on the CBC.

First became aware of Ms. O'Hara through her stellar work on SCTV, my all-time favorite sketch comedy show.

It was always a pleasure to see Catherine on Late Night With David Letterman.

She was among the rare SCTV and SNL stars to be a guest star on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson.

And Stephen Colbert. . .

While Catherine O' Hara's best known role in movies is her memorable part as the absent-minded mom in John Hughes' Home Alone flicks, we remain absolutely floored by her acting in a bunch of terrific films directed and written by Christopher Guest and SCTV co-star Eugene Levy.

These include Waiting For Guffman, Best In Show, A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration.

They feature an extremely talented stock company which includes Michael McKean and Harry Shearer (from This Is Spinal Tap and The Folksmen), Fred Willard, Parker Posey, Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Lynch, Bob Balaban and John Michael Higgins.

While it is tough to pick just one favorite among these films, the gang here is particularly partial to For Your Consideration.

Hoping the next time we post, it won't be more terrible news.

Until then, enjoy these excerpts from A Mighty Wind.

Wish we could thank Catherine in person.

Remembering Django Reinhardt

noreply@blogger.com (Paul F. Etcheverry) — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 20:19:51 +0000

Today, music lovers around the world celebrate the natal anniversary of guitarist Django Reinhardt.

Django, the Belgian-born Romani jazz musician was born to swing that guitar on January 23, 1910.

Django was inspired by the music of Louis Armstrong.

With violinist Stephane Grappelli, Django co-led Western Europe's supreme source of scintillating swing, the Quintette Of The Hot Club Of France.

We'll kick this off with a few film clips of the guitar genius in action.

Numerous Django concerts, airchecks and radio broadcasts have been posted on YouTube. Thanks to music historisn Heinz Becker, here are superlative playlists featuring The Quintette Of The Hot Club Of France:
1934

1935

1936

1937

As well as playlists from Django's later stretch co-leading ensembles with swing clarinetist Hubert Rostaing
1948

1949
1951
1952
1953

Django briefly toured with The Duke Ellington Orchestra in the fall of 1946.

Among the guitar slingers who carry on the Django tradition in 2026: Martin Taylor (from the 1980's Stephane Grappelli Quartet), Julian Lage, Robin Nolan, Biréli Lagrène, Tommy Emmanuel, Frank Vignola and Vinny Ragiolo.

We Salute Babe Hardy (The GOAT) and Split Reel Productions

noreply@blogger.com (Paul F. Etcheverry) — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 22:50:00 +0000

Today is the natal anniversary of Oliver "Babe" Hardy, half of our all-time favorite comedy team.

Oliver Hardy was a singularly brilliant comic actor who stands atop our list of all-time favorite movie comedians.

By far the most profiled funmaker of any on this blog, Oliver Norvell Hardy was born on this day in 1892.

Where does a lifelong L&H fan even start?

With this footage from the set of Should Married Men Go Home shot by George Mann of the comedic dance act Barto and Mann. Thanks, George and thanks, Bob Smith for posting!

For more than a decade before he was teamed with Stan Laurel, Babe Hardy was an extremely prolific supporting player.

Appearing in a slew of films from 1913-1917, Hardy was a stock company stalwart at Lubin and other production companies in Jacksonville, FLA.

This includes a stretch at Vim Comedies, where Hardy co-starred in the Plump & Runt series with Billy Ruge and also was a supporting player in the Pokes & Jabbs series starring Bobby Burns and Walter Stull.

After the Vim company disbanded, Babe Hardy worked with Charlie Chaplin imitator Billy West at King Bee Comedies.

This brought Hardy together with future Hal Roach Studios headliner and director/writer Charley Chase.

As an all-purpose heavy, to some degree the Eric Campbell equivalent at Vitagraph Pictures, Hardy co-starred in numerous 2-reelers and a few feature films.

Most starred the ultra-wacky Larry Semon (1889-1928) and even more over-the-top former Fred Karno comic Jimmy Aubrey.

Hardy appears as a key cast member in numerous films headlined by Larry Semon, who specialized in larger than life comedies featuring epic, spectacular sight gags. Larry's comedy in some respects was a predecessor of the super-cartoony slapstick of The Three Stooges and the kind of humor that turned up 40 years later in such attempts to rekindle the extravagant visual comedy approach as Blake Edwards' The Great Race and the films of Jerry Lewis (some of which were directed by Norman Taurog, who worked with Larry Semon).

