Linda Loredo Appreciation Day

Today, 21st January 2017, is Linda Loredo Appreciation Day!

You can find out more information about Linda Loredo by clicking on the new tab above - "Appreciation Day" - or here.

Have you seen many of the Spanish language films that Linda Loredo starred in for Hal Roach?

Enjoy Appreciation Day! There will be another one next month.

Film #12 - The Sawmill (1922)

 

   

Starring Larry Semon.

 

Featuring Oliver Hardy, Ann Hastings, and Frank Alexander.

 

Directed by Larry Semon and Norman Taurog.

 

Synopsis

"The Dumb-Bell"

 

       



"The Sawmill" begins with a bunch of employees working with the boss of the sawmill (Al Thompson) cutting timber. The boss's daughter (Kathleen O'Connor) arrives, bearing gifts of luncheon and smiles for all.

Well, except the bully foreman (Oliver Hardy), whom she doesn't like much.

Just as lunch is being delivered, the owner of the mill (Frank Alexander) rocks up with his daughter (Ann Hastings) to check out how the sawing is going.

We meet Larry, the dumb-bell, pipe in mouth, busily rowing along the tracks astride a huge tree bark.

The boss's daughter brings Larry lunch, much to the chagrin of the foreman, with Larry and the foreman having a bit of a scrap.  

After his fight with the foreman, Larry is chased by more of the mill workers where he inadvertently flips a wheelbarrow full of paint over the owner.

Eventually he avoids capture by adopting a disguise.

Further run-ins involve buzz saws and falling trees - with Semon almost crushed to death on several occasions - before Larry decides that enough is enough and he seeks redress from his clumsy colleagues.

This involves chasing them all around the sawmill, amongst the trees, and on water, with Semon launching himself off a house in the process.

The madcap chase comes to a conclusion just as the owner, the foreman, the boss, and his daughter are sitting down to lunch.

In trying to get more paint, Semon is shot at by an angry co-worker, and with the bucket full of paint falling onto the head of the foreman, lunch is ruined and the owner isn't too happy.

He's made more unhappy when Semon's bungling means that a shedload of paint is spilt over the lunch party.

In fact, he's so unhappy that he fires the foreman and the workers.

Larry, meanwhile, attempts to seduce the owner's daughter in the owner's home. The shenanigans that ensue see the owner receive a shot in the backside because his dog sets off a gun (!); Larry and the owner's daughter hide in a safe; and the irate foreman returns with a gun to settle scores with the owner.

Thanks to the ingenious canine, who manages to divert the gun powder laid by the foreman away from the owner's safe, the safe is safe from the ensuing blast.

However, the house isn't; it's blown to smithereens.

Larry and the owner's daughter emerge from the safety of the safe in one piece, but it isn't long before Larry is clobbered over the head by the foreman's cronies and the owner's daughter kidnapped.

Larry's daring attempt to save her results in both of them high-up in one of the trees, armed with just a rope.

With all the grace of Tarzan and Jane, Larry and the owner's daughter (who I might just call 'Jane' from now on) swing from the rope which has been lassoed over a metal structure, and fly through the air before landing in a lake.

Safe and well, they are reunited with a happy owner (who has escaped the clutches of the villainous foreman) and his dog, only for the owner to fall into the lake as Larry rushes into the arms of 'Jane'.

   

Review

"The Worm Turns"


 

   

It's about time that Larry Semon made an appearance on Magnolia's Musings, and what a great film to discuss for his MM debut.

"The Sawmill" encapsulates everything that makes Larry Semon comedies great, in my book; frantic, bizarre plots that are utterly unpredictable and daredevil stunts which are extremely funny. 

"The Sawmill" was the first Semon film that I saw. I stumbled upon his work by accident, as a couple of his comedies featured on a definitive Laurel and Hardy collection set that I have, which showcases the early work of the wonderful duo. "The Sawmill" was bold, ambitious, very silly, and very funny, and it left a strong impression on me and made me want to track down more of Semon's films.

Some quick scouting around popular film review sites drags up the fact that Semon often gets a lot of bad press - people are not very kind to him. I don't know whether it's because people mistakenly believe that when you write a "critical" review you have to "criticise" the film that you are talking about - a bad error - or whether the general unavailability of a lot of Semon's work means that people make judgements based upon viewing one or two of his films. People can also be harsh on Semon because he isn't Harold Lloyd or Buster Keaton - a strange viewpoint - but whatever the reason for the bad press, the fact that most of Semon's corpus has not been beautifully restored or re-mastered certainly does darken one's appreciation of him.

So, this much is true. He's been critically overlooked and it's not easy to view his films.

