Slapstick Classics
Slapstick, one of the earliest forms of comedy, poked fun at farcical situations of physical mishap and indignity, using pratfalls, practical jokes, accidents, acrobatic death-defying stunts, water soakings, or wild chase scenes with trains and cars.
A classic gag: a gardener wants to water the garden with a hose that a witty boy quickly steps on; the gardener, wondering why the water won't come, looks into the nozzle; just then, the boy jumps aside, the water schools out of the hose, and the gardener gets a faceful of slapstick.
Without further ado, on with the show...
Right: The King of Slapstick Charlie Chaplin
Abbott & Costello Meet the Invisible Man / Go to Mars (1951)
Director: Charles Lamont
Starring: Arthur Franz, Bud Abbott, Lou Costello
Meet the Invisible Man: Brand new detectives Bud Alexander (Bud Abbott) and Lou Francis (Lou Costello) agree to help prize fighter Tommy Nelson (Arthu... Read more
Arbuckle and Keaton (1917)
Director: Roscoe Arbuckle
Starring: Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Buster Keaton
Virtually unseen by contemporary audiences until now, these two reel shorts offer a priceless view of the slapstick antics of two influential legends.... Read more
Buster Keaton: 3 Hours of Shorts (1923)
8.9/10
Director: Buster Keaton, Eddie Cline
Starring: Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton's acting trademark was physical comedy with a stoic, deadpan expression on his face, earning him the nickname "The Great Stoneface". His... Read more
Buster Keaton: The Complete Short Films 1917-1923 (1917)
8.7/10
Starring: Buster Keaton, Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle
A succession of the most timeless, classic comedy shorts ever realised in a luxurious four-disc box set, on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK SY... Read more
Charlie Chaplin the Immigrant (1917)
Director: Charlie Chaplin
Starring: Charlie Chaplin
The Immigrant - 1917 – Black & White. Charlie finds himself aboard a ship heading for a new life in the USA. Onboard, be befriends a girl and her moth... Read more
Laurel & Hardy: Great Guns (1941)
4.7/10
Director: Monty Banks
Starring: Oliver Hardy, Stan Laurel, Sheila Ryan
Overjoyed to escape his overprotective aunts when he receives a draft notice, wealthy young Dan Forrester (Dick Nelson) goes to training camp, followe... Read more
Laurel & Hardy: L&H and the Law (1930)
4.7/10
Starring: Oliver Hardy, Stan Laurel
A collection of classic shorts, with Stan and Ollie finding themselves - mostly - on the wrong side of the law. Episodes include: SCRAM! - restored... Read more
Monkey Business (1931)
7.6/10
Director: Norman Z McLeod
Starring: Ruth Hall, The Marx Brothers, Thelma Todd, Rockcliffe Fellowes
While hiding from the authorities on a luxury liner, a quartet of stowaways become bodyguards of rival gangsters, with the usual hilarious results. An... Read more
Son of Flubber (1963)
6.1/10
Director: Robert Stevenson
Starring: Ed Wynn, Fred MacMurray, Keenan Wynn, Leon Ames, Nancy Olson, Tommy Kirk
Professor Ned Brainard's discovery of flubber hasn't quite brought him - or his college - the riches he thought. The Pentagon has declared his discove... Read more
The Cocoanuts (1929)
7.2/10
Director: Joseph Stanley, Robert Florey
Starring: Kay Francis, Margaret Dumont, Oscar Shaw, The Marx Brothers, Mary Eaton
In the Marx Brothers' first feature film, Groucho portrays a hotel owner who tries to fleece everyone, from innocent bellboys and bellgirls to wealthy... Read more