Once at the Hal Roach Studios, Oliver Hardy had memorable turns as a supporting player in such Charley Chase comedies as Isn't Life Terrible and Fluttering Hearts.

The vintage comedy fans at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog enthusiastically extol a new addition to the restorers and celebrators of classic movies and silent comedy rarities, Split Reel.

The ace film historians at Split Reel have been doing a superlative job excavating the silent comedy universe's numerous nooks and crannies. These include Rob Stone, author of Laurel Or Hardy and stalwart preservationist from the Library Of Congress. There are both Blu-rays and books available on the Split Reel website, including tomes by silent film experts Rob Farr, Thomas Reeder and Steve Massa.

Between watching L&H classics, read John McCabe's superb biography Babe: the life of Oliver Hardy on Internet Archive.

Then peruse Randy Skredtvedt's terrific book, Laurel & Hardy: The Magic Behind The Movies.

Equally indispensable: the Laurel & Hardy Onstage combo of CDs and a book (also by Mr. Skredtvedt) about the team's 1940's tours.

And now, here are a few examples of Laurel & Hardy comedy brilliance.

These are available on Blu-ray on several compilations, including Laurel & Hardy: The Essential Collection.

As well as the following compilations of L&H silents.

We tip our battered brown derbies to Babe and note that nearly 100 years after their first teaming at Hal Roach Studios, Laurel & Hardy emphatically and spectacularly deliver the laughs!

This Friday In Oakland: The Noir City Film Festival Returns!

noreply@blogger.com (Paul F. Etcheverry) — Sun, 11 Jan 2026 14:42:00 +0000

The favorite film festival that the writer of this blog didn't personally schlep reels to is back. That would be Noir City, which shall bring big screen fun to Oakland's Grand Lake Theatre starting on Friday.

This will be the 23rd Noir City film festival. Czar of Noir Eddie Muller elaborates:

Which has been the product of unending hard work from the preservationists, authors, historians and event maestros of the Film Noir Foundation.

The press release notes: The joint will be jumping when the venerable NOIR CITY film festival kicks out the jams at the Grand Lake Theatre, January 16–25, 2026, with an exciting 10-day program of crime and mystery films featuring . . . musicians!

From early examples of Hollywood noir like Blues in the Night (1941) to jazz-fueled sixties’ gems like All Night Long (1962) and A Man Called Adam (1966), the movies feature genuine musical legends performing alongside film noir favorites including Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, John Garfield, Ida Lupino, Kirk Douglas, Ann Sheridan, and Robert Mitchum.

Among the real-life musicians appearing onscreen at NOIR CITY 23: Elvis Presley, Doris Day, Louis Armstrong, Keely Smith, Dexter Gordon, Ella Fitzgerald, Hoagy Carmichael, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peggy Lee, Oscar Levant, Dave Brubeck, Charlie Mingus, and many more.

“Back in the 1940s, nightclubs and jazz played a significant role in creating the noir vibe,” explains festival founder and host Eddie Muller. “So, it was fun to craft a program in which music plays a role in every story, either through the setting or because the characters are musicians.”

As he usually does, Muller balances the roster between established classics (To Have and Have Not (1944), Gilda (1946), Sweet Smell of Success (1957), and seldom-screened titles like The Strip (1951), The Crimson Canary (1945), and Face the Music (aka The Black Glove), a 1954 British rarity that provided the “kicker” for this year’s festival.

Muller acknowledges that some of this year’s offerings veer outside the proscribed boundaries of noir, but he offers no apologies: “Jazz is America’s greatest contribution to the twentieth century,” he declares, “and mixing it up with film noir is a perfect way to showcase the music for a younger generation. The stories may be dark and depressing, but the music always soars.”

Many of the films on the schedule are fictions in which music plays a major part; others are based on actual performers, like the 1955 Doris Day vehicle Love Me or Leave Me in which Day gives a scintillating performance as 1920s singing and dancing sensation Ruth Etting.

Kirk Douglas’ Young Man with a Horn from 1950 (also starring Day) is based on the life of cornetist Bix Beiderbecke (with Harry James providing the actual horn work).

