Herman Brix A.K.A. Bruce Bennett

I just had the pleasure of seeing The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) again. It is a movie that exists on several levels. Not only is it a fine action picture, but it can be seen as a real study of human nature. I'll leave the analysis to the other movie blogs, though. I am here to review Bit Actors.

In a fairly small part of this very big movie, we have Bruce Bennett (1909 - 2007) playing Cody, the unwanted and ill-fated companion of three prospectors.

Bruce was an athlete his entire life. He won the Olympic silver medal for the shot put in 1928. He could have gone on to win many more medals but he injured himself making his first movie, Touchdown (1931). His place in the Olympics was taken over by Johnny Weissmuller (1904 - 1984), who went on to become another Tarzan. At the time, Bruce was still known by his real name, Herman Brix.

Herman decided on a movie career. His early screen time is filled with roles, logically, as an athlete. He was a football player, a wrestler, a student, a man in the bar, it all fit at the time. He worked with Jack Oakie, Bing Crosby, W. C. Fields, Ted Healy and his Stooges, and others in those early days.

His first big film had him in a small part. He did appear in Treasure Island in 1934 as a man in the tavern. In 1935 Herman had his biggest break. A serial called The New Adventures of Tarzan was to be filmed in Guatemala. And Herman would have the title role.

Unfortunately, the serial was a financial disaster. Brix and the rest of the cast and crew never made much more than having their expenses paid for all their effort. BTW, Juggs played Nkima the chimp, which was his second film appearance after working with Laurel and Hardy in Dirty Work (1933).

Herman appeared in quite a few films between Tarzan and the late 1930s, but few were notable. He was a Bit Actor in Bit Films and serials. He was typecast in his Tarzan persona and had difficulty convincing studios to let him do much else. He decided to change his name to Bruce Bennett.

As far as I can tell, the first film with Bruce Bennett in the credits is My Son is Guilty (1939) starring Bruce Cabot of King Kong (1933) fame. But the name change didn't seem to make a lot of difference in his career. The films he works on are not all great movies. He even made four Three Stooges shorts as Bennett.

But it isn't all bleak and there are some good films where he shows that he does have acting talent. He is even a co-star in a few films of the era, though not blockbusters. The 1940s were the era of film noir and great war stories. Bruce was in 21 films during the WWII years, in spite of serving in the military himself.

It is also in this time frame that Bruce worked with Humphrey Bogart on four films. The first was Invisible Stripes (1939) with George Raft in the lead and Bennett uncredited. Next was Sahara (1943) and Bennett is near the top of the cast as Waco Hoyt, the tank crewman who risks his neck to go off in search of help.

Without question, my favorite of the four Bennett/Bogart films is Dark Passage (1947). This is my favorite Bogart film, and perhaps my favorite film. It has everything...Bogart with Bacall, a real film noir style, and a perfect cast with Agnes Moorehead as the bad guy you can easily hate.

Bit Actors Tom D'Andrea and Leonard Breman filled in the needed color for a great movie, and Houseley Stevenson put 'noir' in the film. (Read about D'Andrea and Breman by clicking on their names or the Dark Passage link in my label list to the right.) Bruce Bennett plays Bob, Bacall's former boyfriend who nobly steps aside for Bogart. I am still trying to find that bar in Peru! GREAT FILM!

Of course, his last film with Bogart is The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948). What more can I say?

One other standout film for Bennett in the forties was Mildred Pierce (1945) starring Joan Crawford. After Treasure, his acting career would go downhill (again). In the next three decades he would appear in many films and television shows, but only a few are worth mentioning.

Task Force (1949)
Angels in the Outfield (1951)
Strategic Air Command (1955)
Love Me Tender (1956, Sorry! I had to put that in for Elvis fans.)

But, as an actor you should know something is wrong with your career when you start taking pictures called The Cosmic Man (1959), The Alligator People (1959), and The Fiend of Dope Island (1961).

Bruce Bennett's last American film was The Clones (1973). He did appear in many TV shows and that kept his career moving forward, and the income would have been decent. It is said that he had an interest in parachuting and his last jump was at age 92. He stayed fit, he was good in business, and I put him in the ranks of some of the best Bit Actors.

Hedda Hopper

Have you ever thought of Hedda Hopper (1885 - 1966) as a Bit Actress? She was, at the beginning of her career in Hollywood.

Most people remember Hedda as a gossip columnist and Hollywood reporter. She didn't begin her column, "Hedda Hopper's Hollywood" until 1938. Her first appearance on film was in a 1916 movie called The Battle of Hearts.

In 1917 she was in Seven Keys to Baldpate starring George M. Cohan (1878 - 1942). It would be a shame to feature Cohan, one of America's greatest song writers and performers in a silent film, but he made three of them. And only two talkies. I guess that was the technology at the time, and I am too young to remember vaudeville.

Hedda Hopper in the 1920s

In the silent era, she worked with Mae Marsh, Norma Talmadge, and Billie Burke. In 1922 she was in Sherlock Holmes with John Barrymore as Holmes and Roland Young as Watson.

I love a good silent film as much as most of you do, but when you look through the list of silents that Hopper was in, you realize that there were many, many silent films that are probably best as lost films. She made three films with Conrad Nagel (1897 - 1970), and four with John Gilbert (1887 - 1936) including three of his talkies. But the vast majority of her early films were with stars that will never be featured in film festivals.

And then, in 1927, Hedda has a small part in Wings, the very first film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, Production. She was uncredited. By the way, that was the only silent film to win that Oscar, until The Artist in 2011.

Hopper's first talkie was The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1929) starring Norma Shearer (1902 - 1983) and Basil Rathbone (1892 - 1967). She would make four films with Shearer, plus a cinematic fundraiser short called The Stolen Jools (1931), which also featured Laurel and Hardy and many other stars.

Now that we have put silent films behind us, a look at Hopper's talkie career isn't much better. Highlights include working with Bette Davis in The Man Who Played God (1932); with Katharine Hepburn in Alice Adams (1935); and she was in Topper (1937) again with Roland Young and Billie Burke, not to mention Cary Grant.

Hedda Hopper in the 1950s

Another very good film was The Women (1939) with an all female cast including Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford. She also made two films with Jackie Cooper (1922 - 2011), What a Life (1939) and Life With Henry (1941).

