Indie producer Harry Cohn, brother Jack and their associate Joe Brandt created the CBC Film Sales Company in 1918. And on Jan. 10, 1924, the trio formed the Poverty Row studio, Columbia Pictures. According to Enclyclopedia.com, by the mid-20s “Cohn had gained reputation as one of the industry’s toughest businessmen.” That’s putting it mildly.
Though “B” movies and series such as The Three Stooges, “Blondie” and “The Lone Wolf” were the bread and butter of the studio, Cohn slowly attracted top talent and directors and turned such newcomers as Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, William Holden and Kim Novak into stars.
Frank Capra changed the fortunes of the studio. Signing with Columbia in 1928, he made 25 films for Columbia. His optimistic, common man movies attracted critics and audiences alike during the Depression. His 1934 screwball comedy “It Happened One Night,” penned by Robert Riskin and starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, swept the Oscars winning five.
Though “B” movies and series such as The Three Stooges, “Blondie” and “The Lone Wolf” were the bread and butter of the studio, Cohn slowly attracted top talent and directors and turned such newcomers as Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, William Holden and Kim Novak into stars.
Frank Capra changed the fortunes of the studio. Signing with Columbia in 1928, he made 25 films for Columbia. His optimistic, common man movies attracted critics and audiences alike during the Depression. His 1934 screwball comedy “It Happened One Night,” penned by Robert Riskin and starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, swept the Oscars winning five.
- 1/8/2024
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
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“Extreme Fields”
By Raymond Benson
If you’ve never seen what is essentially the last starring film appearance by W. C. Fields, Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941), then you’re missing the most extreme, surreal, and ridiculous motion picture featuring the boozy misanthropic comedian ever made.
Fields (William Claude Dukenfield) brought his vaudeville schtick to life in his films made in the 1920s and 30s and he enjoyed immense popularity until alcoholism derailed his career. He was indeed a talented man, however, and there are true comic classics among his filmography. He was often responsible for writing the initial storylines to his movies, and he used silly pseudonyms in the screen credits, such as Mahatma Kane Jeeves or, in the case of Never Give a Sucker, Otis Criblecoblis.
Even after the success of The Bank Dick, Universal Studios was tiring of...
“Extreme Fields”
By Raymond Benson
If you’ve never seen what is essentially the last starring film appearance by W. C. Fields, Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941), then you’re missing the most extreme, surreal, and ridiculous motion picture featuring the boozy misanthropic comedian ever made.
Fields (William Claude Dukenfield) brought his vaudeville schtick to life in his films made in the 1920s and 30s and he enjoyed immense popularity until alcoholism derailed his career. He was indeed a talented man, however, and there are true comic classics among his filmography. He was often responsible for writing the initial storylines to his movies, and he used silly pseudonyms in the screen credits, such as Mahatma Kane Jeeves or, in the case of Never Give a Sucker, Otis Criblecoblis.
Even after the success of The Bank Dick, Universal Studios was tiring of...
- 8/11/2020
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1941 /77 min.
Starring W.C. Fields, Franklin Pangborn, Leon Errol
Cinematography by Charles Van Enger
Directed by Edward Cline
If Larsen E. Whipsnade ever laid eyes on Harold Bissonette, his mouth would water. Bissonette, a mild-mannered grocer for whom no good deed goes unpunished, is the perfect target for a con man like Whipsnade. W.C. Fields performed variations on both of those diametrically opposed characters throughout his career but in Never Give a Sucker an Even Break he synthesized them into one complicated but equally funny cat: himself. Released by Universal in 1941, the movie was Fields’ last starring role. It’s hilarious, unmanageable and a shambles – in other words a self-portrait of the comedian at the sunset of his career. He would not exit without a fight.
The working title was The Great Man (in some countries it was known...
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1941 /77 min.
Starring W.C. Fields, Franklin Pangborn, Leon Errol
Cinematography by Charles Van Enger
Directed by Edward Cline
If Larsen E. Whipsnade ever laid eyes on Harold Bissonette, his mouth would water. Bissonette, a mild-mannered grocer for whom no good deed goes unpunished, is the perfect target for a con man like Whipsnade. W.C. Fields performed variations on both of those diametrically opposed characters throughout his career but in Never Give a Sucker an Even Break he synthesized them into one complicated but equally funny cat: himself. Released by Universal in 1941, the movie was Fields’ last starring role. It’s hilarious, unmanageable and a shambles – in other words a self-portrait of the comedian at the sunset of his career. He would not exit without a fight.
The working title was The Great Man (in some countries it was known...
- 7/7/2020
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Even lesser Abbott & Costello movies are still comedy gravy to the avid fans of the fast-talking duo. Their first film deal away from Universal yields a so-so production graced with a string of their patented old-time comedy routines. And the transfer beats anything we’ve yet seen.
The Noose Hangs High
Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1948 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 77 min. / Street Date August 15, 2017 / available through ClassicFlix / 24.99
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Joseph Calleia, Leon Errol, Cathy Downs, Mike Mazurki, Fritz Feld, Murray Leonard, Ellen Corby, Russell Hicks, James Flavin, Minerva Urecal, Fred Kelsey.
Cinematography: Charles Van Enger
Film Editor: Harry Reynolds
Assistant Director: Howard W. Koch
Original Music: Walter Schumann
Written by John Grant, Howard Harris from an earlier screenplay by Charles Grayson, Arthur T. Horman story by Julian Blaustein, Daniel Taradash, Bernard Feins
Produced and Directed by Charles Barton
A few famous movie comedy teams prospered with good will and parted with hugs,...
The Noose Hangs High
Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1948 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 77 min. / Street Date August 15, 2017 / available through ClassicFlix / 24.99
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Joseph Calleia, Leon Errol, Cathy Downs, Mike Mazurki, Fritz Feld, Murray Leonard, Ellen Corby, Russell Hicks, James Flavin, Minerva Urecal, Fred Kelsey.
Cinematography: Charles Van Enger
Film Editor: Harry Reynolds
Assistant Director: Howard W. Koch
Original Music: Walter Schumann
Written by John Grant, Howard Harris from an earlier screenplay by Charles Grayson, Arthur T. Horman story by Julian Blaustein, Daniel Taradash, Bernard Feins
Produced and Directed by Charles Barton
A few famous movie comedy teams prospered with good will and parted with hugs,...
- 8/26/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
It's the final Hollywood film by the legendary Ziegfeld star Marilyn Miller, and it's also a terrific talkie feature debut for W.C. Fields -- with one of his dazzling juggling bits. But the real star is director William Dieterle, whose moving camera and creative edits rescue the talkie musical from dreary operetta staging. Her Majesty, Love DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1931 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 75 min. / Street Date January 19, 2016 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Marilyn Miller, Ben Lyon, W.C. Fields, Leon Errol, Ford Sterling, Chester Conklin, Clarence Wilson, Ruth Hall, Virginia Sale, Oscar Apfel. Cinematography Robert Kurrie Film Editor Ralph Dawson Songs Walter Jurmann, Al Dubin Written by Robert Lord, Arthur Caesar from story by Rudolph Bernauer, Rudolf Österreicher Directed by William Dieterle
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The Warner Archive Collection has been kind to fans of early talkies. We've been able to discover dramatic actresses like Jeanne Eagels...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The Warner Archive Collection has been kind to fans of early talkies. We've been able to discover dramatic actresses like Jeanne Eagels...
- 3/15/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
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