"Give me the good old days!"

Glass slides kick off 2012!

2012-01-10T11:09:00.000-05:00

As I did in 2011, I'll start off the New Year of 2012 with some glass slides from my collection. I hope this year I will have more time to write for the blog and get to do more research on El. Happy New Year everyone!

Happy New Year!!

2011-12-30T14:09:00.000-05:00

Baby New Year, Marjorie White, tells old man Brendel to get the 'El out!

Best wishes to all the readers of this blog for a super fantastic New Year. I will do my best to have more posts than I did in 2011 so keep checking back in every once in a while.

All the best, Louie

El Brendel's "Destry" episode now out on DVD!

2011-11-14T13:10:00.001-05:00

Thanks to the Timeless Media Group (and a HUGE hat tip to reader John Hall for giving me the heads-up!), El Brendel's television appearance on "Destry" is now out on DVD! I blogged about El's performance as a barber in the episode "Deputy for A Day" HERE and although I can't give a review of how the quality is, it's nice to have all the episodes of this TV series in one place.

Some screen grabs to refresh your memory:

"Destry" star John Gavin

El showing some gun toting skills

El in the barber shop

supporting actor with a long career, Charlie Ruggles

Guest blogger time - Unreleased El Brendel film

2011-09-30T08:23:00.002-04:00

The good people over at the Capitol Theater in Rome, New York recently started a new blog, The Capitol Letter, and they asked me to contribute a guest article for them. I chose to write about the unreleased 1932 El Brendel film, "Born to Fight". So head on over to their site and check it out!

El Brendel in a scene from the unreleased "Born to Fight"

Joan Blondell - photoblog celebrates her b-day!

2011-08-30T15:41:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite actresses was born 105 years ago today and what better way to celebrate the life and career of Joan Blondell then a photoblog, right? HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOANIE!!

with Dick Powell and Guy Kibbee from the sadly lost 1933 film "Convention City"

with Helen Twelvetrees and Lilyan Tashman in 1931's "Millie"

backstage candid probably during the mid to late 30's at Warner Brothers

on the radio with Warren William

publicity still with Stuart Erwin for "Make Me A Star" (1932)

looking as GREAT as ever!

someone help me, I know I've seen the film before but I'm drawing a blank!

with real-life best pal Glenda Farrell in "Traveling Saleslady" (1935)

VA-VA-VA-VOOM!!!!

Sexy time Saturday - unknowns, you name 'em

2011-08-27T18:23:00.004-04:00

While I wait out hurricane Irene during it's SLOW trip up the Eastern seaboard, I thought what a great diversion would be to have another round of sexy vintage pictures. This time I have absolutely no idea who these women are so it's up to the readers to clue me in to their identity. If there were clues on the back of the pictures, I will post then under the images:

appearing in George White's Scandals

Carrie Liz clued us in that this maybe Andrea Leeds.

Carrie Liz let us know that the starlet is Phyllis Stanley in "The Next of Kin" (1942)

Conchita Montenegro (in the middle) from the 1931 MGM film, "Never the Twain Shall Meet".

(Hat tip to Rich Finegan!)

El Brendel & I get some press

2011-08-10T11:45:00.000-04:00

Yup, word is getting out on our favorite Swede. Just look at this article in the Syracuse New Times about the upcoming Capitolfest film show this weekend:

Cinema Paradiso in Syracuse New Times

I even get a mention! Don't forget, CAPITOLFEST THIS WEEKEND! Tickets can still be purchased, even right at the box office on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, and even on line. See you there and don't forget to say hello!

Capitolfest 2011 - August 12th-14th!

2011-07-29T14:58:00.000-04:00

Ah, yes. Mid-August is nearly upon us and what a perfect time to get away for a little rest before we finally close the door on summer and slip back into winter. But every year, for the past eight, the Capitol Theater in Rome, New York, has been making that transition MUCH easier by putting on one of the FINEST film festivals you'll ever attend. From August 12th-14th, come to Rome for a rollicking good time.