By this time she was well into writing her column, and she was being recognized as a writer rather than an actress. It was time to start drawing on her popularity, so she started portraying herself in films. She made a series of Hedda Hopper's Hollywood documentaries in the 1940s, but also look for her as herself in -
The Corpse Came C.O.D. (1947)
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
Pepe (1960)
The Patsy (1964)
The Oscar (1966), which was her final appearance in film.

Of course Hedda Hopper also appeared on many television shows, and that is where I remember her. She was always outspoken, and her feuds with Louella Parsons (1881 - 1972), Spencer Tracy and Joseph Cotten are well documented. But let's not forget her start as a Bit Actor.

Walter Long

First, my apologies to any regular readers for me absence. I was wrapped up in a home improvement project that was completed successfully. Now I will try to contribute more frequently.

This week, Turner Classic Films (the best channel on cable) showed Intolerance: Love's Struggle Through the Ages (1916), one of the most famous silent films ever made. If you have never seen it, please go out and buy The Birth of a Nation (1915), watch it first, and then get Intolerance. Historically they go together in that order.

Lillian Gish (1893 - 1993), who has a career spanning 75 years, is in both films, as is Mae Marsh (1894 - 1968), the silent star and later Bit Actress, who I wrote about back in April 2011. But they are stars and not for my column today.

I looked down the full cast list. There I saw Walter Long (1879 - 1952), a name I knew. An actor with over 200 films spanning 60 years starting in 1910. One of his early films, The Life of General Villa (1914) also included Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa (1878 - 1923) himself in the cast. Villa made four films as himself from 1912 to 1916, but it is not clear if he acted in them or they just used other footage he was in.

Walter made about 19 films under D. W. Griffith (1875 - 1948), including Birth and Intolerance. In The Birth of a Nation he played a slave in black face. He made ten films with Mae Marsh and eight with Lillian Gish. Also in the silent era, Walter worked with Douglas Fairbanks (1883 - 1939) and Mary Pickford (1892 - 1979) in two pictures with each. They, of course, went on to marry and found United Artists.

Big silent star Rudolph Valentino (1895 - 1926) worked with Long in three pictures, including The Sheik (1921) and Blood and Sand (1922), two of his best. He also made nine films with William Boyd (1885 - 1972), six of them before Hopalong Cassidy came along in 1935.

His silent films came to an end in 1928 (along with most other silent films) when his first talkie, Gang War, was released. There isn't much info about that one so it is probably lost. Long quickly adapts to sound films and his career continued.

In the decade of the 1930s, he also appeared in several Laurel and Hardy films, including Pardon Us (1931), Any Old Port (1932), Going Bye-Bye (1934) and The Live Ghost (1934). These are some of the better L&H films and Walter has important parts in each.

He appears in Moby Dick (1930) starring John Barrymore, and in 1931 he plays Miles Archer in the Ricardo Cortez (1900 - 1977) version of The Maltese Falcon. In 1932 he also has a small part in I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang, starring Paul Muni. I have not seen that film, but after reading some reviews, it sounds like one to look for.

Here is one of my favorites. You can catch Long in Six of a Kind (1934) starring Charles Ruggles (1886 - 1970), George Burns (1896 - 1996), Gracie Allen (1895 - 1964) and W. C. Fields (1880 - 1946). That was a fun movie featuring Fields' famous pool cue routine.

I may never get to 1950 at this rate! Here is a list of Walter Long's notable movies -
The Thin Man (1934)
Operator 13 (1934)
Three Little Pigskins (1934 with the Three Stooges)
Annie Oakley (1935)
Union Pacific (1939)
Dark Command (1940, plus three other John Wayne movies)
Dillinger (1945)

Walter finally got to work on television on "The Ed Winn Show" and "Fireside Theatre" in those early days of TV. I have mentioned quite a few movies above. Spend some time watching them and try to look for Long's gruff face.

Although Walter Long was never a big star, his body of work was extensive, and his appearance as a tough guy helped many films, dramatic and comedic, to tell their stories. This is what a great Bit Actors does, and Walter was one of the best.

Hank Worden

Here is an actor, or should I say a Bit Actor, who has added a lot to the enjoyment of many over a career that spans 1935 to 1991. Hank Worden (1901 - 1992) has 212 titles listed on IMDb. Have you heard of him?

I recently was channel surfing and bumped in The Searchers (1956) already in progress. John Wayne had just arrived at the cabin and the Rev. Captain Clayton, played by Ward Bond (1903 - 1960), was signing up recruits for the coming Indian battle. Among his group was a fellow who appeared to be just a bit 'touched.' It was Hank, playing Mose Harper. Now do you remember him?

Hank was a real cowboy, raised on a ranch in Montana. He worked in the rodeo with Tex Ritter (1905 - 1974) and handled all sorts of odd jobs before his acting began. He was everything from a taxi driver to a trail hand, with some acting on the side.

In the early part of his career he played in many B westerns, including a dozen with Tex. He was basically an extra, playing henchman, barfly, deputy, or ranch hand.

1939 would be his most important year. Stagecoach would bring Hank a job as a cavalryman in the movie, but it would also be the start of a friendship with John Wayne and director John Ford.

Hank worked with Gene Autry in several 1940 films, but up until the early 1940s, his roles were almost all uncredited. Of course, in the era before actor's rights, most of the smaller parts did not receive screen credit.

All of his work wasn't in westerns. As the 1940s progressed, he got parts in So Proudly We Hail (1943), Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood (1945), The Bullfighters (1945 with Laurel and Hardy) and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947). But that was just work.

During the same period, he shows up in A Lady Takes a Chance (1943), Angel and the Badman (1947), 3 Godfathers (1948), Fort Apache (1948), Red River (1948) and The Fighting Kentuckian (1949) all with John Wayne.

After The Searchers in 1956, look for Hank in a much more important role as the town simpleton in The Quiet Gun (1957) starring Forrest Tucker (1919 - 1986) and Lee Van Cleef (1925 - 1989). This is the kind of film to watch for in Encore Westerns.

The 1950s also brought television and all those wonderful TV western series'. Hank took advantage of them, appearing first in "The Lone Ranger" and then in many other shows. He was seen an a few Walt Disney productions on TV and also in Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971).

Worden plays the parson in The Alamo (1960) again with The Duke, the doc in One-Eyed Jacks (1961) with Marlon Brando, and an undertaker in The Music Man (1962). He does more work with Wayne in McLintock! (1963), True Grit (1969), Rio Lobo and Chisum in 1970, Big Jake (1971), and Cahill U.S. Marshal (1972). In all, he made 17 films with Wayne and eight with John Ford.

