ID an old comedy short?
April 9, 2013 7:42 AM Subscribe
Ah dear hive
I asked this five years ago, and have yet to solve it. Here's the deets.
Trying to identify, and in a perfect world find an online copy of an old comedy. Here's the best info I can remember.
- I believe that the title was "How Comedies Are Made", although that might have been a subtitle.
-- Pretty sure it was a two-reeler
-- Pretty sure it starred Bud Jameson (or at least that was one face I could put a name to.)
-- The plot was essentially, a bunch of guys are trying to write a comedy short, but always stop to drink beer instead of working at it. Paraphrased dialogue something like...
"Hey, what if the main character did something like this?
That's a great idea! How about a beer?"
-- They are in a house, looks like it is something right off the backlot of a studio. Might have been one guy's crabby wife who kept chastizing them.
I want to say it must have been made right after the repeal of Prohibition, because the main theme seemed to be "ah fuck it, we have beer again!!!"
It almost seemed to be a two-reeler send up, of the whole two-reel comedy genre.
I've looked in all the usual video archives, and tried every different search string variation I can think of.
I know it is out there.
Trying to identify, and in a perfect world find an online copy of an old comedy. Here's the best info I can remember.
- I believe that the title was "How Comedies Are Made", although that might have been a subtitle.
-- Pretty sure it was a two-reeler
-- Pretty sure it starred Bud Jameson (or at least that was one face I could put a name to.)
-- The plot was essentially, a bunch of guys are trying to write a comedy short, but always stop to drink beer instead of working at it. Paraphrased dialogue something like...
"Hey, what if the main character did something like this?
That's a great idea! How about a beer?"
-- They are in a house, looks like it is something right off the backlot of a studio. Might have been one guy's crabby wife who kept chastizing them.
I want to say it must have been made right after the repeal of Prohibition, because the main theme seemed to be "ah fuck it, we have beer again!!!"
It almost seemed to be a two-reeler send up, of the whole two-reel comedy genre.
I've looked in all the usual video archives, and tried every different search string variation I can think of.
I know it is out there.
Best answer: Okay, so I've been googling this one and can only find it as part of a video release called Two Reelers - Comedy Classics 1 that looks very scarce. New York State Archives appears to have the script and UCLA's RKO collection has the production and script files (none of these are online), but I'm not sure you want to get that deep into it. It definitely looks like it enjoyed at least a brief release, probably after Sweet's death. There's got to be a talkie collector or historian out there who can get this to you! Sorry I couldn't be of more help. (I'll be checking back into this thread because it rings a bell with me too, and I want to see it!)
posted by thetortoise at 12:12 PM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by thetortoise at 12:12 PM on April 9, 2013 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Awesome thetortoise!
I'm sure this must be it. I was going to say i thought Edgar Kennedy was in it, but he was in everything back then.
I first saw it on a satellite feed about 87 when I was working at a TV station, and I have never been able to track down as much as a sniff of it since. Go to be public domain by now, you would think some would have released it again
Thanks so much!
posted by timsteil at 12:30 PM on April 9, 2013
I'm sure this must be it. I was going to say i thought Edgar Kennedy was in it, but he was in everything back then.
I first saw it on a satellite feed about 87 when I was working at a TV station, and I have never been able to track down as much as a sniff of it since. Go to be public domain by now, you would think some would have released it again
Thanks so much!
posted by timsteil at 12:30 PM on April 9, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by thetortoise at 8:53 AM on April 9, 2013 [2 favorites]