James Parrott
Experience Stan and Ollie in their funniest scenes: whether they build a house as construction workers or try to impress two young ladies as sailors. Watch as Stan fights a superior opponent in the boxing ring and as Ollie is taking an involuntary bath and see where a steadfast friendship between two men can get you...
With the Gang aching to hit the gridiron, team captain Spankys got to play Little Papa and mind the baby, while Pete is framed by Wheezers hateful stepbrother, Sherwood, and sent to the pound in Dogs Is Dogs. Sherwoods dog kills a chicken, so he blames Pete, but Wheezer and his sister Dorothy have the last laugh; then Spanky and the Gang try to impress the daughter of Mr. Jones, the new truant officer, by Sprucin Up.
Stan and Ollie are mousetrap salesmen hoping for better business in Switzerland, with Stan's theory that because there is more cheese in Switzerland, there should be more mice.
Thelma and Patsy find themselves in a spooky house inhabited by a nut who is a mechanical genius and has made a robot who does everything. The inventor manipulates the robot's control board from a hidden room. The girls are soon in a panic. Patsy gets into an argument with the robot and loses the match of wits. Blackie Burke, an escaped convict, is using the house as a hideout, and this adds to the problems the girls already have.
The Radio Rogues, salesman for a cure-all tonic called Nervoto, decide to go to Hollywood and cure invalids with mirth, melody and music instead of medicine.
At a residence hotel, Patsy is moving in with Thelma. Thelma has prepared some rules, including singing whenever one feels quarrelsome or angry. Although Thelma tells Patsy that they'll share everything, there's precious little closet or drawer space for Patsy's clothes, little room to maneuver around Thelma in the bathroom, and then a sleepless night for Patsy when Thelma goes sleepwalking. Can they share and share alike, or will Patsy keep on singing?
Rich boy Waldo gets his clothes dirty playing football with the gang just before he has to go to his mother's society party. The gang tries to help him clean up.
Jeanette and Eddie get married, but their wedding night is a fiasco. First, their wedding guests follow them, resulting in a police chase, then the guests show up at their apartment, disrupting the building. Then, a rowdy sailor friend of Eddie's shows up, accompanied by a squad of even rowdier buddies and an enormous vengeful mosquito.
Oddly enough for a Roach comedy the premise of MIXED NUTS is grounded in topical political satire aimed at the New Deal, although the satire is of a very lightweight (and light-hearted) nature. The film begins at a city council meeting where an unidentified politician announces that the government has released $50,000 for the relief of unemployed plumbers. This prompts applause, but also a pointed question from an angry woman who wants to know what the government is going to do for the members of her profession: chorus girls. The politician glibly replies that the administration has set aside money—two million dollars, no less!—for the re-education of chorus girls, "to fit them for the better things in life."
Patsy tries to stay with Thelma at the hospital where she works, but Thelma is forced to pretend that Patsy is a patient.
Movie star Gloria Blossom (Jeanette Loff) is unhappy with her press agent's (Eddie Foy, Jr.) attempts at publicity. After reading newspaper stories about other stars marrying into royalty, she demands that Eddie "promote me a husband with a title within 24 hours". With the dubious assistance of reporter Don Barclay and photographer Billy Nelson he talks the first man with a British accent that he meets into marrying Gloria, fooling her into believing he is a Duke. The trouble is that the man is a big fan of Gloria the movie star and is madly in love with her, so after the wedding, when she finds out the truth, her new husband refuses to divorce her. A wild free-for-all fight ensues in the hotel. In typical Hal Roach comedy fashion, numerous innocent bystanders are pulled into the action.
Ollie is in the hospital with a broken leg. When Stan comes to visit him, total chaos ensues.
Harry is hired by a rich family to stop their daughter from entering a beauty contest.
The Laurel & Hardy Moving Co. have a challenging job on their hands (and backs): hauling a player piano up a monumental flight of stairs to Prof. von Schwarzenhoffen's house. Their task is complicated by a sassy nursemaid and, unbeknownst to them, the impatient Prof. von Schwarzenhoffen himself. But the biggest problem is the force of gravity, which repeatedly pulls the piano back down to the bottom of the stairs.
Although terrified of girls, Charley must take a job teaching at a girls school.
Ollie's house is a mess after a wild party from the previous night. Ollie receives a telegram from his wife (who is on vacation in Chicago), which tells him that she is returning home in the afternoon. Fearing his wife's wrath he calls Stan over to help him clean up. Things go downhill and they make more mess not less.
