1986 "The Laurel And Hardy Show"

[Shark]

Hi...just an off-the-wall-thing I'm trying to do, and maybe someone
can "do something to help me."

I'm trying to compile a rundown of the films included in each episode
of the 1986 90-minute "Laurel And Hardy Show." It's not that
important...but I'd like to have it available as a reference just for
the record. I have compiled lists of the syndicated feature-film
abridgments that used to air on TV, and the "Laurel & Hardy
Laughtoons," and I thought the 90-minute show rundowns would be an
intresting addition...

Here's what I have so far.....this is very much a work in progress and
it's not perfect:

http://chicagobacongrabbers.com/filmographymisc.html

I probably have most of these on tape "somewhere," good luck with
that. I know these 90-minute shows aired on Channel 60/WPWR-TV in
Chicago and on WWOR in New Jersey. Then a half-hour version (with just
one short each night) aired on CBN/Family Channel back in the late
1980s. Comedy Central later had the 90-minute shows in the early
1990s, and this time the films were ALL colorized, where before, only
three of the films were colorized. Anyway...there are a lot of gaps
but this is what I have so far:

LHS-1
The Bohemian Girl

LHS-2
Our Relations

LHS-3
Sons Of The Desert

LHS-4
PA-290-838 (Copyright registration number for this episode)
LP2914, R236735 (a short from 1932)
LP2607, R225708 (a short from 1931)

LHS-5
PA-290-836 (Copyright registration number for this episode)
LP2714, R232200 (a short from 1931)

LHS-6
PAu-1-629-099 (Colorized version) (of what?)
(Has to be "Helpmates" or "The Music Box")
PA 290-396

LHS-7
Swiss Miss

LHS-8
PA-290-840
LP4129, R264113 (et al.) (1933)

LHS-9
PA-295-404
LP3060, R252328 (et al.) (1932)

LHS-10
Zenobia

LHS-11
PA-293-145
LP4785, R281113 (et al.) (1934)

LHS-12
The Flying Deuces

LHS-13
A Chump At Oxford

LHS-14
(Includes Laughing Gravy)
PA-307-798
LP2019, R221668 (1931)
LP2141, R221671 (1931)

LHS-15
PA-297-646
L589, R176908 (1929)
LP1190, R206644 (1930)
LP1959, R209025 (1931)

LHS-16
Saps At Sea

LHS-17
PA-307-799
L840, R182601 (1929)
LP977, R198851 (1930)
Appl. also identifies remaining segment as preexisting.

LHS-18
PA-297-645
L550, R176905 (1929)
LP3237, R252326 (1932)
LP5371, R299645 (1935)
Directed by Lewis R. Foster

LHS-19
Pardon Us

LHS-20
Pack Up Your Troubles

LHS-21
PA-307-796
LP3668, R253245 (et al.) (1933)

LHS-22
PA-307-778
LP3867 (et al.)

LHS-23
Utopia

LHS-24
PA-307-792
LP5709, R317563 (et al.) (1935)

LHS-25
Block-Heads

LHS-26
Way Out West (Colorized)

I am also under the understanding that:

"Unaccustomed As We Are" WAS included in this series.

"They Go Boom" WAS NOT.

Nor were "Any Old Port" and "Come Clean."

Evidently, "The Live Ghost" was, but later ended up being colorized
and released as part of the TV version of "March Of The Wooden
Soldiers."

(This is why there are no "colorized" versions of these shorts on the
UK DVDs. Sorry, Space Boss.)

As I recall, "The Music Box" appeared twice...once colorized and once
black and white.

Generally, the shows either included one feature film or three shorts.
One show had two shorts, plus an expanded "Laurel & Hardy
Scrapbook" (this was a time-filler segment which closed the shows)
incorporating interviews and a lot of footage from "This Is Your Life."

[Hal Erickson]

Post by Shark
"Unaccustomed As We Are" WAS included in this series.
"They Go Boom" WAS NOT.
Nor were "Any Old Port" and "Come Clean."
Evidently, "The Live Ghost" was, but later ended up being colorized
and released as part of the TV version of "March Of The Wooden
Soldiers."

"The Live Ghost" was not included in "The Laurel and Hardy Show."
The colorized version was prepared for Samuel Goldwyn Productions rather
than Hal Roach Studios;
this was the version included with the colorized TV version of "Wooden
Soldiers."

