Now, this is a huge theme that can go in so many directions and it will be interesting what everyone will pick. I chose a theme within a theme and went with comedy duos which has many to choose from when one thinks about it. Head on over to Wandering Through The Shelves to find out what friendships the others have chosen. Here are my 3....
1. SONS OF THE DESERT-1933
Laurel & Hardy are one of the most famous comedy teams in history and, even if you have not seen any of their films, you know their silhouettes- the fat man with the skinny man with the long face. We even know Hardy’s line and Laurel’s whimper but few have seen their movies which is a shame. Laurel and Hardy were my dad’s favourite and, anytime they were on tv, he watched them and laughed since he saw their movies when he was in his 20’s (my dad was born in 1913). I chose this film because I remember my dad laughing like hell and so did I with the antics of these 2. The 2 men are married and lie to their wives why they can’t go with them on a holiday so they can go to a Chicago convention. There are many antics that ensue with their wives, at first worried about them to wanting to kill them when they find out the truth. It’s a classic and, even though this plot has been done in many future movies, this film is hilarious and worth checking out. By the way, this comedic duo loved each other as friends off screen as well and Laurel was devastated when Hardy passed away.
2. ONE NIGHT IN THE TROPICS-1940
Abbott & Costello are one of the best comedic teams ever and this is their first film after gaining fame in Burlesque, regular theatre and radio. This film is about a man who, with a unique life insurance policy must marry the girl he loves. Of course, hijinks ensues when he, the girl he loves, the insurance salesman, and the man’s ex-girlfriend all hightail south of the border with 2 men who are to ensure the man marries the girl. Abbott & Costello steal the show as the 2 men hired to ensure the 2 leads marry. They are downright hilarious and this film showcases their famous, “Who’s on First” routine. I laugh every time I listen to this routine and it never gets old in my book. They made many films well into the 1950s with some being better than the others but I laugh at all of them even when they meet Dracula and Frankenstein. They had a complicated relationship to say the least with Abbott being a difficult man to deal with. I prefer to watch them in action.
3. THE CADDY-1953
Martin and Lewis were a huge comedy team that started in the 40’s on stage and became famous in the 50’s with their string of hit movies only to separate when they had a falling out and going their separate ways. The nice thing is they did make up over 20 years later and were speaking with one another. Anyway, The Caddy is a funny film about a young man, Jerry Lewis, who is terrified of crowds, pushed by his dad to become a golfer since they own a golf course. In enters Dean Martin, who shows a natural talent for golfing and Lewis becomes his caddy. Lewis plays the goof while Martin plays the crooner and they start to clash while on a tournament. It’s typical Martin and Lewis at their best doing what they know best. I enjoyed watching this film recently and had a good laugh despite Jerry Lewis.
a Musical Friendship (Cole Porter) interlude...if you need a little laugh today:)
Riggs and Murtaugh from the Lethal Weapon series!
ReplyDeleteFor comedy, I'd have to go with a television show - Psych featuring Shawn and Gus. Their banter is hilarious.
Oh gosh, they are a great team and I love those movies
DeleteThese are three movies that I probably haven't seen since my childhood. Plus I loved Lucy, too. I remember having a much younger friend listen to the Who's on First sketch several years ago since they had never heard it. It was fun to watch them laugh so much.
ReplyDeleteIt is fun to see someone listen to that bit for the first time
DeleteHi, Birgit!
ReplyDeleteYour dad and mine were born the same year. The brilliant comedy team of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were a big part of my childhood. I watched their films on television nearly every day after school. Laurel and Hardy were always in hot water with their wives, henpecked and browbeaten, and I laughed out loud more often while watching their antics than those of any other comedy team. I also preferred their films to those of the Our Gang kids. I'm sure you remember how well Dick Van Dyke impersonated Stan Laurel. Johnny Carson was also a fan of the comedy legends and did impressions of them on The Tonight Show.
I also watched many of the films of Abbott and Costello, especially the comedy-horror variety, along with their television series of the 50s. They had excellent comedic timing but were not as naturally funny as Laurel & Hardy.
Martin & Lewis were another legendary comedy team that I watched with delight in my early years and beyond. Overall I liked them a little more than Abbott & Costello because straight man Dean oozed charisma and singing/dancing talent.
