Few film scholars elevated the 1929 short “Wrong Again” to classic status, but I’m willing to go out on a limb to suggest it deserves such an honorific classification. It was among the last wave of Laurel and Hardy’s silent output and had three future Oscar winners behind the camera – director Leo McCarey, cinematographer George Stevens, and screenwriter Lewis R. Foster – plus one of the most wonderfully original sight gags of all time.
Continue reading
This dinky little two-reeler would have been lost to obscurity had it not been for the unlikely presence of Curly Howard in his only outing without fellow Stooges Moe Howard and Larry Fine. Curly and his comrades were working with Ted Healy at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the early 1930s and the studio occasionally split them up for separate appearances, with Curly being dumped in “Roast-Beef and Movies” in a new comedy act featuring George Givot and Bobby Callahan.
BOOTLEG FILES 910: “My Annie Hall” (2018 short film based on Woody Allen’s classic).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Unauthorized mini-remake of the Oscar-winning film.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Nope.
When the subject of fan films is raised, most people associate that genre with younger people creating souped-up spins of classic action and adventure films. In 2018, a most unusual fan film made headlines, but this did not involve a hyperactive riff on the “Star Wars” or “Batman” series, but instead it was inspired by Woody Allen’s “Annie Hall” – and even more remarkable, the film’s stars were a pair of senior citizens.
Continue reading
Many Three Stooges fans have taken to various online forums to declare “Sweet and Hot” as the team’s worst film. It isn’t – not by a long shot – but, admittedly, it is an experiment that didn’t quite work.
Continue reading
Bully for Bugs (1953)
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Story by Michael Maltese
Animation by Ben Washam, Lloyd Vaughan, Ken Harris
Music by Carl Stalling
According to Chuck Jones, “Bully for Bugs” came about because of an unexpected declaration made by producer Edward Selzer didn’t want any films related to bullfighting because he felt that bullfights aren’t funny. If Selzer was commenting on comedy films with a bullfighting theme, he was most correct – those films relied heavily on stock footage, trick editing, the obvious use of stunt doubles and connect-the-dots comedy with the funnymen supposedly being chased around a bullring.
Continue reading
A young couple decides that it is time to reconnect with one of their fathers. This meeting is not done as you’d expect and doesn’t go as they expect.
No one ever accused the Three Stooges of being ecologically focused, but their 1952 short “Listen, Judge” offers a brilliant example of recycling old material to create a new and vibrant comedy explosion.
Continue reading