Curiously, clips of They Go Boom and Come Clean were included respectively
in the "Laurel and Hardy Scrapbook"
mini-bios of Charlie Hall and Mae Busch.

Interesting that "Zenobia" was part of this package, as were the non-Roach
"Flying Deuces" and "Utopia" (the latter heavily reedited to 64 minutes).
The MGM-controlled Roach features Devil's Brother, Bonnie Scotland and Pick
a Star were not.

--Hal E

[Eric Perlin]

I remember that the L&H Show had the three-reel version of "Laughing Gravy"
(which combined both the American and European endings). I ran out of videotape
before it ended because all I knew of was the 2-reel version!

Here is a partial list of other combinations I can remember.
(ed) means edited and (cz) means colorized.

Them Thar Hills (ed)
Tit For Tat (ed?)
Another Fine Mess

Helpmates (cz; ed)
Below Zero (ed)
The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case

One Good Turn
Scram
The Fixer Uppers
(The theme here seems to be L&H getting into trouble as a result of being good
samaritans)

Our Wife was paired with Me and My Pal; I can't remember which was the third
film.

The Music Box (cz)
Beau Hunks

Night Owls
Hoosegow
Extended L&H Scrapbook

Chickens Come Home
Laughing Gravy

By now, I can't remember a whole lot of the specific arrangements of which
particular short films were put with which other short films. However, I can
tell you that every sound short film seemed to be included with the exceptions
of "Come Clean", "Any Old Port," and "They Go Boom." The majority of the shorts
were shown complete, but a few were trimmed for time, including Below Zero,
Helpmates, Be Big, Dirty Work, and Them Thar Hills.

The following feature films were shown complete:
Pardon Us (longer version)
Sons of the Desert
Way Out West (cz)
Blockheads
A Chump At Oxford
Saps At Sea

The following features were shown in edited versions, with editing varying from
as little as 2 minutes to as much as 18 minutes:

Bohemian Girl (Cut by approx. 5 min)
Our Relations (Cut by approx. 9 min)
Swiss Miss (Cut by approx. 7 min, but it didn't matter)
The Flying Deuces (Cut by approx. 2 min)
Utopia (Cut by approx. 18 min)

"Pack Up Your Troubles" was a slightly edited version of the restored version!

The heavily edited version of "Utopia" as aired on the L&H Show was sufficiently
good enough to make me want to see the full 83 minute version (although even
that version is heavily edited from the European version). Shortly after
watching the 65-minute TV version, I bought a VHS tape of the 83-minute version
(which I still own).

The Devils's Brother, Bonnie Scotland, March of the Wooden Soldiers were the
only Roach period films excluded from the "L&H Show" package.

[Shark]

Thanks for the info, Eric...being the obsessive-compulsive freak I can
sometimes be, I cross-referenced whatever copyright registration
numbers I had with the listings in Randy Skretvedt's book, and
together with Eric's memories, here's what I have so far... The only
discrepancy based on Eric's information is show #LHS-18, which he
remembers as including "One Good Turn" ... the registration numbers
indicate it's "Men O' War." I personally don't remember.

LHS-1
The Bohemian Girl

LHS-2
Our Relations

LHS-3
Sons Of The Desert

LHS-4
The Music Box
Beau Hunks
?

LHS-5
Helpmates (Colorized)
Below Zero
The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case

LHS-6
(The Music Box) (Colorized version) (?)
?
?

LHS-7 Swiss Miss

LHS-8
Busy Bodies
?
?

LHS-9
County Hospital
?
?

LHS-10
Zenobia

LHS-11
Going Bye-Bye!
?
?

LHS-12
The Flying Deuces

LHS-13
A Chump At Oxford

LHS-14
Chickens Come Home
Laughing Gravy
?

LHS-15
Perfect Day
Brats
Be Big!

LHS-16
Saps At Sea

LHS-17
The Hoose-Gow
Night Owls
Laurel & Hardy Scrapbook (This Is Your Life)

LHS-18
Men O' War (?) (or One Good Turn?)
Scram!
The Fixer-Uppers

LHS-19 Pardon Us

LHS-20 Pack Up Your Troubles

LHS-21
PA-307-796
Twice Two
?
?

LHS-22
PA-307-778
Our Wife
Me And My Pal
?

LHS-23 Utopia

LHS-24
PA-307-792
Thicker Than Water

LHS-25 Block-Heads

LHS-26 Way Out West (Colorized)

One other thing...I found the "Laurel & Hardy Laughtoons" series
includes some segments based on footage from "Unaccustomed As We Are,"
"They Go Boom!" (not a big surprise for those two) and... "Their First
Mistake" (?) What is up with that?

Apparently, the Laughtoons series was compiled back in 1978. Just from
memory, I believe that is BEFORE I got a Blackhawk Films bulletin
announcing that the soundtrack of "Unaccustomed" had been found. Just
as an aside...I seem to remember periodically Blackhawk would have a
"Help Wanted" notice in their inside cover or thereabouts, inquiring
about finding some lost film, should someone reading their catalog
happen to have a print or know where one could be found. I seem to
recall both "Railroadin" and "Unaccustomed" having been the subject of
these...and a very short time later, Blackhawk was offering them in
their catalog. (I might not have the exact ones right, this is all
from memory from over 25 years ago.) I remember them doing the same
for "Hats Off," placing a "Help Wanted" item for it and I thought,
based on their track record, it'll probably be in their next catalog!
Unfortunately not....

Post by Eric Perlin
I remember that the L&H Show had the three-reel version of "Laughing Gravy"
(which combined both the American and European endings). I ran out of videotape
before it ended because all I knew of was the 2-reel version!
Here is a partial list of other combinations I can remember.
(ed) means edited and (cz) means colorized.
Them Thar Hills (ed)
Tit For Tat (ed?)
Another Fine Mess
Helpmates (cz; ed)
Below Zero (ed)
The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case
One Good Turn
Scram
The Fixer Uppers
(The theme here seems to be L&H getting into trouble as a result of being good
samaritans)
Our Wife was paired with Me and My Pal; I can't remember which was the third
film.
The Music Box (cz)
Beau Hunks
Night Owls
Hoosegow
Extended L&H Scrapbook
Chickens Come Home
Laughing Gravy
By now, I can't remember a whole lot of the specific arrangements of which
particular short films were put with which other short films. However, I can
tell you that every sound short film seemed to be included with the exceptions
of "Come Clean", "Any Old Port," and "They Go Boom." The majority of the shorts
were shown complete, but a few were trimmed for time, including Below Zero,
Helpmates, Be Big, Dirty Work, and Them Thar Hills.
Pardon Us (longer version)
Sons of the Desert
Way Out West (cz)
Blockheads
A Chump At Oxford
Saps At Sea
The following features were shown in edited versions, with editing varying from
Bohemian Girl (Cut by approx. 5 min)
Our Relations (Cut by approx. 9 min)
Swiss Miss (Cut by approx. 7 min, but it didn't matter)
The Flying Deuces (Cut by approx. 2 min)
Utopia (Cut by approx. 18 min)
"Pack Up Your Troubles" was a slightly edited version of the restored version!
The heavily edited version of "Utopia" as aired on the L&H Show was sufficiently
good enough to make me want to see the full 83 minute version (although even
that version is heavily edited from the European version). Shortly after
watching the 65-minute TV version, I bought a VHS tape of the 83-minute version
(which I still own).
The Devils's Brother, Bonnie Scotland, March of the Wooden Soldiers were the
only Roach period films excluded from the "L&H Show" package.

[m***@yahoo.com]

I think when they ran the Music Box in color, it was just a virtual
swap-out from the black and white episode, so it was still paired with
"Beau Hunks."

I should be able to double-check these, though. I believe I have
every episode recorded in SP mode VHS. They're tucked away at my
parents house. I even have two episodes that were sent to me by Rob
Word at Hal Roach Studios at the time. That was nice of him.

Oh, and I'm pretty sure it was "Men O' War" with "Scram" and "The
Fixer-Uppers." That was the first batch of shorts they ran on WPWR-60
in the spring/summer of '86, and I was a big dork all excited about
watching it instead of going outside when it was really nice
weather.