I never missed an episode of I Love Lucy. Thanks for posting the clip of Lucy and Ethel performing "Friendship."
It's a shame that many millennials never saw or even heard of some of the comic geniuses featured in this post. Thank you for keeping these 20th century memories alive.
Dear BB, I will be running a special post this Saturday to mark an important date on the Dell calendar. It would mean a great deal to me and my guest host if you could come by Saturday or in the days that immediately follow and express a few kind words. Thank you, dear friend!
First, I will come by and see your post for sure. Glad you liked Lucy and Ethel and you are so right that the young kids have no clue who these teams are. Dick Van Dyke was Stan Laurel’s protege and he credited Laurel for his comedic timing. I remember that our dad’s share the same birth year and it is nice to know we have that in common. Thanks for visiting
DeleteI haven't seen any of these.
ReplyDeleteBummer...check out the Who’s On First bit if you get a chance
DeleteI'm always up for a theme within the theme!
ReplyDeleteI'm not a huge Laurel & Hardy fan. I appreciate their artistry I've just never found it that hysterical. This was a fun entry by them though.
I'm sure I saw all the A&C films when I was a little kid but have only vague memories of most, except my favorite of theirs-The Time of Lives-so I've been rewatching them of late when I happen upon one of their movies. I've enjoyed what I've seen so far and Night in the Tropics was one. You know what to expect but they do their stuff well.
Even though I've seen all (I think) of the Martin & Lewis films a little of Jerry Lewis goes a llllooonnnggg way for me. They're funny the first time you watch, as was The Caddy, but I don't revisit them. Now Dean's solo films that's another story-LOVE Some Came Running!
Love that Lucy sequence! I thought of it when I read the theme.
The pool of choices is huge this week so I also themed it out choosing three female friendship flicks that I love.
The Women (1939)-Wealthy happily married Mary Haines (Norma Shearer) spends her days in the company of a circle of equally well-heeled women friends whose main distraction is gossiping about each other. The worst offender is Mary’s cousin Sylvia Fowler (Rosalind Russell) a smiling Judas with a vicious streak. When Sylvia finds out at the beauty parlor that Mary’s husband is stepping out on her with a cheap piece of baggage named Crystal Allen (Joan Crawford) she makes sure Mary finds out protesting all the time she’s doing it for her own good. It’s off to Reno and back where new complications await Mary and her buddies both old and new. Witty comedy has an entirely female cast (down to the animals) and great dialog. Musicalized (pleasantly if unmemorably) in the 50’s as The Opposite Sex with Joan Collins stepping in for Crawford and shredded in 2008 with an abysmal redo.
Old Acquaintance (1943)-Serious minded Kit Marlowe (Bette Davis) and flighty Millie Drake (Miriam Hopkins) have been best friends since college. Several years on Kit is now an acclaimed, respected but not terribly profitable authoress while Millie has married and is expecting a child. During a visit Millie confides to Kit that she’s written a book as well, a romance novel, which Kit passes along to her publisher and which becomes an enormous hit followed year after year by one frothy concoction after another making Millie fantastically rich and successful. However Millie remains envious of Kit as her marriage fails and her daughter turns to Kit as a mother figure and their friendship is strained but never breaks. High class soap opera was notorious at the time for the behind the scenes feud between Davis and talented but legendarily difficult Hopkins-a shameless upstager. At one point Davis had to shake Hopkins hard in a scene and when she finished the crew broke into applause!
Beaches (1988)-On the Atlantic City beach in the 50’s child performer CC Bloom (Mayim Bialik) meets lost rich kid Hillary Whitney (Marcie Leeds) and they strike up what turns out to be a deep lifelong friendship as they grow up to be Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey. Except for a brief break their kinship endures just about every obstacle under the sun leading to a teary conclusion. Though there is solid work from Lainie Kazan as Midler’s overbearing mother and John Heard as a director both women fall for this is Midler and Hershey’s show and their powerful chemistry carries the movie.