Similarly, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Dexter Gordon give memorable portrayals in, respectively, A Man Called Adam and Round Midnight (1986), playing composites of real-life jazz artists.

“Jazz may dominate the program,” Muller notes, “but we’ve also got samplings of classical (1946’s Humoresque), country (1958’s Thunder Road), and rock ‘n’ roll (1958’s King Creole) — I finally hit on a theme that accommodates my favorite Elvis movie.”

The classic film and noir-lovin' gang here strongly recommend that all film buffs who can get their derrieres and popcorn to the Grand Lake Theatre do so.

The Noir City festival will help get people together, have a chance to hang out, "face the music" and provide some entertainment during a year that thus far has been unrelentingly horrendous.

No doubt outraged texts from offended dumpster fires seeking an apology are forthcoming.

Celebrating National Balloon Ascension Day

noreply@blogger.com (Paul F. Etcheverry) — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 11:08:00 +0000

In the glaring absence of anything remotely resembling good news, we attempt to celebrate the January 8th birthdays of David Bowie, Elvis Presley, Shirley Bassey and Little Anthony - and note that January 9 is (drum roll) National Balloon Ascension Day!

I'm not kidding, there is a National Balloon Ascension Day!

Funny, all this writer can think of on National Balloon Ascension Day is Frank Morgan and the ending of The Wizard Of Oz.

And THE RED BALLOON!

In cinematic tribute to National Balloon Ascension Day, here's all-time favorite Buster Keaton!

Buster co-stars with Mack Sennett Studio ingenue and star of the 1927 version of Chicago Phyllis Haver in THE BALLOONATIC (1923), second to last of the Keaton Productions silent short subjects.

Alas, did not find any interviews with Buster about the making of this high-flying comedy short. My guess is the self-effacing Keaton would say it was no big deal and that his talented technical director and prop master Fred Gabourie had everything ready to roll in short order.

Jumping from the early 1920s to the mid-1960's, way back in my elementary school days, many moons ago, loved hearing this catchy tune on the AM radio titled THE YELLOW BALLOON by . . . The Yellow Balloon, an uber-happy sunshine pop group led by actor Don Grady of My Three Sons fame.

If one ever finds a TV performance featuring The Yellow Balloon in which the guys aren't lip synching a la Milli Vannili or Ashlee Simpson (or Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa Simpson, or for that matter current Saturday Night Live stalwart Ashley Padilla), we'd love to see it. Once heard, those ever-bouncy 1960's ditties by such groups as The Yellow Balloon, The Mojo Men and The Left Banke prove most difficult to dislodge from the brain!

Also in 1966-1967, the pop group The 5th Dimension, featuring 5-part vocal harmonies, the equally catchy melodies by songwriter Jimmy Webb and mellifluous musicianship of studio virtuosos The Wrecking Crew, waxed poetic about beautiful balloons in the massive hit Up, Up and Away.

On the topic of balloons, the Charles Mintz Studio, producers of the Krazy Kat, Scrappy and Color Rhapsodies series for Columbia Pictures, made Looney Balloonists, which got run repeatedly on KTVU-TV's Captain Satellite Show in the early 1960's. This oddly charming cartoon features a peppy musical track by Joe DeNat and looks like the handiwork of the crew led by Ben Harrison and Manny Gould. Animators Allen Rose and Harry Love receive screen credit.

A balloony blog post would not be complete without the penultimate entry from the Ub Iwerks Studio's Comicolor series, the otherworldly and downright nightmarish BALLOON LAND.

Also known as THE PIN CUSHION MAN, this fever dream has scared the beejeesus out of numerous kids and their parents.

Thanks to 16mm and 8mm prints of Iwerks' Comicoior series by home movie distributor Castle Films, the evil pin cushion man's uber-villainy has reigned for decades.

Post-1965 audiences have seen this surreal masterpiece on the big screen as a direct result of it falling into the public domain long ago.

Respectful hat tips go to those godsends of pre-Turner Classic Movies times, repertory cinema and ragtag film collectors who rented cheap venues for the purpose of presenting classic movies and cartoons.

Happily for animation buffs, we hear a Blu-ray collection of Ub Iwerks' Comicolor cartoons is forthcoming. Until then, honor National Balloon Ascension Day by attending a Hot Air Balloon Festival and watching the following bits from Pixar's Up (2009) and Blake Edwards' wacky 1965 opus The Great Race.

