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When Comedy Was King (1960)

*** (out of 4)

Robert Youngson "documentary" showing various clips from the silent era including performers such as Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton, The Keystone Cops, Laurel and Hardy, Edgar Kennedy, Gloria Swanson, Harry Langdon, Mabel Normand among various others. The film is a good way for newbies to see these legends in their prime but for me it's rather frustrating because I'd rather be watching the entire films rather than just little clips. I also always have a problem with these sorts of things because the clips are never as funny as they are in the entire movie. Either way, a decent doc that shows how great these guys were.

Oscar winner Robert Youngson actually got his start at Warner Brothers in the 1940s producing sports short subjects. He latched onto a terrific idea as this lead to award winning short movies about crazy, daredevil stunts tied to silent movies, particularly comedy.

The rest is history.

This is one of the earliest film documentaries on silent screen comedy icons, although some graduated to sound films with even greater success. However, Youngson clearly wanted to accentuate the golden era of screen comedians, via a series of historical clips which are outstanding.

More over, this film was instrumental in pushing for the preservation of silent movies. Many old films, dating back to the teens when this documentary was produced, were in need of remastering or had simply deteriorated to the point where they could not be saved. As much as this was a labor of love, this film made history itself.

Best of the best, and not surprising, are priceless clips of Charlie Chaplin, the outrageous Keystone Cops and Buster Keaton. Honorable mention to the early days of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, whose silent films were a prelude to their classic sound films.

Never to forget the great Fatty Arbuckle and his insane complications with pretty Mabel Normand. Fatty and Mable were the first screen male and female comedy team, and they shine.

The gang's all here, and you'll want to see this one again.

Remastered on dvd and blu ray for film completists and all us big kids who grew up on this stuff.

If you enjoy watching silent-era, slapstick comedy films, then, you're in for some real good laughs while viewing "When Comedy Was King".

Produced by Robert Youngson - This 80-minute anthology documentary is a nostalgic tribute to the long-gone era of the sight gag where actions always spoke louder than words.

Featuring such well-known performers as the Keystone Cops, Ben Turpin, Buster Keaton, and Laurel & Hardy - The contents of this entertaining disc also includes 3 bonus shorts for your added viewing pleasure.

Robert Youngson's movie When Comedy Was King from 1960 shows us some great clips from the silent era.It is narrated by Dwight Weist.You can laugh with Charles Chaplin, Charley Chase, Harry Langdon, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Ben Turpin, Billy Bevan, Snub Pollard, Buster Keaton and lots of others.Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy cause trouble to Jimmy Finlayson in Big Business (1929).In Hal Roach comedy A Pair of Tights (1929) Marion Byron is sent to get some ice cream while Edgar Kennedy and the gang waits in the car. Getting ice cream hasn't ever been as hard as it is to Marion Byron in this funny clip. When Comedy Was King offers you lots of laughter with these clowns of silent comedy.These clowns have been long gone and there will never be comedians like them again.

This film documents a wide range of silent classics with clips from Keystone comedies made by Charlie Chaplin in 1914 through Charley Chase's Movie Night (1929), which provides the framing sequence. Highlighted performers include Fatty Arbuckle in Fatty and Mabel Adrift (1916), Harry Langdon in The First 100 Years (1924), and Laurel & Hardy in Big Business (1929). Other featured performers include Gloria Swanson, Snub Pollard, Anita Garvin & Marion Byron, Buster Keaton, Ben Turpin, and Billy Bevan. The narration is a bit incessant, but educational.