John Wayne only made four more films after Cahill. Hank had appeared in a couple episodes of "Rawhide" so he must have hooked up with Clint Eastwood (b. 1930) that way. Worden was in Every Which Way but Loose (1978) and Bronco Billy (1980) with Eastwood.

For a change of pace, try Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978). Hank was one of the Old band members. Some of Hank's final movies are not worth talking about. Please Don't Eat the Babies (1983) and Space Rage (1985) lead the list of Worden films to avoid.

Hank finishes his acting on television in "Cop Rock" and "Twin Peaks" in 1990 - 1991. He had won no awards during his long career, but remember him for his westerns. I am sure he would have wanted it that way.

Upcoming Stuff!

Lots of great events are coming up this spring in the Southeast Pennsylvania area. Here is a quick look at some, and also additional thoughts for the day.

- - - - - - - - - -

2012 is the 70th anniversary of the release of Casablanca (1942), one of the greatest films ever made, and THE greatest romance film. Turner Classic Films has put together a screening of Casablanca at theaters around the country to celebrate the event. There will be one (sometimes two) showings on March 21, 2012 at a theater near you, but only on that date.

Robert Osborne will present a behind the scenes look at the film, which promises to be well worth seeing. This is your chance to see Casablanca on the big screen. More info can be found here and you can also pre-order tickets at that link. I already have mine! I hope Victor Laszlo and his wife Ilsa make it to Lisbon this time.

- - - - - - - - - -

The Two Tars Tent of the Sons of the Desert will hold their next banquet on Friday, April 20, 2012. We will have as our guest Pretty, Perky Peggy King, which is what George Gobel used to call her.  Peggy was a singing star on Gobel's TV show, and also appeared in such great films as Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955) and Zero Hour (1957).

George Gobel and Peggy King

Two Tars banquets are held at The Cannstatter Club in Northeast Philadelphia, and event details can be found at the Two Tars Oasis 14 web site. The food is great, the entertainment is fun, and the bar is close by.

Peggy will talk about her career and maybe sing a few songs for us. She has some stories about her friends, Liberace, George Gobel, and Abbott and Costello to share.

We will also be showing Blotto (1930), one of the funniest Laurel and Hardy shorts ever made. Blotto also features Anita Garvin as Stan's wife. This event is an intimate gathering of movie buffs, not fans, and a great opportunity to learn about the movies, while having a good time.

- - - - - - - - - -

Then, on May 12, 2012, we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Betzwood Studio and ranch of silent movie mogul Siegmund Lubin. Come to Montgomery County Community College in Bluebell, PA for the Betzwood Silent Film Festival. The Betzwood Ranch was the largest movie studio in the country in 1912. Lubin created some great westerns and other movies here, and the story of his rise and decline is interesting to any film buff.

Betzwood Glass Studio c. 1915

A few years ago, Betzwood was featured on the PBS program, "History Detectives," to find info about some photos of the studio. The show is available on the PBS web site, and offers some great background on Lubin and Betzwood if you want to attend the festival. Click this link to go to that show.

Professor Joseph Eckhardt is the driving force behind the festival and will introduce the films. Talented organist Don Kinnier is amazing as he accompanies the films. And once again, the theater at the college allows an intimate experience where you can approach Prof. Eckhardt and Mr. Kinnier for a chat.

The Betzwood Studio was sold by Lubin in 1917 and later produced the Toonerville Trolley series before closing forever in 1923.

The Toonerville Trolley

The Philadelphia area was not only the starting point for the USA, but also one of the starting points for the movie industry. If you are interested in this kind of history, I suggest you look for Prof. Eckhardt's book, King of the Movies: Film Pioneer Siegmund Lubin. And bring it to the festival for an autograph!

I'll be at all three events. Look for me at a table near Sam, the pianist. I'll be drinking a Cointreau.

Me and The Sons of the Desert

It has been a rather busy week for me. As a card-carrying member of the Sons of the Desert, I was increasingly disturbed by the lack of a web site for my own local Tent. I spend a fair amount of time on the Internet researching Bit Actors, and I expect many other people do as well. We need a presence.

A word of explanation may be in order, if you are unfamiliar with the Sons. In 1933, Laurel and Hardy released what was probably their very best feature film, Sons of the Desert. It was about a fraternal organization The Boys belonged to, and they were having a convention in Chicago. All of the California members took a solemn oath to attend...without consulting their wives! You can imaging what they went through to make the trip (without their better halves) and the consequences they reaped upon their return.

Fast forward a few years to the 1960s. Writer and historian John McCabe was working on his biography Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy, and in speaking with Stan Laurel at his home, McCabe suggested creating a group of Laurel and Hardy admirers who would celebrate their films. The Sons of the Desert was born. Other founding members included Al Kilgore, Orson Bean and Chuck McCann.

The first meeting took place in New York City in 1965, a short time after Stan passed away. The SotD grew and each new city was to start what is called a Tent, and they would name it after one of the L&H films. I am in the Philadelphia, PA area and ours is the Two Tars Tent, named after a silent film from 1928.

Our Tent is now in its 41st year. We had a web site a few years ago, but since this is a completely volunteer organization (based on Laurel and Hardy!) the web site was not looked after properly. It was nobody's fault because people get busy. Then, I opened my BIIIG MOUTH (sorry for stealing your line, Jackie Gleason) and got the job! The important thing is that The Two Tars Tent now has a functioning web site, thanks to the ease of Google Sites. I was helped by two of our board members, Roger Gordon and Bob Rooney. Thanks, guys!

The address is a bit unwieldy, but Google Sites is free, so I won't complain.
https://sites.google.com/site/twotars14/home
Google Sites has a number of nifty features and it should be easy to maintain.

On the site you will find a calendar that I hope will fill with important events regarding old movies, especially in the Southeastern PA area. I am also adding the birthdays of many old stars. I am still posting photos from past events, and there are some links to other movie related web sites on the links page.

I hope you will stop by the new web site and let me know what you think. If you love to laugh, you may want to look for a Sons of the Desert Tent in your area and get to some meetings. You will find a welcoming atmosphere and a great bar where you can park your camel and have "one for the desert."

Laurel and Hardy New Release!

Last month a new collection of sound Laurel and Hardy films was released by Vivendi Entertainment.  Laurel & Hardy The Essential Collection includes all of the boys talkie shorts and many of the Hal Roach feature films.  Missing are silent films and the later 20th Century Fox films.

