Stop, Look and Listen (film)

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Stop, Look and Listen
Stop, Look and Listen ad in The Film Daily, Jan-Jun 1926 (page 184 crop).jpg
Film magazine advertisement
Directed by Larry Semon
Written byLarry Semon
Based onStop, Look and Listen
by Irving Berlin and Harry B. Smith
Produced byLarry Semon
Starring Oliver Hardy
Cinematography James S. Brown Jr.
Hans F. Koenekamp
Production
company
Larry Semon Productions
Distributed by Pathé Exchange
Release date
  • January 1, 1926 (1926-01-01)
Running time
6 reels
CountryUnited States
Language Silent (English intertitles)
Ad in The Film Daily, 1926 Stop, Look and Listen ad in The Film Daily, Jan-Jun 1926 (page 894 crop).jpg
Ad in The Film Daily , 1926

Stop, Look and Listen is a 1926 American silent comedy film starring Larry Semon and Dorothy Dwan and featuring Oliver Hardy. [1] Semon and Dwan were married at the time. This was Hardy's final film appearance with Semon.

Contents

Plot

As described in a film magazine review, [2] Luther Meek is a well-behaved young citizen of a small town with a sweetheart named Dorothy who pines for footlight fame. She coaxes him into backing a traveling show in which she is starred. On the opening night of the show, while the stage-struck Dorothy gets muddled in her initial appearance, the Stage Manager and Dorothy's graceless stepbrother rob a bank. Luther is blamed for the crime, but he escapes his pursuers and follows the thieves, finally catching the ringleader and recovering the money. Dorothy then decides to abandon her stage dreams and weds Luther.

Cast

Production

Stop, Look and Listen was the first film by Semon's production company and was based upon the successful 1915 musical comedy play of the same name by Irving Berlin and Harry B. Smith. The film, however, was not a financial success for Pathé Exchange. [3]

The African-American actor and stuntman Curtis McHenry is featured during the motorcycle and sidecar chase sequence. Oliver Hardy, who co-directed, also performs a difficult high and hard fall on to train tracks at the finale.

Preservation

The majority of the film was considered to be lost. [1] In early 2020, it was announced that approximately 10 minutes of footage exists. The last reel of the film was found by a Japanese film researcher, Toshihiko Sasayama, who bought it off an antiques dealer. [4] A 43-minute reunited version, including the climactic motorcycle and train chase, was exhibited by Matsuda Film Productions in Tokyo in January 2024 with a live benshi commentary and piano accompaniment. [5]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "Progressive Silent Film List: Stop, Look and Listen". silentera.com. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  2. ↑ Pardy, George T. (January 30, 1926), "Pre-Release Review of Features: Stop, Look and Listen", Motion Picture News, 33 (5), New York City, New York: Motion Picture News, Inc.: 600, retrieved February 2, 2023PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  3. ↑ Sassen, Claudia (2015). Larry Semon, Daredevil Comedian of the Silent Screen: A Biography and Filmography. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 152. ISBN   978-1-4766-2027-5.
  4. ↑ "Stop, Look and Listen". lordheath.com. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  5. ↑ Silent Movie Viewing Newsletter, Vol. 227, No. 195, 1 January 2024, ed. Makoto Matsuda, Tokyo, pp.2 & 8.


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