Post by Shark
Thanks for the info, Eric...being the obsessive-compulsive freak I can
sometimes be, I cross-referenced whatever copyright registration
numbers I had with the listings in Randy Skretvedt's book, and
together with Eric's memories, here's what I have so far... The only
discrepancy based on Eric's information is show #LHS-18, which he
remembers as including "One Good Turn" ... the registration numbers
indicate it's "Men O' War." I personally don't remember.
LHS-1
The Bohemian Girl
LHS-2
Our Relations
LHS-3
Sons Of The Desert
LHS-4
The Music Box
Beau Hunks
?
LHS-5
Helpmates (Colorized)
Below Zero
The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case
LHS-6
(The Music Box) (Colorized version) (?)
?
?
LHS-7 Swiss Miss
LHS-8
Busy Bodies
?
?
LHS-9
County Hospital
?
?
LHS-10
Zenobia
LHS-11
Going Bye-Bye!
?
?
LHS-12
The Flying Deuces
LHS-13
A Chump At Oxford
LHS-14
Chickens Come Home
Laughing Gravy
?
LHS-15
Perfect Day
Brats
Be Big!
LHS-16
Saps At Sea
LHS-17
The Hoose-Gow
Night Owls
Laurel & Hardy Scrapbook (This Is Your Life)
LHS-18
Men O' War (?) (or One Good Turn?)
Scram!
The Fixer-Uppers
LHS-19 Pardon Us
LHS-20 Pack Up Your Troubles
LHS-21
PA-307-796
Twice Two
?
?
LHS-22
PA-307-778
Our Wife
Me And My Pal
?
LHS-23 Utopia
LHS-24
PA-307-792
Thicker Than Water
LHS-25 Block-Heads
LHS-26 Way Out West (Colorized)
One other thing...I found the "Laurel & Hardy Laughtoons" series
includes some segments based on footage from "Unaccustomed As We Are,"
"They Go Boom!" (not a big surprise for those two) and... "Their First
Mistake" (?) What is up with that?
Apparently, the Laughtoons series was compiled back in 1978. Just from
memory, I believe that is BEFORE I got a Blackhawk Films bulletin
announcing that the soundtrack of "Unaccustomed" had been found. Just
as an aside...I seem to remember periodically Blackhawk would have a
"Help Wanted" notice in their inside cover or thereabouts, inquiring
about finding some lost film, should someone reading their catalog
happen to have a print or know where one could be found. I seem to
recall both "Railroadin" and "Unaccustomed" having been the subject of
these...and a very short time later, Blackhawk was offering them in
their catalog. (I might not have the exact ones right, this is all
from memory from over 25 years ago.) I remember them doing the same
for "Hats Off," placing a "Help Wanted" item for it and I thought,
based on their track record, it'll probably be in their next catalog!
Unfortunately not....

Post by Eric Perlin
I remember that the L&H Show had the three-reel version of "Laughing Gravy"
(which combined both the American and European endings). I ran out of videotape
before it ended because all I knew of was the 2-reel version!
Here is a partial list of other combinations I can remember.
(ed) means edited and (cz) means colorized.
Them Thar Hills (ed)
Tit For Tat (ed?)
Another Fine Mess
Helpmates (cz; ed)
Below Zero (ed)
The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case
One Good Turn
Scram
The Fixer Uppers
(The theme here seems to be L&H getting into trouble as a result of being good
samaritans)
Our Wife was paired with Me and My Pal; I can't remember which was the third
film.
The Music Box (cz)
Beau Hunks
Night Owls
Hoosegow
Extended L&H Scrapbook
Chickens Come Home
Laughing Gravy
By now, I can't remember a whole lot of the specific arrangements of which
particular short films were put with which other short films. However, I can
tell you that every sound short film seemed to be included with the exceptions
of "Come Clean", "Any Old Port," and "They Go Boom." The majority of the shorts
were shown complete, but a few were trimmed for time, including Below Zero,
Helpmates, Be Big, Dirty Work, and Them Thar Hills.
Pardon Us (longer version)
Sons of the Desert
Way Out West (cz)
Blockheads
A Chump At Oxford
Saps At Sea
The following features were shown in edited versions, with editing varying from
Bohemian Girl (Cut by approx. 5 min)
Our Relations (Cut by approx. 9 min)
Swiss Miss (Cut by approx. 7 min, but it didn't matter)
The Flying Deuces (Cut by approx. 2 min)
Utopia (Cut by approx. 18 min)
"Pack Up Your Troubles" was a slightly edited version of the restored version!
The heavily edited version of "Utopia" as aired on the L&H Show was sufficiently
good enough to make me want to see the full 83 minute version (although even
that version is heavily edited from the European version). Shortly after
watching the 65-minute TV version, I bought a VHS tape of the 83-minute version
(which I still own).
The Devils's Brother, Bonnie Scotland, March of the Wooden Soldiers were the
only Roach period films excluded from the "L&H Show" package.

