If it's true that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, then you're in for a whole lotta fun! Here's a 5-DVD set showcasing the greatest comedy teams of Hollywood's Golden Era - from the cinema's first comic duo - John Bunny & Flora Finch way back in 1912 - thru Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis in 1950, with such certifiable legends as Laurel & Hardy, Abbott & Costello, and The Three Stooges, as well as lesser-known (but no less worthy) teams such as Wheeler & Woolsey, Olsen & Johnson, Clark & McCullough and The Ritz Brothers. A comic cornucopia for fans of classic comedy teams!
DISC ONE (142 mins.)
John Bunny & Flora Finch
A Cure For Pokeritis (1912) - Mr. Brown loves to play poker - but he always loses! So his wife plots to cure him of his gambling addiction once and for all! (14:00)
Fatty Arbuckle & Mabel Normand
Fatty and Mabel Adrift (1916) - Arbuckle was a triple threat, writing, directing, and co-starring in this classic three-reel comedy masterpiece in which a couple of newlyweds awaken to find that the bad guys have separated their beachfront house from its very foundation and they are now floating out to sea! (34:00)
Laurel & Hardy
The Lucky Dog (1921) - This silent short marks the very first onscreen appearance of Laurel & Hardy. Stan is an impoverished dog owner and Ollie is the thug who tries to rob him! Produced by Western star, Broncho Billy Anderson. (17:00)
March of the Wooden Soldiers (1934) - Stan and Ollie's take on Babes in Toyland, the classic Victor Herbert operetta. Laurel and Hardy are Stannie-Dum and Ollie-Dee, who try to save Toyland from the evil clutches of Barnaby (a frightening - and 22-year-old - Henry Brandon). The film's director, Charles Rogers, appears as Simple Simon! (77:00)
DISC TWO (155 mins.)
Amos & Andy
Check and Double Check (1930) - Although politically incorrect by today's standards, Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll - two white actors - were enormously popular as radio's Amos 'n' Andy. This comedy feature has them reprising their radio roles - in blackface - as two enterprising pals who try to make a success of their fledgling taxi company. Duke Ellington's brief appearance marks his feature debut. (77:00)
Wheeler & Woolsey
Half Shot at Sunrise (1930) - Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey were huge Broadway stars when they made this feature-length comedy about two hapless doughboys who go AWOL in Paris during World War I and don various disguises in order to avoid capture. (78:00)
DISC THREE (150 mins.)
The Marx Brothers
House That Shadows Built (1931) - This sequence from a special film marking Paramount's 20th anniversary stars Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo Marx as persistent (and peculiar) performers who try to impress a talent agent with their various "skills." This routine is actually a recreation of the first scene from their 1923 Broadway hit, I'll Say She Is. (5:00)
Inside the Marx Brothers - A funny and fascinating look at the lives of Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Zeppo, and Gummo Marx, featuring classic clips from Marx Brothers films, plus newsreels, TV clips, home movies, and interviews with Groucho, Chico, Groucho's son, Arthur, and Room Service co-star, Ann Miller. Rarer still are scenes from Harpo's 1925 silent film, Too Many Kisses and, at long last, an actual sound clip of Harpo's voice! (55:00)
Olsen & Johnson
All Over Town (1937) - Chic Olsen and Ollie Johnson started in vaudeville and made their mark on Broadway with the wild and wacky Hellzapoppin. The plot (such as it is) concerns two nutty vaudevillians who want to put on a show in a theatre that's supposed to be cursed and wind up involved in a backstage murder. Directed by Laurel & Hardy veteran James Horne. (90:00)
DISC FOUR (168 mins.)
The Ritz Brothers
The Gorilla (1939) - Goofier than The Marx Brothers but not quite as slapsticky as The Three Stooges, Harry, Al and Jimmy Ritz blended crazy comedy, silly songs, and daffy dancing in comedies of the '30s and '40s. Here they are paired with horrormeister Bela Lugosi and another horror great, Lionel Atwill, as they try and catch a killer! (66:00)
Clark & McCullough
Odor in the Court (1934) - In the same zany spirit as Wheeler & Woolsey, Bobby Clark and Paul McCullough were an extremely popular duo who survived the transition from stage to screen. This short, considered by many to be their best, has Clark & McCullough playing lawyers who make a mockery of the California court system (life imitates art?). (22:00)
The Three Stooges
Disorder in the Court (1936) - Classic Curly, Moe and Larry! The Stooges wreak havoc at the murder trial of an exotic dancer. (20:00)
Brideless Groom (1947) - Moe and Larry try to help Shemp get married before 6:00 so he can inherit a fortune. Hold hands you lovebirds! (20:00)
Sing a Song of Six Pants (1947) - Larry, Moe and Shemp are tailors who try to take a bank robber to the cleaners. (20:00)
Malice in the Palace (1949) - Shemp, Larry and Moe are cooks at a restaurant in the Middle East, where they try to track down the stolen Rootin Tootin Diamond. (20:00)
DISC FIVE (169 mins.)
Abbott & Costello
Africa Screams (1949) - Bud Abbott and Lou Costello set out to find diamonds in Africa, but run into lions, gorillas, cannibals - and two Stooges (Joe Besser and Shemp Howard) - instead. This was Hillary Brooke's first experience working with Abbott & Costello, several years before she became a regular on their TV show. (79:00)
Martin & Lewis
At War With the Army (1950) - This was the first film designed specifically as a Martin & Lewis starring vehicle, with Dean and Jerry as a couple of song-and-dance men who join the army and cause all sorts of mayhem along the way. Polly Bergen has her first solid role, as Dino's girlfriend. (90:00)
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 783 mins. (13.0 hours)