I bumped into a great write up by one of my heroes, Leonard Maltin on the MovieFanFare blog, which is part of Movies Unlimited.  I would be lost without Maltin's Movie Guide.

I have written several times about The Boys, and also about Richard Bann, who was instrumental in bringing the collection out.  Dick Bann was also heavily involved with the restoration of these films through the efforts of UCLA Film Preservation.  Since Dick is one of the most knowledgeable film historians in this area, he was able to guide the restoration of all of these films to include the original logos and titles. 

Many original 35mm prints were recovered, and the quality of these films (which I have not yet seen) is supposed to be incredible. 

My love of Laurel and Hardy goes back to my youth, watching them at The Keswick Theatre in Glenside, PA on Saturday afternoons.  I also watched them on our old RCA 12" black and white television in the 1950s and 1960s. 

Then, in the later 1970s, I joined The Sons of the Desert, the international Laurel and Hardy appreciation society.  Now I could watch the films at meetings in 16mm prints on a large screen.  Many of those prints were rather poor dupes, though, so the quality was hit or miss.  The movies were always great!  One meeting was held at the Keswick, and we were able to rent a 35mm print.  That was a treat, especially because I was in the projection booth that night.

Some of the films started being released on video tape and then on DVD.  But these were usually made from the old television prints, and again, quality suffered, as well as content.  The television versions were not the same as the theatrical releases, but that's all that was available.

Dick and others have also recorded commentary tracks for some of the films, and there are also quite a few special features included to make this collection a must-have.

I suggest that you first read Dick Bann's article on the official Laurel and Hardy web site, and also check out the UCLA Film Preservation site.  Just click on my links.  Make a donation to UCLA, then write down the "Laurel & Hardy The Essential Collection" on  your holiday wish list.  Santa may be kind to you.  I am hoping he is to me!

Classic Film Restoration

Think about how many movies have been made since 1896 and the first public exhibition of motion pictures in New York City.  It must be hundreds of millions, at least.  Well, maybe not quite that many, but it would be impossible to screen everything ever filmed, for more than one reason.  Time constraint is a concern, but sadly, the great majority of movies have been lost.

It has been said that at least 80% of all the silent films ever made are gone forever.  That is a thought that makes any movie buff angry at the way these important negatives were treated by their creators.  But most of them were making a simple business decision.  Even Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton were responsible.

Movies in the silent era were made, shown, and discarded.  The studio heads didn't think they would ever be needed again, once everyone had seen them.  The film stock was nitrate based, so it was flammable (Very flammable.  It would even burn underwater.), and it would deteriorate after a few years, turning into powder.  Because it was dangerous to keep in storage, requiring fire-proof buildings, it was much cheaper to get rid of it all.  One famous incident included using the old negatives as fuel for a new film that required a big fire scene.

Many films were lost in warehouse fires.  A fire destroyed most of the negatives of the Lubin Studios in 1914, the same year that Lubin had saved Samuel Goldwyn, Jesse Lasky and Cecil B. DeMille from technical problems they had with the film The Squaw Man (1914).  MGM and Warner Brothers may never have been created if it were not for the technical advances of Lubin Manufacturing.  By 1917 Siegmund Lubin had to dissolve his business, party due to the fire, and also to World War I. 

In 1927, Talkies started coming out.  The change took several years because theaters had to invest in more equipment, as did the studios, but everyone could see that from The Jazz Singer on, movies would talk.  Again, the studios that still had negatives in storage for their silent films could see no reason to retain them.  Surely, nobody would ever want to see a silent film again.  Wrong!

Film restoration efforts began after television started to become popular.  But that was a full 50 years after those first motion pictures flickered in small theaters.  Much had already been lost forever.  Early restoration attempts were spotty at best, with new titles added to many films, complete with mistakes made in the transformation.  Much of this was for television screening, and the network heads couldn't see any reason for doing the restoration job right.  All they needed was a 16mm print made from the 35mm negative.  It would be expensive to do more, and it would probably never be needed after the first showing.  Wrong again!

In a similar mindset, the movie studios that sold their work to television saw this as a last chance to make a few dollars on old films.  Surely this would be the end of the need to keep these old negatives.  No attempt was made to properly store them...it would be too expensive.  What wasn't duped for TV was left to turn to dust.  Not only wrong, but a tragedy as well.

I recently read an incredibly detailed account by Richard W. Bann about the restoration of the films of Hal Roach Studios.  Hal Roach made the films of Charley Chase, The Little Rascals, Laurel and Hardy, Thelma Todd, and many others.  Bann is a film historian and writer, and was personally involved with the process.  You can find him on Facebook. 

The article is not for the faint of heart.  It is long and somewhat technical.  But it is important to give it a shot if you love old movies.  If you get through all four pages, you will learn some new terminology, and I am sure the article will bring back some memories.  Plus, it has some great pictures.

You can find a link to the article on the home page of the official Laurel and Hardy web site. 
http://www.laurel-and-hardy.com/

The web site is also a font of information about the best comedy team to ever grace the big screen.  The Sons of the Desert are championing the restoration of these films at UCLA Film & Television Archive.
http://www.cinema.ucla.edu/support/laurel-and-hardy

If you love classic movies as much as I, please take a look at these links.  Spend some time there.  Donate some money if you can.  It is important to save these films for future generations, and as Dick Bann puts it, it is comforting to know that Laurel and Hardy will be around forever.  Our government is having some moderate to heavy financial trouble these days, so whatever we can do privately will help the project move along.  Thanks!

Sheila Ryan goes A-Haunting

Last night was the spring banquet for the local Sons of the Desert group, and I was there.  It's good to see old friends again.  Hopefully you remember that the SoD is the Laurel and Hardy appreciation club. and we have "tents" all over the world.  The Philadelphia, PA chapter is the Two Tars Tent, each city having a tent named after one of the films.

This time we had a magic theme to the evening.  We started out with a documentary on the later films, made at 20th Century Fox and MGM.  Then we toasted the boys and some friends and sang the SoD theme song.  Next came a wonderful buffet dinner, with a showing of a Three Stooges film that had nothing to do with magic.

A live magician was next, and he gave us a great show, astounding us with card tricks.  To end the meeting, we screened A-Haunting We Will Go (1942).  While not one of the boy's best film's, it was quite enjoyable.  The camera tricks were a bit over the top and took away from Laurel and Hardy to an extent, but the film still works.