I've bemoaned the fact that it's hard to obtain Charley Chase and Harry Langdon films in the UK, but at least some of their films have had official releases by Kino in the States. Semon hasn't had that luxury yet, although Grapevine video have done a good job in making more of his shorts and a feature film ("The Perfect Clown") available.

Hopefully the recently released biography of Semon by Claudia Sassen will arouse more interest in Semon's films and perhaps somebody like Kino might consider something like a "boxset" or collection of Semon's work in the near future.

Whatever your views of Semon, you can't deny the fact that for a period in the 1920s, he was massively popular. Not that his popularity should exclude him from criticism, oh no, but it's time to give the clown a much needed round of applause... 

"The Sawmill" was one of the most expensive short silent films ever made, and it's easy to see why. With its gorgeous environment of trees and lakes, and several large explosions along the way, Semon's great outdoors must have blown the pants off any studio sets that other short films were using at the time of its release.

But despite its great backdrop, it's not all plain sawing sailing...

Semon's films are much like a "comedy of excess": "Excess" is the key word here, because Semon doesn't do things in half measures. -Everything- is over the top and, well, excessive. His films are frantic, fast-paced, even absurd, with excessive amounts of running, incredible stunts, and humorous gags. It's difficult to write a synopsis for a Semon film because there is so much that goes on and you can't write about every incident!

There's often so much going on in a Semon film that the viewer can feel slightly overwhelmed by the experience as your brain struggles to remember every madcap minute and every bonkers stunt that takes place at breakneck speed.

However, perhaps that's the point of a Semon film, though. Larry Semon certainly wouldn't have expected someone almost 100 years later to sit down and write an accurate synopsis of "The Sawmill".

Larry Semon wouldn't be interested in hearing a detailed plot synopsis; what he'd want to know is whether the audience laughed at his film. And perhaps that's the crucial point of Semon's comedies of excess - the reason why there could be so many stunts to bombard the viewer with is because Semon wants the viewer to laugh as much as possible. As long as they are happy and laugh, what does it matter if they can't recall the plot in minute detail?

But the picaresque plots that Semon favoured can cause problems for a generation bred on tightknit dramatic unity -especially when it comes to issues concerning plot holes. In "The Sawmill", for example, what happens to the boss and the boss's daughter? Larry seems to have some kind of romantic interest with the boss's daughter, which is reciprocated, only for her to vanish from the film.

I think that part of my appreciation of "The Sawmill" comes from the fact that I like Semon's character. He just looks like a loveable rogue, doesn't he? And with his exaggerated eyebrows, white face paint, baggy trousers and plethora of winces and grimaces for the camera, Semon's character is simply funny to look at on screen.

Despite the plot holes in places, "The Sawmill" is an enjoyable madcap romp. Here are some of my favourite moments:

Semon's epic battle with Oliver Hardy; which sees the duo running around amidst the trees and dust and dirt. It's slapstick at its finest - especially when Semon believes that he has escaped from Hardy by showcasing his gymnast skills, only to receive a bump from a tree bark and crash down into the angry foreman.

The dangers of the sawmill are showcased to great slapstick success when Larry can't find anywhere safe to stand. Seeing trees crashing down near our hero are very funny indeed.

Semon's love of death-defying leaps: We get a lot of jumping and diving in "The Sawmill". Whether it's one of Semon's co-workers or even Larry himself leaping from a house, these moments must have been impressive and hilarious for Semon's first audiences.

And if you can't laugh at the epic chase which takes place in two boats on sea, land, and rocks, well, there isn't much hope for you!

Speaking of Oliver Hardy earlier, he plays his somewhat early typecast role as the blustering bully - which can be seen in many a Semon short from this period and when Hardy was briefly paired with Bobby Ray. He gets some good comedy moments: being scorned by the boss's daughter; foiled when attempting to bull-whip Larry; cooling off his burnt backside in a bucket of water; and blown up by gunpowder.

The final rescue of the owner's daughter once again showcases Semon's love of a grand, over the top finish, this time involving more daring leaps from a swinging rope into a lake.

If anything, it's the final moment of the comedy which falls a bit flat on its face as it's asking quite a lot of the audience to accept that the owner of the sawmill would want to rush into Larry's arms in the first place, never mind miss him by a country mile and -still- carry on running straight into the lake...

It's probably accurate to say that "The Sawmill" contains one of the weakest endings of any Larry Semon short film.

What do you think of "The Sawmill" and Larry Semon's short films in general?

Would you want to see Semon's films available as part of a DVD set and would you purchase it? If so, please leave a comment below.

I've toyed with the idea for a while now of setting up a number of petitions on change.org which would ask for signatures of people interested in obtaining official releases of films by Semon, the Roach Charley Chase talkies, in fact, anything Roach related like the Pitts/Todd/Kelly shorts, etc, and then somehow presenting said petition to companies like Kino to show them that many people would like to see some of the more "obscure" comedians getting official DVD releases.