Charley's in love with the daughter of a financier who wants her to insist that Chas have a pile of cash before she marries him. But, the Depression is everywhere: Charley's behind on his rent and nearly everyone he meets is down on their luck. After reading a "how to" book on the power of a forceful will, Charley applies the lessons with mixed results, but he does land a job that includes delivering a shake-down letter to his girlfriend's father. Is the naïve Charley going to end up in jail?
Charley agrees to go on a blind date to help out his roommate. But because his last such date turned out badly, he goes all out trying to make himself look bad. He refuses to shave, wears his friend's old suit and even eats garlic. Unfortunately for him, however, his date turns out to be the lovely Thelma Todd.
Charley, representing a manufacturer of musical instruments, is sent to investigate why certain mail orders have not been settled. Charley, carrying multiple bulky instruments, boards a train and gives the conductor, the porter, and the passengers a terrible night as he tries to settle into his upper berth. Arriving at his rural destination of Beaver Dam, Charley masquerades as a hillbilly to track down the missing instruments. At the barn dance, he sings "Handsome Jim."
A bandleader ignores a pretty dancer who fancies him in order to chase after a beautiful, snooty high-society dame.
Charlie Chase, playing the Duke of Chasewick, but hired by Dell Henderson to play himself, and disabuse his wife and daughter of any fondness for nobility.
On his way home following World War I, Charley smuggles his French sweetheart aboard ship and gets into all kinds of trouble.
Two homeless vagabonds hide out in a vacant mansion and pose as the residents when prospective lessees arrive and try to rent it.
Stan lies to his wife about going to a nightclub with Ollie but Mrs. Laurel overhears the plot and outsmarts them both.
The boys think their days of fishing to feed themselves have come to an end, when Stan's rich uncle Ebenezer dies leaving a large estate. But they soon learn that Ebenezer was murdered and all the relatives, including Stan, are suspects. This is the first film where Oliver says "Here's Another 'Nice' Mess You've Gotten Me Into". The phrase is commonly misquoted as "Here's Another 'Fine' Mess You've Gotten Me Into" and has passed into everyday language usage.
Street musicians Stan and Ollie have no success earning money in the dead of winter in a bad neighborhood. Their instruments are destroyed in an argument with a woman, but their luck seems to turn when Stan finds a wallet. They are chased by a thief, but are protected by a police officer. They share a meal with the policeman, but discover the wallet belongs to him. When the policeman discovers this he tells the waiter who throws them out of the restaurant and throws Stan upside down in a barrel of water.
The king is a juvenile dolt who tries the patience of the shrewish queen. While she's in the throne room awaiting him, he's outside playing with guns, drilling his soldiers, and dallying with the wife of a new minister. The queen catches him kissing her, her husband figures out that something fishy is going on, and the king tries his best to proceed with his plans for a night out. The queen contrives to keep him cuffed in the bedroom: king, queen, minister, and coquette end up in a game of musical beds. Will his royal highness get his night out?
This film was simultaneously produced in English and Spanish language versions. The English language version was Below Zero. To film this Spanish language version, Laurel and Hardy read their lines from cue cards on which Spanish was printed phonetically. At the time of early talkies, dubbing was not yet perfected.
Policeman Edgar Kennedy is told by his chief he better stop a string of burglaries that have been happening on his watch or else he will get the sack. He persuades vagrants Stan and Ollie to rob the chief's house so he can regain his reputation by catching them. The policeman promises to later get the boys off. Things do not go as planned.
Two families embark on a pleasant Sunday picnic but manage to run into a variety of issues with their temperamental automobile. Each incident requires repeated exits and reboardings by Laurel, Hardy, their wives and grouchy, gout-ridden Uncle Edgar.
Stan and Ollie try to sleep in a room-for-rent. Ollie, suffering from a cold, coughs frequently, while Stan snores. Both of them have trouble falling asleep because of this. They try to solve their problems, but this results in total chaos.
Stan and Ollie arrive as new inmates at a prison after apparently taking part in a hold-up raid, a raid they tell a prison officer they were only watching. The usual mayhem ensues.
Mrs. Hardy throws Ollie and Stan out of the house. They try to impress two young ladies at a golf course and end up fighting with other golfers. This was the first Hal Roach film to bill Laurel and Hardy as a team.