Along with standup comedy by Jim Gaffigan.

In closing, the gang at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog regret not finding a video clip of the bit from Charley Chase's hilarious 1928 film THE FAMILY GROUP which features a spectacular sight gag centered on balloons and hope we'll have it for the 2027 National Balloon Ascension Day post. RE: The Lot Of Fun, we extend thanks and a Max Linder top hat tip to Dave Lord Heath, a source of detailed Hal Roach Studios history.

Happy New Year 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Paul F. Etcheverry) — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 20:21:00 +0000

Wishing all a happy new year! This Blogmeister has two takes on the first day of 2026: happy to be here and good riddance, 2025! Rang in the new year this morning by watching musical sketches concocted for Saturday Night Live by John Mulaney and Colin Jost. Do we love Kenan Thompson and Kate McKinnon as singing lobsters? Yes.

Following the Diner Lobster extravaganza: the Subway Churro sketch. Again, the performances by the Saturday Night Live cast, especially Cecily Strong and the aforementioned Kenan Thompson, are stellar. Watching this creates a strong impression that John Mulaney yearned to star in West Side Story.

The last John Mulaney mini-musical was the Airport Sushi at LaGuardia sketch. Is Mulaney an avid fan of musical theater first, comedy writer/actor/comic second? Very likely the answer to that question is an emphatic YES.

Looks like the new year will be kind to incurable animation buffs.

First and foremost, the restoration of Ed Graham's funny, unique, clever and unusual mid-1960's Saturday morning cartoon series Linus The Lionhearted (featuring excellent voice work by Sheldon Leonard, Carl Reiner, Ruth Buzzi, Jonathan Winters, Stiller & Meara and more) is progressing nicely.

Tommy Stathes' latest Cartoon Roots Blu-ray, a tribute to Fleischer Studios and Ko-ko The Clown, is now available.

Time and space-bending adventures in this Out Of The Inkwell compilation include:

THE CLOWN'S PUP (1919)
THE BOXING KANGAROO (1920)
THE CHINAMAN (1920)
THE CLOWN'S LITTLE BROTHER (1920)
PERPETUAL MOTION (1920
THE RESTAURANT (1920)
THE AUTOMOBILE RIDE (1921)
MODELING (1921)
FISHING (1921)
MECHANICAL DOLL (1922)
BUBBLES (1922)
FLIES (1922)
SPARRING PARTNER (1922)
BIRTHDAY (1922)
REUNION (1922)

While it would be quite the understatement to designate 2025 as one seriously lousy year, at least animation fans could cheer up somewhat thanks to the long-awaited release of classic cartoons to Blu-ray on Looney Tunes Collector's Vault volume 1, released last June. Volume 2 of the Looney Tunes Collector's Vault Blu-ray series will be released in March.

Looney Tunes Collector's Vault volume 2 is quite a treasure trove of classic cartoon goodness, as was volume 1.

Been many moons since this blogger has seen the Bill Hanna & Joe Barbera Tom & Jerry cartoons, so it will be fun to revisit them.

The debut of the series, Puss Gets The Boot (1939) reflects the deliberate, Disney-esque Rudy Ising school of cartoonmaking rather than the fastier, brassier and outrageous slapstick-oriented approach that dominates the subsequent Hanna-Barbera and Tex Avery MGM cartoons.

In our view, the series hit its peak in the mid-to-late 1940's.

Here are a bunch of clips from Tom & Jerry cartoons. While tending to be partial to Avery's MGM cartoons over the Tom & Jerry series, must admit to laughing loudly and often during this compilation.

Author, animation historian and restoration expert Thad Komorowski has reviewed volume 1 and volume 2 and volume 3 of the Tom & Jerry: The Golden Era series in detail.

The gang at Way Too Lazy To Write A Blog extend big time thanks, kudos, bravos and huzzahs to everyone involved in these restorations and shall now make an earnest effort to find a modicum of optimism to begin the new year!

Happy Boxing Day 2025!

noreply@blogger.com (Paul F. Etcheverry) — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 18:39:00 +0000

How do we celebrate Happy Boxing Day in 2025? With the celebrated Runty Duck, star of the Van Beuren Studio's Aesop's Fables cartoons, in THE BULLY'S END (1933)!