By using the tag line, "A vacation, not a marathon", Capitolfest prides itself on a leisurely pace that doesn't leave you drained by the time you say good-bye. Rather than a four day haul (as most festivals are), Capitolfest is three days. Although this year they've raised the bar a bit by adding about 5 more hours of films on Friday, it's not a schedule that's gonna have me falling asleep on the ride home.

But don't let my description lull you into a state of serenity as Capitolfest offers a most ferocious film line-up. In fact, out of all the films they are showing this year, I have only seen one of them, BUT only on video and never in a theater. And that's what this festival is all about, checking out rare films, screened in 35mm, shown with carbon-arc projectors. Add the 1928 Capitol Theater, and it's like stepping back in time. So, you can check out the schedule, but here are the films I'm excited about seeing:

I have to say I went a bit crazy when I found out that Janet Gaynor was chosen as the "featured star" for the 2011 festival. As any reader of this blog knows, I am a HUGE Janet Gaynor fan! This year, Capitolfest is serving up some rare Gaynor:

The Gaynor goods, get kicked into high gear on Friday at 8:35 by the showing of the 1926 short "Pep of the Lazy "J". Gaynor made a few Western shorts for Universal in the mid-'20's and this one has survived. I don't know if the above still is from that film, but it is almost certainly from her stint at the studio. One I have been waiting to see for a long time.

Immediately following "Pep..." we have the incredible "Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans". Why would I put this in the films I am dying to see when it's been on video and DVD for years? One reason, I have never seen it projected in 35mm. This 1927 MASTERPIECE, directed by F.W. Murnau, as taken it's place in film history as the first film to win a Best Picture Oscar (then it was given as "Unique and Artistic Production"), and won another two for Janet Gaynor (Best Actress) and Karl Struss & Charles Rosher for Best Cinematography. The innovative camera usage and incredible sets show how far silent cinema had come along, but it didn't have much longer to live.

Janet Gaynor "learning" German during the production of "Sunrise"

On Saturday at 11:45AM another Gaynor film (see, I told you I love her!) that I have never seen before will be screened. "Servants' Entrance" (1934), which also stars Lew Ayres, is one of the final pictures Gaynor made at Fox studios, the place where she gained all her fame. Another rarely screened film.

Janet Gaynor & Lew Ayres on the set of "Servants' Entrance"

Next, we go with a couple of GEMS from the Columbia shorts department. First up we have 1944's "Mopey Dope" with Harry Langdon (running Saturday at 4:40PM). For YEARS this film had been on all the filmographies as a Landon/El Brendel co-starring short, but after some detective work by my buddy Rich Finnegan, we concluded that it was in fact, Langdon's final solo short for the studio. This is also the last Columbia short released before Harry's death in December of '44.

And now, THE BEST OF ALL!! Capitolfest is showing a never-before-seen-since-it's-original-release, El Brendel & Harry Langdon short!! Yes, true believers in all things El, the wait is almost over!! The short is called "Snooper Service" (scheduled to be shown on Sunday at 2:15PM) and was never released in the Screen Gems televsion package, so 16mm copies never made their way into collectors hands. This 1945 short has been sitting in the vaults all along just waiting to be rediscovered. Is it any good?? Who knows, who cares, it's and unseen Brendel/Langdon, how bad can it be??

Rounding out my "most wanted" to see for the weekend, is 1926's "The Johnstown Flood". This is the film that broke Janet Gaynor into stardom, although she didn't receive the top female lead billing. Another one I haven't seen before that will keep me in my seat!

Those are the ones that I am head-over-heels about, but there are plenty of other GREAT films that will be screened during the weekend including "The Unexpected Father" (1932) with Slim Summerville and Zasu Pitts, "Young Man of Manhattan" (1930) featuring Claudettte Colbert & Norman Foster, and Mary Eaton and Eddie Cantor in 1929's "Glorifying the American Girl". We can also expect some great Vitaphone short subjects to be thrown in as well as some unexpected goodies usually shown on Sunday during Jack Theakston's Short Subject Follies (Sunday, 3:45PM). Jack usually has some AMAZING short flicks and snipes of coming attractions that are rare and sometimes, highly unusual. PLUS, Capitolfest is the only festival that I've been to that has an outdoor BBQ cookout during the festival, and we've been informed that YES, it is happening again this year!

