THE TIME OF THE TROUBLES .
ONE FROGGY EVENING (1955) "Hello ma baby, hello ma honey, hello ma ragtime gal..." A workman finds a SINGING FROG in the cornerstone of an old building being demolished. But when he tries to cash in on his discovery, he finds the frog will sing only for him, and just croak for the talent agent and the audience in the theater he's spent his life savings on. Terrence Monck .... Michigan J. Frog (singing voice), Michael Maltese (story), Directed by CHUCK JONES. 7 min.
BAD LUCK BLACKIE (1949)
A little cat is being mercilessly tormented by a mean bulldog until one day he meets a black cat who offers a bad-luck service. Whenever the little cat blows a whistle, the black cat comes out, and the bulldog is struck down with an attack of bad luck. Things look bad for the bulldog until he realizes that a cat's color can be changed... Dir: TEX AVERY. 8 mins.
FINE FEATHERED FRIEND (1942)
Jerry mouse takes advantage of a rather mean tempered hen (that looks suspiciously like a rooster) to hide from Tom. Directed by BILL HANNA & JOE BARBERA . 8 min.
AFTER YOU'VE GONE (1946)
Trippy, psychedelic DISNEY take on a Swing standard has a suspiciously 'fischinger' smell to it! (Psychotropics still in the system after the '43-'45 Sth. America projects?) The BENNY GOODMAN QUARTET provides the sound. Segment from the 10-part, animated portmanteau feature, MAKE MINE MUSIC (1946).
plus, (the return of) Quickie Theatre, with EXCERPTS from:
THE WILD ONE (1954) [excerpt] A gang of 40 motorcyclists, the Black Rebels, gatecrash a legitimate motorcycle race. They are eventually thrown out, but one of the gang steals the second prize trophy and gives it to their leader, Johnny. The gang then ride into Wrightsville, where they cruise up and down the main street, and pile into Bleekers - the local bar. The owner of the bar, the Sheriff, is happy to let the bikers spend their money, so does nothing to break up any disturbances. We pick up the story just before Johnny falls for the Sheriffs daughter, and tries to impress her with the trophy. When a rival gang ride into town, trouble is just around the corner. Directed by László Benedek. MARLON BRANDO:Johnny Strabler, Narrator: Mary Murphy.... Kathie Bleeker.
THE SMALLEST SHOW ON EARTH (1957) [excerpt]
How not to exhibit films - a comedy of errors. Jean and Bill are a struggling married couple with Bill trying to scrape a living as a writer. Out of the blue they receive a telegram informing them that Bill's long-lost uncle has died and left them his business - a cinema in the town of Sloughborough. They pack their bags and travel to Sloughborough expecting to sell the cinema to gain a huge inheritance, however, they discover the cinema is falling apart and is run by a comically incompetant staff who seem to have worked there forever. They set out with a plan to sell it but things don't quite go to plan. Having decided to take over the management of the cinema, in the perhaps naive view that they can run a cinema without bothering with the irksome task of learning how to do it, a variety of simple but humorous mishaps and the dirty tricks of a rival cinema lead to the dismissal of the chief projectionist. The folly of this is brought home by the frequent foul ups in the projection box and the resultant riots in the auditorium. Sellers gets a good script and he shows that he deserves it. Sid James could act before he appeared in so many Carry On films playing a remarkably similar character, and carries on from his Ealing days.
Directed by BASIL DEARDEN. Virginia McKenna:Jean, Bill Travers: Matt, MARGARET RUTHERFORD: Mrs. Fazackalee, PETER SELLERS: Percy Quill, BERNARD MILES :Old Tom, SID JAMES: Mr. Hogg, STRINGER DAVIS: Emmett.
COPS (1922) [excerpt}
Through a series of mistaken identities BUSTER KEATON winds up with a load of furniture in the middle of parade of policemen. An anarchist's bomb lands in his carriage. After lighting his cigarette with it, he tosses it into the ranks of police. When it explodes, the police chase him all over town. The long shot of Buster driving the wagon up the street directly at the camera, with the sudden flood of cops pouring in from the sides, is as beautiful as it is funny.
BUSTER KEATON: The Young Man, Joe Roberts:Police Chief, Virginia Fox: Mayor's Daughter, Edward F. Cline :Hobo.
BIG BUSINESS (1929)
STAN and OLLIE are Christmas tree salesmen in California. Business is slow and a simple argument with one grumpy prospective customer (JAMES FINLAYSON) escalates from a simple argument into full scale mutual destruction with Stan & Ollie destroying the customers house and garden, whilst Finlayson reduces their car to scrap metal, all under the disbelieving gaze of a police officer & an assembled crowd. Directed by James W. Horne & Leo McCarey. STAN LAUREL:Stan, OLIVER HARDY:Ollie, JAMES FINLAYSON:Homeowner, Tiny Sandford:Policeman. 20 mins.
TWO TARS (1928)
Stanley and Oliver, two sailors on shore leave, rent a car and go on a drive with their dates, but soon get involved in a huge traffic jam with dozens of ill-tempered motorists. A minor collision sets off an escalating series of tit-for-tat retaliations which eventually has most of the cars in pieces. Probably the best silent Laurel and Hardy ever made. It is hilarious.From the opening lamp-post gag, to the gumball machine, to the hilarious traffic jam and finally the train ending, this movie really is a rib-tickler. It's one of the greatest comedies ever made! Edgar Kennedy is the motorist whose car Laurel and Hardy promptly tear to shreds.
STAN LAUREL;Stanley, OLIVER HARDY:Oliver, Edgar Kennedy: Motorist, Thelma Hill : Brunette girl, Ruby Blaine: Blonde Girl. Directed by James Parrott. 21 mins.
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