Down Memory Lane

Last updated

Down Memory Lane is a 1949 Hollywood compilation film of silent and sound comedies from the library of pioneer producer Mack Sennett. Phil Karlson directed the film, [1] with Steve Allen writing the screenplay and appearing on screen as himself.

Contents

Production

Phil Karlson had just made a film for Eagle-Lion, The Big Cat, when asked to direct Down Memory Lane. He said someone from Eagle-Lion had the idea to make a film using all of Mack Sennett's old material including Bing Crosby and W.C. Fields. [2] Karlson, who enjoyed the late-night disc jockey Steve Allen, approached him to work on the project.

Steve Allen remembered the film in his first memoir: “[Down Memory Lane] afforded me the unusual opportunity of working with Mack Sennett and Franklin Pangborn, two real experts in the field of comedy. [It was an] interesting assignment because I was given the opportunity to write the screenplay. This was not as weighty a matter as it sounds, however, since most of the picture consisted of ancient Mack Sennett film footage and the scenario ran to only sixteen pages. I also must admit that, although there were a few hilarious moments scattered here and there, it was rather a mess when patched together.” [3]

Given the rushed shooting schedule (only two days), the "mess" Allen described was really deliberate. Allen fashioned the premise of a TV personality (Allen himself) reviving old Sennett comedies on his live program, only to have everything go wrong: the films arriving late and being shown in random order, with silent footage interrupted by sound footage; hastily improvised musical accompaniment; guest speaker Mack Sennett not showing up on time; and Allen's irate boss (played by Frank Nelson) objecting to the chaotic proceedings. Allen's loose framework fit the patchwork pattern of the old clips.

Critical reviews were respectful of the old film clips and welcomed newcomer Allen to the screen. In New South Wales, Australia, the film was double billed with Tokyo File 212 . [4]

Cast

Related Research Articles

Mack Sennett Canadian-American actor and filmmaker

Mack Sennett was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'.

<i>The Bells of St. Marys</i> 1945 film by Leo McCarey

The Bells of St. Mary's (1945) is an American musical comedy-drama film, produced and directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman. Written by Dudley Nichols and based on a story by McCarey, the film is about a priest and a nun who, despite their good-natured rivalry, try to save their school from being shut down. The character Father O'Malley had been previously portrayed by Crosby in the 1944 film Going My Way, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. The film was produced by Leo McCarey's production company, Rainbow Productions.

<i>Chaplin</i> (film) 1992 film by Richard Attenborough

Chaplin is a 1992 American biographical comedy-drama film about the life of British comedian Charlie Chaplin. It was produced and directed by Richard Attenborough and stars Robert Downey Jr., Marisa Tomei, Dan Aykroyd, Penelope Ann Miller and Kevin Kline. It also features Charlie Chaplin's own daughter, Geraldine Chaplin, in the role of his mother, Hannah Chaplin.

<i>The Hollywood Palace</i> American television variety series

The Hollywood Palace was an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly Saturday nights on ABC from January 4, 1964, to February 7, 1970. Titled The Saturday Night Hollywood Palace during its first few weeks, it began as a midseason replacement for The Jerry Lewis Show, another variety show, which had lasted only three months.

Educational Pictures American film company

Educational Pictures, also known as Educational Film Exchanges, Inc. or Educational Films Corporation of America, was an American film production and film distribution company founded in 1916 by Earle Hammons (1882–1962). Educational primarily distributed short subjects; it is best known for its series of comedies starring Buster Keaton (1934-37) and the earliest screen appearances of Shirley Temple (1932-34). The company ceased production in 1938, and finally closed in 1940 when its film library was sold at auction.

Franklin Pangborn American actor

Franklin Pangborn was an American comedic character actor famous for playing small but memorable roles with comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W. C. Fields films International House, The Bank Dick, and Never Give a Sucker an Even Break. For his contributions to motion pictures, Pangborn received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1500 Vine Street on February 8, 1960.

Frank Wright Tuttle was a Hollywood film director and writer who directed films from 1922 to 1959.

Irving Bacon American actor (1893–1965)

Irving Bacon was an American character actor who appeared in almost 500 films.

<i>Were Not Dressing</i> 1934 film by Benjamin Glazer, Norman Taurog

We're Not Dressing is a 1934 pre-Code screwball musical comedy film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Bing Crosby, Carole Lombard, George Burns, Gracie Allen and Ethel Merman. Based on the 1902 J. M. Barrie play The Admirable Crichton, the film is about a beautiful yacht owner (Lombard) who becomes stranded on an island with her socialite friends, a wacky husband-and-wife research team and a singing sailor (Crosby). The supporting cast features Leon Errol and Ray Milland.