It might work. Probably not, but it's worth a shot. So leave a comment below if you'd like to see a petition set up.

I've also decided to write much shorter reviews on Magnolia's Musings in the future. Each post will still feature a detailed synopsis and plenty of screenshots - as these might be of more interest to people than my confused ramblings - but the review section will be considerably shorter with just a few of my thoughts. This should mean that I can cover more films a month as well.
 

Watch it

"Discharged!"

 

 

 
"The Sawmill" is available on DVD, beautifully restored by Lobster films as part of their "Early Films of Oliver Hardy" set.

 

Here's the link: The Early Films of Oliver Hardy DVD

Special mention should be also made to Grapevine Video, who have released two DVDs containing some of the short films of Larry Semon. Here's hoping they release more Larry Semon shorts in the future.

Here's the link: Larry Semon: Volume 1 DVD

Larry Semon: Volume 2 DVD
 

Film #6 - Yes, Yes, Nanette (1925)

    

Starring James Finlayson.

 

Featuring Lyle Tayo, Sue O'Neill, and Oliver Hardy.

 

Directed by Stan Laurel and Clarence Hennecke.

 

Synopsis

"What a face!"

 

 

 

 

 



"Yes, Yes, Nanette" begins with Sonny (Grant Gorman) handing his mother a letter. The letter is from Sonny's sister, Nanette (Lyle Tayo).

The letter reveals that Nanette has married Hillory (James Finlayson) and is going to bring him home to meet the family.

The family, including the father (Jack Gavin) and perennial chewing-gum chewer and giggling daughter (Sue O'Neill), are all ecstatic about Nanette's return.

Sunday arrives and the family anxiously wait to meet the returning happy couple.

Mother is delighted to see Nanette, but is rather disappointed that Hillory is not as attractive as she'd hoped he would be!

Even Pete the pup seems to be hostile towards poor Hillory.

Sonny insults his clothes and the daughter pokes fun at the way he looks.

Father begrudgingly accepts Hillory's present of an El Stinko cigar whilst viewing his son-in-law with disdain.

The daughter returns to torment Hillory, sticking her chewing gum to the wall in the process.

She goes to touch his "shiny hair" but Hillory jerks his head backwards against the wall, right where the chewing gum was placed.

Hillory's toupee sticks to the gum on the wall and reveals his balding head, much to the mirth of the daughter!

Dinner is a disaster. As the family bow their heads to say grace, Hillory's toupee falls onto the table.

Pete the pup takes the opportunity to grab the toupee between his jaws.

Hillory eventually gets his toupee back from off of Pete the Pup's head!

Hillory's after-dinner singing is unappreciated by everyone except his wife, so the lovers are left alone.

Nanette's ex-sweetheart (Babe Hardy) enters and is disappointed to hear that she has got married.

After inspecting Hillory's clothes and toupee, the ex-sweetheart gets 'hands-on' with him.

Taking advice from the slogan hanging on the wall - "It is better to give than to receive" - Hillory decides to take a heavy-handed approach with his wife's ex-lover.

After smacking him in the chops, Hillory chases the ex-sweetheart out of the house.

The family are impressed by Hillory's heavy-handedness and leave him alone with Nanette.

Nanette sits on her husband's lap and the chair collapses.

 

Review

"What do you do with your old clothes - after they fall off?"

 

"Yes, Yes, Nanette" is a fun little one-reel silent comedy, lasting nine minutes in total.

It seems to have garnered significantly more interest than other one-reel films from the mid-twenties, possibly because of its "Laurel and Hardy" connections. Not only does Laurel and Hardy's chief nemesis James Finlayson star in this slapstick short, but Oliver Hardy makes an appearance late in the film as a burly bully, and Stan Laurel, along with Clarence Hennecke, was co-director of the film. 

And in case you were wondering:

The title of the film is a topical reference to an incredibly popular Broadway and West End musical comedy from 1925 entitled "No, No, Nanette" (thank you, Mr. Wikipedia), although that's where the similarities end - apart from the fact that "Yes, Yes, Nanette" like "No, No, Nanette" features a woman named Nanette...

Even though the film is short and the comedy is of a domestic nature, the gags presented have stood up well against the test of time. Largely this is due to James Finlayson's impeccable comic timing, and thanks to Pete the pup!

Yes, that's right! Pete the pup of Hal Roach's 'Our Gang' fame gets some of the best laughs in this film.

Some say that his natural, near complete circle around his right eye was made a perfect circle by legendary make-up artist Max Factor (as in the man), who would put make-up on the dog before filming.

A dog wearing a toupee?! What's not to like?!

