Classic Film Comedy Short Stories #10

The film Smiles of a Summer Night was entered into the Cannes Film Festival without it's director Ingmar Bergman knowing. He found out is was entered when he read read the news papers talking about it.

Despite Universal being well known for horror films, the only Jekyll and Hyde film to come out of the studio was Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

The Academy Awards state that to win an award a film has to play in Los Angles. Because of controversy surrounding director/star/writer/producer Charlie Chaplin during the Cold War Era, his 1952 film Limelight, was not released in L.A. until 1972. Because of this it is the only film to receive an academy award 20 years after it was completed. It received an award for it's musical score.


Animation legend Walter Lantz (Woody Woodpecker, Andy Panda, Chilly Willy) wanted to make a combination live action/animation feature film with the comedy team Abbott and Costello, since they were both working for Universal. Unfortunately this never came to be.

For the scene in Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush where the little Tramp seeming turns into a chicken before Big Jim McKay's (Mack Swain's) eyes, a stage hand was supposed to be in the chicken suit. However the stage hand just couldn't move the way Chaplin wanted. So Chaplin himself got into the chicken suit.

In another famous scene from Chaplin's The Gold Rush, Charlie Chaplin and Mack Swain seemingly ate a shoe for Thanksgiving dinner.Chaplin had a hard time figuring out how to make an edible shoe, until he saw kids coming out of a candy store with animal shaped licorice. Chaplin then came up with an idea, and asked someone working in the candy store if they could make a shoe out of licorice. They did. The scene was shot so many time that Mack Swain grew sick of licorice.

 Because of their success in foreign countries during the silent era, Laurel and Hardy would film their early talkies multiple times in various langues to keep popular in countries that don't speak English. They would read the words spelled phonetically off of cue-cards.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Classic Film Comedy Short Stories #9

One of the most famous images of classic film comedy is Charlie Chaplin doing the dance of the dinner rolls in his classic The Gold Rush. However this was performed earlier by Fatty Arbuckle in the 1917 short film, The Rough House. However Chaplin definitely brought his own unique charm to the bit.

 The underrated comedy team of Wheeler and Woolsey were the first film comedy team to emerge out of the sound era, with the 1929 musical comedy Rio Rita, based off a stage play they themselves acted in. Interestingly Abbott and Costello would later star in another film version of Rio Rita, that film would be released in 1942.

For the film Blockheads, silent comedy legend Harry Langdon, drew the caricatures of Laurel and Hardy (the stars of the film) that appear in the opening credits. He also was a writer on the film.

 Though the feature film His First Flame was completed in 1925, it was not released until 1927. The film was made at the Mack Sennet studio, before the film's star Harry Langdon left for First National. Though Mack Sennet originaly did not want to release the film (It would have been the first feature starring Harry Langdon), he changed his mind after seeing the success of the feature films Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, The Strong Man, and Long Pants, all of which also stared Harry Langdon. Therefore it was released after Harry Langdon had proven himself to be successful in features.

W. C. Fields (along with staring in) wrote The Bank Dick. The writing credit for the film is given to  Mahatma Kane Jeeves. This is a fake name W. C. Fields made up. It is a play on words meaning "My Hat, My Cane Jeeves".

-Michael J. Ruhland

Classic Film Comedy Short Stories #8

A film that Charlie Chaplin wanted to make but never did was a film about the life of Napoleon Bonaparte, with himself playing Napoleon himself.

 Before he became a director, George Steven (The Diary of Anne Frank, Shane, The Greatest Story Ever Told) was a cinematographer on many Laurel and Hardy films.

In an effort to top the emotional impact of his own City Lights, Charlie Chaplin's originally scripted ending for Modern Times, involved the Gamin becoming a nun, and the tramp meeting her in the hospital after having another mental breakdown. He dropped this ending for the one that appears in the film today.   

When legendary silent comedian Harry Langdon became less popular an actor, he would also write for various comedy films. These films would include 4 Laurel and Hardy films; Block Heads, Flying Deuces, A Chump at Oxford, and Saps at Sea.

Before doing the films he is known for now Frank Capra (It's A Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington) worked as both a writer and director for films staring Harry Langdon.

