During the mid-1920s, Raymond Griffith was among the most popular stars of feature-length comedy films. With his silk top hat and crispy tailored tuxedo, the self-confidence and urbane Griffith was a suave alternative to the beleaguered characters played on screen by Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd.
During the late 1910s and through 1920s, Douglas MacLean enjoyed stardom in a series of light comic films. Most of his cinematic output has been lost and his surviving work is almost never revived.
W.C. Fields was the ultimate comedy anarchist: an unapologetic misanthrope who battled and bumbled his way through a hostile world. On today’s show, film historian James L. Neibaur, author of the new book “The W.C. Fields Films,” celebrates the life and career of this brilliant funny man.
The episode can be heard here.