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Buy Old Movies WC Fields Biography

Buy Old Movies WC Fields Biography - Part 1 - Video Clip

I remember watching the broadcast of “Strait Up” - the biography of WC Fields - narrated by Dudley Moore on TV a number of years ago.

In my last post there was an embedded link to a YouTube video clip showing WC Fields Juggling. It’s funny because I had no idea that if I had clicked on the bottom of the screen (after the juggling clip was finished) that there were a whole series of WC Fields clips including several from “Strait Up” - right on my OWN blog…

Duh…

It’s pretty obvious I am going to have to contract with one of my children or grandchildren to handle the ‘tech stuff’ for me.

In any event, if you haven’t watched his biography, watch Part 1. Follow the link at the beginning of this post.

it’s good stuff and lots of fun. I’d love to give credit to whomever put these clips up at YouTube but I haven’t figured out how to identify them yet. Just the same, we are all better for it. And whomever you are, please receive our collective thanks.

Laughter Is A Component Of Good Health

It’s becoming more clear as life moves faster and faster that laughter is one of the primary components of good health.

My Sifu always used to say to us, “If there is no laughter, there is no truth.”

Most of us in the baby boomer generation don’t laugh enough and we often take oursleves too seriously - myself included.

Have a little more fun and laugh everyday.

I can’t remember who told me this about 15 years ago, but that person said,

“The Japanese believe that you need to do three things every day to be healthy. You need to sweat, you need to yell and you need to laugh.”

By the way, I do remember that the quote came from a non Japanese, and I realize now that I never have validated that quote from any of my Japanese friends. But it seems to fit…

Get happy - laugh more.

Buy Old Movies WC Fields Biography, watch this and get your own copy for your grandkids. Otherwise, they may not ever have the chance to see this genius in action.

Buy Old Movies - WC Fields

Buy Old Movies WC Fields

It’s hard to remember when I didn’t appreciate WC Field’s humor. A couple his tongue in cheek quotes come to mind…

“Anyone who hates kids and dogs can’t be all bad.”

and another…

How do you like children Bill?

“Fried or parboiled.”

There’s an embedded video link further down (that I found on You Tube) where you can watch WC Fields Juggling as the Great McGonigle.

He was a marvelous juggler from his Vaudeville days.

Dictionary.com defines sacrilegious as “grossly irreverent toward what is or is held to be sacred”. In terms of WC Field’s disdain for the socially pompous and the ‘self righteous element of his day’, he was definitely and intentionally sacrilegious.

WC Fields was not politically correct and I don’t think he would be today. He might make Dennis Miller look like a powder puff by comparison.

At least that’s my interpretation.

He was a master of exaggeration and used the platform of comedy and slapstick to consistently take shots at those who do not walk their talk.

We all would like to do the kind of things he did on screen, but are afraid to in real life.

Who wouldn’t want to kick Baby Leroy (an obnoxious 2 year old who had just dropped his pocket watch into a bowl of molasses at the dinner table) in the rear end when no one was looking.

or looking for “Road Hogs” so that WC could eradicate them from the highways for the benefit of society

and so many other examples.

WC Fields Sense Of Humor Is Timeless and Universal

Somehow I understood his sardonic and dry approach to ridiculing the ridiculous at a very young age.

I remember watching him juggle the first time. I was glued to the screen.

The characters he creates on screen like Egbert Souse, henpecked husband and layabout; Larson E. Whipsnade, circus owner; juggler Eustace McGargle, and the Great McGonigle

display both sides of human nature - both devil and angel.

Yet you always understand why you empathize with both aspects.

Definitely a classic and a master and obviously brilliant. One of the finest film comedians of all time.

Buy old movies WC Fields.

Really Fun Japanese Movies

Really fun Japanese movies…

by Gwyer Maitland

I’m a big Kurosawa fan but over the course of my Hollywood Video rental rampage in Seattle, I discovered a bunch of really fun Japanese movies.

Today is incredibly busy for me so here is a quick note about my two favorites:

“Tampopo”

The first - and my favorite - is called “Tampopo” - a comedy about a Japanese noodle shop. It is touching, engaging and totally enjoyable.

Kind of a cross between a “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” and a Clint Eastwood flick…

Bad analogy…

Interestingly enough Ken Watanabe is in it and I never realized this until today. When I watched “The Last Samurai”, he seemed familiar but I didn’t make the connection - out of context.

He plays an interesting offbeat character with a lot of ‘art’ thrown in.

Side Bar:

By the way, this is also the movie that created an urge in me to hunt down me a fantastic noodle shop in Seattle. I am now a bonafide noodle freak.

If you’re ever in Seattle, go to Judy Fu’s Snappy Dragon about two exits north of the University in the Maple Leaf district.

Best noodle soup around - my favorite is the Szechwan Noodle Bowl.