Though Harold Lloyd's characters often times had the first name Harold, the only time he played a character named Harold Lloyd was in Safety Last.  Though in much of the intertitles he is just referred to as the boy, on his paycheck you can clearly see the name Harold Lloyd.

Bill Strother who played Harold Lloyd's building climbing friend in Safety Last was actually a real building climber, and after Lloyd saw him performing this act, he came up with the idea for the film.



  -Michael J. Ruhland

Classic Film Comedy Short Stories #7

 One of the first images that may come to ones mind when they hear Laurel and Hardy is the two carrying a piano up a flight of stairs. Before this film the duo appeared in another film in which they carried a washing machine up the same flight of stairs and had much of the same trouble. This 1927 film has unfortunately been lost, but some screen shots still exist such as the one I included here. The film was named Hats Off.


Universal did not want Lou Costello to do his own stunt work, so much of the stunt work was done by Lou's older brother Pat Costello. You can see Pat along side his brother in the film Mexican Hayride. He would also be a producer on the film Jack and the Beanstalk staring Abbott and Costello. He would also be a producer for The Abbott and Costello Show for TV.

Lou Costello was a great athlete and in the film Here Come the Co-eds, he had done nearly all of the complicated basketball shorts in the movie.

Charlie Chaplin did not get along with his City Lights costar Virginia Cherrill. After she showed up late one day Chaplin wanted to fire her from the movie. He was going to replace her with Georgia Hale who had costarred with Chaplin in The Gold Rush. However she still costars in the film because too much time and money was spent on scenes with her in them, he decided not to re-shoot.

Though Buster Keaton did nearly all of his stunts in his independently produced films. The only exception to this is his character's s amazing pole vault into his sweetheart's room in College.


-Michael J. Ruhland

Classic Film Comedy Short Stories #6

Even though he never received director's credit on any Laurel and Hardy film, Stan Laurel often times worked very closely with the director, and basically co-directed many of these films.

Director Leo McCarey is the only person to take credit for teaming Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

During the making of The Time of Their Lives(1946), Lou Costello called director Charles Barton saying, he should play Bud Abbott's part. Barton said there was simply to much of the film already shot to do this. Costello didn't come to work for a little bit, but Barton called his bluff. When Lou Costello came back on set, he never mentioned this incident and continued the part originally written for him.

 Buster Keaton was known for taking huge risks for the stunts of his films. In the scene of "Steamboat Bill Jr." in which the front of a building falls towards and he is safe because he stood where an open window was, he made a piratically big risk in fact many on the set feared for Keaton's life because if things went wrong he could have easily died.



After years of being an independent filmmaker Buster Keaton moved to MGM mainly for finical reasons. However he soon found himself treated as just an actor, and was no longer able to direct his own films. He became very unhappy with many of the films he acted in, and would call this the worst decision he ever made. Interestingly though even though he acted in many sub-par films for MGM, his first film at MGM, The Cameraman, is in fact a masterpiece.

In the film A Day at the Races, Groucho Marx's character was originally named Dr. Quackenbush. However MGM's legal department found out that there were real doctors with that name so to avoid offending anyone the name Dr. Hackenbush was used instead. Groucho often called this character the best one he ever played.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Happy 125th Birthday to Stan Laurel

If he were alive today Stan Laurel would be 125 years young. Stan Laurel was of course one of the greatest comedians in the history of film, and when he was teamed with Oliver Hardy his career only got better. Today we are going to look at four silent short films that celebrate the great talent of this man.

Laurel and Hardy were one of the only (If not the only) comedy teams to first appear together on film (rather than  Vaudeville, Radio, or Broadway). Both in fact had fairly successful film careers before teaming up. Stan Laurel acted in many parodies of famous films of the time. One of the funniest of these films was 1925's Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pride. This was a parody of the 1920 film Dr. Jeckel and Mr.Hyde, directed by John S. Robertson an staring John Barrymore. So from 1925, directed by Joe Rock and Scott Pembroke, and staring Stan Laurel, here is Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pride:

  

