Noticias

The Notebook is the North American home for Locarno Film Festival Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian's blog. Chatrian has been writing thoughtful blog entries in Italian on Locarno's website since he took over as Director in late 2012, and you can find the English translations here on the Notebook as they're published.Appreciated and admired though he was by the greatest American filmmakers of his time (Frank Capra, Howard Hawks, Ernst Lubitsch), Leo McCarey isn’t held in the same regard today. While far from an obscure director, he isn’t considered a master of comedy by critics and audiences. The man who launched the careers of Laurel & Hardy and Cary Grant, and let the Marx Brothers make their zaniest film (Duck Soup), is not as well known as the performers he worked with. This lack of recognition may be due to the difficulty in finding a through-line in his work. While...

It happens very rarely, but when inspired casting and beloved subject matter coincide, something very special is created. Such is the case with the upcoming film project Stan And Ollie, which has just found its two leads in the form of Academy Award nominees Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly. Meeting the legendary pair in their later years, the film will centre on their 1953 tour of the UK, during which the stars each met challenges head-on, and reaffirmed one of the most iconic partnerships in entertainment history.

UK born Stan Laurel and Us born Oliver Hardy were both well-established contract players in their own right when they first collaborated onscreen in the 1927 silent short film, Putting Pants On Philip. They remained in partnership at Hal Roach film studios until 1940, when they began to work together with other production companies. Their final feature length film was titled Atoll K, which was...