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M A Y , 2005 I S S U E N º 4368 The Internet Noiseletter of the On The Loose tent (Oasis Nº 206) of the

StanStan Laurel:Laurel: N EXT M EETING May 21st, 2005 A Life on AA New Life Series Beginning on With Filmthe May 21st 7:00 pm ~ 12:00 am Meeting of On The Loose at

188 Seames Drive Manchester, NH

Join us for an evening of film (titles both familiar and obscure), scholarship and finger food (take your eats right over there). With the May 21st, 2005 meeting, On The Loose takes a renewed purpose in tackling the “loving study of the persons and of and .” In the past few weeks, eh, months, ahem, years, bhhrr, near- ly a decade now, we have been steadily drifting away from the absolute purity of that purpose. Now, while we have not drifted so far away that the far shores presently reside on distant continents (or in-continents as may be the case with some of our members), it certainly wouldn’t hurt to put our shoulders together, row for the beach and hope sin- cerely that we wind up somewhere in the vicinity of Culver City. That doesn’t mean. however, that we won’t find our- selves now and again passing the Christie Studios, the Keaton lot, Mr. Sennett and company, or hanging from a telephone pole in the company of a certain cross-dressing ape friend. On the other hand, we will at all cost avoid wan- dering too far afield with the child-demons: Sunny McKean, Arthur Trimble and Mickey “himself” McNausea. EEDITORIALDITORIAL PPROGRAMROGRAM GGUIDEUIDE For the 21st May Meeting SSOME OF YOU WILL PAY NO ATTEN- TION TO THE WORDS YOU’RE ABOUT The screenings will begin at 7:30 pm and continue as long as the audience can stand it. As soon as they can’t TO READ.. II HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO stand it, the Keeper of the Celluloid’s job will be considered complete and probably even successful. If it looks as though WRITE THEM, RESPOND TO YOUR the audience is going to outlast the Keeper of the Celluloid, HALF-ASSED QUERIES (ALL OF WHICH everyone’s drinking will be heavily increased. If that fails to work, the management will have no choice but to resort to COULD BE ANSWERED BY SIMPLY the “nuclear option” and begin showing Chaplin shorts. STUDYING THE TEXT THAT FOLLOWS) AND DISMISS YOUR SHAMEFUL FilmsFilms andand OtherOther BEHAVIOR AS THE PRIMARY REASON WHY ProjectedProjected MatterMatter NEVER GET ANYWHERE. . Leave ‘Em Laughing (Roach-M-G-M, 1-28-28) with I will not aggravate you by suggesting that the , Viola Richard, and things I write in this column are of any importance to you Dorothy Coburn. DVD (Lost Films series) with a substi- or the ideas that weigh heavily upon your minds, but please tute score. try and take note of the following pointless statements any- way. This is the first issue of Looser Than Loose of the Air Big Business (Roach-M-G-M, 4-20-29) with James to be committed to a file-based format. All of the previous Finlayson, “Tiny” Sandford and Lyle Tayo. DVD versions of this little newsletter have been created using British Universal release with organ score. Microsoft Outlook Express, which does not display the message content consistently from browser to browser. (Roach-M-G-M, 10-19-29) with Edgar Accordingly, we have embarked upon this pdf experiment Kennedy, Charlie Hall, and Harry in an effort to enhance the discomfort you feel each time Bernard. 16mm with original organ track. you open your mailbox and find some message from the Stevensons milling around the place waiting eagerly to ruin (Roach-M-G-M, 12-14-29) with Edgar your day. Amazingly enough, some of you have actually Kennedy and Charlie Hall. DVD (Lost Films series) with expressed what can only be described as a self-flagellating original organ track. desire to print and archive these missives, which to me are on a par with such things as laundry lists, Radio Shack cir- Locations Tour (1997) Video and slides shot in and culars and letters to the Editors of the New York Times. around Los Angeles, Culver City and Malibu. The vis- Nevertheless, here is your printable edition of Looser Than iti includes Main Street, the Big Business and Bacon Loose of the Air. Grabbers houses, ’s Sidewalk Café and Now, here’s a really unimportant point: as all of the the Oceana. Video and 35mm slides transferred to DVD. Outlook Express-based messages were created with absolutely no thought given to their pemanence (no impor- tance having been attached to their existence in the first Stan Laurel: A Life on Film place) and as we frequently purge our e-mail boxes to make In this series we will attempt to show every room for all those fascinating internet advertisements, we piece of film available to us in which Stan played a cannot furnish you with any previous copies of this role. Whether writing, directing or starring, Mr. Laurel newsletter. You may consider this issue to be the first of its chalked up a significant number of credits. Our intent kind and, therefore, number one in the series. Unless you is to provide a comprehensive look at these films in saved them in your own mailboxes, all of the previous LTLs chronological order by the date of release. have been irretreivably lost in the ether. By the way, all of the new LTLs will be archived and available at any given (Rolin Film Cº.- Pathé time to virtually anyone who wants them. Exchange, 11-3-18) with , You may be asking yourself why you have received and . NTSC Video with acoustic score. this document. Well, it may be that we simply don’t like you and wanted to insult you before you put us on your (Rolin Film Cº.- Pathé Christmas card list. Perhaps we do like you and want to Exchange, 2-2-19) with Frank Terry, Marie Mosquini draw you into poking fun at the dopes and malcontents in and . Laser Disc (L&H & Friends) with a our midst. Or, maybe we just want to sell you something- substitute acoustic score. with our fascinating internet advertising (the most likely scenario). In the end I suppose it doesn’t really matter. Huns and Hyphens (Big V Special Comedies - You’re Sons of the Desert and probably haven’t digested a Vitagraph Pictures, 9-23-18) with , Frank word of this column anyway. ~D.S. “Fatty” Alexander and Madge Kirby. PAL Video. Extra Stuff NNOTOT CCOMINGOMING AATTRACTIONSTTRACTIONS Let’s Do Things (Roach-M-G-M, 6-6-31) ZaSu Pitts - Thelma Todd series; with George Byron, Jerry Mandy, , , , Dave Sharpe, Gertie Messinger, Charlie Hall, Leroy Shield and company. 16mm - we’re showing them all in sequence again (ZaSu-Thelma and Thelma-Patsy). If all goes well, it should take just over three years. Dry and Thirsty (Christie - Educational, 2-16-20) with and Vera Reynolds. L&H fans will per- haps remember Billy for his audio work in the films: , Me and My Pal, and . He also appeared briefly in the feature Babes in Toyland as the chief of police. His more consistently visible work at Roach includes the Schmaltz Brothers and Taxi Boys series. You may best remember him, how- ever, as the voice of the cake in the short Birthday Blues. This print is a new acquisition from Britain. It is, unfortunately, incomplete but offers a look at a familiar bit player in an early starring role. 16mm with an acoustic score. Three Tough Onions (Cameo-Educational, 5-20-28) with Monty Collins. Directed by Jules White. 16mm with an electric score. Why Chaplin Doesn’t Work With A A Song for Europe (Channel 4 Television, 1996) Father Contemporary American Audience. Ted series with Dermot Morgan, Ardal O’Hanlon, Frank Kelly and Pauline McLynn. PAL DVD. I have always said that when I get to heaven, assum- ing that Mr. Chaplin gets there as well, I will have the oppor- tunity to ask him all about the filming of the rooftop chase in The Kid. If, on the other hand, I wind up in hell, I expect that I’ll be forced to watch it again. FingerFinger FoodFood andand I have heard various film historians lament that Chaplin’s inability to reach contempoary audiences owes Cocktails entirely to the idea that we no longer live in a sentimental age. Cocktails As much as I’d like to agree with this notion out of deference All men sing when they’re in their cups to my friends, I cannot. You need only to turn on your televi- sion set to see that emotion and sentimentality have never been Feel free to bring chips, pretzels, nuts (in May) etc. so prominent in our culture as they are today. On an almost daily basis, empathic, feminist super(girlie)men, whose very if you wish to do so. There will be peperoni, cheese and Ritz lives are devoted to apologizing for having been born with crackers present as well as the usual chips and the unusual anatomical appendages that prevent the perception of glass salsa. The drink