 

So, thinking about my favourite gags in "Yes, Yes, Nanette", it's safe to say that the comedy involving Pete the pup and Finlayson is some of the finest in the film.

Finlayson's character appears on edge from the very first moment that he appears on screen, scanning the street to check out the type of neighbourhood his wife's parents live in.

There's no doubt about it: Hillory gets bullied and insulted throughout this short film, but, when Nanette's mother takes one look at his face and bursts into tears, it makes for great comedy. The laugh is heightened by Finlayson's penchant for looking at us, the viewer, throughout this film, and even though he doesn't do his what would become infamous double-take look ala Laurel and Hardy films, his bemused gawps make us laugh.

Hillory's attempts to make friends with Pete the pup turn out badly as well, with Finlayson in top comic form as he jumps away in exaggerated fear from the barking dog, taking refuge by holding onto the hallway light.

Probably my favourite Pete and Finlayson moment is during dinner, when the naughty dog takes Fin's toupee between his teeth and bolts away from the table! Fin is the master of the funny face, and his comical embarrassment is complete when Pete appears at the entrance to the dinning room with the toupee on his head! That was a hilarious moment!

Finlayson's gift for getting laughs by creating a range of bewildered and bemused faces is used to good effect when he attempts to chastise Pete for stealing his toupee, clearly speaking to the animal as if he were human.

Pete and Finlayson have one more special moment together when Nanette plays the piano after dinner. An ecstatic Finlayson, in full song, thinks it delightful that his wife is pecking him on the cheek as he sings. However, it's not his wife, of course, but Pete the dog licking his face.

Finlayson's expression is priceless during this moment - he goes from smug to disgruntled very quickly indeed.

Oliver Hardy's small role in this film is interesting enough, even though the role doesn't allow for the type of hilariously funny slapstick that he was performing with Bobby Ray in the same year. Hardy's job here is to turn up, insult Finlayson, and take a punch on the nose before running away. He's great as this type of burly bully, but it's not the Oliver Hardy that we would all grow to love, of course. The role could just have easily been played by someone like Noah Young, in my opinion. But Hardy does take a solid punch, and positively throws himself into the staircase after Finlayson trips him up. He also does a remarkable job of throwing himself to the floor as he escapes down the garden path. Nice work, Babe Hardy!

I always found it funny how the ex-sweetheart just wanders straight into the front-room of his former lover...anybody else think that?! The only person who has ever got away with just walking into front rooms unannounced is Arthur Fonzarelli...

On a curious tangent, I've been unable to find out the name of the actress who plays the mother in this film. Does anybody know who she is?

Please leave a comment below if you have any information.

In terms of the other actors, Sue O'Neill gives a nice performance as the bratty younger sister of Nanette and her constant ribbing of Hillory is fun. But her performance is probably made better by the fact that Lyle Tayo, Grant Gorman, and Jack Gavin are playing bit-part roles at best. With more screen-time, Nanette's sister is able to engage in more hijinks than, say, her brother Sonny. Having said this though, Sue O'Neill brings a certain cheeky playfulness to the role of the brat, and you never feel like you hate her - despite the fact that the intertitles suggest that you'd want to hit her with a brick! In fact, it's surprising just how anonymous Nanette is in this film, and Lyle Tayo has very little screen-time and very little to do. 

For those readers who like their stats and trivia, here's a good 'un for you: Sue O'Neill would later perform under the name of Sally O'Neil - yes, that's right ,two "l's" in the first surname and then one "l" in the second surname. She even acted alongside her sister, Molly O'Day, in "The Beloved" (1927).

I really like the scenes where the daughter torments Finlayson - they have great comic potential.

The daughter's chewing-gum offers one of the best gags in the film. And after Finlayson's toupee gets stuck to the gum on the wall and his baldness is revealed, Sue O'Neill's facial expression of shocked laughter is great!

Fin's attempt to place his toupee back on his head promptly and properly is also wonderful. D'oooohhhhhh!

 

 

I've always been a great admirer of James Finlayson, and even though I think he is better playing the villain than he is the hero - watch some of his early films with a young Stan Laurel, for example - "Yes, Yes, Nanette" has enough trademark Finlayson moments to make it a steady and enjoyable comedy. I'd certainly rank it above some of the other early Stan Laurel films such as "Half a Man" or "The Soilers", or Oliver Hardy's "One Too Many", for example, which feature on the same collection.

What do you think of "Yes, Yes, Nanette"?

 

Watch it

"Little girls shouldn't chew gum - It ruins their horoscope!"

 

 

"Yes, Yes, Nanette" is available on DVD as part of "The Definitive Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy Collection," restored by Lobster Films.

 

Here's the link: Definitive Collection DVD