[Shark]

Post by m***@yahoo.com
I think when they ran the Music Box in color, it was just a virtual
swap-out from the black and white episode, so it was still paired with
"Beau Hunks."
I should be able to double-check these, though. �I believe I have
every episode recorded in SP mode VHS. �They're tucked away at my
parents house. �I even have two episodes that were sent to me by Rob
Word at Hal Roach Studios at the time. �That was nice of him.
Oh, and I'm pretty sure it was "Men O' War" with "Scram" and "The
Fixer-Uppers." �That was the first batch of shorts they ran on WPWR-60
in the spring/summer of '86, and I was a big dork all excited about
watching it instead of going outside when it was really nice
weather.

Yeah, me too...as I recall, they started showing them in the
spring...oddly enough, for the first two weeks, WPWR ran "Pardon Us"
and then "Way Out West" (in B&W), both from Blackhawk prints, with
"television and theatrical rights reserved" notices. Then the
following week, they "properly" kicked off the series with "Our
Relations." As I recall.

Prior to that, WPWR would occasionally run "Utopia" and "The Flying
Deuces" (with splices in the same exact spots as my VHS copies from
Goodtimes and Congress Video...seems every year SOMEONE would give me
a version of "The Flying Deuces" on VHS) and WGN had the Fox films.

[m***@yahoo.com]

Post by Shark

Post by m***@yahoo.com
I think when they ran the Music Box in color, it was just a virtual
swap-out from the black and white episode, so it was still paired with
"Beau Hunks."
I should be able to double-check these, though. ?I believe I have
every episode recorded in SP mode VHS. ?They're tucked away at my
parents house. ?I even have two episodes that were sent to me by Rob
Word at Hal Roach Studios at the time. ?That was nice of him.
Oh, and I'm pretty sure it was "Men O' War" with "Scram" and "The
Fixer-Uppers." ?That was the first batch of shorts they ran on WPWR-60
in the spring/summer of '86, and I was a big dork all excited about
watching it instead of going outside when it was really nice
weather.

Yeah, me too...as I recall, they started showing them in the
spring...oddly enough, for the first two weeks, WPWR ran "Pardon Us"
and then "Way Out West" (in B&W), both from Blackhawk prints, with
"television and theatrical rights reserved" notices. Then the
following week, they "properly" kicked off the series with "Our
Relations." As I recall.
Prior to that, WPWR would occasionally run "Utopia" and "The Flying
Deuces" (with splices in the same exact spots as my VHS copies from
Goodtimes and Congress Video...seems every year SOMEONE would give me
a version of "The Flying Deuces" on VHS) and WGN had the Fox films.

Ah! You we're the other guy watching them at the time. I always
wondered if anybody else was watching! I remember the whole thing so
vividly. You're absolutely right about Pardon Us and Way Out West
running with the Blackhawk prints. That was sometime in April. Then,
the first weekend in May they ran "Sons of the Desert" under the L&H
Show banner. As a kid, I was all hyper about recording it, but we had
terrible UHF reception out west of Joliet. After that, I don't
remember the sequence of shows, but I think you're right that "Our
Relations" was run pretty early on.

And, that's also funny that you recognize the splices from the
Congress video version of "Deuces." I had that copy too, on Beta! I
think I paid like $25 for it or something outrageous, but it was way
cheaper than the Nostalgia Merchant tapes at the time. That was thei
first time my friends and I had ever seen the RKO tower beeping out
morse code, and we thought it was so cool.

[greg o r y]

i didn't catch the L&H show until summer 1987 on CBN (when it aired at 1AM
between reruns of You Bet Your Life and the Jack Benny Program!). the cut-up
feature films were definitely NOT being aired by then. i still have some of
them on VHS.

[Shark]

Post by greg o r y
i didn't catch the L&H show until summer 1987 on CBN (when it aired at 1AM
between reruns of You Bet Your Life and the Jack Benny Program!). the cut-up
feature films were definitely NOT being aired by then. i still have some of
them on VHS.