Stan Laurel was not only an actor he was a director as well. One of the films he directed featured Oliver Hardy, an instance of them working together before they teamed up. The star of this film is Jimmy Finlayson who would later play the foil to Laurel and Hardy in some of their best films (Both shorts and features). An expression of his would also be used as an inspiration for Homer Simpson's "Do'h". It is great to see him play the lead in a film and he does it well. Well this may not be the best film any of these talents worked on it is highly amusing in it's own right. So from 1925, directed by Stan Laurel and Clarence Hennecke, and staring Jimmy Finlayson, Oliver Hardy (credited by his nickname Babe), Sue O'Neil, and Jack Gavin, here is Yes, Yes Nanette:

 

Next is the first film in which Laurel and Hardy worked as a team. Although they had appeared together before this they had not worked as a team. This film is called Duck Soup, and one of the film's directors was Leo McCarey who would later direct The Marx Brothers in Duck Soup. The story of this short was based off a sketch written by a music hall comedian named Arthur Jefferson, who was in fact Stan Laurel's father. This film was remade 3 years later also with Laurel and Hardy and called Another Fine Mess. So from 1927 directed by Fred Guiol, and Leo McCarey, and staring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, here is Duck Soup:

 Our last film is a treat considered to be one of Laurel and Hardy's best silent films, directed by James Parrott, and Leo McCarey, and staring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy here is Two Tars:

 

-Michael J. Ruhland

Happy 85th Birthday to Looney Tunes

April 19th, 1930, what would become the greatest series of short films, and the greatest series  of cartoons would enjoy it's first cartoon's first theatrical release. The series would be Looney Tunes, and the cartoon would be "Sinkin' in the Bathtub".

This film was made before the familiar characters of Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Bugs Bunny, and so on, would be created. The staring character for this cartoon was Bosko. One of the most groundbreaking things about Bosko was the use of synchronized dialog. While sound cartoons had existed before this, none of them, not even Disney, had been able to accomplish with synchronized dialog, what these Bosko cartoon had accomplished.

The Creators of Bosko were Hugh Harmon and Rudolph Ising. Both had worked with Walt Disney, mainly on the Alice Comedies, and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons. After they left Walt, they constantly wanted to compete with Disney on his own terms. While these two men were great pioneers of animation, and great talents in their own right, this led them to spend much of there time trying to be as much like Disney as possible. Because of this Bosko, despite being a really likable character, was mostly a Mickey Mouse imitator, and a thinly disguised one at that. On top of that jokes were often reused from Oswald cartoons, they themselves had worked on, such as the joke of a big Bosko breaking into a bunch of little Boskos (used in this film). However despite a lack of originality in this cartoon (Besides the synchronized dialog), this film is a very fun and enjoyable cartoon, even to early Disney fans who might recognize most of this from other cartoons. This is because it is done with such talent it kind of doesn't matter how original or not it is.

This film also has animation by Friz Freling and Robert Mckimson, who would stay with Looney Tunes all the way into the 1960's (Robert Mckimson would in fact direct "Injun Trouble" from 1969, which would be the last Looney Tunes cartoon). Also animating on this cartoon were Norm Blackburn, Ham Hamilton, Paul J. Smith and Carmen Maxwell (also the voice of Bosko)

So here is "Sinkin' in the Bathtub"

-Michael J. Ruhland

Daffy Duck, star of film, video games and comic books, turns 78.

On April 17th, 1937, movie going audiences were introduced to one of the silver screen's greatest stars (ask him yourself and he'll agree). This star however did not appear in a feature film that day, but rather in a short film accompanying that picture. This film was called Porky's Duck Hunt, and the star it introduced was Daffy Duck. As many film and animation historians have noted this was the character that put the looney in Looney Tunes. rarely before had a movie going audience seen this level of wackiness in a cartoon.

However Daffy's debut was not the only important historical note about this film. This cartoon also marked the first time Mel Blanc voiced Porky Pig. Previously Porky's voice had been done by Joe Dougherty. Dougherty really stuttered and unfortunately could not control it. This ate up to much film and these were short films to begin with, so not much time could be spared. So he was with this cartoon replaced by Mel Blanc, who also did the voice for Daffy.

This cartoon was directed by Tex Avery (credited as Fred Avery). Tex was known for revolutionizing the style of the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies. With his influence these series got away from imitating Disney, and went on to do things Disney would never do (breaking the 4th wall, exaggerated gags). With him these series and the whole cartoon industry changed.