Laurel and Hardy were still a big draw at the box office, some 21 years after they first appeared in The Lucky Dog (1921), although not as a team back then.  The film also featured Dante the Magician, as I mentioned a few days ago.  He was quite good and obviously felt at home on the stage or screen.

In smaller parts Elisha Cook Jr. (1903 - 1995) played a crook, as usual.  His career spanned 1930 to 1988, and this was only six films after The Maltese Falcon, which was released a year earlier.

Looking pretty as always was Sheila Ryan (1921 - 1975).  Ryan was married from 1951 to 1975 to Pat Buttram (1915 - 1994) who played his most famous part (to modern audiences) as Mr. Haney on "Green Acres."  To most of us older folk, he was Gene Autry's sidekick.

Sheila has 62 acting credits on IMDb, starting in 1939.  She was in The Gay Caballero (1940) with Cesar Romero, Dressed to Kill (1941) with Lloyd Nolan, and Sun Valley Serenade (1941) with the Glenn Miller Orchestra.  Her first work with Laurel and Hardy came in Great Guns (1941) and then A-Haunting We Will Go.

She made four movies with Gene Autry, I wonder if that's where she met Pat, and also appeared multiple times on his TV show.  Looking at the titles in her later movie career, she was mostly in B-movies.  Her last film was Street of Darkness (1958), starring Robert Keys (1921 - 2004).  (Who?)

As Dante's assistant in A-Haunting, she was perfect, and could not be any prettier.  You can be part of the Sons of the Desert.  Just send me a private e-mail and I'll get you in touch with your local Grand Sheik.  bitactors@gmail.com  It is a load of fun and very educational about these older films, and the Bit Actors as well as the stars.

Sim Sala Bim!

This coming Friday will be the next banquet for The Two Tars Tent of The Sons of the Desert.  The SoD is, of course, the Laurel and Hardy film appreciation society, formed in part by Stan Laurel himself.  Each city has a Tent named after one of the films, and the one in Philadelphia is Two Tars.

This week will include a screening of A-Haunting We Will Go (1942) starring The Boys.  This is one of their last films, and was made at Twentieth Century Fox, after they left Hal Roach.  It is not considered one of their best films, but it is worth seeing.

The film is about L&H getting involved with con men and a magician.  The magician is played by real life magician Dante.  Dante the Magician was considered one of the best.  He was born in Denmark as Harry August Jensen (1883 - 1955) (possibly spelled Jansen).  He was also the last of the large traveling magic shows in the USA.  He often said, "Sim Sala Bim" during his performance.

His career as an entertainer started when he was about 16 years old, and he was quickly recognized as talented.  He was given the stage name Dante by Howard Thurston (1869 - 1936) in 1925.  Thurston was, at the time, the premier magician in the world.  Thurston was more well known than Harry Houdini (1874 - 1926). 

In film, Dante first appeared as himself in a Swedish film called Dante Mysterier (1931).  Next came A-Haunting, and then two more films; Bunco Squad (1950) from RKO Radio Pictures, and The Golden Coach (1951) made in Italy.  Of his four performances on screen, A-Haunting would be the best choice to see a good movie, but my guess is Dante Mysterier would be the best to see Dante.  (If you can find it.)

Another great Bit Actor we will see in A-Haunting We Will Go is Elisha Cook Jr. (1903-1995) who made more than 200 titles in his career. 

At this banquet we will also partake of a sumptuous buffet dinner, and then be entertained by a real life magician, who performs in the style of Dante.  We will raise a glass to Dante, Stan and Ollie, and some other friends, and then park our camel and have one for the road.

Wife vs. Secretary or Harlow vs. Loy

What a pleasure it was to see Wife vs. Secretary (1936) on my DVR.  Once again, THANK YOU to Turner Classic Movies for a great March full of Jean Harlow (1911 - 1937) movies, during Jean's 100th birthday month.

I must admit, up until this month, I had only seen her in the two Laurel and Hardy films she made in 1929, Double Whoopee and Bacon Grabbers.  She was also in City Lights (1931) the Chaplin classic, but was only an extra so I didn't notice her.

We started out by watching Bombshell (1933), an early starring feature with a very platinum blonde Harlow.  I believe it was typical of some early talkies to have too much dialog in a movie populated by a cast of former stage actors who project all the way to the back row of the theater.  Someone needed to tell them that the microphone was closer.  As a result, the movie is difficult to watch.  The talking is too fast, and combined with the colloquial way of speaking in the thirties, I couldn't easily follow the story.  To really understand this movie would take three viewings.

Then we watched Reckless (1935).  I figured two more years of sound experience, plus William Powell (1892 - 1984) would make this a better experience.  Harlow and Powell were lovers and I hoped there would be on screen chemistry.  It was another disappointment.  The script was beneath them both, and it became boring, but Harlow was beautiful and quite accomplished for only 24 years old.

We struck cinematic gold with Wife vs. Secretary.  The pairing of good friends Myrna Loy (1905 - 1993) and Jean Harlow (now with toned down, more natural blonde color), was perfect.  Clark Gable (1901 - 1960) got top billing because he was the King of the Movies, but his part could have been played by any leading man of the time.  All eyes were on Harlow and Loy.

In a Bit Part, we have James Stewart (1908 - 1997) as Harlow's boyfriend.  This was only Stewart's fifth film, but you could see his bright future in every scene he had.

I can't say enough about this film.  The story took you through all the emotions of the head of a publishing empire and his desire to succeed, his secretary who knows her help is needed by him, and his wife who only wants to give her love as he gives his to her.  Plus, the frustration of Harlow's boyfriend who thinks he may be losing her.  The fact is, everybody loves everybody else, but is Harlow just too much of a temptation for Gable?

There is no sex, because this was after the Hays Code.  Loy and Gable even have separate bedrooms.  But listen closely and you can hear the innuendos.  These were all sexy stars and they could deliver the message in body language plus a few words.

I was going to commit Wife vs. Secretary to VHS tape, but I think I'll order the DVD set instead.  (I really need to get that home theater PC I've been thinking about!)  Harlow was a star for a very short time.  I wonder what her future would have brought.  Would it have been filled with success in a long life like Bette Davis, or end in tragedy like Marilyn Monroe?  Kidney disease took Jean Harlow at just age 26, so we'll never know.

Pups is Pups

What a fun evening we had last night.  During the Hal Roach marathon on Turner Classic Movies, I had stuck Pups is Pups (1930) on my DVR.  I thought that an Our Gang short about puppies would appeal to my wife who is a dog lover, and perhaps to our dog, Sadie, who sometimes glances at the TV.  I was right!!!  A friend was over, who is also a dog lover, and the three of us (four, including Sadie) laughed so much that we had to roll the movie back several times to catch some dialog.  Well, Sadie didn't laugh much.

