Nuts in May | |
---|---|
Directed by | Robin Williamson |
Produced by | Isadore Bernstein |
Starring | Stan Laurel |
Cinematography | Harry M. Fowler |
Release date |
|
Running time | 30 minutes |
Country | United States |
Languages | Silent film English intertitles |
Nuts in May (1917) is a silent comedy short, directed by Robin Williamson, produced by Isadore Bernstein, and featuring Stan Laurel, billed as Stan Jefferson, in his onscreen debut. [1]
The short was filmed at Bernstein Studios, in Hollywood, California. "A fragment" of the film survives [1] (a little over 60 seconds[ citation needed ]).
Stan plays a resident of "Home for the Weak-Minded", apparently a lunatic asylum. Stan's particular delusion is that he thinks he's Napoleon. Stan walks the grounds of the cuckoo-hatch sticking his right hand into his shirt and wearing a Napoleon hat. He thinks he's Napoleon, but he gives the salute of the British army.
Stan has his own personal keeper in the asylum: a taller moustached man who wears a kepi so that Stan will think he's a French officer.
Stan gets out and finds some local boys, who eagerly join him in playing soldier. Stan's kepi-wearing keeper pursues him through the film. Stan hijacks a steamroller, and Stan nearly runs down some workers in a road crew.
The surviving footage consists of Stan in various scrapes with a steamroller, ending with him in a straw boater being dragged off to the asylum.
Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy team during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in the silent film era, they later successfully transitioned to "talkies". From the late 1920s to the mid-1950s, they were internationally famous for their slapstick comedy, with Laurel playing the clumsy, childlike friend to Hardy's pompous bully. Their signature theme song, known as "The Cuckoo Song", "Ku-Ku", or "The Dance of the Cuckoos" was heard over their films' opening credits, and became as emblematic of them as their bowler hats.
Oliver Norvell Hardy was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his comedy partner Stan Laurel in 107 short films, feature films, and cameo roles. He was credited with his first film, Outwitting Dad, in 1914. In most of his silent films before joining producer Hal Roach, he was billed on screen as Babe Hardy.
The Rogue Song is a 1930 American pre-Code romantic and musical film that tells the story of a Russian bandit who falls in love with a princess, but takes his revenge on her when her brother rapes and kills his sister. The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production was directed by Lionel Barrymore and released in two versions, with and without sound. Hal Roach wrote and directed the Laurel and Hardy sequences and was not credited. The film stars Metropolitan Opera singer Lawrence Tibbett—who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance—and Catherine Dale Owen. Laurel and Hardy were third-billed; their sequences were filmed at the last minute and interspersed throughout the film in an attempt to boost its potential box-office appeal.
Stan Laurel was an English comic actor, director and writer who was one half of the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Hardy in 107 short films, feature films and cameo roles.
Two Tars is a silent short subject directed by James Parrott starring comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. It was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on November 3, 1928.
A Chump at Oxford is a Hal Roach comedy film produced in 1939 and released in 1940 by United Artists. It was directed by Alfred J. Goulding and is the penultimate Laurel and Hardy film made at the Roach studio. The title echoes the film A Yank at Oxford (1938), of which it is a partial parody.
Unaccustomed As We Are is the first sound film comedy starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, released on May 4, 1929.
The Finishing Touch is a 1928 short comedy silent film produced by Hal Roach, directed by Clyde Bruckman, and starring Laurel and Hardy. It was released on February 25, 1928, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Should Married Men Go Home? is a silent short subject co-directed by Leo McCarey and James Parrott, starring comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. It was the first Hal Roach film to bill Laurel and Hardy as a team. Previous appearances together were billed under the Roach "All-Star Comedy" banner. It was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on September 8, 1928. McCarey is also one of the script writers for the film.
From Soup to Nuts is a silent short subject directed by E. Livingston Kennedy starring comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. It was released on March 24, 1928, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Slipping Wives is a 1927 American silent short comedy film starring Priscilla Dean with Stan Laurel, and Oliver Hardy prior to their official billing as the duo Laurel and Hardy.
Laughing Gravy is a 1931 short film comedy starring Laurel and Hardy. It was directed by James W. Horne, produced by Hal Roach and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
The Live Ghost is a 1934 American comedy short film starring Laurel and Hardy, directed by Charles Rogers, and produced by Hal Roach at his studios in Culver City, California.
For Two Pins is a lost 1914 American silent comedy film produced by the Lubin Manufacturing Company and starring Jimmy Hodges, Marguerite Ne Moyer, and Raymond McKee. Also among the cast was Oliver Hardy, who had a small role as a policeman.
Just Rambling Along is a 1918 American short silent comedy film featuring Stan Laurel. The film is Laurel's earliest surviving work and the first project he did with film producer Hal Roach, who later put out a large portion of the Laurel and Hardy films.
Mixed Nuts is a 1922 American black-and-white silent film starring Stan Laurel. The film is a two-reeler (600m.) comedy short. The film was created by re-cutting an earlier film, Nuts in May (1917), adding footage and outtakes from another movie, The Pest (1922), and filming new sequences, in order to combine the diverse contributing elements into a complete, coherent narrative.
The Pest is a 1922 American silent comedy film starring Stan Laurel as Jimmy Smith, who is going door to door hoping to sell copies of a book about Napoleon Bonaparte. He encounters a young woman who will be evicted from her house unless she agrees to marry the landlord. He vows to get the money she needs.
Oranges and Lemons is a 1923 American one-reel silent comedy starring Stan Laurel. He plays an incompetent employee of a fruit orchard who only manages to keep his job because his fellow workers are even more inept, including the lovely packer (Grant) who flirts with him. As is typical of his films in this era, his character is far more aggressive and physical than the more familiar meek personality he adopted when he later teamed with Oliver Hardy.
Seeing the World is a 1927 silent Our Gang film, directed by Robert F. McGowan and Anthony Mack. It was the 57th Our Gang short subject to be released. The film features James Finlayson and also a brief appearance by Stan Laurel, who later wrote:
That "Seeing the World" is a very bad film, plus the print - I felt sorry for Finlayson practically working alone with nothing funny to do - He made every face in the book in this one.!!
A Splendid Hazard is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Henry B. Walthall. The film is based on the 1910 book of the same name. The film was produced by the Mayflower Photoplay Company. It is not known whether the film currently survives; this suggests that it may be a lost film.