An amazing comedy triple this week from three of the most famous silent film stars of the era.
W C FIELDS – William Claude Dukenfield January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946, known as W. C. Fields, was an American actor, comedian, juggler and writer. Fields’s career in show business began in vaudeville where he attained international success as a silent juggler. He began to incorporate comedy into his act and was a featured comedian in the Ziegfeld Follies for several years. His stage and film roles were often scoundrels or henpecked everyman characters.
Synopsis – Pool Sharks was made in 1915. The film is notable for being the film acting and writing debut of W C Fields and also features early instances of stop-motion-animation during a game of pool. Fields and his rival (played by Bud Ross) vie over the affections of a woman (played by Marian West). When their antics get out of hand at a picnic, it is decided that they should play a game of pool. Both of them are pool sharks and after the game turns into a farce, a fight ensues. Fields throws a ball at his rival, who ducks. The ball flies through the window and breaks a hanging gold fish bowl, soaking the woman they are fighting over and leaving goldfish in her hair. She storms into the pool hall and rejects both men.
BARNEY OLDFIELDS – Born January 29, 1878 in Wauseon, Ohio, USA. He was an actor, who made a handful of silent films including The First Auto and Race for Life. He died on October 4, 1946 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA. Barney Oldfield, was a real-life celebrity race car driver of the era who was famous for breaking records and, occasionally, his own bones with his high-velocity driving.
Synopis – In this film, Oldfield helps “The Boy” chase down a train in the effort to save ‘The Girl,’ played by Mabel Normand, from the evil Ford Serling ‘The Jealous Villain.’ The villain is manning the engine of the train in one of the very first silent films to incorporate the archetypal image of the bad guy tying the damsel in distress to the rail tracks in front of a fast-approaching locomotive. A picture that is famous with silent films of today although dated in its approach to women.
LAUREL & HARDY – A British-American comedy team during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in the silent film era, they later successfully transitioned to “talkies”. From the late 1920s to the mid-1950s, they were internationally famous for their slapstick comedy, with Laurel playing the clumsy, childlike friend to Hardy’s pompous bully. Their signature theme song, known as “The Cuckoo Song”, “Ku-Ku” by Hollywood composer T Marvin Hatley was heard over their films’ opening credits, and became as emblematic of them as their bowler hats.
Synopsis – Facing financial hardship, Ollie orchestrates a boxing match between Stan and Thunderclap Callahan, offering a cash prize of $100 to the victor. Stan, fighting under the alias “Canvasback Clump,” inadvertently knocks out Callahan in the initial round. However, Stan’s refusal to return to his corner prevents the referee from completing the ten-count, allowing Callahan to recover and retaliate, ultimately overpowering Stan.
Doors and bar open 11am. Coffee, tea, refreshments and snacks available. Movies screen at 12 noon. Tickets $15 for adults and fee for kids 13 and under. Film duration approximately one hour.