This two-reeler was released in 1930 and was the first of that season.  It starred Bobby 'Wheezer' Huchins (1925 - 1945), Allen 'Farina' Hoskins (1920 - 1980), Jackie Cooper (b. 1922), Norman 'Chubby' Chaney (1914 - 1936), Dorothy ' Little Echo' DeBorba (1925 - 2010), and others.  As soon as I saw the first scene, I remembered the movie, even though it has been years since I had seen it last.

As the story starts, the gang is playing in their makeshift playground, which was probably a work area on the Roach Studio lot.  Five year old Dorothy comes out in a clean dress with her hair in lovely curls and heads straight for the mud puddle to jump in.  This was a running joke in a 20 minute film that was much more complex than you would think possible in such a short amount of time.  When I met Dorothy many years later at a Sons of the Desert banquet, she recanted her recollection of that movie for us!  Sadly we lost Dorothy in June last year at 85 years old.

There are two stories at work in Pups is Pups.  Wheezer has five puppies that he trained to come at the sound of a bell.  The rest of the gang are readying their pets to take them to a fancy dog and pet show in the city, where Farina has secured a job as a page (including a uniform with brass buttons).

We follow Wheezer who has let his puppies get away.  They are attracted to every bell they hear...an ambulance, an ice cream cart, a train crossing, whatever...and Wheezer can't keep up.  Meanwhile, the gang arrives at the pet show where they are not allowed in.  They sneak in anyway and wreak havoc, as you can imagine.

Wheezer is eventually reunited with his puppies in a scene that actually brought tears to my eyes!  He looks like he was genuinely attached to those little guys.  Of course he was only about five years old so that is not beyond a reasonable assumption.  And the gang is back at their play area, as Dorothy takes a final plunge in the puddle.

I decided to look up Pups is Pups in one of my books.  I bought Our Gang, The Life and Times of the Little Rascals many years ago.  It was written by Leonard Maltin and Richard Bann in 1977.  Even my books are getting old!

I had the pleasure of meeting Dick Bann in the 1980s, and he autographed my book.  It is interesting to note that this book, a paperback edition, has the price of $5.95 on the back.  You can't buy a paperback of this quality and content for anywhere near that as of this writing!  The 1984 printing of the book (with the red cover) is still available, and the newest version from 1992 is called The Little Rascals, The Life and Times of Our Gang.  If you love Hal Roach's Rascals as I do, it should be in your collection.  The film descriptions and biographies, as well as the well researched insight by the authors, make this a 'must have' book.

In the book, it is mentioned that Pups is Pups was the first Our Gang comedy to have a full musical score.  The music of Leroy Shield and Marvin Hatley has become synonymous with many Hal Roach comedies, including Laurel and Hardy and Charley Chase films, and is instantly recognizable.

There is even mention in the book of something that struck me as quite progressive for the early depression years.  In the Our Gang comedies, we see children of several races, all playing together with total disregard for the color of their skin.  Maltin and Bann go into some detail in the book about this, including comments from Farina Hoskins to back them up.

Pups is Pups appears to be available on some Our Gang DVD collections, and it is usually better to have a collection than just one film from a series.  A word of warning, shy away from any colorized versions.  Adding color does absolutely nothing for these movies.  It should be against the law, actually.

Sunday, February 20, 2011 update:  I received the comment below from Richard Bann on Facebook yesterday.  Thanks again, Dick, for your knowledge and willingness to share.

If you are a member of Facebook, check out Dick's 'Notes' page for a very interesting piece on The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), as mentioned below.  (And buy his books!!!)

Richard W. Bann -

"Very nice, Allen, thanks.  Vivendi is now re-releasing the Our Gang DVDs, a few at a time, until they are all for sale as individual DVDs.  Not a boxed set this time.  They are re-mastering the titles where they mistakenly worked from 16mm Blackhawk release prints....Whenever I drive to Paramount, I go right by the church where they filmed the closing scenes for PUPS IS PUPS...If you read the program notes for TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE which I posted on FB yesterday (written for that other Hefner) there is a pretty good story about Bad-Brained Bobby Blake, still making all the wrong kind of news."

A Perfect Day to be Blotto

After Blogging my heart out on Hitchcock, a return to my roots is in order.  Turner Classic Movies is running Hal Roach movies and TV shows all this month.  Here are two Laurel and Hardy shorts that were on last week.

Perfect Day (1929) - Only Laurel and Hardy can turn a Sunday picnic into a disaster movie.  Uncle Edgar, played by Edgar Kennedy (1890 - 1948), is suffering from the gout in his foot, so it is well wrapped.  L&H start a ruckus in the house and Kennedy's foot keeps getting bumped.  Even the dog grabs it and won't let go.  After destroying all the sandwiches while packing the food, the boys and their wives, plus Uncle Edgar and the dog, all pile into the car.

Trouble with the car, including two flat tires with Stan trying to use a car jack, keeps them stuck.  Then there is an altercation with a neighbor and bricks start flying.  Back in the car, and it won't start.  Ollie is cranking and Stan flips the spark advance lever to cause a huge explosion.  Ollie tells Stan to throw out the clutch, so he rips out the pedal.  You get the picture.  When they finally get moving, there is a big puddle to drive through.  You can guess what happens.

Blotto (1930) - I hesitate to say this is one of my favorites because where will it end?  I have too many favorites as it is.  Stan and his wife, played by Anita Garvin (1906 - 1994) (whom I have had the pleasure to know personally), are at home.  Anita is playing solitaire and Stan wants to go out with his friend, Ollie.  She forbids it so the boys work up a scheme to go to the Rainbow Club.

Anita has a hidden bottle of liquor and the boys plot to take it with them.  She finds out and replaces the contents with cold tea and Tabasco.  At the club, the boys order their two cents plain and pour in the booze.  Amidst some wonderful entertainment at the club, they get blasted and have a great time.  Then they see Anita at another table, with her new double barrel shotgun.

Blotto includes Tiny Sanford (1894 - 1961) as one of the waiters, in a non-speaking role.  Tiny made over 130 films, and over 50 Hal Roach films, and can be seen in many of Charlie Chaplin's classics.  The singer at the club is played by Frank Holliday (1912 - 1948) who was also in It Happened One Night (1934) and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936).