CBN didn't air the features in that time slot, but they did air them
in their usual movie time slots. As I recall...they would begin with
the 1986 Hal Roach Studios logo, but then the movie itself would
follow. No "Laurel And Hardy Show" stuff. In fact, "Hal Roach Studios
Film Classics" released "Deuces" and "Utopia" on VHS like that.
"Utopia" had the Oliver Hardy "Ship's Reporter" as a bonus (on VHS)
and also had the re-edited titles, using the music and some footage
from the "Block-Heads" opening titles. (The L&H Show version of
"Utopia" had the original titles, but with the Exploitation Pictures
logo cut off, just like the Goodtimes Video version.) The HRSFC video
version of "Utopia" was used for the Passport Video "Laurel & Hardy
Collection" and possibly other releases.

Around the same time, CBN also aired most of the Fox films. But I
don't think they ever aired "A-Haunting We Will Go." I also seem to
remember that the Fox films on CBN were hacked to pieces.

[Hal Erickson]

Post by Shark

Post by greg o r y
i didn't catch the L&H show until summer 1987 on CBN (when it aired at 1AM
between reruns of You Bet Your Life and the Jack Benny Program!). the cut-up
feature films were definitely NOT being aired by then. i still have some of
them on VHS.

Around the same time, CBN also aired most of the Fox films. But I
don't think they ever aired "A-Haunting We Will Go." I also seem to
remember that the Fox films on CBN were hacked to pieces.

CBN ran all six Fox films, IFRC. GREAT GUNS, BIG NOISE and JITTERBUGS were
each edited to about 67 minutes, and not too badly (though the shortened
JITTERBUGS removed most of L&H's opening scene in the desert, using a
lap-dissolve to cover the missing footage). Prints were quite good.

--Hal E

[greg o r y]

at least they WERE being aired then. i was 12 at the time and the late-night
CBN package was my introduction to L&H. had they not been shown in
syndication, i probably wouldn't have been familiarized with those films.

it's bizarre. there are 100 + channels available in most cable markets now,
and classic comedy has almost disappeared completely from the pop culture
landscape. i'm 32 now, but i'm probably one of the YOUNGEST people to have
caught those films in any sort of consistent syndication. what went wrong?
i've heard posters here through the years remark that today's kids don't
"get" slapstick or any sort of humor that doesn't hinge on irony or
hipsterism. maybe that's true, but keep in mind that most people (or
americans at least) under 30 probably haven't seen a L&H film from start to
finish.

once something disappears from the cultural lexicon, it's nearly impossible
to resurrect on a grand scale. classic comedy is now a niche market, and
it's only going to get worse.

those wonderful piss-poor UHF channels that exposed many of us to the Boys,
the Marx Bros, WC Fields, etc. are gone forever. yes we can buy all the
special-edition box-set dvd sets we want, invest in region-free DVD players,
or even catch 35-mm prints at the occasional convention or whatever, but
it's all for naught if new audiences aren't being exposed.

so who's going to care 20 years from now?

Post by Hal Erickson

Post by Shark

Post by greg o r y
i didn't catch the L&H show until summer 1987 on CBN (when it aired at 1AM
between reruns of You Bet Your Life and the Jack Benny Program!). the cut-up
feature films were definitely NOT being aired by then. i still have

some

Post by Hal Erickson

Post by Shark

Post by greg o r y
of
them on VHS.

Around the same time, CBN also aired most of the Fox films. But I
don't think they ever aired "A-Haunting We Will Go." I also seem to
remember that the Fox films on CBN were hacked to pieces.

CBN ran all six Fox films, IFRC. GREAT GUNS, BIG NOISE and JITTERBUGS were
each edited to about 67 minutes, and not too badly (though the shortened
JITTERBUGS removed most of L&H's opening scene in the desert, using a
lap-dissolve to cover the missing footage). Prints were quite good.
--Hal E

[Walter Traprock]

Post by greg o r y
at least they WERE being aired then. i was 12 at the time and the late-night
CBN package was my introduction to L&H. had they not been shown in
syndication, i probably wouldn't have been familiarized with those films.
it's bizarre. there are 100 + channels available in most cable markets now,
and classic comedy has almost disappeared completely from the pop culture

More channels mean less stuff!

