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MACK SENNETT: THE BIOGRAPH YEARS
Film comedy took a major step forwards when Mack Sennett starred and directed Biograph comedies. Under D.W. Griffith, Sennett learned his techniques of story and editing. When he graduated from actor to director, Sennett accelerated the pace of the editing and emphasized farce elements of the story. Six short comedies that Sennett either acted in or directed are presented here. They include "HAPPY JACK: A HERO", a short farce comedy. "TURNING THE TABLES", a domestic war of the sexes comedy, "A VILLAIN FOILED" with Joseph Greybill, and "THE BARON" with Mabel Normand and Dell Henderson in a comedy Sennett would later expand into a vehicle for Mabel Normand and Charlie Chaplin when he formed Keystone a few years later. Also on this compilation is "THE MANICURE LADY" which Sennett directed and starred in as well as "A DASH THROUGH THE CLOUDS" with Mabel Normand and Fred Mace in an airplane comedy.
(A-320) B & W .........silent w/music added..approximately 1 hour..$14.98 plus shipping and handling

MACK SENNETT KEYSTONES VOL. 1
Vintage Keystones that started the legend! The Keystone Cops figure in the fun in "A MUDDY ROMANCE" with Mabel Normand, Ford Sterling, Mack Swain, and even Sennett himself in a cameo as Echo Lake is drained as the villains attempt to escape leaving them in a huge mudhole! A Nickelodeon Theater is the setting for "A MOVIE STAR" as Mack Swain shows up at a crowded theater to admire himself on the screen and take hammy bows to the star-struck audience. Mable Normand is tied to the rail road tracks and must be rescued by Mack Sennett himself in "BARNEY OLDFIELD'S RACE FOR A LIFE". Louise Fazenda and Fritz Schade star in "A HASH HOUSE FRAUD" from 1915. This is a restaurant comedy with slapstick overtones! Chester "Walrus" Conklin and Mack "Ambrose" Swain star in "LOVE, SPEED AND THRILLS". Mack Swain is back again caught in his own web of lies in "AMBROSE'S FIRST FALSEHOOD". Charley Chase and the Keystone Cops fill out this compilation with a wild chase in "LOVE , LOOT AND CRASH".
(A-321) B & W .....with music added........approximately 100 minutes...$14.98 plus shipping and handling

MACK SENNETT KEYSTONES VOL. 2
The versatile Charlie Murray is featured in "THE PLUMBER" in which Charlie is among the most inept leak-stoppers you'll ever see! "HOGAN OUT WEST" features Charlie as a city slicker in the midst of some sharp-shooters out west.  and "HIS SECOND CHILDHOOD" is a a thinly disguised version of Charlie's Aunt with Charlie doing a fine female impersonation. Also Charlie Chaplin appears in "HIS MUSICAL CAREER" with Mack Swain as deliverymen.  William Collier, Sr. and Mae Busch star in "WIFE AND AUTO TROUBLE". The Keystone Cops provide a wild chase finale!  In "THIRST" Ambrose, the ever-resourceful con man, swings into action early in the morning. He finds a new tenant for the landlady and saves his room, drops by the express office to pick up Ethel Teare and a bit of money for an elopement. He then ditches her in heavy traffic and winds up courting a wealthy lady.  But the best is yet to come! A sadder, but wiser Ethel is hired over the phone as a maid. Her employer? Ambrose's new lady friend! This sets the stage for a wild melee with some of the best chase scenes Keystone put on the screen in 1917 and ends  with a typical Keystone choice; marriage or jail! Most men would have taken Ethel for better or worse; Ambrose took the jug. He may have been wiser at that! As a finale, Mack Swain returns in "MADCAP AMBROSE".
(A-322) B & W .............with music added...approx 2 hrs...............$14.98 plus shipping and handling

