Author: Ben Model
-
Alice Howell – Front and Center
One of the things that struck me about the “Slapstick Divas” program of silent comedies that I’ve presented with Steve Massa over past year or so was the type of roles the funny ladies in them had. It reminded me of a thought I’d had about Mary Pickford’s child roles in her features. The slapstick…
-
The Ripple Effect of Stan & Ollie
There are a number of opinions about the new Stan & Ollie movie flying about on social media. It’s a well-made film, with great performances, lovingly told. It’s a very nice introduction to Laurel & Hardy for folks who don’t know them, and a nice re-introduction to folks who do. For me, there’s a more…
-
The Further Adventures of Jack Newlon and “Oriental Blues”
Thanks to a number of comments here and on FB in response to yesterday’s post, I now am a little further down the Jack Newlon rabbit-hole. For one thing, it turns out Oriental Blues was written much earlier than Kovacs’ first TV show, and also there’s a connection to Tony DeSimone. It’s funny how you…
-
Ernie Kovacs’ Theme Song
Throughout the various iterations of Ernie Kovacs’ television shows over different networks, time slots and formats from 1951-1962 there was one thing that remained constant — his theme song. And like much of Kovacs’ humor, there was an element of Dada to it. “Oriental Blues” by Jack Newlon is neither oriental, a blues, or wholly…
-
Silent Era Movie Theater Music Libraries Covered All the Bases…Except One
About eleven years ago I was hired to compile a book of vintage silent film mood music. To make my selections, I went through inventories of a handful of collections of music published and used during the silent film era — some that were in special collections at libraries around the country and one or…
-
Knuckles O’Toole Can Sit This One Out
I don’t know how it got started that 12th Street Rag became the custard pie stereotype of silent comedy music, and I’ll bet it goes back before Joe Franklin’s TV show. The tune has now been replaced by Yakkety Sax for TV clip compilers for running silly-looking footage, often over-sped, thanks to Benny Hill. I…
-
Is a Spinning Flat Plastic Disc Preservation?
I’ve been complimented on my work by fans, show attendees, people who’ve supported my Kickstarter’s and/or bought my DVDs. It’s gratifying, although my reason for doing what I do has nothing to do with the “has the ‘Thank-you-masked-man Man been here today?”** aspect of it. One such thank-you I receive about What I Do from…
-
The Ninety-Seven-Percent Solution
What “Window-Boxing” Is, and Why I Do This For All My DVDs When I produced my first DVD release, Accidentally Preserved: Volume 1 in 2012, I was concerned about fans being able to see the whole image. I was, after all, showcasing films that only survived in 16mm prints from the 1920s-1940s, which had a…
-
Trading Up: Kovacs Goes Hollywood
Ernie Kovacs: Movie Star? Ernie Kovacs is not necessarily remembered for his movie career, and it’s understandable. He was a unique voice in TV comedy, from its toddler days through his early death in January 1962. His presence on the small screen was non-stop, and his face was uniquely qualified to “read” on a 6×8-inch…
-
Faster Than the Speed of Sound
An Important Figure in Talkies Leaves Us an Intriguing Clue About Projection Speeds in the Silent Film Era As much as one may look at silent film the 1920s and feel like they are being run too fast, it’s important to be aware of what was actually happening in theaters at the time. The running…