I prefer Dean Martin to Jerry Lewis any day and, I have to admit, I always wanted to slap Lewis playing the innocent goof. I have to give justice to Laurel and Hardy because they genuinely loved each other and my dad loved them. I still have not seen Babes in Toyland. Abbott & Costello I loved when I was a kid and my favourite is actually the one where Costello is a ghost along with a woman and Abbott is a guest...I can’t recall the name..ughhh. I love The Women in their bitchiest best and my favourite is Paulette Goddard. Rosalind Russell was great but that one dress with the eyes has got to go. Leave it to Crawford to play herself:) I have been wanting to watch Old Acquaintance for so long and have yet to see it but I know all about the antics behind the scenes...Miriam must have been one insecure nut. I still have to see Beaches but I remember when it came out, becoming a huge hit, all the women crying and that song which made me not want to see it. I will see it one day..one day
DeleteThe A&C movie you're talking about is The Time of Their Lives....which is my favorite of theirs as well!! :-)
DeleteThat's It! Love that film
DeleteAwww Lucy! I haven't seen nor heard of any of your picks this week.
ReplyDeleteGlad you at least know Lucy:)
DeleteHaven't seen them.
ReplyDeleteFerris Bueller's Day Off
Mean Girls
Sleepers
Ferris is excellent. Have yet to see Mean Girls and only saw part of Sleepers
DeleteHi Birgit - we loved Laurel and Hardy as kids ... my Dad brought home cines for us to watch ... and I still enjoy seeing them - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteSo glad you enjoyed the old Laurel and Hardy movies
DeleteI haven't seen these but I love Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Lucy is a nice touch, gotta love her :)
ReplyDeleteMaybe you saw ☝️ f their films. Glad you like the Lucy clip
DeleteI must add to my list to see some movies from these classic "couples" that worked together in film. I like how you shared the movie with Laurel and Hardy and how significant it was for your father; I'm sure it brought back memories as you were working on this blog post :)
ReplyDeletebetty
It did bring back very fond memories and how I loved seeing my daddy laugh. Watching movies with my dad is one of my fondest memories
DeleteFun fact: Stan Laurel appeared on stage for the very first time in Glasgow, aged 16.
ReplyDeleteThat’s cool. is the building still around?
DeleteGreat, classic scene from I Love Lucy.
ReplyDeleteI read a high school library copy of John McCabe's Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy before I'd ever seen one of their films, so I was predisposed to like them even before I found a local UHF station running their short films (and edited versions of their features) every weekday afternoon. McCabe was one of the L&H fans who joined together to create the fan club called, appropriately enough, Sons of the Desert. Stan Laurel himself (who died in 1965) gave the organization his blessing.
That’s so neat and what a wonderful thing that Stan Laurel gave his blessing. I think I saw the same movies from the UHF station that was brand new, to me, in the early 1970s.
DeleteMartin and Lewis in their heyday were great. It's later Lewis that isn't so funny to me. I have heard of Laurel & Hardy and Abbot & Costello (I even had "Who's on First" on a cassette tape), but I don't think I've ever seen one of their movies.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Lewis is not easy to watch although I have seen a few of his from the 60s. I hope you get to see some of the other films from the other comedy duos
DeleteI think my opinion of Lou Costello is like yours of Jerry Lewis. I think he's a poor man's Curly Howard. "One Night In The Tropics" looks like one of those ever-popular "everyone in Hollywood that isn't working at the time" movies. And, hey, we got a double shot of William Frawley today!
ReplyDeleteI used to watch "The 3:30 Movie"'s versions of the Jerry Lewis movies, so I've only seen less than an hour's worth of any of them.
Oliver Hardy was born in Harlem, Georgia, over by the South Carolina border. They hold a festival in his honor every year.
Yeah, Costello was not the innocent he liked to portray and Abbott was not the jerk type he portrayed. I still enjoy them overall. I would so go to th5 festival if I lived nearby
DeleteBIRGIT ~
ReplyDeleteYour Laurel & Hardy choice was wonderful! I love those boys!!
There are so very many great movies for this category that I feel 'FRIENDS' probably should have been divided into subcategories.
Since about 44 movies jumped right into my mind within minutes, I will just limit myself to three marvelous but lesser known films:
TORTILLA FLAT (1942) -- Spencer Tracy, John Garfield, Hedy Lamarr, Frank Morgan.
One of my Top 10 of all time, regardless of "category"!!
BIRDY (1984) -- Nicolas Cage, Matthew Modine
A criminally forgotten great and touching movie about an unlikely friendship.