<i>She Loves Me Not</i> (1934 film) 1934 film by Benjamin Glazer, Elliott Nugent

She Loves Me Not is a 1934 American comedy film directed by Elliott Nugent and starring Bing Crosby and Miriam Hopkins. Based on the novel She Loves Me Not by Edward Hope and the subsequent play by Howard Lindsay, the film is about a cabaret dancer who witnesses a murder and is forced to hide from gangsters by disguising herself as a male Princeton student. Distributed by Paramount Pictures, the film has been remade twice as True to the Army (1942) and as How to Be Very, Very Popular in (1955), the latter starring Betty Grable. The film is notable for containing one of the first major performances of Bing Crosby, and it helped launch him to future stardom. This was also the last film that Miriam Hopkins made under her contract to Paramount Pictures, which began in the early 1930s upon her arrival in Hollywood. In 1935, the film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for "Love in Bloom", theme song of comedian Jack Benny.

A WAVE, a WAC and a Marine is an American 1944 musical comedy film directed by Phil Karlson for low-budget Monogram Pictures.

<i>One More Chance</i> (1931 film) 1931 film

One More Chance is a 1931 Educational-Mack Sennett Featurette starring Bing Crosby and directed by Mack Sennett. This was the second of the six short films Crosby made for Sennett and which helped launch his career as a solo performer. This film is notable for Crosby first singing on film his classic hit "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams" which is sung to a bevy of giggling overweight Native American maidens who gradually close in on him. He also sings "Just One More Chance" which topped the various charts of the day in 1931.

<i>A Wreath in Time</i> 1909 film

A Wreath in Time is a 1909 American silent comedy film written and directed by D. W. Griffith, produced by the Biograph Company of New York City, and co-starring Mack Sennett and Florence Lawrence. At its release in February 1909, the short was distributed to theaters on a "split reel", which was a single reel that accommodated more than one film. A Wreath in Time shared its reel with another Biograph short also directed by Griffith, the drama Edgar Allen Poe [sic]. Original paper rolls of contact prints of both motion pictures, as well as safety-stock copies of the two films, are preserved in the Library of Congress.

<i>I Surrender Dear</i> (1931 film) 1931 film

I Surrender Dear is a 1931 Educational-Mack Sennett Featurette starring Bing Crosby and directed by Mack Sennett. This was the first of the six short films Crosby made for Sennett and which helped launch his career as a solo performer.

<i>Dream House</i> (1931 film) 1931 film

Dream House is a 1931 Educational-Mack Sennett Featurette starring Bing Crosby and directed by Del Lord. This was the third of the six short films Crosby made for Sennett and which helped launch his career as a solo performer.

<i>Sing, Bing, Sing</i> 1933 film

Sing, Bing, Sing is a 1933 Mack Sennett Star Comedy starring Bing Crosby and directed by Babe Stafford. It was the fifth of the six short films Crosby made for Mack Sennett and which helped launch his career as a solo performer.

<i>Blue of the Night</i> 1933 film

Blue of the Night is a 1933 Mack Sennett Star Comedy directed by Leslie Pearce and starring Bing Crosby. It was the last of the six short films Crosby made for Mack Sennett and which helped launch his career as a solo performer.

<i>Louisiana</i> (1947 film) 1947 film

Louisiana is a 1947 American drama film film directed by Phil Karlson and starring Jimmie Davis, Margaret Lindsay and John Gallaudet. Davis, a singer and Governor of Louisiana, came to Karlson, wanting to be in movies and Monogram Pictures agreed to finance one based on his life. Karlson says the film helped Davis get re-elected.

<i>Midnight Daddies</i> 1930 film

Midnight Daddies is a 1930 American comedy film directed by Mack Sennett and starring Andy Clyde, Harry Gribbon, and Rosemary Theby. It was the last feature film that Sennett directed: his remaining six films were Bing Crosby shorts.

References

  1. ↑ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third series. 1949. p. 70.
  2. ↑ Todd McCarthy and Richard Thompson. “Phil Karlson: Interview, November 19, 1973” Kings of the Bs; Working Within the Hollywood System, eds. Todd McCarthy and Charles Flynn (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1975), pp. 327-345. Rpt. Cine Resort, Oct. 7 2014
  3. ↑ Allen, Steve (1960). Mark It And Strike It. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. p. 142. ISBN   978-1558000407.
  4. ↑ "Newcatle Theatre Reviews". The Newcastle Sun . November 30, 1951. p. 10. Retrieved May 17, 2015 – via Trove.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.