for the evening is a concoction about which ceilings, parade themselves before national audiences lecturing the management of the Pink Pup is proud to boast. It is the rest of us about the evils of pursuing masculine ideas, i.e. called the Strawberry Kidney Stone and believe you me, excellence, competition, and dominance through strength. folks...we’re not kidding. This thing will turn your bladder They are in touch with their feelings. They possess an essential- ly feminine soul. They regard the poor with supreme pity and into a fully equipped volunteer fire department. If you equate the tears it inspires with goodness. They are loaded to don’t believe me, just wait ‘til you pass those ladders. the gills with sentiment, not to mention superiority. These are just the kind of men with whom Chaplin would have eagerly filled the world. Half-men, looney with the very idea of estro- gen and imprisoned by their beholdence to sensitivity and emotion. So, tell me again, how does that sentimentality argu- ment work? Frankly, it doesn’t. ToastsToasts && SongsSongs In short, sanguine or nostalgic soul searching has nothing to do with the reasons for Chaplin’s present failings You were going to have me stuffed! with American film audiences. It is, instead, all about his lack of optimism and inabiltiy to perceive and correctly interpret Toasts are back! And if you would like to offer the nature of American idealism. a reason for your fellow members to increase the The best way to illustrate this failure is to compare amount they are likely to imbibe over the course of a Chaplin to his most effective rival: . On film, single evening, please step up to the plate and put Lloyd is immediately recognizable as a modern man despite the vintage of his togs, his immediate surroundings or the ver- your mouth where your money went. This month we nacular present in the intertitles. Most importantly, like every will be raising our glasses to Stan, Babe, Jimmy, Mae, American worth his or her salt, he is fundamentally an opti- Charlie, Thelma and the dear old Culver building - mist. Lloyd hungers and clamours for success. He never takes which proves that we’ll drink to just about anything in his eyes off of the brass ring and always strives to win, which Manchester, New Hampshire. is in keeping with the best of American historic traditions. Best of all, he does win. Lloyd is, therefore, looked upon by any American audience in admirable, even heroic, terms. In this WWEE AARERE TTWINSWINS!! sense he is an icon in the same vein as New York City - recog- nizably great in any age. For instance, whether you are looking In the best tradition of Agnes and Hives (can we at a photo of New York that dates from 1912, 1925, 1940 or assume the surname to be Laurel?), the 2005, there is an immediate and undeniable recognition of the tent of Northern Ireland has agreed to join the On the Loose place in contemporary terms as well as the obvious historic tent in an twin oasis, super-deluxe cat- ones. It is the fundamental character of New York that impress- es us and in the case of both Lloyd and that city, the basis for safterme. Now, you might be asking yourself why. Well, I’ll our admiration is American optimism and individual achieve- tell you. Another Fine Mess meets in County Down, ment. We are prompted to consider just what can be done in Ireland. Specifically, in the town of Comber which just hap- America. pens to be the ancestral home of the Todd family - before they If Lloyd is like Manhattan, then Chaplin is the embod- took the ferry from Stranraer, Scotland to Dublin some time after iment of Ellis Island - an icon for the waves of souls arriving on the flood. How cool is that? Two tents with a common con- these shores at the height of the industrial revolution. He is a nection: one organized in the birthplace of Thelma Todd character overwhelmed by the experience of seeking his for- and the other in the birthplace of her father and family. I tune in the new world. He is the figure of the lowly immigrant in constant conflict with the complexities of a foreign society. think both Agnes and Hives would be pleased, not to men- His character behaves in a manner that every frustrated immi- tion Colonel Buckshot - last of the Kentucky Buckshots, grant would have liked to embrace for himself or herself, but mind you. Let’s not forget the real Colonel Buckshot, whose dared not. Whether he is shoving the head of the street-corner relatives probably ran the ferry from Stranraer to Dublin. bully into a gas lamp or effecting a cheap kick in the ass of a Dohhhhh. society figure, he is instantly the little Russian, Italian, German, Grand Shiek of Another Fine Mess, Keith Davidson Irishman or desperate tramp of a hundred different origins and Sheik in charge of Vice, Gordon Honeycombe, will be getting even with his circumstances on the cheap. As such, Chaplin represents the social realities of our great grandpar- looking into the prospect of locating Thelma’s relatives in ents and is, therefore, a relic belonging more to antiquity than Comber. Thelma’s Aunt Alice Shaw (Todd) Raymond last to us. He is a symbol of an American society that has been corresponded with the Irish wing of the family during the almost completely erased by the dreams, optimism and 1970s. On this end, Edna Todd-Bixby is looking into her achievements of its children and grandchildren. It is not an Aunt Alice’s letters in search of clues that might help in the America that we know or understand. It simply doesn’t exist search for long-lost family members. This could well prove anymore. to be one of the nicest projects that any group of Sons has Chaplin, however, got the nature of America all ever chosen to undertake. wrong. He defined it in almost purely negative terms. He was a rejectionist who viewed a society based on capitalism and Wouldn’t it be remarkable if we were able to bring opportunity as fundamentally flawed and unfair. It is almost about some kind of reunion for Thelma’s 100th birthday as if he guessed that American society would crumble into a Celebration (July, 2006) in Boston! What do you think, European-style class system under the weight of mass immi- Keith? gration - that a cultural and political system based on individ- ualism and opportunity was too weak a thing to overcome the inevitable Dickensian misery. Accordingly, it is as though the Thelma and her brother William in 1910 “little tramp” was somehow forced to emigrate against his will from one failed society to another and was then kicked in the teeth by of optimism throughout his every American adventure. Ironically, for all of Chaplin’s success in the American entertainment industry, he failed miserably in his ability to interpret the realities of American character and, indeed, failed as an American himself in the process. That inability to recognize the innate passion for achievement and optimism in the people of this country is reflected entirely in the figure of a little tramp who is perpetually downtrodden, or at the very least stuck on the margins of society. Americans will always find virtue in success and identify more readily with those who strive to attain it than they will with a transient European steerage passenger who rolls with life’s punches, getting his licks in where he can. It is a shame that Chaplin’s amazing gifts as a physical are so overshadowed by his entrenchment in the dis- tant past, but in the end even those talents do not have the power to wrest his feet from the cement he so eagerly stepped in. During his lifetime, it was his obvious physical presence as a living breathing person buoyed by his comedic ability that made the great Chaplin relevant. In death, his work has fixed him in time as a figure of the early twentieth century and has, in a cultural sense perhaps, drawn him that much closer to the world of Dickens. Sadly, even his purely comedic work is taint- ed by the image of a powerless victim of class inequity clam- ouring desperately over the rooftops in pursuit of an orphan. Meanwhile, our country remains one where the brass ring is still within the reach of the Harold Lloyds in our midst. American dreams and American ideals are, like Mr. Lloyd and New York, recognizably great in any age. By contrast, Mr. Chaplin and Ellis Island are historic curiosities. Chaplin’s shortcomings are not produced, therefore, by the absence of Courtesy of Mark Edwards sentimentality in our culture, but, instead, by the greatness and promise of America asserting itself. IITT IISS AATT TTHEHE PPRINTERSRINTERS!! HHOTOT OOFFFF THETHE BBURNERURNER!! Slapstick! Issue Number 11 A Brand New DVD from Goes to Press looser than loose publishing

