As we at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog join many around the world in mourning the passing of celebrated actor-standup philosopher-improv comedy master, cartoon voice artist par excellence and big time San Francisco Giants fan Robin Williams (the ever-astute Madame Blogmeister phrased it aptly and best, "depression is a goddamn killer"), it is apropo that today's posting be devoted to devastatingly funny screen humor from a century ago.
That classic comedy oasis would be The Mack Sennett Collection, Volume 1, the first of two Blu-ray sets produced by CineMuseum, LLC, for Flicker Alley - and officially released today.
This is the first of two volumes, both of which will feature 50, count 'em 50, wacky Mack Sennett comedies, digitally re-mastered in HD and all produced by the guy dubbed in the silent era The King Of Comedy (with, frankly, some hot-and-heavy competition from the studios of Hal Roach and Jack White throughout the 1920's). Here's the promotional trailer.
It's highly recommended to have Brent Walker's comprehensive, painstakingly researched and splendid Mack Sennett's Fun Factory on hand as a reference to go with the Blu-ray set.
On the set: the recently discovered Charlie Chaplin cameo in the Ford Sterling comedy A Thief Catcher.
The other Chaplin films produced by Mack Sennett in 1913-1914 are on Flicker Alley's Chaplin At Keystone: An International Collaboration Of 34 Original Films set.
Never fear, however - there are plenty of films featuring the Sennett studio's many other resident funsters, a.k.a. THE USUAL SUSPECTS!
Roscoe Arbuckle
Billy Bevan
Sydney Chaplin
Charley Chase
Andy Clyde
Chester Conklin
Vernon Dent
Louise Fazenda
Raymond Griffith
Phyllis Haver
Thelma Hill
Alice Howell
Madeline Hurlock
Harry Langdon
Fred Mace
Polly Moran
Charlie Murray
Mabel Normand
Marie Prevost
Al St. John
Ford Sterling
Slim Summerville
Mack Swain
Gloria Swanson and Bobby Vernon
Ben Turpin
While the two volume collection primarily consists of silent films, it does feature a few "Mack Sennett Talking Pictures" featuring Andy Clyde, W.C. Fields, Daphne Pollard, Marjorie Beebe, Harry Gribbon and Grady Sutton.
The title listing for The Mack Sennett Collection, Volume 1, is as follows:
- The Curtain Pole
- The Manicure Lady
- A Dash Through the Clouds
- The Water Nymph
- A Grocery Clerk's Romance
- On His Wedding Day
- Bangville Police
- A Fishy Affair
- The Speed Kings
- The Thief Catcher
- The Great Toe Mystery
- Recreation
- Shot In The Excitement
- The Noise Of Bombs
- Ambrose's First Falsehood
- A Bird's A Bird
- Gussle's Day Of Rest
- Do-Re-Mi-Boom!
- A Lover's Lost Control
- A Submarine Pirate
- Fatty And Mabel Adrift
- His Bitter Pill
- Madcap Ambrose
- Teddy At The Throttle
- Her Torpedoed Love
- A Clever Dummy
- Hearts And Flowers
- Down On The Farm (Feature)
- Don't Weaken
- Gymnasium Jim
- The Extra Girl (Feature)
- The Dare-Devil
- Black Oxfords
- Galloping Bungalows
- His Marriage Wow
- Super-Hooper-Dyne Lizzies
- A Rainy Knight
- Saturday Afternoon
- A Sea Dog's Tale
- Hoboken To Hollywood
- Ice Cold Cocos
- Broke In China
- The Pride Of Pikeville
- Fiddlesticks
- Run, Girl, Run
- Taxi For Two
- The Bluffer (Sound)
- The Dentist (Sound)
- Don't Play Bridge With Your Wife (Sound)
- The Fatal Glass Of Beer (Sound)
Author and historian James L. Neibaur has penned an excellent overview of the Blu-ray release and will be writing daily reviews of each and every one of the 50 subjects on the three discs that comprise volume 1, starting with The Curtain Pole, the D.W. Griffith-Mack Sennett collaboration film from 1909. To Mack and all of the performers, filmmakers and technicians who worked so hard to make magic over his lengthy career - thanks for the laughs!
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