Post by greg o r y
landscape. i'm 32 now, but i'm probably one of the YOUNGEST people to have
caught those films in any sort of consistent syndication. what went wrong?
i've heard posters here through the years remark that today's kids don't
"get" slapstick or any sort of humor that doesn't hinge on irony or
hipsterism. maybe that's true, but keep in mind that most people (or
americans at least) under 30 probably haven't seen a L&H film from start to
finish.
once something disappears from the cultural lexicon, it's nearly impossible
to resurrect on a grand scale. classic comedy is now a niche market, and
it's only going to get worse.
those wonderful piss-poor UHF channels that exposed many of us to the Boys,
the Marx Bros, WC Fields, etc. are gone forever. yes we can buy all the
special-edition box-set dvd sets we want, invest in region-free DVD players,
or even catch 35-mm prints at the occasional convention or whatever, but
it's all for naught if new audiences aren't being exposed.
so who's going to care 20 years from now?

Didn't people still care about silent films, in say, the 1950s? What was
Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops about, with all that silent
film stuff? I remember when seeing silent films was much harder than
now, I mean as someone rather younger than "a student", which was in the
same era that seeing Laurel & Hardy, etc., was much easier than now, and
I was fascinated with older films as a kid, the older the better. But
that fascination wore off before I saw most of the silent films I've
seen. So, I don't see the trauma. A hundred years from now, there'll be
WC Fields, as long as there is humanity, there will be Laurel and Hardy.

[greg o r y]

Post by Walter Traprock
Didn't people still care about silent films, in say, the 1950s?

Yeah but we're now three generations removed from the silent era--not just
one. In the 50s, the majority of adults were already familiar with those
films because they were within living memory.

Post by Walter Traprock
Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops about, with all that silent

film stuff?

Again, there was still the cultural familiarity of being only one generation
removed from that era. And keep in mind--that particular A&C film was
released in '55 at a time when slapstick silents were being distributed left
and right via early TV syndication packages. If the paying public didn't
remember the Keystone Kops from 40 years before, then at least they were
seeing them for the first time on television.

Post by Walter Traprock
So, I don't see the trauma. A hundred years from now, there'll be WC

Fields, as long as there is humanity, there will be Laurel and Hardy.

I wonder how many people under age of fifty purchased the most recent WC
Fields set? What happens when today's young-adult demographic becomes
tomorrow's older-adult demographic? No demand = no product.

Broadcast exposure is more likely to cultivate new audiences. The home video
market has always been about appeasing the collector. Pass the torch or it
burns out. No?

[Walter Traprock]

Post by greg o r y
I wonder how many people under age of fifty purchased the most recent WC
Fields set?

Probably more than people over 50. I wouldn't know, except that I
bought both sets, and the Criterian shorts collection. I doubt it's
nostalgia that fuels interest in classic comedy, but something else.
I've seen far more WC Fields now, than before. I have seen It's a
Gift in a repertoire theatre, which don't seem to exist anymore.

[m***@yahoo.com]

Post by greg o r y
Broadcast exposure is more likely to cultivate new audiences. The home video
market has always been about appeasing the collector. Pass the torch or it
burns out. No?

I gotta say though, that right now it seems Laurel and Hardy are more
popular than anytime in the last 30 years or so. There are tons of
websites devoted to them--at least two really good new ones in the
past 6 months. You can download just about all their films on file-
sharing sites. Lots of clips on YouTube, too. Teenagers post about
them on IMDB. TCM has them licensed for 40 years--we'll see how that
goes, but it sounds promising.

Even if you can't buy their movies in Best Buy, it appears that there
are lots of people all over the world who are more than happy to
bypass the traditional channels of video distribution. They've become
a niche market for sure, but that's fine. The people who are really
interested will find them.

Things are way different than they were in the old UHF days, for sure--
and I miss those late night chopped up prints of classic comedies
interrupted by the sleaziest car dealer ads imaginable. But, UHF was
just one part of the great trip Laurel and Hardy have made over the
past 80 years. They've gone digital, and they will be around for a
long time, I think.

Their humor has so much going for it. I think it holds up much better
than a lot of others who relied on jokes. Stan and Ollies bizarre
world is something a lot of people can appreciate. Not everybody, to
be sure, but a lot of people. I wouldn't worry.

[Mister Levity]

Post by m***@yahoo.com
And, that's also funny that you recognize the splices from the
Congress video version of "Deuces." I had that copy too, on Beta! I
think I paid like $25 for it or something outrageous, but it was way
cheaper than the Nostalgia Merchant tapes at the time.

Exactly how much were the Nostalgia Merchant VHS tapes seeling retail
for?
I have most of them but can't remember what the price was.

[Jim Reid]

Post by Mister Levity
Exactly how much were the Nostalgia Merchant VHS tapes seeling retail
for?
I have most of them but can't remember what the price was.