56 Lavishly Illustrated Pages! Featuring six short films from the With Features on: greater world of Stan and Babe THE CAREER OF All newly transfered from 16mm materials by Cole Johnson except + COMEDY TEAMS OF THE TEENS The Scholar (1918) by Steve Massa A King Bee short starring: Billy West Costarring: Oliver Hardy FORD STERLING AT UNIVERSAL with appearances by Blanche Payson by Wendy Warwick White and Edgar Kennedy. 2 reels Plus: The Royal Flush (Approx. 1930) An unidentified short starring: SLAPSTICON II REVISITED Costarring: Gene Schuler. 1 reel by Tommie Hicks, Jr. Madame Mystery (1925) RESTORATION NEWS A Roach-Pathé short starring: Theda Bara TWO VINTAGE ARBUCKLE STORIES Costarring: Oliver Hardy and Directed by Stan Laurel and much more with appearances by Jimmy Finlayson, Tyler Brook and William Gillespie. 175ft fragment Slapstick! Magazine is published twice yearly. The cost of an annual subscription is $20 (U.S.) $30 (overseas). Send sub- Constance Bennetts’ scriptions to the address below and make checks payable to: Daily Beauty Rituals (1937) Scott Margolin, 286 Chestnut Hill Ave Nº 11, Brighton, MA Commercial Film Made at Roach 02135 USA Starring: Constance Bennet is edited by Cole Johnson and published by Features music composed for Our Relations Dave and Ali Stevenson some of it unused in the feature looser than loose publishing 1 Reel; Color FFROMROM OOURUR MMEMBERSEMBERS + A Man About Town (1923) Laurel and Hardy Sketches From A Roach~Pathé short starring: Stan Laurel Two of our Youngest Members! Costarring: Katherine Grant and Jimmy Finlayson with appearances by George Rowe and Eddie Baker Among the international members of the 1 reel On The Loose tent are Robert and Rosie Fraser of + 6 second clip of replacement video at the very begining; New titles and intertitles Hatfield, England. It just so happens that they are the nephew and niece of Ali (and yours truly) Winter Has Come (1923) Stevenson. R. & R. have great fun in writing and A Christie~Educational Comedy performing sketches featuring Mr. Laurel and starring: Dorothy Devore Mr. Hardy. In a recent e-mail to Mrs. Wife, Costarring: Babe London Robert described some of them in detail. Here are 1 reel; Blue “tinted” some pictures and one of their many sketches:

