Cinema Arts Centre screens old-time film comics
Russian singer-comedienne Lyubov Orlova, a favorite of former Russian leader Joseph Stalin, is shown in a poster for her 1934 film "Moscow Laughs." Audiences unfamiliar with Orlova can learn about her in film scholar Glenn Andreiev's Rediscovered Rare Comics program at Cinema Arts Centre on Nov. 18, 2013. Credit: Handout
Who could forget the big-screen antics of Wheeler and Woolsey or Olsen and Johnson? Pretty much everyone, it seems.
Now you can get to know those little-known comedy teams, along with other forgotten funsters, when Kings Park filmmaker Glenn Andreiev presents "Rediscovered Rare Movie Comics," a clip- and story-fest Monday night at Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington. Here are some of the comics on the bill.
WHEELER & WOOLSEY Wheeler and Who-sey, you ask? The reason 1930s comics Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey are so unfamiliar to modern audiences is because their films never became TV staples. "Back in the 1960s, their films were rejected for TV because they were just a little too risque," Andreiev says.
OLSEN & JOHNSON Unlike the in-your-face physical comedy of Abbott and Costello, the 1940s films of Universal cohorts Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson are "way too surreal, but they're a lot of fun," says Andreiev. (Their 1941 gagfest "Hellzapoppin' " supposedly inspired "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In.")
Like Jerry Lewis, Olsen and Johnson are pop-culture heroes in France. "When I went to a Virgin Megastore in Paris," Andreiev says, "the way we would have a big cardboard standup for 'Star Wars,' they had one for 'Hellzapoppin'."
LYUBOV ORLOVA Soviet leader Josef Stalin was a huge fan of this Russian singer and comedian, Andreiev says. In the 1930s and '40s, Orlova starred in a string of romantic confections blending sight gags, animation and musical numbers. "She was quite the darling of Russia," Andreiev adds. "A huge freighter sailing to the Arctic from Russia was named after her, and astronomers named a Russian star for her."
EL PIPORRO Mexico's Eulalio González, aka El Piporro, whom Andreiev calls "a handsome combination of Dean Martin and Groucho Marx" shone in offbeat flicks like the campy "Ship of Monsters" (1960). "It has people in monster suits and women in bathing suits. In lesser hands, it would have been made as a serious movie and would just completely fall apart," Andreiev says. "Instead, they added El Piporro and it's extremely high camp. . . . You've got the monsters for the kids, beauty for Dad and El Piporro for Mom."
Sarra Sounds Off, Ep. 17: Olympics a possibility for Long Beach wrestler? On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," Newsday's Gregg Sarra talks with Long Beach wrestler Dunia Sibomana-Rodriguez about pursuing a third state title and possibly competing in the Olympics in 2028, plus Jared Valluzzi has the plays of the week.
Sarra Sounds Off, Ep. 17: Olympics a possibility for Long Beach wrestler? On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," Newsday's Gregg Sarra talks with Long Beach wrestler Dunia Sibomana-Rodriguez about pursuing a third state title and possibly competing in the Olympics in 2028, plus Jared Valluzzi has the plays of the week.