MACK SENNETT KEYSTONES VOL. 3
Fred Mace, Dale Fuller and Hugh Fay star in "BATH TUB PERILS", a hotel comedy with a wild finish featuring the Keystone Fire Brigade as well as those Cops! Next, Mae Busch, Harry McCoy and Dell Henderson star in "THOSE BITTER SWEETS". When Mae and Harry are out for a ride in Harry's Chevy "sportster" (1915 vintage) they encounter a rival for Mae. Charlie Chaplin stars next with his discoverer, Mack Sennett himself in "THE PROPERTY MAN" from 1914. The scene is a vaudeville  theater and much confusion takes place both on stage in front of a rowdy audience as well as back stage where Charlie disrupts the proceedings. One of the earliest Keystones surviving is the ethnic comedy "COHEN SAVES THE FLAG" with Sennett, Mabel Normand and Ford Sterling in a civil War farce using scenes and extras from a con-current Thomas Ince feature which gives this little one-reel comedy some big production values. Charlie Chaplin and Mack Sennett return in another park comedy, "THE FATAL MALLET" and "HIS MUSICAL CAREER". Charley Chase and Mae Busch are "SETTLED AT THE SEASIDE" in a Sennett bathing beauty comedy by the beach. Charlie Murray and Charley Chase star in "HIS FATAL ATTRACTION".
(A-323) B & W ........with music added........approx 1 hr 45 minutes..........$14.98 + s & h

MACK SENNETT KEYSTONES VOL. 4
Starring in this compilation are Charlie Chaplin, Mabel Normand, Mack Swain, Louise Fazenda, Mae Busch and Dell Henderson. "AMBROSE'S LOFTY PERCH" (1915) stars Mack Swain as a King who seeks a Queen to help him rule his kingdom. He selects a beautiful but fickle maiden, played by Louise Fazenda. Robin attempts to separate her from the King and the problems escalate! "MABEL'S MARRIED LIFE' (1914) is one of the many domestic comedies which paired Mabel Normand with Charles Chaplin. In this comedy, a local bully flirts with Charlie's wife. Charlie gets drunk while his wife gets him a boxing dummy to practice with. The drunken Charlie comes home thinking it is the bully and spars with the dummy! "WILFUL AMBROSE"(1915) has him demonstrating his marksmanship to his daughter. He accidentally shoots a beer stein his wife purchased and he must scramble to replace it. In "MABEL LOST AND WON" (1915), Mabel and her boyfriend played by Owen Moore become engaged much to the delight of Mabel's mother.  The flirtatious Dora Rogers manages to get Mabel's fiance alone. Mabel's mother catches them and demands the engagement be broken! But Dora has an unexpected set of visitors to break up this flirtation! "THE BANGVILLE POLICE (1913) features Mabel Normand as a farm girl who overhears  what she thinks is a plot to steal the farm cow. A rustic version of the Keystone Cops is called in to "help" out! "AMBROSE'S FURY" takes place at Venice Beach, Santa Monica where the roller coasters made for lots of thrills and fun. 
(A-324) B & W silent with music added.......approx 70 minutes..............$14.98 plus shipping and handling

MACK SENNETT KEYSTONES VOL. 5
Starring in this 2-HOUR compilation are Fatty Arbuckle, Harold Lloyd, Charlie Chaplin, Mabel Normand, Mack Swain, Louise Fazenda, Harry McCoy, Mae Busch, Chester Conklin, Edgar Kennedy, and Harry Gribbon. With "AMBROSE'S NASTY TEMPER" ,the locale is a garment factory where Mack is the manager, Dave Morris is foreman and Cecile Arnold is the owner's daughter. The usual rivalries for Cecile provides the mischief. "SOUR GRAPES" is a tale of mistaken identity involving twins. One of the twins is married, the other isn't. You can imagine the fun when the bachelor is seen and the husband is blamed! "WHEN AMBROSE DARED WALRUS" features Chester Conklin running a hotel for indigents. The fire insurance is about to be canceled for non-payment when he notices a fire in the waste basket. Instead of putting out the fire, he rushes off to the insurance company to pay his premium and then collect. When he returns, Mack has saved the guests with the help of the Keystone Fire Brigade but ,in a classic twist, Chester loses the money! "MISS FATTY'S SEASIDE LOVERS" stars Roscoe Arbuckle in drag as a bloated Mary Pickford type with a score of suitors, including young Harold Lloyd in one of his earliest appearances. In "GETTING AQUAINTED", Charlie Chaplin is married to big Phyllis Allen and big Mack Swain is married to little Mabel Normand. All four get caught up in a flirting affair in a park under the suspicious eye of cop Edgar Kennedy. Ford Sterling is the chief of the Keystone Cops in "OUR DAREDEVIL CHIEF" who is more of a bungling clod than a police chief! Finally, Mack Swain takes his Keystone character to Frohman Pictures in "HEROIC AMBROSE" with Lottie Cruz and other bathing beauties of the day.
(A-325) B & W ......with music added.......2 hours..........................$14.98 plus shipping and handling