So, why don't you take a few days off and join me in Rome, NY at Capitolfest? Tickets are still available AND the concession stand sells Moxie, how can ya beat that??

More info on "emcee" Freeman Lang

2011-07-13T13:47:00.000-04:00

Fifi D'orsay with the emcee for the "Strictly Dishonorable" premier Freeman Lang

In 2009, I wrote 2 blog posts with a bunch of candid pictures from at least 3 different Hollywood premiers. The only thing that held these different shots together was the repeated appearance of emcee Freeman Lang. At the time I didn't find much info about Lang on-line, but thanks to a stroke of luck I found this article from the November 17, 1929 issue of the Boston Globe that will clue you in on Mr. Lang and his Hollywood association:

Street candids, 30's, 40's, or 50's??

2011-05-18T15:40:00.006-04:00

I'm baaaaaaaack! After a few weeks away I decided to bust things out with a few candid pictures taken out on the street sometime in the 30's, 40's, or possibly the 50's? I have no idea at all. Readers of my blog will know that I just LOVE candid pictures of stars in unguarded moments just being themselves. Here's a few that and if you have any information on them don't hesitate in contacting me and letting me know the era or the other people in them. ENJOY!!

Ed and Keenan Wynn

Judy Canova (in the back) and Gail Patrick

Jack Oakie

Larry Parks

Jane Withers with her 1st husband, Bill Moss (thanks Ian Elliot!)

Peggy Cummings

Ron Randall

Vincent Price and wife Edith Barrett (thanks to Penfold for the ID!)

Vitaphone Cavalcade Of Musical Comedy Shorts (6 Disc)

Classic Musical Shorts from the Dream Factory (4-Disc Set)

Sexy time Saturday - last of the PC's!

2011-04-02T08:25:00.003-04:00

After a few months lay-off, Sexy Time Saturday roars back with a vengeance! This time we have the final batch of postcards that my friend Rich Finegan let me borrow to scan. Enjoy!!

Jean Parker

Helen Wright (??? - anyone got any info on her??)

Virginia Cherrill

Nancy Carroll

Mary Brian

Alice White

Lilian Roth

Conchita Montenegro

June Collyer

Leila Hyams

Sue Carol

Zelma O'Neil

Joan Marsh

Helen Kaiser & Sally Blane

Happy 120th b-day, El!!

2011-03-25T07:44:00.004-04:00

Today marks the 120th birthday of Elmer Goodfellow Brendel, born March 25th, 1891. What better way to celebrate than posting some rare pics from his career and maybe watching "Just Imagine" later on!!!

This photo comes from the April 1924 issue of Theater Magazine and shows El in one of his vaudeville routines. I have some reviews reporting the "broom" act went over extremely well with audiences.

El and Polly Moran from the sadly lost film "Hot For Paris" (1929).

street candid, circa 1933-'34

This is the first still of El I ever bought. From 1940's "If I Had My Way".

with Sue Carol from another lost film, "The Golden Calf" (1930)

with Joan Wheeler from some film magazine touting El's latest Vitaphone short. Eventually "Hill Billy" would be released in 1934 as "Radio Scout".

This is certainly a rare one. Judging by El's appearance I would date this to be from the late 50's. I don't know if this was a radio show he was on or just performing on stage. Nothing is written on the back of the still so I have absolutely no info on this one.

CINEFEST : MARCH 17th - 20th!!!!

2011-03-09T21:25:00.000-05:00

Every March I can usually count on two things. One, that I have to get my taxes in order and two, I will have an ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL time at Cinefest in Syracuse, New York. For the past 31 years the Syracuse Cinephile Society has been hosting what, for me, is one of the best film festivals in the world. The mix of rare films and the ability see good friends keep me coming back year after year (I think this is my 8th time making the journey!).

Although the Society has chosen to neglect the genius of El Brendel this year (darn!) they have offered up ANOTHER great series of flicks, so let’s go through some of the ones I am really looking forward to:

WHAT PRICE GLORY? (1926) with Victor McLaglen, Edmond Lowe

I had seen this a number of years ago at the Harvard Film Archive and loved it, so this time shouldn’t disappoint either.