Yum…

It truly is a delightful movie. My other favorite is:

“A Taxing Woman”

This is about a tax auditor on special assignment to catch a wealthy corporate executive who is a tax evasion expert.

Although the topic of taxes makes me nauseous in real life, this is really a fun movie.

That’s it for today…

You should watch really fun Japanese movies, you’ll love the playful Asian approach to humor.

Why I Buy Old Movies

Why I Buy Old Movies…

It dawned on me as I awoke this morning where my love for old movies started. And I had completely forgotten about this for over 45 years…

In 2nd grade, I used to ride an AC Transit bus from College and Ashby in Berkeley to University and Shattuck. It was the 51 line.

From there I walked about half a block and went into the restaurant where my mom was a waitress. I sat down in the back room where there was a movie projector and watched all kinds of old black and white movies - mostly comedies. Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, WC Fields and old cowboy movies and John Wayne flicks too…

Maybe it was the laughter. Maybe it was the vanilla milkshakes - extra thick. Maybe it was the kindness of the staff. But I realized this morning that I fell in love with old movies in 2nd grade.

Thinking back, I can’t remember when I wasn’t an old movie buff. Even as a kid, I watched at least two movies a week. As I think about it there was “Tuesday Night at the Movies”. There were movies on Saturday night at 9:00 and again at 11:00 p.m.. There were Sunday morning and Sunday night movies.

There were also weekday daytime movies everyday primarily geared to housewives at the time. One of the shows that ran for a number of years in the S.F. bay area was “Dialing For Dollars,” the very same one in the Janis Joplin song, “Dialing for Dollars is trying to call me.”

I remember the host, Pat McCormick…

This may sound kind of silly if you are not familiar with the era I’m talking about, but this is pre-internet and pre-cable tv.

Anyway, I watched a lot of movies on TV, in addition to the double features and a cartoon at the local theaters that we frequented as kids.

Fast forward to 2007…

Often there is a nostalgia and a sense of seeing an old friend when I watch these movies. Just this morning, I found a video clip of Laurel and Hardy at the official website - even at 38 seconds it made me laugh.

Watch it under comedy.

Why not start a family night with the kids and grandkids? Start a fun and purposeful collection than can become part of the family legacy for generations to come - buy old movies .

Laurel and Hardy Film Clips

Here are a series of Laurel and Hardy Film Clips from the official Laurel and Hardy website. It was really fun finding these old clips. I hadn’t seen these guys in about 20 years.

This one is from the 1932 classic County Hospital.

County Hospital

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Here are two Laurel and Hardy film clips from: “The Music Box”…

These are both under a minute…

#1) The Music Box

#2) The Music Box 2

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And yet another from a silent movie…

Should Married Men Go Home

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For more fun, here is the official Laurel and Hardy website:

www.laurel-and-hardy.com 

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If You Like These Clips You Can Get Your Own Copy of The Full Length Versions:

You can get both the Music Box and County Hospital on one dvd and here is the description:

Five Laurel and Hardy flicks… 

First: “Sons of the Desert” (1933),

Stan and Ollie attend a lodge convention against the wishes of their wives and get into trouble.

Next there are four shorts:

“The Music Box” (1932), where the pair struggle to deliver a piano to a hilltop house;

“County Hospital” (1932) has Stan visiting a laid-up Ollie in the hospital…with predictable results.

“Another Fine Mess” (1930), in which the boys hide out from the cops in a mansion;

“Busy Bodies” (1933) finds them making sawdust of a lumber
company

Laurel & Hardy, Vol. 1

The Quiet Man

by Gwyer Matiland

The Quiet Man is a story about an American boxer who returns to his grandparents old home in Ireland to settle down and live a quiet life.

This picture was nominated for best picture in 1952.

John Houston wanted to make this film, but Republic pictures told him that nobody wanted to see a movie about Ireland. So they struck a deal. If Houston could produce a western film that made Republic money, they would authorize the Irish movie.

Houston did just that and made Rio Grande with John Wayne in 1950 which was a financial and cinematic success.

The Quiet Man depicts the life in a small town in Ireland. The film is about the old ways, rich with tradition, simplicity and beauty - interwoven with a quaintness.

The cinematography is exceptional.

And it is a warm and exceptional cast including John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Ward Bond, Barry Fitzgerald, Victor McLaglen. There is a closeness between the actors and the local community that comes through. The cast’s sincerity is evident in their appreciation of the people, the place and being able to work on such an enjoyable and positive film. This is magnified by the love of their Irish heritage.

Many of the local people in the small town were used as extras in the movie, as well as John Ford’s older brother, Francis Ford.

It’s a beautifully executed movie and the character development is excellent. It is a charming story and very well received by the American public.

Wayne made 22 movies with Ford and this movie, in my opinion, this is my favorite.

The Quiet Man belongs in your film library.