The exceptionally goofy WB cartoon star Egghead, created by Tex Avery, got his chance to emulate radio star Joe Penner's voice (thanks to voice artist Danny Webb) while also making his debut as a pugilist in COUNT ME OUT (1938), directed by Ben "Bugs" Hardaway and Cal Dalton.

The one, the only Charlie Chaplin turns pugilist in a bunch of movies, the most famous being his 1931 classic CITY LIGHTS. Love how Charlie's opponent is none other than fellow Keystone comic Hank Mann!

This hilarious sequence from CITY LIGHTS is not the first time Chaplin boxed onscreen. Here he is in the 1915 Essanay 2-reeler THE CHAMPION.

Chaplin plays the referee in the 1914 Keystone Comedy, THE KNOCKOUT, starring Roscoe Arbuckle, whose opponent in the boxing match is none other than comedian, character actor, director and actual pugilist Edgar "Slow Burn" Kennedy. . . WITH HAIR!!!

It's no secret that the gang at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog consider Harry Langdon (1884-1944) one of the greatest, funniest, most imaginative and most unorthodox comedians of all time. It's also no secret that many knowledgeable film historians find Harry's perpetually out-to-lunch space cadet character inexplicably weird and incredibly unfunny. Indeed, many silent era comedy aficionados who love Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd don't find Harry Langdon funny at all.

We even enjoy Harry's much maligned 1929-1930 series for Hal Roach Studios.

Arguably, the best of Harry Langdon's Lot Of Fun 2-reelers is THE FIGHTING PARSON (1929), in which Harry's singing and dancing precedes a very clever and hilarious boxing sequence. Throughout and as usual, Harry's seriously addled brain appears to be flying around in the cosmos.

Count this dyed-in-the-wool film buff among the very few who love Langdon's marvelously bizarre Hal Roach Studios comedy shorts, the notable absence of Vernon Dent (Harry's pal offscreen and favorite foil onscreen) notwithstanding.

This is our last post for 2025. We hope for better times ahead in 2026 - see you then!

Merry Christmas 2025

noreply@blogger.com (Paul F. Etcheverry) — Thu, 25 Dec 2025 20:08:00 +0000

First and foremost, we wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, starting with this great song by The Wildwoods!

We are also well aware of how many people go through an extremely difficult time during the holidays.

Now MUST watch Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol.

It is by far my favorite Christmas special, even more than the Pee-Wee's Playhouse one and a Charlie Brown Christmas.

We're also big fans of the Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol soundtrack.

Next up: this MGM short subject from 1931, THE CHRISTMAS PARTY, which crams a slew of the studio's stars, including the great Marion Davies, into a brief running time. Alas, there's no Lee Tracy. . .

The question on the addled mind of the gang at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog remains what would Christmas be without the McKenzie brothers?

While it won't, unfortunately, be possible to flee the lower 48, head for Toronto, stay there, hang out at Second City and reinvent myself as an expatriate notable for a rather prominent San Francisco Bay Area accent, it is possible to enjoy Bob & Doug's 12 Days of Christmas, which goes great with W.C. Fields style eggnog, once again.

As we toast our tumblers to Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Cool Kwanzaa and a Happy New Year, will close this post with our all-time favorite 12 Days Of Christmas piece.

That would be On The Twelfth Day (1955), directed by Wendy Toye and designed by Ronald Searle. Enjoy!

Christmas Eve Cartoons

noreply@blogger.com (Paul F. Etcheverry) — Wed, 24 Dec 2025 16:20:40 +0000

To celebrate the holidays, both the eggnog and Yule log guzzle a Tom & Jerry - and watch Tom & Jerry!

After all, we eagerly look forward to watching the new Tom & Jerry Blu-ray set - and note that the Bill Hanna worked on the following Christmas season cartoon for Rudy Ising back in 1936.

In 1938-1939, MGM, with high hopes to replicate the box-office success of the Fleischer Studio's epic Popeye cartoons, produced a series based on The Katzenjammer Kids comic strip. While The Captain & The Kids cartoons, unlike Popeye, were far short of a smash hit, they're actually pretty decent, especially when directed by Friz Freleng. Here's The Captain's Christmas.

