The comedy team of Karl Dane and George K. Arthur delighted audiences of the late silent movie era and the Pre-Code sound years, but today their films are rarely celebrated and the team is mostly recalled for the tragic death of Karl Dane. On this episode of “The Online Movie Show,” film scholar Geno Cuddy offers insight into this wonderfully funny duo.
BOOTLEG FILES 783: “Summer Daze” (1932 short comedy starring Karl Dane and George K. Arthur).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A film that fell through the cracks.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Unlikely.
In 1926, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast two of its character actors, Karl Dane and George K. Arthur, in comic relief supporting roles in the film “Bardelys the Magnificent.” The actors were not teamed for this production, but someone in the studio came up with the idea of pairing the tall and gangly Dane with the diminutive Arthur in an Army comedy called “Rookies,” which was released to great popularity in 1927.
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Here’s a Christmas movie you probably never saw: a long-unseen 1930 short starring the mostly-forgotten comedy team of Karl Dane and George K. Arthur.
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