Universal Weekly (1917-1934)

26 Universal Weekly February 4, 1928 Thrill Comedies the Latest Public Demand Says Sig, Newfield, Stem Studio Manager Straight Comedy Situations Now Too Tame THE public no longer is satisfied with straight comedy and ordinary humorous situations, but demands comedies packed with thrills and danger sequences, asserted Sigmund Newfield, general manager anil production supei-visor of the Stern Brothers studio, on the eve of his departure for Hollywood to supervise next season's production of Stern Brothers Comedies. This has caused a distinct change in •comedy production, according to the Stern studio chief, and greatly increases the difficulty of turning out 100 per cent comedies. It also aifects comedians and comediennes to a grave extent, turning them from straight comedians or slapstick artists into stunt-men, acrobats, and dare-devils. "The stunts which used to cause gasps of horror and breath-taking suspense in the old-time thrillers," explains Newfield, "now are considered excruciatingly funny, when performed by a comedian. The situation may be just as nerve-racking or as dangerous as it ever was, but it now produces paroxysms of laughter where it used to curdle the blood. "I am not quite sure that I know the answer to this. Maybe the average man is becoming more bloodthirsty. Maybe he is just tired and fed-up with the old heart-grippers. Maybe he laughs at them in a superior, ridiculing sort of way. I have another theory for it, however. In applying these thrills to comedy, we are only superimposing the thrill and the comedy relief to it — giving the action and the reaction at tlie same time. This heightens the reaction and gives the audiences a chance to laugh before the tension has let down. Therefore we get a more spontaneous and a bigger laugh than if the comedy relief be used as a follow-up of different material. "There is no question as to the danger our players now are subjected in order to inject the thrill element into comedies. For instance, in a recent Stern Brothers comedy, 'Big Game George,' of the 'Let George Do It' series, Sid Saylor, the star, was suspended high over the deck of a departing ocean liner by a derrick. The boat was sunposed to go out from under him as he dangled in the air. It so happened that the after flag staff of the ship fouled some of the lines and began to drag Saylor's cable out of position. There was no .stopping the huge boat, and it was only a question of a few seconds before the cable Snookums, precocious baby star of the Stern Brothers' Newlyweds comedies, chooses as his first primer a book after his own heart. In fact, his father wrote one of the chapters in "Breaking Into the Movies," the compendium of motion picture stars, directors, and ivhat not compiled by Charles Reed Jones. might snap, letting Saylor fall to the deck. He would have been killed or maimed for life in such an event. Luckily, the lines were cleared in the nick of time, just a second or two before the movement of the boat would have thrown its full power against the cable. It was a narrow escape and Saylor thought he was a goner. So did all of us. The funny thing is, that, although the cable sequence is shown as a thrill with dangerous aspects for its comedy value, only a small part of the actual danger and thrill of the situation appears on the screen in this instance. "Even in our 'Newlyweds and Their Baby' comedies, featuring Snookums, the Stern Brothers baby star, we must inject thrills stuff. Naturally, we are very careful in handling the baby, but we mu.st show him in danger frequently. This is especially difficult. "In the 'Mike and Ike' comedies, the two boys, Charles King and Charles Dorety, are in hot water all the time. Of course, they actually must put themselves in precarious positions frequently. It is no joke being a comedian these days. "The 'Keeping Up With the Joneses' comedies are equally as dangerous. You may remember the mountain climbing comedy of that series, and the toboggan sequences. There were plenty of spills and thrills during the making of this two-reeler. Harry Long, the lead, admitted that he had aged several years during its making. "Sid Saylor, who has a long record on the stage, in vaudeville and in the circus as an acrobat, trick bicycle rider and wire artist, takes to danger like a duck to water. The Buster Brown trio, little Arthur Trimble, Doreen Turner and Jerry the dog, also have their personal and individual thrills during the making of the Buster Brown Comedies. "I don't know what the next step will be. If the making of comedies gets any more dangerous, we'll have to recruit our talent from the Lion Tamers' Club, the Army or the Subway Track Walkers' Association." Joe Murphy, Star of "Gump" Comedies, Appears in Person THE opening of the beautiful new theatre called the "Ward" at Westchester and Ward Streets in the Bronx was much enlivened by the personal appearance of Joe Murphy. Mr. Murphy, who is the Andy Gump of Universal's series of Gump comedies, has been in New York City for a week or so on a vacation. He consented, however, to take an evening from his leisure for so interesting an event as the opening of the Ward Theatre. Jack Springer, the manager, assured him that he was a very popular character in the Bronx, and from the wild applause that greeted the comedian's appearance and speech, "Andy" had to conclude modestly that he was. Universal's comedy, "The Irresistible Lover," was the feature picture for this celebration. It was attended by many prominent people from the Bronx and several executives from Big U, including Morris Joseph, Max Cohn, L. George Ross and Joe Weinberg.