* DIGITALLY REMASTERED SOUND TRACKS * SILENTS HAVE BRAND NEW 78 RPM MUSICAL SCORES * HIGHEST QUALITY ENCODING USING MINIMAL COMPRESSION * NTSC REGION FREE * ASPECT RATIO: PIXEL 10:11 (NTSC 4:3) * FULL MENUS * VIDEO MONTAGE WITH SELDOM SEEN PHOTOS AT START-UP Additional inquiries: [email protected] JUST $20 Payment in U.S. funds only, please! To order via e-mail: [email protected] or send payment to: LOOSER THAN LOOSE PUBLISHING 373 SOUTH WILLOW STREET #227 MANCHESTER, NH 03103 USA FROM OUR MEMBERS, (CONT.) GIGGLING SAUCE by Robert and Rosie Fraser Cast Stan Laurel: Robert Fraser Ollie Hardy: Rosie Fraser Giggling Sauce: Chester the Dog This episode is based a little bit on, or per- haps a lot, on '' and this is the story. Stan and Ollie are in their house with their dog Giggling Sauce. They are sitting down stroking Giggling Sauce until a letter comes through the door. Stan gets up and opens the letter and it says they are bankrupt and the chosen one who has to leave is Stan. Stan tells Ollie and Stan starts to pack. He shook hands with Ollie, got Giggling Sauce, took one last look at Ollie, leaves and shuts the door behind him. Ollie sighs. Stan is walking down the path with Giggling Sauce, he stops and takes another look at the letter he checks his pocket and finds $1 in his pocket and he looks back at the letter and rips it up Above: The entrance curtain made by Mrs. Wife and goes back to the house. Ollie looks up. "Stanley" he cries. They go to each other and embrace. Then (left) & marquee (right) Ollie suddenly looks at Stan and says "Why did you Below: The entrance curtain from inside the rip up the letter?" "'Cos I found out that I had $1" theater Stan replies. Ollie slaps his head and that's the end of that episode.