One of the animators on this cartoon was Bob Clampett (later to become a great director). Tex told him to have Daffy exit anyway Bob could think of. His idea was to having Daffy jump across the screen "Woo-Hooing" This would of course become one of Daffy's trademarks.

So here is Porky's Duck Hunt:

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=porky%27s+duck+hunt+1937&view=detail&mid=C15AE904AD10F3399685C15AE904AD10F3399685&FORM=VIRE

-Michael J. Ruhland

Charlie Chaplin Carnival #2

We are going to start our second look at Chaplin's work with an early Keystone short from 1914. This film was directed by Mabel Normand (one of the forgotten greats of silent comedy). Chaplin and her did not see eye to eye on comedy. Mabel and Charlie's arguments got so heated that Mack Sennet (Boss at Keystone) considered firing Chaplin. However Sennet got messages asking for more Chaplin shorts, so he couldn't fire Charlie. He instead tried to patch thing up between director and actor. It worked and the film turned out to be a quite enjoyable one. However, in hindsight, you can see where this film differs for Chaplin's sense of comedy. The character he plays here makes it seem like Charlie is doing an imitation of Ford Sterling (leader of the Keystone Kops). The next film with Chaplin would be "Twenty Minutes of Love", which would mark the first time Charlie would direct himself. So from 1914, here is "Mabel At The Wheel".

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBH3Mj2wxaE

Before his film career Charlie Chaplin was a part of the Karno Company (Along with Stan Laurel), an English comedy group that performed on stage. One of their most popular skits was called Mumming Birds. In 1915 Chaplin starred in, wrote and directed a film version of this skit, entitled "A Night in the Show", and here it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nvdy1qxqlrE

Last for this look at Chaplin is the film that he considered his best short. This is also his last short film (The Pilgrim is technically a feature). While it is hard to say whether or not this is his best short (Some of his other shorts are just too good to say that for sure). This is also a completely comedic film with no drama. While this may seem normal for comedy films, Chaplin was at this time excelling in combining comedy and drama, so it is a bit strange that he would make this film at this time. However funny is funny regardless of drama, and this is a really funny film. So from 1922, and directed by Chaplin himself, here is Pay Day.

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ast6629RiVg

-Michael J. Ruhland

Classic Film Comedy Short Stories #5

German Expressionist director F.W. Murnau, who is known for films such as Nosferatu, Faust, Sunrise, and The Last Man, directed only one true comedy film. This film was 1924's "Finances of the Grand Duke". While this may not be as great of a work of art, as those previous films I mentioned, it is a very entertaining, and interesting experiment, that shows a different side to one of Germany's greatest film makers.

The famous Hollywood comedy director Ernst Lubitsch (To Be or Not to Be, The Shop Around the Corner) began his career in Germany as an an actor, mostly appearing in shorts.

 After being accused of rape (probably falsely) silent film comedian Fatty Arbuckle no longer appeared in front of the camera. However he would direct some films under the name William Goodrich. His friend Buster Keaton suggested the name Will B. Good, but Arbuckle thought that would be too obvious.

There is a joke in the Marx Brother's film The Big Store in which Margret Dumount says to Groucho, "I'm afraid after we're married awhile, a beautiful young girl will come along, and, uh, you'll forget all about me" to which Groucho replies "Don't be silly. I'll write you twice a week.". Producer L. K. Sidney did not like this joke (for unknown to me reasons) and wanted it taken out of the movie. Director, Charles Reisner however insisted the joke stay in. Since this was an MGM picture, this argument was brought to Louie B. Mayer. When asked about the joke Louie B. Mayer replied "greatest line in the picture". The joke is still in the movie.

Comedy producer extraordinaire, Hal Roach (Harold Lloyd, Laurel and Hardy, Our Gang (Little Rascals), Charley Chase) is credited (On IMDb) with producing 1,198 films and 8 TV Series.

 Friends and colleges of Charlie Chaplin tried to talk him out of making his film Shoulder Arms. Shoulder Arms was a comedy about WW1, made during WW1, and most of his friends and colleges felt it was too sensitive a subject to be made into a comedy. However Chaplin made it anyway, and it became his biggest hit up to that point.