I seem to remember that they were $39.

[m***@yahoo.com]

When I used to see them for sale in the Blackhawk catalog THEY WERE AT
LEAST $49. That would have been around 1984. But, a few years later
I was able to pick up a VHS of Pardon Us for $19 or $29. The
colorized versions of Way Out West and The Music Box were also $29
when first released by Hal Roach in those big huge boxes.

Post by Mister Levity

Post by m***@yahoo.com
And, that's also funny that you recognize the splices from the
Congress video version of "Deuces." I had that copy too, on Beta! I
think I paid like $25 for it or something outrageous, but it was way
cheaper than the Nostalgia Merchant tapes at the time.

Exactly how much were the Nostalgia Merchant VHS tapes seeling retail
for?
I have most of them but can't remember what the price was.

[Shark]

Post by m***@yahoo.com
When I used to see them for sale in the Blackhawk catalog THEY WERE AT
LEAST $49. �That would have been around 1984. �But, a few years later
I was able to pick up a VHS of Pardon Us for $19 or $29. �The
colorized versions of Way Out West and The Music Box were also $29
when first released by Hal Roach in those big huge boxes.

Post by Mister Levity

Post by m***@yahoo.com
And, that's also funny that you recognize the splices from the
Congress video version of "Deuces." �I had that copy too, on Beta! �I
think I paid like $25 for it or something outrageous, but it was way
cheaper than the Nostalgia Merchant tapes at the time.

Exactly how much were the Nostalgia Merchant VHS tapes seeling retail
for?
I have most of them but can't remember what the price was.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I remember going into Precision Video (a now-gone video superstore,
guess why) in the mid-1980s around the time Fox first released "Great
Guns" and "The Bullfighters" on video. This was the very first place I
ever saw them. All their videos were locked up in cases. I asked the
guy at the counter, about a Laurel & Hardy video called "Great Guns."

"Laurel and Hardy never did a title called 'Great Guns,'" he replied.
I was able to eventually persuade him to come with me to the display
where it stood alongside the other L&H tapes, including "The
Bullfighters" and the Nostalgia Merchant tapes. I asked how much it
was, and he said all the L&H titles sold for $65. (!?!) I passed.

This was very different from today, when new DVDs can be found
(usually the day of release) at Best Buy, Wal-Mart, etc. Loads and
loads of stuff came out in the VHS era, even into the 1990s, and a lot
of the time, you'd never know it, because no stores ever carried a lot
of it. A short time after this, maybe a month or so later, I managed
to "order" a couple of the Nostalgia Merchant tapes from a local store
(a coin collector's store which had recently branched into video
rentals). They had a catalog from some distributor, with a lot of
titles available for special order, but it was selective. They had
"Laurel & Hardy Comedy Classics," but only Volumes 1, 3, 5 and 6 (out
of 9). I went to a lot of rental places in my area and a lot of them
seemed to only have those volumes. I ordered 1 and 3, and I think they
were $29.95 each or thereabouts. I wanted to collect them one by one,
but I never followed up after that. But in the late 1980s, I got some
of the others at Metro-Golden-Memories in Chicago, for (I believe)
$19.99 each...and around the same time, I saw a lot of them "blown
out" at Musicland/Sam Goody, sometimes for $9.99 each. I eventually
was able to get most of the NM tapes, but some remained elusive...the
ones I couldn't find, I recorded from AMC. This, I believe, was around
the tail end of the Nostalgia Merchant tapes, before they were
deleted. They'd been available for at least a decade, through
different ownership of the label, and I've found different versions of
some titles, mastered differently (the same film might have Blackhawk
titles on one version, Film Classics titles on another, Blackhawk
titles with the Blackhawk name "blacked out" on another, etc.) It
might be interesting to try and compile a list of the variations, but
I think it would be pretty difficult.

[Jim Reid]

I got my first VHS machine in 1978 and the first tapes I saw for sale
were Fox features released by Magnetic VIdeo in about 1980. I bought
Patton about that time. It came on two cassettes and was $79. There
was a store that opened in Tulsa about this time called Vidco. It was
owned by the guy who owned VCI, which is still in business. I remember
going in one day and they had gotten their first Nostalgia Merchant
titles. They were RKO features and L&H shorts and were $39. I thought
they were a great bargain and bought a few.