The best part of Blotto is watching the emotional reaction of the boys to the booze, the singing, and finally the realization that they got blotto on cold tea.  Stan goes through crying fits and then laughing fits, and I dare you to keep a straight face whilst watching.

Copyright 1979 Allen Hefner

One other item to mention as you watch the Hal Roach movies this month.  Listen to the music.  Roach used the same music in many Our Gang, Laurel and Hardy, Charley Chase and other movies of the time.  Most of it was written by T. Marvin Hatley (1905 - 1986) and Leroy Shield (1893 - 1962).  My guess is that the same tunes made it less expensive to make so many movies, but there is also a continuity created.  You know you are watching a Hal Roach comedy.

There is still time to catch some of today's movies on TCM.  You can see some of the Thelma Todd (1906 - 1935) shorts this afternoon.  Todd had a tragically short life, but she did shine in her films.  Starting on Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at 8:00 p.m., make sure to catch the Hal Roach features, beginning with the best of the best, Sons of the Desert (1933) starring L&H.

Please respect the photographs I have taken.  If you want to use them, please ask first.  It's probably OK, I just want to know and maybe receive credit under the pic!

Movies That Should Not Be Missed...TONIGHT!

Yesterday I received a Facebook invitation to participate in the Laurel and Hardy Marathon that begins this afternoon at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Turner Classic Movies.  You don't have to ask me twice!

The full schedule can be found on the TCM web site by clicking on the schedule link near the top of the home page.  Then scroll to 8 p.m. and the first movie is Thicker Than Water (1935).  It ends tomorrow at 8 p.m., after running The Bohemian Girl (1936), starting at 6:45.
Here are my suggestions for the movies that you should not miss. Since this is an all night thing, get your DVR or VCR ready.

Jan 11  9:45 p.m. - The Live Ghost (1934) - The boys find themselves working on a haunted ship with Captain Walter Long (1879 - 1952).  Don't miss Mae Busch (1891 - 1946), Charlie Hall (1899 - 1959) and Arthur Housman (1889 - 1942).  Watch how things get turned around at the end.

Jan 11  10:00 p.m. - Them Thar Hills (1934) - Another with Mae and Charlie.  This one adds Billy Gilbert (1894 - 1971) as the doctor.

Jan 11  11:30 p.m. - Dirty Work (1930) - Finds the pair as chimney sweeps for a mad scientist.  Lucien Littlefield (1895 - 1960) is the scientist who amazes Stan and Ollie with his demonstration.

Jan 12  1:00 a.m. - Me and My Pal (1933) - Ollie's getting married but a jigsaw puzzle keeps everyone occupied.  James Finlayson (1887 - 1953) is the father of the bride.

Jan 12  2:00 a.m. - Towed in a Hole (1932) - One of my favorites.  The boys have almost the entire film to themselves, with Billy Gilbert making an appearance.  Listen to Ollie's golden tenor voice singing the call to buy fish, and don't miss Stan's explanation of how to improve their business.  Not to be missed!

Jan 12  3:30 a.m. - County Hospital (1932) - Ollie's in the hospital, and what does Stan bring him?  Hard boiled eggs and nuts, of course!

Jan 12  4;:30 a.m. - The Music Box (1932) - Stan and Ollie's only Academy Award winning film.  Billy Gilbert as the musicologist, and a set of steps that defy the piano.  Another one that should not be missed. 

Jan 12  5:00 a.m. - Helpmates (1932) - Watch the boys clean house as only they can.

Jan 12  7:15 a.m. - Laughing Gravy (1931) - Laughing Gravy is the name of the dog, of course.  And Charlie Hall is the landlord with the "no pets" policy.  A few years later, Gravy appears in Roamin' Holiday (1937) with Our Gang.

Jan 12  10:00 a.m. - Hog Wild (1930) - Watch the boys install a radio antenna.  It must have been an important task in 1930.

Jan 12  11:30 a.m. - Blotto (1930) - Anita Garvin (1906 - 1994) plays Stan's wife, but the boys steal her liquor to have a night out.  Anita told me that the gun she used in the final scene was so heavy she could hardly lift it.  #3 that should NOT be missed!

Jan 12  1:30 p.m. - Perfect Day (1929) - A perfect day for a picnic, if you can get Edgar Kennedy's (1890 - 1948) gout ridden foot in the car...and get the car started!  "Goodbye!"

It's obvious that I like L&H.  It is difficult to recommend some films and not others because they are all worthy of watching.  Above are a dozen, with three that are simply not to be missed.

My only complaint is that the films are not shown in release order.  These are mostly short, two-reelers, with a few features like The Bohemian Girl thrown in.  Features like Sons of the Desert (1933) and Way Out West (1937) are also on the A-List of Laurel and Hardy movies, but I guess they will have to wait until the next marathon.

Enjoy these films.  They led the way for comedians who are still inspired by the genius of Stan and Ollie.

Thelma Todd

Thelma Todd (1906 - 1935) had to be one of the most beautiful actresses in her era, and short career.  She made 119 films in about ten years,starting in 1926.  Most of them were one and two reelers.

In my group of friends, she is remembered for her six films with Laurel and Hardy.  She also made two with the Marx Brothers, Monkey Business (1931) and Horse Feathers (1932).

Thelma started out to be a teacher.  Her mother encouraged her to enter a beauty contest and in 1925 she became Miss Massachusetts, and went on to the Miss America contest.  She didn't win, but it opened up some acting opportunities.

She worked with some greats in silent films.  Ed Wynn (1886 - 1966) in his only silent film, Wallace Berry (1885 - 1949), William Powell (1892 - 1984), Gary Cooper (1901 - 1961), to name a few.  Her first ten films, or so, were silent, and she worked in several films during the transition to talkies, when they added some music, sound effects and talking sequences to otherwise silent movies.  It must have been an interesting time to be a film actress.

She also made seven films with Harry Langdon (1884 - 1944) including one in Spanish, eighteen with Zasu Pitts (1894 - 1963), and an amazing TWENTY ONE films with Patsy Kelly (1910 - 1981).  Sixty four of her films were made at the Hal Roach Studios.  She even worked with Bing Crosby in Two for Tonight in 1935.

While mostly known for comedies, she made her share of dramas as well.  Cheating Blondes (1933), Counselor at Law (1933) starring John Barrymore (1882 - 1942), After the Dance in 1935, and others.

