The end of this week will feature the latest edition of my biennial Favorite Films list, so I suppose I have films on my mind.
Some of the earliest films I saw were short films, thanks to my dad and the Arlington County library which had them. And I do mean films! We had a projector at home, which was often used for birthday parties and other events. This inevitably meant those masters of movie comedy, Laurel and Hardy.
Now, I’m by no means a Laurel and Hardy scholar, for that sort of discussion, you’ll want to check out this excellent interview with film historian Leonard Maltin and general pop culture history maven Mark Evanier, but I am looking for ways to introduce my kids to these classic (Looney Tunes have gone over pretty well, but they’re not the biggest fans of live action… yet).
And as another argument to make sure Laurel and Hardy are in their cinematic upbringing, there’s this remembrance from Mark “Jedi” Hamill: