redpaws

I could not stop finding classic hero type moments from all my favorite movies-Trinton throwing from Spartacus,Net dragging from Planet of the apes,dance off's with switch blades from West side story,it seemed as though every comic channeled a hero from Charlton Heston to Chevay Chase in Three Amigio's. Movie infrences Mel Brook style,zany furious pacing ZAZ style,pie in the face meets Keystone cops chaos,its got it all.

Zaz,approach and the timing of the gags runs at a break neck pace-almost like a Tom and Jerry cartoon chase scene,with each pass Tom or Jerry appears with a larger hammer or object in order to "out do" the other in hitting one over the head.Brooks/Wilder tend to set up a verbal gag-then pause (take a breath) and hit you with the gag line.Wilder in particular would hesitate just long enough and get that certain glint in his eye and slight smile before delivery of the "punch" line .ZAZ movies you need to literely watch several times in order not to miss a gag,the pace is like a freight train slamming you in mid tunnel. In Wilder/Brooks comedy you sit on the edge of your seat saying ( "wait for it ,wait for it ) ZING right in the kisser ! as another comic was found of telling his friend Norton(-The Honeymooners -) P.S. my favorite gag in the doozy was the lead detective walking "threw" the wall -early TV shows were famous for sets that were cut in 1/2 to swing the huge cameras around as well as for cardboard doors that never really closed allowing you to see prop men in the background.I am a huge fan of dragnet and all its prop/set mistakes.

The use of black and white film removes us from the present time and takes us back to our childhood. Spooky castles, creepy old people whispering history's of ancient hauntings, murder , and family skeltons in the closets.We are placed in a fun campy mood of disbelief right from the start . We have "knowledge" of how a "mad" scientist acts and thinks-Wilders actions have us waiting with baited breath for him to "lose" his self control and let "out" the unrestrained thinking of his passions.Wilder doesn't disappoint us,he winds us up slowly but,when he loses his control he makes us laugh instead of cower in fear.In essence he never REALLY loses his control to madness he simply surrounds us in chaos and laughter,which was his goal all along.

I find the music disconcerting and unconnected to the action .,I also think if the man taking the food order would have shown more exaggeration in disbelief of Woody Allens , order it would have been more enjoyable as slapstick.

What can I say ?-who doesn't love a villain dressed in black head to tails-(tux coat tails that is lol),with a huge mustache to twirl and sneer ?- I can easily see Professor Fate tying ladies to train tracks, demanding the rent or marriage, the audience boo's, hisses, at every entrance-vs the dressed in white hero arriving at the last minute to save the day. Professor Fate is Wild E. Coyote to a tee with huge cannons, arrow machines, and general mayhem.

The camera angle made it "feel" as though you were in the tilted camper with Lucy ,add the color and suddenly "you are there", if this were seen on a small flat black and white tv screen ,it would have been just that- FLAT.

I found a very very subtle gag of the fact that as a tall lean character he seemed to "make" the set conform to his size and comfort ,his ease at navigating not only stairs but endless props placed in his way ,he moves them (the props) with grace instead of moving out of the objects way.

I honestly cannot give a biased opinion on this-please understand-I know word for word "your pick ?shovel or pick" from Abott and Costelleo meet the mummy. ,Sunday afternoons were spent at my grandfathers house watching the local Seacaucus station as my dad packed the car to take us home to Penn. 1st the Charlie Chan movie,then Shirly temple and Last a Abott/Costello movie. The trip home was always 3 hours of my dad listening to my brother and I repeat Abott/Costello routines.

I agree that the Marx brothers cannot be "class" placed-they do not merly meander over class levels in society they push threw ,over,and conquer all society levals. W.C. Fields however seems always slightly out of step with what ever place or environment he finds himself in.He reminds me of the "uncle" that the family is slightly embaressed about-rumpled clothes,smelly cigar,gravel course voice,and way to often slightly tipsy with drink,and talking under his breath about his feelings towards family members.

Alan Dales definition of verbal slapstick perfectly fits the Marx brothers.Chicos repeating back to Grocho his own words but in a different order or with a slight accent move the verbal gags forward. The Marx brothers were so smooth in their delivery of verbal slapstick,notice the timing of a physical action only before or after the spoken word. In contrast the Ritz brothers never did seem to have the same smooth timing between word and physical action of a gag.Abott and Costello signaled the start and end of a verbal gag with over exagration of the face.

I could easily find the slap stick gags in A pip from Pittsburg,but did not find myself really relating to the character.I felt he was flat and not really funny,but someone posted the Wooden wedding-in their coments, this I could not stop laughing at out loud-the pace seemed more upbeat and the gags were more well rounded. I think I would need to see more of his work to really judge.

Lloyd,doesnt need to "educate" film goers at this stage of time-Over played pantomime,huge gestures with arms ,over played facial expressions-are not needed-the film quality is better,and the audience is more relaxed-vs ealier years when film goers were not sure what a "movie/moving picture really was",I find Lloyd more "middle class", and his settings prove it. He experinces things everyday middle class American families were doing in their lesuire time. In Lloyds time movie fans knew what to expect and could be more relaxed among others in their enjoyment.It was typical of this time to list a program of what the viewer would see-IE;community notices,folllowed by comedy,then drama,.In the earliest days-viewers would not know what to expect and would be very "up tight" about being in public and perhaps laughing to loudly or at the wrong moment.In Lloyds time people did not have to have a lot of money or expect it to be a formal art production,it was a medium more easily accessed by the middle class.

Keaton "frames" his shots-he ecloses the viewer,where as Chaplin expands the shot to encompass a whole street with life going on as usual around Chaplin as he preforms.

By using everyday objects in a typical (for the time) setting ,the humor of Chaplins gags shines threw. Today star actors close ups and special effects blurr the gag.Today the fan's focus is on the "star" not the gag.

I tend NOT to think in terms of definition-why ?-Both of my two "children" -(now young adults) are on the autism spectrum. It is impossible to "define" what aspects of their personality are from the autism vs well personality. When they were toddlers, I being a good mother screened films and TV for appropriateness, I found much to my amazement that Sesame Street had R rated episodes-most of these involved poor Grover as a waiter being thrown across the room by a swinging door.ie: SLAPSTICK-instead of laughing my kids would cry-even after seeing Grover repeat-(ritualistic repeats of the very same gag),But the mispronuncement of a word by cookie monster would send them into giggle fits. The rating system deemed these episodes R for violence. Yet clearly, violence is an aspect of slapstick-I remember very fondly watching Punch and Judy shows and Koolga Fran and Olly-filled with Billy clubs being swung for any reason at all. The word Violence ?- May be harsh but accurate.