Films of Emil Sitka: FRENCH FRIED FROLIC (1949) A Columbia Pictures short subject comedy starring Tim Ryan and Wally Brown. FRENCH FRIED FROLIC (1949) is a very entertaining Columbia short -- and also interesting for one reason: it is the only screen-pairing of Tim Ryan and Wally Brown. Historical Overview - The Columbia Shorts Department. At one time in movie history, the comedy short (a two- reel . They were extremely popular with audiences, and Columbia made some of the finest comedy shorts in the industry. By carrying on the Mack Sennett tradition of good old- fashioned slapstick, Columbia prevailed in the short subjects field for over 2. CBC produced low budget shorts, including THE HALL ROOM BOYS series, and would go on to produce their first feature film MORE TO BE PITIED THAN SCORNED. With the profit made from the feature (it was produced for $2. Cohn, formed Columbia Pictures. The studio was located in the heart of Hollywood at Sunset and Gower. In addition to producing feature films, Columbia also handled the distribution of short subjects produced by independent studios. By the early 1. 93. SUNRISE COMEDIES produced by The Lambs Club (a group of professional actors including Leon Errol and Will Mahoney), a handful of MICKEY Mc. GUIRE comedies starring Mickey Rooney (produced by Larry Darmour) and the Charles Mintz KRAZY KAT and SCRAPPY and Walt Disney's MICKEY MOUSE and SILLY SYMPHONIES cartoons. In 1. 93. 3, Cohn decided to develop a short subjects division exclusively for Columbia. With Wally Brown, Tim Ryan, Nanette Bordeaux, Christine McIntyre. Wally (Wally Brown) and Tim (Tim Ryan) become involved with a couple of French girls (Christine. French Fried Frolic: 1949: Short: Fifi: Flung by a Fling: 1949: Short: Fifi: Homecoming: 1948: Nurse (uncredited) The Voice of the Turtle: 1947: French. 1949 : French Fried Frolic; 1950 : His Baiting Beauty; 1950 : Hugs and Mugs. 1941 : French Fried Patootie; 1941 : I'll Never Heil Again; 1941 : Love in Gloom. Christine McIntyre biography – the Three Stooges. Christine McIntyre was a singer and actress. French Fried Frolic (1949) Punchy Cowpunchers. To get the ball rolling, Cohn hired Jules White to help shape and head the department. No stranger to comedy, White had previously directed Buster Keaton in SIDEWALKS OF NEW YORK and the Thelma Todd- Zasu Pitts two- reeler SHOW BUSINESS for Hal Roach, and before that, he worked under older brother Jack White at Educational turning out fast paced and zany one and two- reel subjects. Jules was also responsible for the MGM series of bizarre DOGVILLE COMEDIES. These spoofs of then- current feature films with an all canine cast was co- created by Jules long- time friend, Zion Myers (brother of silent screen star Carmel Myers). After a month with little progress, a frustrated White left Columbia. Zion Myers accepted Harry Cohn's offer to head the shorts department. Myers first act as producer was to hire Archie Gottler, a Broadway composer who would develop Columbia's first official series, THE MUSICAL NOVELTIES. At Myers request, Jules returned to the unit. White then immediately went to work by hiring a top- notch crew of comedy writers and directors, most having previously worked for Mack Sennett and other studios. Among those Jules hired included Del Lord, Clyde Bruckman, Elwood Ullman, Felix Adler, Charles Lamont, Harry Edwards, James W. Horne, and James Parrott. White brought in his brothers Sam and Jack (who is often credited as . It was at this time, on August 8, 1. Columbia moved it's comedy department from Gower Street to the old, rickety California Studio on Beechwood Drive. During the 1. 93. Leon Errol, Andy Clyde, The 3 Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard), Buster Keaton, Harry Langdon, Walter Catlett, El Brendel, The Radio Rogues, Smith and Dale, and Charley Chase, who not only starred in his own series, but also wrote and directed several other comedies being produced on the lot. On average, 2. 5 shorts per year were produced. In 1. 93. 7, Hugh Mc. Collum, the business manager for the shorts department, was promoted to the position of producer, sharing production duties equally with Jules White. Both White and Mc. Collum ran their own separate units within the department, alternating production chores for each series. This move also gave White more freedom to direct several of the comedies. The 1. 94. 0's brought more talent to the unit as veteran comics of stage, screen and radio like Hugh Herbert, Vera Vague, Sterling Holloway and the . Oceny, recenzje, obsada, dyskusje wiadomo French Fried Frolic (1949) Brooklyn Buckaroos (1950) Put Some Money in the Pot (1950) Photo Phonies (1950) From Rogues to Riches (1951) Tinhorn Troubadors (1951). In 1. 94. 4, Edward Bernds, a sound mixer at Columbia since the shorts department's beginnings, began writing scripts for the shorts, only later to find himself in the director's chair. In 1. 94. 6, The 3 Stooges went through a change, bringing in Shemp Howard to replace an ailing Curly. At the time, Shemp (who in real life was brother to both Moe and Curly Howard) was appearing in his own series of shorts for the studio. Veterans Wally Vernon and Eddie Quillan were teamed for a series, as were former boxers Max Baer and . Others who popped up in their own series at Columbia include Billie Burke, Roscoe Karns, Alan Mowbray and former . Even popular burlesque comic Joe De. Rita turned up in 4 shorts.. Comedians like Franklin Pangborn and Danny Webb (Webb also provided voices for Columbia's theatrical cartoons) only made one short for the studio. Most of these single entries were failed attempts at creating a new series or comedy team. One of the best of these one- shots was the pairing of Tim Ryan and Wally Brown in FRENCH FRIED FROLIC (1. Jules White had contacted character actor Henry Armetta about starring in a series of comedy shorts, but when the meeting with Armetta proved to be a big mistake (Henry demanded to choose his own co- stars, writers, directors, etc.), Jules nixed the plans. In the mid- 1. 