Shoulder Arms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyZzEH85FKM

-Michael J. Ruhland

Happy PI Day, and "Battle of the Century" (1927)

Happy PI day everybody. Why not celebrate with a Pie Fight. In fact why not celebrate with film histories greatest Pie fight.

This film is "Battle of the Century" (1927) staring Laurel and Hardy and directed by Clyde Bruckman (Who did much writing for Harold Lloyd and The Three Stooges), and Leo McCarey (Who directed "Duck Soup" with The Marx Brothers as well as "The Awful Truth" with Irene Dunn and Cary Grant). The pie fight scene in this film used some 3,000 pies. Lou Costello is an extra in the boxing scene. While sadly incomplete this film is a hilarious example of Laurel and Hardy during the silent era.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlIXByXcUHw

-Michael J. Ruhland

Classic Film Comedy Short Stories #4

"Punch Drunks" was the only film with The Three Stooges that they wrote themselves. This is because they were unhappy with their previous film for Colombia "Woman Haters" since it was not their style of humor, and wanted to show them how a Three Stooges film should work.

Buster Keaton wanted the film "Spite Marriage" to be a talkie. However MGM (The studio he was working for) wanted it to be a silent for budget reasons. "Spite Marriage" was Buster Keaton's last silent, and sadly the last film which would grant him any creative control (Which with this film was already slipping away).

The ending of "The Graduate" was inspired by the ending of 1924's "Girl Shy". "Graduate" director Mike Nicholas, had ""Girl Shy" actor/producer Harold Lloyd on set to somewhat supervise the scene.

In "The Big Noise" Laurel and Hardy repeated a sketch (About trying to sleep in a train berth) that they had previously done in the film "Berth Marks". Stan Laurel suggested they change the location from a train to an airplane to improve on what they had done before, but producer Sol Wurtzel told them they would do it as  they had before. This is a sign of how much creative control Laurel and Hardy had lost once the moved to 20th century fox. Also during that scene if you listen closely you can clearly hear the crew laughing offstage.

The films "The Cococonuts" and "Animal Crackers" were both originally stage plays that also stared the Marx Brothers (Just like the films), these were also the first two films with The Marx Brothers.

In 1940's "One Night in the Tropics", we first hear Abbott and Costello's voices before we see them. This is because this was the film debut of the classic comedy duo. However they were already famous radio comedians, so this was a cleaver way to introduce them as film stars.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Here is Another Nice Mess You've Gotten Me Into: Oliver Hardy's 123rd Birthday

123 years ago a man named Oliver Hardy was born. This man of course would become part of one of the greatest comedy teams, this world had ever seen. That team of, course was Laurel and Hardy.

The most famous image of Laurel and Hardy was of course them pushing a piano up a flight of stairs. This film was the classic, The Music Box. The same flight of Stairs in this film were also used in The Three Stooges short "An Ache in Every Stake". In that film Curly carries a block of ice up those same steps.  The Music Box was directed by James Parrott who had actually co-stared with Stan Laurel, as an actor, back before Stan teamed up with Ollie (Hardy). This film also features Billy Gilbert playing a supporting role. Gilbert had stared along side Stan and Ollie in plenty of their shorts, and was also the voice of Sneezey in Disney's Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs. So from 1932, directed by James Parrott and Staring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, and Billy Gilbert, here is The Music Box.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayUjkSvdrug

 Laurel and Hardy began their Careers in the days of silent film. It is a true testament to their talents how well they adapted to talkies. By the end of the silent era, they were already working with some of their greatest collaborators, such as directors Leo Mcarey(who would also direct the Marx Brothers in Duck Soup, as well as some other classic comedies such as The Awful Truth), and James Parrott, producer Hal Roach, actor James Finnlayson, and writer H.M. Walker. Here is one of their best silent films, Big Business, from 1929, directed by J. Wesley Horne and Leo Mcarey, and staring Laurel and Hardy as well as James Finnlayson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TRneBC98Gk

Laurel and Hardy only made one color film in their careers. This is an odd film in their filmography. They did their part in the film during a lunch break, while working on feature films for 20th Century Fox. This film was also a Pete Smith Specialty. Pete Smith did many films like this where he would narrate over a film without dialogue in a playful and humorous manner. As such Laurel and Hardy don't have any dialogue in this short. This is also a WWII propaganda piece that speaks about the importance of wood for the war effort. So from 1943, directed by Charles McDonald, and starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, and Pete Smith, here is Tree In A Test Tube.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQmRoOFLS74

-Michael J. Ruhland

Classic Film Comedy Short Stories #3

After many of his early films were destroyed in a fire, Harold Lloyd made sure he owned all of his films to make sure none of them were damaged as his early films were.