After swilling a Tom & Jerry or two, Canadians not named Bob & Doug McKenzie and Geddy Lee strongly suggest watching A Cosmic Christmas by Toronto's Nelvana Productions.

Believe it or not, Ralph Bakshi Productions made a holiday special, Christmas in Tattertown (1988), a pilot for a series that ultimately didn't sell.

In 1944, a bunch of American animators from Walt Disney Productions, led by director David Hand were offered the opportunity to set up their own studio in Great Britain by J. Arthur Rank. David Hand Productions made the Animaland and Musical Paintbox series. The following, Ginger Nutt's Christmas Circus, is Animaland's Yule offering and pretty darn entertaining.

Several of the talented crew of artists who produced the Animaland cartoons also worked on the excellent 1933 Walt Disney Silly Symphony version of The Night Before Christmas, the studio's followup to Santa's Workshop (1932)

Stop-motion animation, entymologists and bugs absolutely MUST be represented in the holiday entertainment mix, so here's The Insects' Christmas (1913) by Ladislaw Starewicz.

We finish today's Christmas Eve offering featuring a bunch of festive cartoons, including the ever-cheerful Grampy in Christmas Comes But Once A Year (1936), posted by Steve Stanchfield on Cartoon Research couple of years ago. Love how the stalwart patriarch in the first of the cartoons owns a 16mm projector and runs 1930's Terrytoons for the family on Christmas.

Festive Christmas Comedy for 2025 Yule - and a Go Fund Me

noreply@blogger.com (Paul F. Etcheverry) — Sun, 21 Dec 2025 12:07:45 +0000

Laughs for the Christmas holidays - and buddy, we'll be needing laughs big time - work for this blog.

Having concluded that the best of the best sketch comedy as the 20th century wound down was Late Night With Conan O'Brien, a show with a creative staff of writer/performers, here's Brian McCann as MINTY THE CANDY CANE!

As we extend more love, admiration and resoect for the incredible Dick Van Dyke, now 100 years old, we shall follow Minty with a bit from the Van Dyke and Co 1976 Christmas special, featuring Andy Kaufman.

Speaking of unique comedians, we miss Andy Kaufman and even more, miss Paul Reubens a.k.a. Pee-Wee Herman - and, lo and behold, are thrilled and delighted to watch a Pee-Wee's Playhouse Christmas special.

And yes, Virginia O'Brien, there are DAVID LETTERMAN Xmas shows!

Mad TV was the very, very VERY broad alternative to Saturday Night Live (which at that time featured Will Ferrell, Molly Shannon, Cheri Oteri, Ana Gasteyer, Tim Meadows, Darrell Hammond, Tracy Morgan and Chris Kattan) in the latter 1990's. SNL and Mad TV competed to sign members of The Groundlings. This blogger prefers SNL, but concedes that MadTV had its moments. As far as sketch comedy fans go, there are no half-measures regarding this series. IMHO, the periodic good sketches get interspersed with too many loud skits that go big-big-big and beat the viewer over the head repeatedly in case one didn't get the joke the first time.

The extremely broad Mad TV was stylistically somewhere between The Ben Stiller Show and In Living Color - and reminiscent of the also extremely broad "Fridays" ABC sketch comedy series of the early 1980's (featuring Larry David and Michael Richards, among others), so we're not expecting Noël Coward. The cast featured such talented improv comedians as Phil LaMarr, Debra Wilson, Alex Borstein, Will Sasso, Mary Scheer, Nicole Sullivan, Michael McDonald, Mo Collins, Stephanie Weir and, towards the end of the sketch comedy show's 14 season run, Keegan Michael Key & Jordan Peele.

Particularly enjoy madTV's sendup of Rankin-Bass.

After madTV, Key & Peele moved on to their own very funny series.

Find the Key & Peele series in many respects comparable to Tim Robinson transitioning from SNL to his incredibly absurdist I Think You Should Leave.

As we soon finish dreadful, godawful 2025, by far the worst year of the nearly 20 years of this blog, it seems weirdly appropriate that the last topic of today's post is a fundraiser for one of the friends of this blog.

In closing, the gang here is happy to be among the supporters of the following Go Fund Me. If one can help a friend or a community in need at this time of year, do so.