MY BODYGUARD (1980) -- Adam Baldwin, Chris Makepeace, Matt Dillon
A deep but, again, unlikely friendship which gets established on an initial feeling of fear.
I love this category and I hope y'all will resurrect it again sometime!
~ D-FensDogG
STMcC Presents 'Battle Of The Bands'
I agree about sub categories because there are all types of friendships for sure. I only saw a part of Tortilla Flat and didn’t want to watch the film when it was half way done. I haven’t seen Birdy but will write this one down for sure. I love...LOVE...my Bodyguard and talked about this film before. It is brilliant and Ruth Gordon is great
DeleteLOL. Just watched the Friendship Trailer. Weren't they a mess?
ReplyDeleteThey were a beautiful mess
DeleteSure fit the bill for friendship indeed. Riggs and Murtaugh sure come to mind first for me.
ReplyDeleteThey are great! I love them and all the movies
DeleteI loooove the Who's on First routine. Who's on First? Who? I don't know. He's on third. But who's on first? Right. Who? Right. Who. Right....What about the guy on first? He's on second....Who's the pitcher? No, he's on first....hahahahahahah
ReplyDeleteHahahaaaaaaaa!
DeleteGreat picks and teaching/learning, Because Besides Sunset Boulevard, well Psycho and Lucie and more than I can remember I was going to say I don't know black and white.
ReplyDeletePesci and De Niro.
Will Ferrell and Chris Kaatan in Night At The Roxbury.
"Repeat after me. We."
- "We."
"Can get in."
- "Can get in.
"To the Roxbury."
- "To the Roxbury."
John Favreau and Vince Vaughn in Swingers and Made. In Swingers, Vaughn propped up Favreaus' spirits. In Made, Favreau propped up Vaughn and saved his life (from Peter Faulk's wrath).
Pesci Lethal Weopon movies as well. A Night at the Roxbury is good...silly, but good.
DeleteYou went an interesting route. There are so many that come to mind. A lot have to do with growing up or reuniting with old friends.
ReplyDeleteOne that comes to my mind is Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion. I haven't seen it in years but I remember liking it the times I saw it.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
This is a huge topic for sure. I have yet to see Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion since I thought it looked stupid but I have heard that it is quite good actually. I will check it out one day
DeleteReally hard for me to vote against Lemmon & Matthau.
ReplyDeleteAS usual, I have not only not seen any of these films, I've not heard of them. I am also a day late and a few dollars short. No short jokes, please.
ReplyDeleteI'm not big on comedies, but I would love to see a Laurel and Hardy film. I DID see the famous Abbott and Costello's "Who's on First" clip on someone's blog awhile back. Too bad I'm not more movie savvy, but I still show up to see the synopses each Thursday (or Friday if I'm running late).
You chose some legendary comedy duos. I noticed that Mr. McCarthy mentioned Birdy. I hadn't thought of it in years. It's a great movie. I need to see it again. I would choose Jerry Maguire because the main characters need to learn to be friends so they can be lovers.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis certainly played well off each other didn't they?
ReplyDeleteHope your day is wondrous.
The perfect friendship! Love that scene, and how they start attacking each other. Thanks for this post - it's always a fun feast around here.
ReplyDeleteKeep a smile, Birgit.
Birgit,
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen any of these but comedies from yesteryear trumps everything Hollywood produces these days which is ridiculously embarrassing to say the least. I think we've only seen one of their films, Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein. I always liked the team of Lewis & Martin. They were great together! Thanks for the introductions and for the visit. Have a good week, my friend!
Stand by Me, of course.
ReplyDeleteThe Muppet Movie! “There’s not a word yet for old friends who’ve just met.”
Laurel and Hardy sure knew their craft didn't they?
ReplyDeleteHope you are having a lovely, pain free day.
Lucy and Ethel have always been favorites of mine. I thought they were hilarious when I was little and they still hold a special place in my heart. :)
ReplyDelete~Jess
Gosh you have some goodies I've never heard of (not a big fan of Laurel & Hardy). I did love Abbott & Costello, though, and don't remember this one! Ditto with Martin & Lewis, and Lucy & Ethel have to be my favorite set of show biz friends. I was so pleased when I read that they really were good friends IRL too. You are a true movie buff to know all these oldie goldies! Oldies are the best, aren't they? TFS & Hugs.
ReplyDelete