STOLEN HEAVEN (1931) with Nancy Carroll, Phillips Homes

Early sound Paramount’s usually rock so we’ll see if this one joins the ranks.

THE DEVIL’S LOTTERY (1932) with Victor McLaglen, Elissa Landi

I LOVE EARLY FOX TALKIES! There is said it. Don’t know why but I can’t get enough of them. I have never seen this one and am REALLY looking forward to this!

THE WOLF SONG (1929) with Gary Cooper, Lupe Velez

The inclusion of Lupe Velez in the credits makes certain that my ass will be firmly attached to a seat in the screening room.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND (1931) with Ruth Gilbert, Ralph Hertz

I guess this is an independent production of the Lewis Carroll classic filmed in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Should be interesting to see and compare it to Paramount’s 1933 version.

FOILED (1930) William J. Burns detective short

These Educational shorts are among the best of the worst and HIGHLY enjoyable. Cinefest has been running this series for a while now and just when you think the well has run dry, another comes to light.

SUNSHINE DAD (1916) with DeWolf Hopper, Max Davidson

An early film with Max Davidson. Nuff said.

LONESOME (1928) with Glenn Tryon, Fay Holderness

I have heard about this film for years (in fact, my bud Rich Finegan says it’s one of this top favorites of all time) and this will be a 35mm print restored by the George Eastman House. Maybe the highlight of the weekend??

THE STORY OF TEMPLE DRAKE (1933) with Miriam Hopkins

This is a film which I have always enjoyed. I've had a “collectors” copy of for years and it always looked TERRIBLE. Well, MoMA restored it and it premiered at the Turner Classic Movies Festival last year so see this clear and sharp as tack should be a revelation.

POOR JAKE’S DEMISE (1913) with Lon Chaney

A Chaney film I haven’t seen yet, so I’m there.

FLAMING YOUTH(excerpt) (1926) with Colleen Moore, Milton Sills

See above but substitute Colleen Moore!

LESSONS IN LOVE (1921) with Constance Talmadge

I have never seen a bad film with Constance and I’m sure this one won’t disappoint either!

There are a bunch of other pictures I’ll be seeing during the 3 ½ days of movies but the above is just a sampler. Cinefest also has dealers of movie posters, stills, books, DVD’s, and just about everything else you can think of that is movie related for you to spend your dough on. If you got the time, I suggest you take the time to come out this year, it’s gonna be a GREAT time!

I just won an award!

2011-02-07T20:25:00.000-05:00

Kiki over at A Rockabilly View has bestowed on me a Stylish Blogger Award!! I didn't think that this blog had a lot of style but hell, I'll take it. There are a few rules that go along with this award:

1)Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.
2)Share 7 things about yourself
3)Award 10 recently discovered great bloggers.
4)Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award ***SORRY, AIN'T DOING THIS ONE***

So, I guess I should get on with it, eh? Here's 7 things maybe most people don't know about me:

1. I played hockey from the age of 5 up until I was 37.

2. I only like 2 flavors of ice cream: strawberry & to a much lesser extant, vanilla.

3. My other passion is photography. Check out some of my pics here: www.louiedespres.com

4. The Beatles are my favorite band of all time.

5. I am currently try to get my own business off the ground : the Ware River Pet Company

6. I am a recovering record collector who realizes that I should not let record buying take over my life.

7. I like cheap beer best. High Life, PBR, 'Gansett, Utica Club, it's all good!

As for the recent blogs I have found, there isn't too manythat deserve much of a mention but my friend Kylie has one named Confessions of a Pollyana that's a good read.

My buddy Brian continues with the adventures of "Laurel" at Sunday on the Block With Laurel.

You can read and see what all the hype on photographer Vivian Maier is all about at Vivian Maier - Her Discovered Work.

The city I live in has one of the premier research facilities in the world, the American Antiquarian Society. Their blog is great if you love the history of printed items, Past Is Present.

and finally another good friend is artist Derek Ring. He's constantly working on new work and keeps the public up to date at his FIRE_BAD blog. You can also see and buy some of his designs here!