94. Jules had approached Danny Thomas' manager about hiring Thomas for a series of comedy shorts. Thomas' manager informed Jules that a series of two- reelers was not in Danny's plans, as he was being groomed for . Possibly the most intriguing series that never got off the ground would have featured the team of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.. White admitted he would have jumped at the chance to hire them to appear in shorts for the studio. Jules White knew this and hired some of the best, both veterans and newcomers. Without the talents of those like Vernon Dent, Dudley Dickerson, Dorothy Appleby, Bud Jamison, Ann Doran, Jack Norton, Bess Flowers, Symona Boniface, Duke York, Phil Van Zandt, Kenneth Mac. Donald, Dick Wessel and fan- favorites Christine Mc. Intyre and Emil Sitka, these films would have lost much of their charm. Other top- notch supporting players include Stanley Blystone, James C. Morton, Esther Howard, Dick Curtis, Jack . By the late 1. 94. The cost of producing two- reel short- subjects had skyrocketed and several films became remakes of earlier titles. It was easier (cheaper) to lift footage from an earlier production and shoot new bits or wrap- a- round sequences to match up with the existing footage. Also, the amount of shorts produced had been reduced from 2. To make up the difference, in 1. These reissues were billed as COMEDY FAVORITES and the first of these was PEST FROM THE WEST, a 1. Buster Keaton comedy. The comedies were also offered in the 1. Excel Movie Products released several silent abridged 3 Stooges and Andy Clyde shorts in 5. These home movie versions were marketed for Excel's toy projector sets. Most of these films were given new titles such as HISS AND MAKE UP (featuring footage from Andy Clyde's TWO LOCAL YOKELS) and INFERIOR DECORATORS (which contained footage from The 3 Stooges short A BIRD IN THE HEAD). Many comedies featuring Buster Keaton, Charley Chase, Andy Clyde, and El Brendel, among others, were available through this 1. With the number of shorts- per- year reduced, Jules White was able to convince the studio that keeping two producers on the payroll was unnecessary. Out of respect for their friend Mc. Collum, both Ed Bernds and writer Elwood Ullman also left the studio, finding a new home at Allied Artists to work on the successful Bowery Boys series. Back at Columbia, Jules White continued to both produce and direct the comedies, with brother Jack re- writing several earlier shorts, while son Harold would serve as editor. In many cases, the amount of stock footage used in these shorts enabled Jules to complete a ! In 1. 95. 5, Moe Howard and Larry Fine would again find themselves in search of a new partner as current . With 4 shorts to go to finish up their contract, veteran studio player Joe Palma was brought into the group to stand- in for Shemp in scenes that would bridge new material with older stock- footage. In the meantime, Columbia continued to reissue earlier shorts, and went on to release THE COLUMBIA LAFF HOUR, a 1. Hugh Herbert, Andy Clyde, Vera Vague and The 3 Stooges. In 1. 95. 8, Harry Cohn died and Jules White left the studio. The doors of the shorts department had finally closed. The studio's biggest bread- winners and the longest running series in the shorts field, The 3. Stooges, were contemplating calling it quits, especially since current . The Stooge comedies became an over- night success. Television stations all over the country were airing the Stooge shorts and Columbia was making a mint. The overnight success of the Stooge two- reelers prompted the studio to issue the theatrical film THE THREE STOOGES FUN- O- RAMA, which was merely a festival of 3 Stooges shorts featuring Joe Besser as . It should be noted that the popularity of these televised Stooge comedies brought the team back into the limelight. Encouraged by the television success of the Stooges comedies*, Screen Gems put together a package called THE HILARIOUS HUNDRED, which consisted of, despite the package's name, 2. In the Spring of 1. Hugh Herbert, Vera Vague, Schilling & Lane, Harry Von Zell, El Brendel and others were made available to the television market. Also included in this package were some of the earlier mentioned Mickey Mc. Guire comedies, as well as MY WIFE'S AN ANGEL, a Ben K. According to Ted Okuda, author of THE COLUMBIA COMEDY SHORTS, many of the Schilling and Lane films were in the package, but evidently not the elusive HOLD THAT MONKEY, their final effort. Okuda also informed this site that Columbia numbered the films in alphabetical order, as he once owned a 1. Vera Vague short, YOU DEAR BOY, which was marked on the film leader . This would be the last film to be included in the 1. Often, the comedies were mixed in with BUGS BUNNY and POPEYE cartoons, and one such program was titled NUTS AND BUGS. Boston's WNAC- TV program MAJOR MUDD showcased the shorts along with the more popular Stooge titles.
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