MACK SENNETT KEYSTONES VOL. 6
Starring in this compilation is the talented and underrated Syd Chaplin. Charlie's older half-brother shows the Fred Karno-style of pantomime and fits in easily with the Keystone brand of farce comedy. "GUSSLE THE GOLFER" has Syd trying to impress Mack Swain's wife by demonstrating his abilities as a golfer and an acrobat. Naturally, he's thoroughly incompetent at it! Later, in spite of cheating at cards, he loses his money. The Keystone Cops raid the clubhouse and the slapstick is in full swing! "GUSSLE'S DAY OF REST" has Syd and his wife trying to vacation at an ocean resort only to have things go wrong. His wife is knocked down by a model T Ford. Gussle tries to tear it apart then attempts to steal it running the car into a cliff! "GUSSLE TIED TO TROUBLE" has Syd and his wife at an alpine resort preparing to make a mountain climb. Wifey catches Gussle flirting with the bar maid. He needs a mountain to separate himself from trouble! "GUSSLE'S BACKWARD WAY" has him set upon by robbers while riding a mule through a creek bed. He escapes and makes his way to a resort where he's treated like a hero at a party. In "GUSSLE'S WAYWARD PATH",Syd plays the henpecked husband who can't help flirting much to the dismay of his huge wife played by Phylis Allen. But in a twist, he catches his wife flirting with a stranger and is properly indignant.
(A-326) B & W silent with music score added.................................$14.98 plus shipping and handling

LLOYD & CHASE at Keystone
Both Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chase learned their craft partly at Mack Sennett's Keystone Studios around 1915. This collection shows them at the start of their great careers. Harold plays one of the suitors in "MISS FATTY'S SEASIDE LOVERS". He has a featured role in "COURTHOUSE CROOKS" starring Ford Sterling. Charley Chase with the Keystone Cops in "LOVE, LOOT AND CRASH" with Harold Lloyd in a cameo as a vegetable cart vendor. Charley also stars with Mae Busch in "SETTLED AT THE SEASIDE".
(A-519) B & W silent w/ music added......approximately 1 hour totak.....$12.98 + shipping & handling
 

GOLDEN AGE OF SENNETT Vol. 2
Many of Sennett's best remembered comics light up this collection with "LOVE'S INTRIGUE" starring Billy Bevan in a great rube-goldberg style comedy that end in a boxing match with a typical Sennett chase. Gloria Swanson, Wallace Beery and Bobby Vernon star in the classic silent comedy thriller-parody "TEDDY AT THE THROTTLE". Teddy is the Sennett Studio's canine star whose race against time helps save Gloria, who is tied to the railroad tracks by villain Wallace Beery. Billy Bevan and Andy Clyde star in "CIRCUS TODAY" with a cast of characters and animals and loads of sight-gags and chases. Another great fast-action Sennett comedy is "WATER WAGONS" from 1926.
(A-295) B & W with score and effects..................approximately  90 minutes....$14.98 plus shipping and handling

GOLDEN AGE OF SENNETT Vol. 3
In this collection, such greats include Louise Fazenda, Ford Sterling, Harry Langdon, Vernon Dent, Billy Bevan, Andy Clyde, The Keystone Cops, and others are here. "SUPER-HOOPER-DYNE LIZZIES" is both an antique car buff's dream as well as a fun gadget comedy as Billy Bevan tries to run a radio-operated automobile. One of the all-time classic Keystone Cop chases is featured in "WANDERING WILLIES". Harry Langdon stars with his long-time co-hort Vernon Dent in the complete version of "SATURDAY AFTERNOON". It seems poor wife-whipped Harry can't even miss his trolly car to get home on time without a tirade from his wifey. Vernon gets him involved with a couple of picnic "dates" that evolve into a jealous boy-friends battle with Harry and Vernon. In "HEARTS AND FLOWERS" Louise Fazenda is a geeky flower girl smitten with bandlleader Ford Sterling who at first wants nothing to do with her until he thinks she's an heiress. The worm turns when it is revealed it was a practical joke and Ford must deal with angry family members!
(A-146) B & W with score added.................approximately 90 minutes.......$14.98 plus shipping and handling

