Booth Tarkington 150 -- March 14, 2018

Time, 31-December-1929

Indiana author Booth Tarkington was born 150 years ago, on 14-March-2018.  I don't think people read his stories and novels much today.  When I was a kid, the only thing I knew about him was that he wrote the novel that Orson Welles used as the basis for The Magnificent Ambersons.  I was already in college when I learned that F Scott Fitzgerald was a great admirer of Tarkington.  Inspired by this, I went to the Anza Branch Library and took out Penrod: His Complete Story, a collection of stories about a boy who grows up.

Seattle Star, 23-January-1915

Booth Tarkington and Harry Leon Wilson wrote a play called Cameo Kirby.  It has been filmed several times.  Dustin Farnum, who had played the role on stage, starred in the 1914 version.  John Gilbert played the part in a 1923 version directed by John Ford.  Irving Cummings directed a 1930 version which starred J Harold Murray.  I have never heard of him, either.

Motion Picture Magazine, February, 1922

As far as I can tell, 1922's Penrod, starring Wesley Barry and directed by Mickey Neilan, was the first movie based on a Penrod story.  Ben Alexander played Penrod in a 1923 adaption of Penrod and Sam, also directed by Mickey Neilan.  Ben Alexander played Jack Webb's first partner on the television version of Dragnet.

Billy Mauch played Penrod in three talkies, Penrod and Sam (1937), Penrod and His Twin Brother and Penrod's Double Trouble, both in 1938.

www.listal.com

Monsieur Beaucaire was a play by by Booth Tarkington and Evelyn Greenleaf Sutherland.  Rudolph Valentino and Bebe Daniels starred in a 1924 version.  Bob Hope and Joan Caulfield appeared in a 1946 adaption.

www.listal.com

In 1942 Orson Welles based his second feature film on The Magnificent Ambersons, but the movie got butchered by the studio after he left for another project.  There was also a television adaption in 2002.

Slapstick #9 -- May 24, 2011

Larry Semon was very big in the early 1920s. Note how much larger his image is than Gloria Swanson's in this ad from the 28-February-1922 Ogden Standard-Examiner. Bebe Daniels had been Harold Lloyd's first leading lady, but left to become a big star. Be sure to click on the image to see a larger version.

DVD: American Slapstick Volume II #1 -- January 23, 2010

Allday Entertainment has issued American Slapstick, Volume II, a three-cd collection of slapstick movies, mostly silents, and mostly shorts. Some of the movies are recovered from 9.5mm prints. Others are new reconstructions from multiple sources. All the silents have enjoyable scores, either created new for this set or assembled from contemporary recordings.

Disc One has three sections: Harold Lloyd, Hal Roach's B team, and movies from the Educational (hah) Studio.

The Harold Lloyd section starts with a fragment of "Luke Joins the Navy," which was the longest piece of a Lonesome Luke movie that I have ever seen. There wasn't much to it, although part of it takes place on a battleship (I think). It was more vigorous than funny. I had never been able to tell from stills, but I could see from the movie how Lloyd was imitating Chaplin. My daughter couldn't see it.

"By the Sad Sea Waves" was a complete movie with the "Glass Character." It was vigorous and funny, with a miniature train gag at the end.

"Bliss," "Hey There," and "Don't Shove" were one-reelers which showed Harold gradually developing his acting and his gagging. "Hey There" was set in a movie studio. Bebe Daniels was cute in all of them, and there was a beautiful closeup of her smiling at the skating rink in "Don't Shove."

The B-team section started with "Dodge Your Debts", which is the only Gaylord Lloyd film I have ever seen. I have no idea why it was set in England. It wasn't very funny.

"Whirl of the West" and "The Dippy Dentist" are Snub Pollard and Marie Mosquini movies which I enjoyed. The dentist movie had a strong Prohibition element.

"Shiver and Shake" and "Post No Bills" are the only Jimmy Parrott (brother of Charley Chase) movies I have ever seen. "Post No Bills" was absurdly funny.

The Educational section started with "A Fresh Start," a Lige Conley/Jimmy Adams short. My wife liked the music and the reactions of the characters. It got pretty silly by the time the lions entered from the zoo next to the hotel. Some of the scenes with the leading lady were risque.

"Kid Speed" was a Larry Semon film. I'm partial to old racing cars, and Oliver Hardy was good. I saw the standard Semon mud pits.

"Jonah Jones" and "Breezing Along" were Lloyd Hamilton films. I had not seen much of his work outside of the Youngson compilations. He was very expressive.

Disc One was a very good start.