Of course, Thelma Todd will mostly be remembered by L&H and Marx Brothers fans.  She died mysteriously of carbon monoxide poisoning in her garage.  It was ruled a suicide, but there is a murder theory that cannot be proven.  It was a tragic loss by all accounts, and one that confines Thelma to the Bit Actor category forever.

Don Brodie - Making Movies Without the Fame

I don't think Don Brodie (1904 - 2001) is a name that brings a lot of movies to mind for most folks.  His name didn't mean anything to me, but his movies do.  He has 305 movies and TV shows in his filmography.

From 1931 through 1939 he made over 170 movies, and he worked with most of the big stars of the era.  He made three films at Hal Roach Studios, including one with Charley Chase and one with Laurel and Hardy.  Come to think of it, Charley Chase was also in that film with L&H, Sons of the Desert (1933).

These were bit parts and he played reporters, waiters, photographers, and he was the man waiting in line.  He also did some voice work for Walt Disney, including a part in Pinocchio in 1940. 

He was in The Great Dictator (1940) with Charlie Chaplin, The Pride of the Yankees (1942) with Gary Cooper, Mr. Lucky in 1943, Mr. Blandings Builds his Dream House (1948) with Cary Grant, On the Town (1949), Harvey (1950), April in Paris (1952), and he was still working for another 37 years.

He worked with everyone from John Wayne to Elvis Presley.  In 1970 he was a passenger on a stage with Dustin Hoffman in Little Big Man.  His last movie was Goodnight, Sweet Marilyn (1989) with Paula Lane and Misty Rowe (b. 1952), which was apparently a stinker.

His TV work included many series' from the very early days.  He started on TV in "Dick Tracy" and then "Boston Blackie."  He was a guest or just a bit player on TV, and appeared mostly in single or two or three episodes.  He was in "Mister Ed" three times according to IMDb.  His last appearances on TV were in "Murder, She Wrote" and "Hotel" in the late 1980s.

You can see Brodie's picture on his Wikipedia entry here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Brodie.

People with careers like Don Brodie should not be forgotten.  They worked hard and gave a lot to make these productions better.  And I am sure they had a lot of fun at the same time.

Ulverston, England 1984

I am busy scanning, and I just lost my external hard drive!!!  The file system went missing, so now I am looking for a recovery program to help me get my pics back.  Failing that, I have the originals and backups of what was on that disk, so I can start over.  :-(

I thought I would share some pics I took in Ulverston, England at the Fourth International Convention of the Sons of the Desert in 1984.  The convention started in London and then moved up to the Lake District where Stan Laurel was born.

People all over the small town of Ulverston were getting into the spirit of the convention.

The mayor of the town at that time was Bill Cubin.  He also ran the Laurel and Hardy Museum, which was a small shop-size place with pictures and memorabilia everywhere.  Pictures and letters were even on the ceiling.

The museum has since moved into an old movie theater, and continues to be run by Bill's family.  The Lake District is incredibly beautiful, so if you ever travel to Great Britain, be sure to stop in Ulverston.

This photo was taken in Blackpool, England where we were having a banquet.  We had visited the Blackpool Tower, famous for ballroom dancing.  The actual tower on the roof provided a great view up and down the coast.

I found the small bar outside the banquet room and stopped for a pint.  I was joined by Little Jimmy Murphy.  Jimmy was Stan Laurel's valet for many years.  He is from that area of England.

The tall chap is Henry Brandon (1912 - 1990), a star in over 100 movies.  He is here because he played Silas Barnaby in Babes in Toyland (1934) with Laurel and Hardy.  Also look for him in The Searchers (11956) with John Wayne.  Please click on Henry's name for a link to my previous post about him.

The other two in the pic are the musicians who were playing at our banquet.  We all wound up looking for refreshment, and I had a wonderful time trying to understand the English Jimmy Murphy and the two musicians were speaking.  They had quite a heavy local accent, but it is a memory I cherish.

If you click on the images you should see them at full size.  Please enjoy them, but also please respect my ownership.  All photos in this post are copyright 1984 by Allen Hefner.  Just ask for permission to use them.

Photo of Some Friends, Sons of the Desert

Below is a photo that I took at a 1979 banquet of the Two Tars Tent of The Sons of the Desert.  I have spoken of the Sons before, but if any readers are new, the SoD is the international organization dedicated to the films of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

Each city has a local group called a tent.  The Two Tars meet in the Philadelphia, PA area.  At the banquets they always try to have guests who were involved in some way with L&H or at Hal Roach Studios, or were active in the era.  These days they are getting much older and hard to find.

Here is the pic -

Copyright 1979 Allen Hefner

In the picture (from left to right) we see Red Stanley (1900 - 1980), his wife Anita Garvin (1906 - 1994) and Rosina Lawrence (1912 - 1997).

Red Stanley was a musician and appeared in only nine movies.  He was a delight to talk with.  He worked in films with Betty Grable, Fred MacMurray, Harriet Hilliard (of Ozzie and Harriet), Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake in Blondie Goes Latin (1941), and was uncredited as a trombonist in The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945) with Jack Benny.  He married Anita in 1930.


Anita Garvin was one of the most endearing supporting actors used by Laurel and Hardy.  She appeared in 94 films from 1924 to 1940, including about 11 with The Boys, plus some films with Laurel or Hardy, sans the other.  About a third of her films were made at Hal Roach Studios.  My favorite of hers with The Boys was Blotto, a 1930 short where Anita played Stan's wife.  Stan and Ollie thought they would put one over on her and take her hidden liquor to a club.  She had replaced it with cold tea before they left, but they got blotto anyway.  It is one very funny movie.

Rosina Lawrence was one of the nicest people you could ever meet!  Someone once said that she was so sweet, if she went out in the rain, she would melt.  Rosina made 30 films from 1924 to 1939, when she married and became a housewife.  She was popular in some Our Gang comedies as well as some of the best Laurel and Hardy movies.  She had a major role in Way Out West (1937), considered one of their finest feature films.

Rosina's first husband died in 1973.  She married John McCabe in 1987.  McCabe (another acquaintance of mine) was the founder of The Sons of the Desert.  Look for his books about Laurel and Hardy and also Charlie Chaplin.

I have fond memories of all these people, and I will continue to share them with you.  Back in those days I shot these pics on film.  I am in the process of scanning them, which is quite a project!  I just picked up a negative and slide scanner (Thanks, eBay!) and have loads more to go.

Please respect the photographs I have taken.  If you want to use them, please ask first.  It's probably OK, I just want to know and maybe receive credit under the pic!