HARRY LANGDON at SENNETT Vol. 1
Baby faced comic Harry Langdon had been kicking around in Vaudeville for years when he was signed by Sennett to appear in a series of comedies in the mid-1920's. At first they didn't know quite what to do with him but writer-director Frank Capra and his associate Harry Edwards created the Stan-Laurelesque baby-faced innocent and it clicked with audiences immediately. While neither Laurel or Langdon copied each other per se, their styles were similar and concurrent. "FEET OF MUD" casts Harry as a street sweeper who becomes involved in a tong war in Chinatown but winds up helping rescue his girl friend who is held captive by Chinese gangsters. Harry then stars in "LUCKY STARS". The domestic life of Harry is put into high gear in "SATURDAY AFTERNOON" when Harry is cohearsed into an afternoon picnic with his work buddy Vernon Dent and two girls who have jealous boys friends! Finally Harry stars in a non-Sennett talkie "KNIGHT DUTY" which takes place in a wax museum where a stolen jewel is the subject of a chase with the villain, the cops and Harry pretending to be wax dummies to avoid capture. Finally, a bonus item featuring Harry in a Panoram Soundie music video called "MABEL, INC."
(A-45) B & W silent and sound ................approximately 95 minutes total...........$9.98 plus shipping and handling

HARRY LANGDON at SENNETT Vol. 2
Langdon is featured in the 1924 Sennett comedy "ALL NIGHT LONG", the 1925 Sennett comedy "HIS MARRIAGE WOW" in which Harry is about to get married but some of the in-laws to be are a bit on the eccentric side. Especially the crazy Vernon Dent who takes Harry for one wild ride!  Also featured is the  1926 World War 1 comedy "SOLDIERMAN" as well as one of his early non-Sennett talkies from 1933, "THE STAGE HAND".
(A-46) B & W silent and sound ................approximately  90 minutes ........$9.98 plus shipping and handling

HARRY LANGDON at SENNETT Vol. 3
In this third offering, Harry stars in "THE SEA SQUAWK" in which he gets involved with some eccentric happenings. "FIDDLESTICKS" features Harry as a down-and-out bass fiddle player who is so bad the people throw anything they can get their hands on at him! This gives the local junk dealer an idea! Harry winds up successful but not as his music teacher imagined! In "BOOBS IN THE WOODS", Harry takes on the timber industry with amusing results! Harry's first film for Sennett, "PICKING PEACHES" is featured also on this collection.It co-stars Andy Clyde, Mary Akin, Jack Cooper, Alice Day, Marceline Day and the comic who would be associated with Harry for the next two decades, Vernon Dent.
(A-316) B & W silent w/music score..........approx 90 minutes.............$9..98 plus shipping and handling

BILLY BEVAN at SENNETT - Silents Vol.1
Billy Bevan stars in this compilation of Mack Sennett comedies from the 1920's. Titles here include "BUTTERFINGERS" (1925), "PINK PAJAMAS" (1925), "ICE COLD COCOS" (1926), and "CIRCUS TODAY" (1926).
(A-601-V) B & W ......silent with music added.....................................$12.98 plus shipping and handling

THE EXTRA GIRL (1923)
Mack Sennett produced this feature as a starring vehicle for his long-time star Mabel Normand. This is a Cinderella-type story of a small town girl who comes to Hollywood and gets into pictures. Of course there are comic twists and complications that make this basic storyline fun to watch. The most memorable scene in this film is where Mabel leads a lion around by a rope through the studio much to the fear of everyone else! A fine behind the scenes look at the Sennett Studios is an added bonus!
(A-225) Color tinted silent w/ music score added....approx 70 minutes..$14.98 plus shipping and handling

