Happy Times and Jolly Moments

Almost as soon as talking features started to crowd out silent movies in the final years of the 1920s, silent movies were relegated to being 'primitive' and 'melodramatic.' There were movies that met that description, but there were also enormously sophisticated works that told their tales in an almost purely visual fashion. Through the 1930s, the silents in the vaults were mined for burlesques, like MGM's GOOFY MOVIES, with the old pictures recut, with nonsensical titles, and projected at the wrong speed, burlesquing the entire industry.

In 1943, when this sentimental look at Mack Sennett's silent work came out, we were at war, and older audiences were doubtless nostalgic for a look back to an era when things were simpler, and no one was worried that the Japanese were about to invade Seattle. Gradually, silent movies were revived, their artistry gradually recognized. This may be the turning point from utter contempt to recognition that grandpa had his flaws, but he also did some very good things.

Happy Times and Jolly Moments (1943)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Documentary short on Mack Sennett and the many comedies he made during the silent era. After a few nice shots of Sennett studios we then get to see various clips from his films, which include stars like Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Mabel Normand, Ben Turpin, Buster Keaton and various others. A handful of compilations about silent films were produced around this time and it was good to see one that didn't make fun of the pictures. Sennett and the actors are all shown respect and Warner even touched up the film by adding some pretty good music to the clips. Since these films weren't too old when this movie was made most will be shocked at how good the print quality is on the silents shown. These films today all look pretty poor so it was nice seeing them look so good.

WE HAD SEEN this title on sale at Sears, 62nd Street & Western Avenue store in the early 1970's. This was long before the Home Video craze; so naturally the format was either 8 mm or Super 8 Silent. (You see, Schultz, you would play the film on your home projector! Got it?)

WELL, UP UINTIL very recently, we thought that this title was a compilation of various silent film stars that was created by that purveyor home movies in 8 mm, KEN FILMS. But now we know better, ever since TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES aired the 2 reeler some 2 weeks back.

WHAT IS REPRESENTED as a look back at the GOLDEN AGE of SCREEN COMEDY at the MACK SENNETT Studios features many a forgotten moment of visual gags and speeded up action from Sennett's KEYSTONE Company. Names like Billy Bevan, Ben Turpin, Chester Conklin, Mabel Normand, Louise Fazenda, Polly Moran, Ford Sterling and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle are featured.

ALTHOUGH THIS Documentary 2 Reel Short is well worth your investing 20 minutes in, it's not quite what it claims to be; well, not quite. (Read on, Schultz!)

THIS FILM IS the product of Warner Brothers' Short Subjects department. They must have acquired the rights to a lot of SENNETT Silent Movies, for they released this HAPPY TIMES compilation in 1943 and had previously released Sennett's 1921 silent feature, A SMALL TOWN IDOL in 1939. This was a version with added musical score and it had been edited down to a short (2 reels, we believe).

ADDITIONALLY, THROUGH THEIR Vitaphone Subsidiary, Warners produced a series of sound comedies with a definite homage to the silent days. There were several with Roscoe Arbuckle and one starring Ben Turpin, Ford Sterling and many Sennett veterans titled KEYSTONE HOTEL. It did us all proud with its maintaining the spirit of the old films, with a great deal of great sight gags; as well as a marked heavy dose of reverence for the now outmoded silent.

WELL, SOME OF those scenes filmed in the sound era 1930's were used in the HAPPY TIMES & JOLLY MOMENTS Short; being passed off as the McCoy, actual footage from pre World War I and the Roaring Twenties. The scene of "Fatty" Arbuckle and a great deal of Ford Sterling as Chief of Police and his Keystone Kops are really from those Warner Brothers Shorts Subjects from the '30's!

WELL, NOW You've been told these little tidbits of otherwise useless info, You can take this all to the bank! (Just ask Schultz!)

A Warner Brothers Short Subject.

Leering villains. Damsels in distress. Frantic chases. Wacky slapstick humor. All this & more, as we fondly remember so many HAPPY TIMES AND JOLLY MOMENTS from the days of Silent Cinema.

This nostalgic little film is a look at many crazy highlights from the Mack Sennett Studios' heyday. Ben Turpin, James Finlayson, and other stars of the past are recollected in some of their funniest film clips. We get to watch a Mack Sennett Bathing Beauty talent contest. We're taken to a splendiferous custard pie throwing melee with Roscoe `Fatty' Arbuckle. Finally, after pratfalls, violence & assorted mayhem, we get to ride along with the Keystone Kops on a wild & wonderful road chase.

This is a pleasant, if a bit lack-luster short made up of clips from various Mack Sennett comedies. Oddly, though, the film NEVER mentions Charlie Chaplin--who began his career with Sennett and helped make the studio great. During his two year stint, Chaplin made dozens and dozens of shorts, but judging by this short film, you'd think he'd never worked there! Apart from that, this is a nice though shallow look at Sennett (a.k.a. "Keystone") comedies, with some very funny clips throughout. However, if you would like a better collection and homage to silent films, I recommend the Robert Youngson-produced features, such as THE GOLDEN AGE OF COMEDY or WHEN COMEDY WAS KING. They simply are more coherent and offer longer and better clips.