Again, THANK YOU Kiki, I feel special!!!

Miriam Seegar 1907-2011

2011-01-05T21:01:00.002-05:00

One of the few remaining links to El Brendel's film work in the early 30's had died. Miriam Seegar, who appeared with El in the "Movietone Follies of 1930", passed away on January 2nd at her home in Pasadena. I tried to contact her last year to see if I could get any information on El but was informed by her daughter-in-law that she was very frail and could not respond.

Here is her obit from the L.A. Times:

Miriam Seegar Whelan
Actress became an interior designer

Miriam Seegar Whelan, 103, an actress from the early days of talking films who was married to director Tim Whelan, died Sunday of age-related causes at her home in Pasadena, said her daughter-in-law Harriet Whelan.

After her acting career ended, Whelan became an interior designer in Los Angeles.

She was born Sept. 1, 1907, in Greentown, Ind., where she and her sisters enjoyed play-acting as children. In her teens she joined a traveling group of stage performers in the Midwest and New York. She eventually made her way to London and starred opposite Ernest Truex in a West End production of "Crime."

She began appearing in British films in the late 1920s, earning top billing in "Valley of the Ghosts" (1928). She met her future husband on the set of "When Knights Were Bold," a 1929 film he directed.

After the couple returned to the United States, she starred in such Hollywood films as the 1930 romantic comedy "What a Man," the 1930 western "The Dawn Trail" and the 1932 crime drama "Out of Singapore."

She left acting to raise the two sons she had with Whelan. He died in 1957.

Mirian and William Collier, Jr. in "Movietone Follies of 1930"

glass slides kick off 2011!

2011-01-04T09:56:00.002-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Sliding into 2011, what better way to start off than posting stuff I really didn't have to use my brain for. Seeing as I haven't posted any glass slides since May of 2010 and inspired by a discussion over at the Nitrateville forum, I decided to post a mixture of silent and sound titles to kick the year off right:

Goodbye 2010!!!!

2010-12-30T15:44:00.002-05:00

Signing off for a few days but just wanted to wish all my readers a happy and healthy New Year!! See you back in 2011 for some more new on the El Brendel front as well as Sexy Time Saturday and other stuff!!

here's "Father Time" El Brendel being told to BEAT IT by "Baby New Year" Marjorie White

Happy Holidays from G.M.T.G.O.D.!!

2010-12-24T09:41:00.004-05:00

Just a quick note to wish everyone a happy, healthy, and safe Xmas holiday weekend! I will be back next week with a new update, so until then followers...........

El signing his name to other stars Christmas cards. Wonder where THOSE are now!

NO "Sunny Side Up" restoration on TCM

2010-12-21T20:11:00.005-05:00

I just started watching "Sunny Side Up" on TCM and can say without reservation this is NOT the restoration by MoMA and Film Foundation. It does look better than the VHS copy that has been circulating for years, but this is probably an older master Fox pulled out of mothballs for this "premier". BOO!

El kicks TCM's ass Tueday night!!!!

2010-12-18T22:50:00.004-05:00

Yes, kiddies, this Tuesday night, December 21st, at 8:00PM (EST), Turner Classic Movies will make the television premier of the new restoration by the Museum of Modern Art and The Film Foundation of 1929's "Sunny Side Up"! This film was one of El Brendel's breakthrough talkie roles and made him one of the most popular comedy stars of the early 30's, it also happens to be one of my personal favorites. Everyone should catch it if not for the wonderful leading roles by Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell, but for the AMAZING "Turn on the Heat" dance sequence. I could go on and on about this film (an I will in the future!), but check it out for yourself and enjoy! Here are some scenes from the movie to whet your appetite:

****UPDATE: OMG, if ANYONE can record this on DVD for me I would be much appreciative, my TV where I record died last night and it looks like we won't be getting a new one before Tuesday. HELP!!****

W.B. issues 2 Brendel Tech shorts on Tuesday!

