The Kim Novak Collection on DVD
The American Theatre Organ Society & TCM Present A Screening of THE GENERAL in Atlanta
Two Yasujiro Ozu Films on DVD
Charlton Heston in Dark City on DVD
Prodigal Sons - Acclaimed 2008 Documentary on DVD
Deborah Kerr in Black Narcissus on DVD

The Slaphappy Collection on DVD

Back in 1949, James Agee wrote a famous article for Life Magazine about silent movie comedy at a time that most everyone thought it had been nothing but Keystone Cops, chases and pie fights. Agee, however, knew it was much more and presented the work of the four geniuses of the style: Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd and Harry Langdon. Thanks to that article; the work of these four comedians was brought back into prominence and, with the possible exception of Langdon, those names still stand as the pinnacle of comedy from the Teens and Twenties.

But they were not the only comedians of that time. In fact, the silent screen was filled with comedians pouring out comedies by the yard and whose work remains as unknown now as the work of Keaton and Lloyd did in the 1940's. To set this right, Fishigan Films has just issued The SlapHappy Collection, a ten-volume DVD containing the best bits from such unjustly unknown comedians as Charley Chase, Lloyd Hamilton and Monty Banks.

This set comes from two seasons of a program produced in 2001 that ran on select Public Broadcasting stations. The originally half-hour programs showed clips from the comedians with newly recorded music and sound effects plus narration providing information about the careers of these little known actors whose work once sent audiences around the world into gales of laughter.

The clips come from a variety of private collectors with many of them rarely or never seen publicly since the silent era. The narration, written by Larry Steffen and collector and historian Richard M. Roberts has the advantages of being accurate and sparse. The producers know when to tell the narrator to shut up, allowing the viewer to simply enjoy the comedy. If any narration is too much for you, the DVD's provide an option to cut it off entirely. Also accompanying the clips are new recordings in the style of the 1920's by artists from Stomp Off Records. The liveliness of the score is a perfect accompaniment to the zany action on screen. In addition, the slaps, falls, smacks, etc. have appropriate sound effects. Silent cinema purists might object but the sounds provide a necessary punctuation we have all grown to expect after 80 years of talkies.

Don't run to your neighborhood DVD store to purchase this set. It is only available on line at SlapHappy.com. Each DVD can be purchased separately or you can buy the entire set at a reduced price. In addition, there is The SlapHappy Movie, a single DVD compendium of the best of the entire series. Anyone who has laughed at the work of Chaplin or Keaton now has a chance to dig a little deeper into the archive of Twenties comedy and The SlapHappy Collection makes an informative and very entertaining starting point.

by Brian Cady