After having a stroke during the making of 1947's Half-Wits Holiday Curly had to retire from The Three Stooges, however he was able to make a cameo appearance in Hold That Lion, which came out later the same year therefore Hold That Lion is the only Stooge film in which Curly and Shemp appear together in.

Charles Lamont directed  Abbott and Costello Meet The Keystone Kops. He had directed both Abbott and Costello and The Keystone Kops before making the film.

Joe Besser was the only Stooge never to appear in a feature length Three Stooges film.

Stan Laurel often worked very close to his directors. Therefore you could say he almost co-directed most Laurel and Hardy films.

Stan Laurel directed the 1925 Short Yes, Yes, Nanette, Which featured Oliver Hardy. So that short is an example of Laurel and Hardy working together before they ever appeared together on camera.

-Michael J. Ruhland

       

Classic Film Comedy Short Stories #2

Shemp was actually a Stooge before Curly. The Stooges were originally part of an act called Ted Healy  and his Stooges. This act originally consisted of Ted Healy, Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Shemp Howard. The act had appeared on vaudeville, and in supporting roles in various films. Shemp got angry over Healy's drinking, and so he left. For this reason Shemp and Moe's younger brother Curly Howard took his place. After parting with Healy, The Stooges got their own series of short films. Because of parting with Healy, they were renamed The Three Stooges. After Curly suffered from a stroke he was replaced by Shemp, who because they had left Ted Healy was happy to join them again.

William A. Seiter who directed what is considered to be Laurel and Hardy's best film, Sons of the Dessert, also directed what is considered to be one of the Marx Brothers' weakest films, Room Service.'

Duck Soup was a flop when it was first released. In fact it almost ended The Marx Brothers' career. This is hard to believe now because not only is it an extremely popular film, but it is an extremely funny one as well. Duck Soup was the most zany, and least story ordinated film to star the Marx Brothers. This is why after Duck Soup, they went to MGM, where producer Irving Thalhgberg, told them at MGM they could get a much bigger audience by being in films with much more story. This included having a side-story about young lovers, and more musical numbers. Even if later Marx films would slip in quality, the first two of these films (the two in which Thalhgberg was still alive to work on (he died during the making of A Day At The Races) worked especially beautifully. Those two films (A Night At The Opera, A Day At The Races) were not only huge financial successes, but great artistic successes as well, and remain some of the great comedy movies to this day.

Boris Karloff refused to be in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, because he loved the carter of the creature a lot, and felt appearing as the creature in a farce would be an insult. Of course those of us fans of the movie  know that it was not an insult to the character at all. However Karloff later appeared in both Abbott and Costello Meet The Killer, and Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein was originally going to be named The Brian of Frankenstein, however the name was thought to sound too much like a serious horror movie.

Character actor James Finnlayson (who appeared often with Laurel and Hardy) made an annoyed exclamation whenever his character was hit. That annoyed exclamation would serve as the inspiration for Homer Simpson's "D'oh".

The 1940 short, You Nazty Spy!, directed by Jules White, written by Felix Alder, and Clyde Bruckman, and staring The Three Stooges was the first American film in which an American actor played Hitler (that actor was Moe Howard). Both director Jules White and actor Moe Howard considered this the best film they worked on.

Laurel and Hardy were the only one of the classic American comedy teams to first appear together on film. Marx Brothers had come from Broadway, Abbott and Costello from vaudeville and radio, The Three Stooges from vaudeville. They first appeared together in 1921's The Lucky Dog. Although in this short they weren't yet a team, and had yet to have their characters defined, it is historic for being the first time they appeared together. You can watch it below.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cImmhCo3jDg  

-Michael J. Ruhland