Thanks Robert and Rosie! Keep us posted!

CCOMINGOMING NNEXTEXT MMONTHONTH In the next Issue of Looser Than Loose of the Air we will look at how and why Thelma Todd was turned from a comedic actress into a sideshow attraction. We’ll also post the film program notes and everything else associated with our unusual meeting activities. You will not want to miss the June gather- ing of the On The Loose tent as it is our annual birth- day celebration for Stan Laurel! CCoommiinngg JJuunnee 1188tthh,, 22000055 Above: From the entrance looking back toward Above: From the back looking toward the screen. the far left corner of the theater

Above: From the front looking back toward the Above: A Scottish tam and pair of doe-skin booth. In the top right of the picture is a frame gloves that Thelma bought for herself during her containing the autographs of Lloyd Hamilton trip to Britain in 1933. I believe that they were and Earl Foxe on Lupino Lane’s application to purchased in Edinburgh. the Masquers’ Club. Lane’s auto has been added to the set via an autograph book clipping.

Above: The costume purse that Thelma used in Fra Diavolo. It is visible breifly in the film as she and Jimmy Finlayson exit the coach at the Above: From about half-way back looking toward Inn. She wrote her name in pencil on the manu- the far right corner facturer’s tag inside Below: Two shots of the booth.

Above: The Comique’s half-assed theater organ. Really, it’s not half as assed as the guy who attempts to play it.

Above: A shot of the Stan Laurel check. It was cashed on the day that Beau Hunks was released (Dec. 12th, 1931) It has been framed with an original Daily Production Sheet from July 29th, 1931 - the day the “first fort” exteriors were shot. A Taxi Boys auto-set is in the background

REcoMEMBERREcoMEMBER toto markmark itit down!down! Above: More of the autographs. Two of the six Patsy Kellys and a (right) JuneJune 18th,18th, 20052005