2010-12-12T12:25:00.002-05:00

I just got the word from Ron Hutchinson over at the Vitaphone Project, coming this Tuesday from the Warner Archive series will be the first issue of the restored 3-strip Technicolor shorts El released for Warners in 1935. "What? No Men" and "Okay, Jose" will be part of a 6 disc set of Vitaphone shorts showcasing a treasure trove of the early 1 & 2 reelers made by stars of vaudeville for the sound-on-disk system.

I got word a couple years back that although long thought lost, the original 3-strip elements for "What? No Men" had been located and were currently being restored. I had no idea if we would ever see the finished work, but it appears we will be!! It is also not known until I see it, if this version of "What? No Men" will be the edited or complete version, as the film was censored for "INDECENCY" and "TENDS TO CORRUPT MORALS" in 1934 before it's final release in 1935.

El & Phil Regan in a scene from "What? No Men"

Julian Rivero & El (before he got into the drag get up) in "Okay, Jose"

CONTENTS OF THE SET:

Disc One

Vitaphone Pioneers
Stars of Broadway, Vaudeville and Nightclubs (1926-1931) -13 shorts

THE HOWARD BROTHERS in “BETWEEN ACTS AT OPERA” 10-5-1926 Howard Bros. #349
GUS ARNHEIM and HIS COCOANUT GROVE ORCHESTRA June,1928 Gus Arnheim #2584
TAL HENRY AND HIS NORTH CAROLINIANS April,1929 Tal Henry #732
RHYTHMS June,1929 Leo Reisman and his Hotel Brunswick Orchestra #770
THE OPRY HOUSE August, 1929 The Mound City Blue Blowers #834
RED NICHOLS AND HIS FIVE PENNIES December, 1929 Red Nichols #870
LEW FIELDS IN ”23...SKIDOO” June, 1930 Lew Fields #1017
FASHION'S MIRROR October, 1930 Jack Thompson & Barbara Newberry #1045
HENRY SANTREY & HIS SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE January, 1931 Henry Santrey #1128
OPENING NIGHT January ,1931 Dorothy Sands, Peggy Shannon #1138
ONE WAY OUT January, 1931 Thelma White #1153
JACK BUCHANAN WITH THE GLEE QUARTET February, 1930 Jack Buchanan #3816
BUBBLES with the Vitaphone Kiddies 1930 The Gumm Sisters (w/Judy Garland) #3898

Disc Two

Vitaphone Varieties
Music and Comedy Diversions (1931-35) -6 Shorts

THE GRAND DAME May, 1931 Patsy Kelly #1203
NINE O'CLOCK FOLKS June, 1931 Roy Fant, The Mound City Blue Blowers #1220
HOT NEWS MARGIE November, 1931 Marjorie Beebe #1290
THE MILD WEST 11-18-1933 Janet Reade #1582 - 83
ROOFTOPS OF MANHATTAN 11-16-1935 Gil Lamb #1893 - 94
THE DUNCAN SISTERS IN "SURPRISE" 7-27-1935 Duncan Sisters #1915 - 16

Disc Three

Vitaphone presents Movie Memories, Celebrities & Novelties
Holywood/Personalities/Nostalgia (1931-34)– 11 shorts

THRILLS OF YESTERDAY 10-17-1931 Silent-era Serials #1261
MOVIE ALBUM #1 3-5-1932 Old Silent Days #1326
INKLINGS 4-8-1933 Lowell Thomas #1368
MOVIE ALBUM #2 6-4-1932 Old Silent Days #1388
NICKELETTE 9-24-1932 Nickelodeon #1399
MOVIE MEMORIES #1 12-30-1933 Old Silent Days #1517
A PENNY A PEEP 6-30-1934 Nickelodeon Memories #1518
THE CAMERA SPEAKS, THE 8-11-1934 Billy Bitzer #1600
HOLLYWOOD NEWS REEL 6-24-1934 Warner Bros. Stars # 6170
MOVIE MEMORIES #2 10-27-1934 Old Silent Days # 6493
TRIP THROUGH A HOLLYWOOD STUDIO, A 12/7/1934 WB Stars # 6616

Disc Four

Vitaphone Singin’ and Swingin’
Musical delights from the worlds Broadway, Radio, Nightclubs & Vaudeville
(1933-39)-11 shorts

