Stan Without Ollie: The Stan Laurel Solo Films, 1917-1927

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McFarland, Aug 7, 2012 - Performing Arts - 248 pages

Long before his momentous teaming with Oliver Hardy, comedian Stan Laurel (1890-1965) was a motion picture star in his own right. From his film debut in Nuts in May (1917) through his final solo starring effort Should Tall Men Marry? (1928), Laurel headlined dozens of short comedies for a variety of producers and production companies, often playing characters far removed from the meek, dimwitted "Stanley" persona that we know and love. This is a film-by-film look at the pictures Stan made as a solo artist, as well as those he wrote and directed for other stars, shows his development as a movie comedian and filmmaker.

Comedy legend Jerry Lewis, a longtime friend and admirer of Stan Laurel, provides an affectionate and eloquent foreword. Included are several rare photographs and production stills.

 

Contents

Foreword by Jerry Lewis
1
Introduction
4
1 Stan Laurel
7
2 Laurel at Universal
11
3 Stan Laurel Meets Hal Roach
16
4 Stan Laurel at Vitagraph
30
5 Stan and Broncho Billy
38
6 Stan Returns to Hal Roach
60
8 Laurel Returns to Hal Roach Again
166
9 Laurel with Hardy
180
10 Laurel and Hardy
216
Epilogue
226
Compilations Television Syndication 8mm Movies and the HomeVideo Market
229
Bibliography
234
Index
235
Copyright

7 Stan Laurel and Joe Rock
129

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About the author (2012)

Ted Okuda is a Chicago-based film historian whose articles have appeared in such publications as Nostalgia Digest, Filmfax, and Classic Images. James L. Neibaur is a film historian and scholar with more than 30 books and hundreds of articles appearing in Cineaste, Classic Images, Film Quarterly, Films in Review, Filmfax, and Encyclopædia Britannica.

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