Loony scientist (Carle) hires Laurel and Hardy to raid the cemetery to keep him supplied with dead bodies for his experiments.
The boys sneak out for a night on the town, unaware that Stan's wife has switched her grocery coupons for Stan's secret stash of mad money. The boys run up a huge tab treating a couple of girls to dinner at a snazzy nightclub and much trouble ensues.
Stanley and Oliver, two sailors on shore leave, rent a car and go on a drive with their dates, but soon get involved in a huge traffic jam with dozens of ill-tempered motorists. A minor collision sets off an escalating series of retaliations. This film is recognized as one of Laurel and Hardy's greatest.
Charley brings an actor friend home to dinner without telling his wife beforehand, and she protests. The two instead head to a theater. Charley's wife later follows to apologize and unbeknownst to her and the friend, Charley uses costumes from the theater to pretend to be other people.
This film was presumed lost for a long time, until the second reel of this movie showed up again in the '90's. So half of the movie can be seen. It's a fast paced slapstick comedy with also a good comical story about a man (Charley Chase) who is being prosecuted for shooting his wife (Edna Marion).
For his birthday, Charley gets a cigarette lighter, but it won't light. He works on it with ill-suited tools amidst his family all giving advice. Finally, he unwisely fuels it with gasoline, which gets it lit, but soon, so is his house.
Chase makes tries to escape from a compromising situation with a dame he took to be his wife's sister.
Charley and Edna are feeling very pleased with themselves and their new car. They decide to share their good fortune and offer to take six underprivileged children out for a fun day at the carnival. Unfortunately, the children come from Juvenile Hall, and each one is more trouble than the last.
Defying her father's wishes, a young woman runs off to a sale at store. She's pursued by a policeman, but wins him over with the help of a friendly millionaire. In the mean time, her father tries to retrieve a compromising letter.
The penniless tourist, "Appetite Andy" (Paul Parrott) stops by at the Hollywood Cafateria (sic) where the gullible boss (Mark Jones) welcomes him in to sample many of the soups and delicacies available to customers. After savoring many of the dishes, Andy refuses them all and attempts to leave, never intending to pay. The boss is having none of it and drags him back inside and puts him to work in the kitchen. The head chef (Charles Stevenson) is chopping food when the order comes in for chicken to be prepared. He instructs the new employee to grab a chicken (from a crate in the corner) and "prepare" it.
A cook for bridge constructors is told to collect food for dinner-Ritz style trout, Palmer house rabbit and a 15cm frosted cake. He sets off into the wide open spaces to collect the food, coming into contact with a mad hermit, who hates anybody seeing his daughter, before returning to cook dinner
Charley has several dilemmas facing him at Christmas, all posed by his greedy, heartless landlord Noah and his family.
The crotchety dean of Pinkham University blames the "bad behavior of the school's female students on a dress shop owned by Helene, and informs her he's shutting her shop down. Meanwhile, her boyfriend Napoleon has invented a plaster that restores youth. The dean accidentally sits on the plaster and reverts back to his younger days when he himself used to chase college girls. Complications ensue.
Finlayson plays an intrepid army cameraman on the battlefield in the world war, and Rowe plays his hapless assistant. Cranking away in no man's land, they take foolish chances and must dodge flying shells, falling down and losing their film repeatedly.
A very good as a faithful husband, whose wife is looking for proof that more than his eyes have been roving. She hires a private detective to provide it.
James Parrott joins every lodge in town to get in good with people as he tries to sell his fire extinguishers.
The troubles of a movie projectionist are chronicled in this two-reeler starring Paul Parrot and Mildred June.
The two-reel silent film comedy The Caretaker's Daughter was distributed by Pathe in 1925. Produced by the prolific Hal Roach, the film stars the great Charley Chase in a case of multiple incarnations!
A cruel sea captain shanghais Jimmie to work on his ship, but Jimmie's girlfriend also stows away on board, disguised as a sailor.
Jimmy Jump is a coward. Everyone and everything makes him afraid. He cowers from the neighborhood children, even though he's old enough to be their father. He is terrified of Lem Tucker, who is his rival for the heart of Dorothy. Only when he mistakenly believes he is about to die does Jimmy find courage. But will it last?