HARRY WARREN, AMERICA’S FOREMOST COMPOSER 11-18-1933 Harry Warren #1544
BARBER SHOP BLUES 9-30-1933 Claude Hopkins #1551
PHIL SPITALNY & HIS ORCH-A BIG CITY FANTASY 4-14-1934 Phil Spitalny #1635
MIRRORS 9-8-1934 Freddie Rich & His Orchestra #1689
PHIL SPITALNY & HIS MUSICAL QUEENS 10-6-1934 Phil Spitalny #1719
DON REDMAN & HIS ORCHESTRA 10-29-1934 Don Redman #1770
MR. & MRS. JESSE CRAWFORD AT HOME 4-15-1939 Jesse and Helen Crawford #B219
VAUDEVILLE REEL #1 10-13-1934 Herb Williams #1751
VAUDEVILLE REEL #2 10-29-1934 Carl Emmy, George and Olive Brasno #1761
VAUDEVILLE REEL #3 2-16-1935 Al Trahan #1778
VAUDEVILLE REEL #4 4-27-1935 Blossom Seeley and Benny Fields/ Pat Rooney Sr. #1791

Disc Five

Vitaphone in TECHNICOLOR!
TECHNICOLOR MUSICAL COMEDY 2-Reelers (1934-35) -6 Shorts

SERVICE WITH A SMILE 7-28-1934 Leon Errol #1700 - 01
GOOD MORNING EVE 9-22-1934 Leon Errol #1702 - 03
WHAT? NO MEN! 11-24-1934 El Brendel #1704 - 05
GYPSY SWEETHEART 3-30-1935 Wini Shaw #1708 - 09
OKAY, JOSE 12-7-1935 El Brendel #7071 - 72
CARNIVAL DAY 5-20-1935 Felix Knight #7143 - 44

Disc Six

Vitaphone in TECHNICOLOR!-
TECHNICOLOR MUSICAL COMEDY 2-Reelers (1935-39 -6 Shorts

KING OF THE ISLANDS 2-22-1936 Wini Shaw #7234 - 35
CHANGING OF THE GUARD 6-6-1936 Sybil Jason #7497 - 98
ECHO MOUNTAIN 8-29-1936 Fred Lawrence #7633 - 34
SUNDAY ROUND-UP, THE 7-10-1936 Dick Foran, Jane .Wyman #7661 - 62
ROMANCE ROAD 1-29-1938 Walter Cassell # 8179 - 80
OUT WHERE THE STARS BEGIN 4-13-1938 All Star Special #8663 - 64

For Stacia - El in drag for "Okay, Jose"

2010-12-06T12:29:00.004-05:00

I am posting these three photos in response to Stacia's write-up on El's 1935 Vitaphone short "Okay, Jose" over at her WONDERFUL She Blogged By Night site. In the short, El is forced to dress as a woman to try and lure the bandito into police hands. As such, seeing El in drag is kinda creepy, but not as disturbing as these pics, made up by Warner Bothers, showing El in costume but his face has been airbrushed to give him a more "glamourous" look.

Brendel & Shemp

2010-12-02T11:54:00.002-05:00

Here's a video I uploaded from El's stint over at Columbia Pictures making 2-reel comedy shorts. "Pick A Peck of Plumbers" (1944) was the only short El would make with Shemp Howard of Three Stooges fame. This Jules White directed short exhibits the same knock-about style being employed by other comedians on the lot at the time which included The Three Stooges, Harry Langdon, Hugh Herbert, Billy Gilbert, Andy Clyde, among others. As Columbia did for many of their 2 reelers, this is a remake of the 1934 short "Plumbing For Gold" starring George Sidney and Charlie Murray.

PAPOP from Louie Despres on Vimeo.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

2010-11-24T18:54:00.003-05:00

Wishing all my readers a happy Thanksgiving!!

Sexy time Saturday RETURNS!

2010-11-20T09:11:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since we've had some fine ladies to present here, so let's get to it shall we:

Sally Wadsworth

Lola Porter

Ina Claire

Carmel Myers in "Tell It To The Marines" (1926)

Doris McMahon in 1934's "Hips, Hips, Hooray!"