|
Post by ymymeatemup on Jan 15, 2011 21:57:13 GMT -5
I still don't get, (or maybe I did and I forgot......) if the Pathes are in public domain, how why is there such a battle over them? AREN'T they in public domain? Everything prior to "Seeing The World" is in the public domain. I don't think the legal battles between Laughsmith and Mackinac have anything to do with the films themselves, though. It had to do with the specific masters that were made for the DVD set, and I'd bet that these masters can be copyrighted, or at least any details that do not come from the original films. The two companies had entered into a distribution deal, got into a dispute over something, and couldn't come to an agreement. So, the courts got to decide who had 'custody' of the product. Unfortunately, the winning company cares less for quality than the losing company. I believe the situation with YouTube is purely a matter of YouTube erring on the side of caution. They don't want to lose money in a lawsuit by allowing copyrighted material, but at the same time, they don't see any profit in putting in the research and finding out that some of this stuff is actually in the public domain.
|
|
|
Post by mtw12055 on Jan 18, 2011 21:45:44 GMT -5
Don't forget the Hal Roach marathon on TCM tomorrow. Included in the line-up are two Our Gang shorts and a few Boys Friends shorts. That marathon is from 1:00 am to 8:00 pm. The Our Gang shorts are "Pups is Pups" (at 4:00 am) and "The First Seven Years" (at 4:30 am). The Boy Friends comedies are on from 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm.
|
|
|
Post by mickeygubitosifan on Jan 19, 2011 2:38:47 GMT -5
Thanks for the reminder about the TCM mini-marathon. It probably would have passed me by, since I never took note of its exact date.
I probably won't stay up to see both of the Our Gang shorts since I have them both on The Little Rascals: The Complete Collection, but I'm curious about seeing The Boy Friends for the first time. The only performances that I've seen from Mickey Daniels in talking pictures were the 1930s guest appearances that he made in Our Gang.
|
|
|
Post by fourlittlerascals on Jan 19, 2011 7:39:32 GMT -5
Thanks for the reminder Bob. Going to dvr them as I only have one of the Boyfriends. Gubitosifan- I had a boyfriends up on Youtube and they yanked it down and permanently disabled my account. I couldn't believe that "they" not only found it, but were being that tight with films that most of the world never heard of! = kel
|
|
|
Post by rascaLee on Jan 19, 2011 16:54:18 GMT -5
I just finished watching "The Boy Friends" shorts on TCM. They were good, but not great. I was kind of disappointed Mary Kornman didn't have too much to do. She wasn't even in the last one TCM aired. Mary did get a couple good close ups in "Doctor's Orders" and "Love Fever", and boy, was she a gorgeous young lady. I thought "Doctor's Orders" and "Bigger and Better" were the best two shorts they aired, and "Air Tight" was the weakest. Mickey Daniels was a fairly decent comic actor. I'm surprised he didn't get more roles as a comedic character actor.
|
|
|
Post by mickeygubitosifan on Jan 19, 2011 19:22:39 GMT -5
I agree that Mickey Daniels had some real comic ability. I read once that Ernie Morrison said he didn't fully realize how funny Mickey Daniels was until years after the making of their Our Gang movies, when he went back and watched the films again. Then, there's that laugh! Who else but Mickey Daniels could laugh quite like that? :-)
I didn't see the entire mini-marathon of The Boy Friends, but what I saw had some merit. I prefer The Gang, as always, but I'm happy to see that Mickey Daniels was able to forge a career into his teen years.
|
|
|
Post by zootmoney on Jan 19, 2011 19:55:41 GMT -5
I would not say that those are the best representation of the Boy Friends. Ladies Last and High Gear would have been good substitutes for Bigger and Better and You're Telling Me.
|
|
|
Post by mtw12055 on Jan 19, 2011 22:07:08 GMT -5
I recorded the entire Roach marathon, but haven't been able to watch it yet. So far, the only "Boy Friends" shorts I've actually seen are "Air Tight" and the last short, "Too Many Women". I don't remember "Air Tight" too well, but I do remember enjoying "Too Many Women". I particuarly enjoyed the latter short's direct nod to Our Gang.
I'm also excited for being able to see other Roach shorts that unfortunately still aren't out on DVD. The Charley Chase shorts are very enjoyable, and Chase was certainly a genius. In one of the shorts I caught a glimpse at this morning, he sings "Asleep in the Deep", which he later dubbed for Chubby Chaney in "Little Daddy"
I haven't seen much of Harry Langdon's work, but I'm sure his shorts will be enjoyable.
I've only seen a few of the Thelma Todd/Zasu Pitts/Patsy Kelly shorts, and I find them pretty enjoyable. I'm also glad that TCM bothered to show some of the shorts Patsy Kelly made after Thelma's unfortunate death.
"The Taxi Boys" series (The Boys Friends replacement in Roach's "All-Star" line-up) was certainly a different series. At times it's almost like Laurel and Hardy meet the Keystone Kops. I don't think the series really had enough of a run to develop itself. And the teaming of Billy Gilbert and Ben Blue for these shorts seemed a bit random.
|
|
|
Post by zootmoney on Jan 19, 2011 23:15:36 GMT -5
The last Boyfriends short was Wild Babies.
|
|
|
Post by mtw12055 on Jul 4, 2014 17:17:58 GMT -5
If anyone is interested, "Love My Dog" airs this Sunday at 11:37pm.
|
|