Comedy Classics: Volume 6
March 5, 2010Comedy Classics: Volume 6
Call Number: DVD00150
by Melissa Morgan, Sharon Ryker, Mischa Terr, Arch Hall Jr., William Watters, Ronny Graham, Alice Ghostly, Robert Clary, Eartha Kitt, Paul Lynde, Polly Ward, Buster Keaton, Sybil Seely, Charlotte Greenwood, Reginald Denny, Cliff Edwards, Dorothy Christy, Joan Peers, Bill Travers, Virginia McKenna, Peter Sellers, Margaret Rutherford
Format: DVD
Language: English
Publisher: La Crosse, WI : Platinum Disc, ©2004.
Notes: Contains four feature films; (361 mins. Black & white and Color)
Chapters: The Nasty Rabbit (1964, 90 min.) — A hilarious spoof of Cold War spy films, The Nasty Rabbit spins a humorous tale about two Communist spies who sneak into the United States and onto a dude ranch armed with an infectious bunny. The rabbit has been injected with a virus they hope will cause a deadly epidemic throughout America. But once they get to the ranch, the Soviets discover they’re not alone—hopeful spies from all over the world have come there equipped with various wacky schemes to take out the U.S.
New Faces (1954, 99 min.) — A treat for theater fans, New Faces is a filmed performance of the Broadway hit about a producer/performer (Ronny Graham) who winds up in a financial fiasco when he learns that the show can’t go on if he doesn’t come up with a large sum of cash. A rich Texan offers to put up the money—if his daughter can star in the show, that is.
The producer reluctantly agrees, and what happens next is sheer hilarity!
Features of the film include dazzling performances by Eartha Kitt, Robert Clary, and Alice Ghostly.
One Week (1920, 20 min.) — The first film to be directed and released by Buster Keaton, One Week is the slapstick 1920 blockbuster about a newlywed couple who is given a portable, do-it-yourself home that takes just a week to put together. Unbeknownst to Keaton, his new wife’s (Sybil Seely) former suitor has rearranged the numbers on the crates of building materials. In one week Buster and Sybil have a new house, but the front door is on the second floor, and the walls and roof are out of whack. Even worse, a storm sends the house spinning onto a pair of railroad tracks, and a train is headed right for them!
Parlor, Bedroom & Bath (1931, 72 min.) — In this light-hearted tale of tangled romances, Jeffrey Haywood (Reginald Denny) can’t marry his sweetheart Virginia Embrey (Sally Eilers) until her older, hard-to-please sister Angelica (Dorothy Christy) finds a suitable husband. The problem is that Angelica has rejected all the available suitors, so Jeffrey cooks up a scheme to play matchmaker. Using a dimwitted bill-poster named Reginald Irving (Buster Keaton) as his pawn, Jeffrey tells Angelica that Reginald is a suave gentleman—and a talented lover to boot. What happens next is comical confusion and slapstick silliness as Jeffrey, Virginia, and Reginald struggle to keep up appearances and keep Angelica in the dark!
The Smallest Show on earth (1957, 80 min.) — Matt and Jean Spenser (Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna) are financially struggling newlyweds who think their luck has changed when they receive a telegraph stating Matt has inherited a movie theater in the faraway British town of Sloughborough. Planning to sell the theater and make a pile of money in the process, they pack their bags to go see their inheritance for themselves. When they get there, they discover it’s a ramshackle old theater run by a bumbling staff that seems to be as ancient as the crumbling building itself. Just when the Spensers are about to chalk up their inheritance as a loss, the doddering, old janitor/doorman (Bernard Miles) comes up with a crafty plan that will make them a mint—if all goes as planned. But nothing does in this uproarious comedy about trying to make the best of a dreadful situation—and trying again… and again…
OCLC #: [?] (additional info from publisher website)
Added: March 5, 2010
This item is part of the Ralph H. Wolfe Collection
New Faces (1954, 99 min.) — A treat for theater fans, New Faces is a filmed performance of the Broadway hit about a producer/performer (Ronny Graham) who winds up in a financial fiasco when he learns that the show can’t go on if he doesn’t come up with a large sum of cash. A rich Texan offers to put up the money—if his daughter can star in the show, that is.
The producer reluctantly agrees, and what happens next is sheer hilarity!
Features of the film include dazzling performances by Eartha Kitt, Robert Clary, and Alice Ghostly.
One Week (1920, 20 min.) — The first film to be directed and released by Buster Keaton, One Week is the slapstick 1920 blockbuster about a newlywed couple who is given a portable, do-it-yourself home that takes just a week to put together. Unbeknownst to Keaton, his new wife’s (Sybil Seely) former suitor has rearranged the numbers on the crates of building materials. In one week Buster and Sybil have a new house, but the front door is on the second floor, and the walls and roof are out of whack. Even worse, a storm sends the house spinning onto a pair of railroad tracks, and a train is headed right for them!
Parlor, Bedroom & Bath (1931, 72 min.) — In this light-hearted tale of tangled romances, Jeffrey Haywood (Reginald Denny) can’t marry his sweetheart Virginia Embrey (Sally Eilers) until her older, hard-to-please sister Angelica (Dorothy Christy) finds a suitable husband. The problem is that Angelica has rejected all the available suitors, so Jeffrey cooks up a scheme to play matchmaker. Using a dimwitted bill-poster named Reginald Irving (Buster Keaton) as his pawn, Jeffrey tells Angelica that Reginald is a suave gentleman—and a talented lover to boot. What happens next is comical confusion and slapstick silliness as Jeffrey, Virginia, and Reginald struggle to keep up appearances and keep Angelica in the dark!
The Smallest Show on earth (1957, 80 min.) — Matt and Jean Spenser (Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna) are financially struggling newlyweds who think their luck has changed when they receive a telegraph stating Matt has inherited a movie theater in the faraway British town of Sloughborough. Planning to sell the theater and make a pile of money in the process, they pack their bags to go see their inheritance for themselves. When they get there, they discover it’s a ramshackle old theater run by a bumbling staff that seems to be as ancient as the crumbling building itself. Just when the Spensers are about to chalk up their inheritance as a loss, the doddering, old janitor/doorman (Bernard Miles) comes up with a crafty plan that will make them a mint—if all goes as planned. But nothing does in this uproarious comedy about trying to make the best of a dreadful situation—and trying again… and again…
OCLC #: [?] (additional info from publisher website)
Added: March 5, 2010
This item is part of the Ralph H. Wolfe Collection