The Smith Family Vol. 1
Mack Sennett introduced a series of domestic comedies called The Smith Family starring Raymond McKee, Ruth Hiatt and future "Our Gang" star Mary Ann Jackson. This volume includes "THE SMITH'S CANDY STORE", "THE SMITH PICNIC", and "THE BURGLER".
(A-616-V) B & W silent with music added ..............................................$16.98 plus shipping and handling

The Smith Family Vol. 2
This second volume features Andy Clyde, Mary Ann Jackson, Ruth Hiatt and Raymond McKee in "THE SMITH'S BABY" (1926), "THE SMITH'S FISHING TRIP" (1927) and "THE RODEO" (1928).
(A-617-V) B & W silent with music added .............................................$16.98 plus shipping and handling

W.C. FIELDS Comedy Festival (four by Sennett)
The great man's short comedies are all here on one blockbuster-sized compilation including "DOWN MEMORY LANE" where he does the checkers skit with Tamany Young. "TALES OF MANHATTEN" with Phil Silvers and Maragaret Dumont, "HIP ACTION" with Bobby Jones, "THE GOLF SPECIALIST", "THE PHARMACIST", "THE DENTIST", "THE FATAL GLASS OF BEER" and "THE BARBER SHOP".
(A-134 ) B & W sound approximately 2 hours total ....................$19.98 plus shipping and handling

MACK SENNETT AND THE DAWN OF SOUND
When the silent era came to an end around 1929 , Sennett was faced with a world-wide depression and no major stars in his studio. He therefore had to hire some new stars and modernize his comedies to the taste of the audiences of the 1930's. He had some success with such stars as W.C. Fields and Bing Crosby. This compilation profiles several of his best talking comedies.
(A-328) B & W sound..........................................................$14.98 plus shipping and handling

Movies About Movies Vol. 2
This collection of films is from the silent era. Two are by Sennett, who regularly poked fun at his own business of movie-making. In "CRAZY TO ACT", Oliver Hardy plays a rich movie producer who finances an old fashioned mellodrama for his girl friend Mildred June. An incompetent film director and crew cause him to lose both the film and the girl. Mack Sennett's back-lot and cyclorama are very much a part of the action and atmsophere of the old silent era studios. In "A GIRL'S FOLLY", starring Robert Warwick, June Elvidge, Doris Kenyon and Johnny Hines we get a look at another silent movie studio with the back-lot, cameras, film editors, projection rooms and the extras in their varied costumes. This film was directed by Maurice Tourner. Back again at the Sennett Studios, we get a classic look at  movie-going at the old time Nickelodeans and celebrity-worship in "A MOVIE STAR". This is a tour-de-forece for veteran comic Mack Swain who plays a bloated cowboy star who shows up at a local theater to admire his own acting and take in all the attention of the ladies.
(A-680) B&W with some color tints.........approximately 80 minutes....$9.98 plus shipping & handling

HYPNOTIZED starring Moran & Mack
 This early 30's talking comedy was directed by pioneering legend Mack Sennett. It is possibly the worst comedy ever made as judged by nearly everyone who has ever seen it! Then or Now! Still, it has a curiosity appeal. The original Charles Mack was gone and a substitute actor plays one short scene at the start then it becomes a George Moran vehicle with able assistance by veteran Sennett comedian Charlie Murray and actor Ernest Torrence. Sennett had a thing about lions chasing comedians and with the bulk of the action taking place aboard an ocean liner, a lion gets loose and the hysteria is on.
 (A-691-V) B & W sound ...............approximately 70 long minutes..........$16.98 plus toxic waste fees

BING AT SENNETT vol. 1
Three of Bing Crosby's 2-reel musicals for Mack Sennett are featured. "BLUE OF THE NIGHT" , "BILLBOARD GIRL" , and "DREAM HOUSE". Complete and restored from 35mm, best quality around.
(A-233-ff) B & W ......................1 hour ......................................$14.98 + shipping and handling

BING AT SENNETT vol. 2
Bing's other three Mack Sennett 2-reel musical comedies include "I SURRENDER DEAR" , "ONE MORE CHANCE" and "SING BING SING". Complete and restored from 35mm, best quality around.
(A-234-ff) B & W .....................1 hour....................................$14.98 + shipping and handling

 

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