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JANUARY 18,
2003 |
"We're going
now!"
Happy Birthday,
Babe!!!
The Early Years of the career
of Oliver "Babe" Hardy found him working in nine different film companies
before landing at "The Lot Of Fun" Hal Roach Studios: Lubin (1914-15),
Edison (1915), Wharton, Inc. (1915), Vim (1915-17), King Bee (1917-18), L-KO
Studios (1918-19), Vitagraph (1919-24), Larry Semon Independents (1924-25), and
Arrow Pictures (1925). During this phase of his career, he supported such
comics as Bert Tracey, Bobby Burns, Billy Ruge (in the "Plump and Runt" series),
Billy West (the Charlie Chaplin impersonator), Jimmy Aubrey, Larry Semon, and
Bobby Ray.
SHORT:
The Sawmill
(Released by Vitagraph 1/1/22).
Produced by Alfred E. Smith. Directed by Larry Semon and Norman Taurog.
Starring Larry Semon and Oliver Hardy.
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The collector that loaned this
print to us said, "It was the film that bankrupted Vitagraph."
To make this film, Larry Semon took cast and crew to a wilderness area 500 miles
north of Hollywood, where he built a series of logging camp sets as well as
living quarters for 75. Upon seeing the finished product and comparing it
to previous efforts that had been shot on the Vitagraph backlot for a fraction
of the investment, the producer (Alfred E. Smith) said, "...when the cost is
taken into consideration, it makes one regard (this film) as an atrocity."
Even though The Sawmill was a hit with both the critics and the public,
it caused irreparable damage to Semon's reputation with the financiers of
Hollywood. Never again did he enjoy such budgetary freedom.
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SHORT:
Sugar Daddies
(1927)
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Score performed by The Paragon
Ragtime Orchestra. Assembled from the albums More
Candy ( 2001) & On The Boardwalk (1987)
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An Operatic
Nightmare: Desecration Rag No. 2 (1916) Felix Arndt
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Aggravation
Rag (1920) George L. Cobb
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By The
Beautiful Sea (1914) Harry Carroll
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Put On Your
Old Gray Bonnet (1909) Percy Wenrich
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Delirium
Tremens Rag: A Trombone Spasm (1913) F. Henri Klickmann
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My Uncle Sammy
Gals (1918) F. Henri Klickmann
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When You Wore
A Tulip And I Wore A Big Read Rose (1914) Percy Wenrich
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Some Shape
(1917) George L. Cobb
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More Candy
(1917) Mel B. Kaufman
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Slippery Hank
(1908) F.H. Losey
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For more information on this
great band, visit their web site at www.paragonragtime.com.
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SHORT:
Two Tars
Released 11/3/28. Produced by Hal
Roach. Supervised by Leo McCarey. Directed by James Parrott.
Photographed by George Stevens.
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Cast includes Thelma Hill,
Ruby Blaine, Edgar Kennedy, Charlie Hall, Edgar Dearing, and Thomas Benton
Roberts
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PREVIEW:
The Fighting Kentuckian
(1949)
CARTOON:
Puss Gets The Boot
(1940)
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This cartoon earned an Oscar
nomination, and marked the first teaming of the cat and mouse that would become
Tom and Jerry.
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SHORT:
Brats
Released 3/22/30. Produced by Hal
Roach. Directed by James Parrott
SHORT:
Blotto
Released 2/8/30. Produced by Hal Roach.
Directed by James Parrott
| Cast includes Anita Garvin, Tiny
Sandford & Frank Holliday
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