Hal Roach short is a spoof of the 1923 Western COVERED WAGON, which was a huge hit for Paramount. In this film a group of people are heading out West to Hollywood so they pack up their "wagons" and head out where they must battle various elements including crossing a dangerous river and battling Indians. The "wagons" are actually cars with a cover on them and the Indians even ride in on bicycles so you can tell the type of humor that Roach is going for.
SHOOT STRAIGHT - starring Paul Parrott, with Jobyna Ralston, Eddie Baker and George Rowe. A rarely-seen comedy short. Parrott is a hapless hunter in this predecessor to Tex Avery toons of the 1940s, and in a series of inventive gag sequences fails to capture squirrel, rabbit, chinchilla, bobcat, duck, and bear all in one reel.
'Snub' Pollard wants to hang himself but figures joining the circus was better idea.
James Parrott, little Sammy Brooks, Baker and Jones ("the strong guy" = the drunk) are all workers on a construction-sit run by violent and exploitative boss Noah Young and it is a "building a skyscraper" comedy.
The setting is a shoe store and the action is pretty frenetic. You get to see Paul lose the store's money, catch a shoe thief, knock down a bunch of shelves and more.
Well executed but unexceptional one-reeler about a couple of incompetent paperhangers. James Parrott, brother of Charley Chase, was an equally skilled man behind the camera, later writing and directing some of Roach's best two-reelers, before he died too young, but while the gags here are well done, he never really developed much of a personality in these pieces and they are not, somehow, quite as sharp as the stuff he was co-starring in with Sid Saylor two or three years before. The extended gag with the plank of wood seesawing is typical.
Paul Parrott plays an obsessive-compulsive bill poster in this thoroughly average Hal Roach comedy from 1923. Hired to help publicize a new Gloria Snootful picture, Paul goes bonkers with glue and paper and ends up attaching promotional material to any surface within his reach, including the rear ends of a number of people, though his attempt to nail a poster to a glass window is somewhat less successful.
In this 1922 Pathe-distributed, Hal Roach silent-era comedy, the owner of a local streetcar business is in danger of losing his franchise, but the streetcar operator (played by Paul Parrott) and his girl friend (who happens to be the boss's daughter; portrayed by Jobyna Ralston) try to save the day.
The Golf Bug,1922, directed by James D. Davis, starring James "Paul" Parrott and Jobyna Ralston, is a short silent comedy film.
A landlord is attending his new tenants' rollicking and well-attended housewarming party. As midnight arrives, a ghostly apparition appears outside the window--and our frightened hero immediately breaks out the shotgun to fend off the phantom menace.
Paul's career as a shoeshine man is interrupted when he is mistaken for an escaped convict, but after the Station Master gives him a job at the train station he proves his worth.
Not one but two of Charlie Chaplin impersonators, Harry Mann and Monty Banks, a film directed by Charley Chase still under the name of Charles Parrott. They go driving around town experiencing various car theft problems.
Sid Smith plays a chauffeur to James Parrott who helps a vamp captivate his boss while foiling a bank robbery.
While running away from his girl's father, Harold's car breaks down in front of a dance hall run by crooks. Harold has to not only stay one step ahead of the girl's father, but also those trying to rob them of everything they have.
All I can figure is that Stan Laurel is picked up at the train depot and brought back by the husband to the family home where the wife is having a suffragette meeting. None too pleased they cause mayhem and then the neighbours are brought into it as Stan cleans up the backyard by throwing all the rubbish into their award winning garden.
Harold and his rival fight over Bebe on her birthday, first at her home and then at a nearby skating rink.
Stan plays a janitor at a hotel dropping letters and trying to retrieve them with a vacuum, getting wet, helping a lady shoot her cheating husband and being chased by the police.
A nervy young man follows a pretty lady into a diner to flirt with her, but winds up getting stuck with the tab.
In this early short Harold Lloyd sneaks into a movie studio in order to locate an attractive young lady he's just met at a snack bar. He's retrieved a letter she dropped and wants to return it to her, but it's pretty clear that his interest extends beyond mere politeness. (She's the adorable young Bebe Daniels, so this is easy to understand.) The movie studio setting provides Harold with lots of opportunities to do what comedians do in comedies like this one: flirt with actresses, anger the studio brass, and dash through sets disrupting everything.
In this popular two reeler where Harold Lloyd runs to the rescue of a woman on a fire engine, he is seen hanging on the moving vehicle by the released water hose that forces him closer to the ground.
A photo studio operator seems only interested in flirting with women. Hilarity ensues.
