When Comedy Was King

When Comedy Was King

When Comedy Was King

Share

When Comedy Was King

"You Never Dreamed a Film Could Be So Funny"

1960

1h 21m

6.5(11 votes)

Drama

Comedy

Documentary

Overview

A compilation featuring comedic stars of the silent era including Fatty Arbuckle, Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Charley Chase, and Laurel and Hardy.

Links & Resources

Social & External

Production Companies

The people behind it

Cast & crew

10 featured cast members

Starring

Roscoe Arbuckle

Roscoe Arbuckle

(archive footage) (uncredited)

Wallace Beery

Wallace Beery

(archive footage) (uncredited)

Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin

(archive footage) (uncredited)

Charley Chase

Charley Chase

(archive footage) (uncredited)

Buster Keaton

Buster Keaton

(archive footage) (uncredited)

Edgar Kennedy

Edgar Kennedy

(archive footage) (uncredited)

Harry Langdon

Harry Langdon

(archive footage) (uncredited)

Stan Laurel

Stan Laurel

(archive footage) (uncredited)

Oliver Hardy

Oliver Hardy

(archive footage) (uncredited)

Mabel Normand

Mabel Normand

(archive footage) (uncredited)

Creative team

Directed by: Robert Youngson
Written by: Robert Youngson

Similar Movies

The Gangsters

The Gangsters

An amusing burlesque of gang fighters. The police go after them, one by one, and each guardian of the peace is caught and despoiled of his clothing and compelled to return to the station.

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

After being dumped by her lover, Pepa finds her life and the lives of those around her spiraling out of control in a deliciously chaotic series of events.

Should Tall Men Marry?

Should Tall Men Marry?

This western comedy is about rancher Finlayson's beautiful daughter, Martha Sleeper, who refuses to marry the bad guy and how Jimmy and dimwitted cowhand Stan bumble their way into a successful defense of her and the ranch.

Attack of the Thanksgiving Squash

Attack of the Thanksgiving Squash

A young man who is suffering from a rare blood disease amputates his hand in an attempt to get rid of the disease. He dumps his hand into the river, which floats to a nearby spot where squash grows from the ground. The young man's blood seeps into the squash, thus bringing it to life. Meanwhile, a man looking for Thanksgiving dinner for him and his wife encounters the sentient, murderous squash. Will the squash become his dinner? Or will the man become dinner himself?

Afif

Afif

Afif is fired from his job and his home at the movie theater. He looks for a place to sleep but little does he know that he will walk the steps of glory.

The High Sign

The High Sign

Buster is thrown off a train near an amusement park. There he gets a job in a shooting gallery run by the Blinking Buzzards mob. Ordered to kill a businessman, he winds up protecting the man and his daughter by outfitting their home with trick devices.

Sooty: The Big Day Out

Sooty: The Big Day Out

Richard takes Sooty, Sweep and Soo to the seaside. Once there, they enter a talent show, help out on Mo's doughnut stall and ride the roller coaster, whilst being chased by a security guard! In true Sooty style, nothing goes according to plan in this feature length special!

McHale's Navy

McHale's Navy

The crew of PT-73 get into trouble when they back the wrong horse in a race. Now they have to come up with a way to raise the money to pay off the winners.

McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force

McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force

The crew of PT-73 are in trouble again when Ensign Parker is mistaken for a pilot and gets shanghied into the Air Force.

Just Rambling Along

Just Rambling Along

A nervy young man follows a pretty lady into a diner to flirt with her, but winds up getting stuck with the tab.

Orientation Day

Orientation Day

The Minions embark on their first day of work, eager to prove themselves in their new roles. After watching a hilariously outdated 'Initiation Video,' three rookie Minions take on bomb-carrying duty. Predictably, their enthusiasm quickly spirals into chaos as they bungle the simplest of tasks. Packed with slapstick comedy and the Minions' trademark antics, this short highlights their lovable ineptitude in the workplace.

Pie Shop

Pie Shop

A gifted pie baker suffers from muscle spasms and tends to throw pies in everyone's face by accident.

Something Completely Different

Something Completely Different

On a dark night, under a full moon, a childless couple find a crying baby on their doorstep and decide to adopt him. As the years pass, they come to discover that their young son is not like other children.

Maiko Haaaan!!!

Maiko Haaaan!!!

Kimihiko Onizuka is a salaryman infatuated with maiko (apprentice geisha) and whose greatest goal in life is to play a party game called "yakyuken" with one.

Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College

Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College

A college teacher brings the little creatures back to his campus, where they proceed to terrorize the faculty and students.

Busy Bodies

Busy Bodies

In this short film, Laurel and Hardy wage battle with inanimate objects, their co-workers, and the laws of physics during a routine work day at a sawmill.

Who's Minding the Store?

Who's Minding the Store?

Norman Phiffer, a proud man in a humble life, doesn't know that his girlfriend, Barbara, is heir to the Tuttle Department Store dynasty. Mrs. Tuttle, Barbara's mother, is determined to split the two lovers, and hires Norman in an attempt to humiliate him enough that Barbara leaves him. Will she ruin their love, or will he ruin her store?

For Goodness Cake!

For Goodness Cake!

A bumbling father attempts to improve his teenage son’s birthday after no one shows up to his party.

Bootleggers

Bootleggers

This is the second silent (save for a song) slapstick comedy short about adventures of Worldly, Coward, and Fool. In a small hunting lodge three friends are making illegal moonshine. Bottled "product" fills shelves quickly. Life is good. But their dog Barbos doesn't understand that bringing a moonshine condenser coil to a police station is a bad idea...

Tango Tangles

Tango Tangles

In a dance hall, two members of the orchestra and a tipsy dancer fight over the hat check girl.

Recommended Movies

Kevin Hart: What Now?

Kevin Hart: What Now?

Comedian Kevin Hart performs in front of a crowd of 50,000 people at Philadelphia's outdoor venue, Lincoln Financial Field.

Comedy Central Roast of Pamela Anderson

Comedy Central Roast of Pamela Anderson

Comedy Central's best roasters and stand up comedians take a whack at actor/model Pamela Anderson.

Comedy Central Roast of Bruce Willis

Comedy Central Roast of Bruce Willis

Bruce Willis goes from "Die Hard" to dead on arrival as some of the biggest names in entertainment serve up punches of their own to Hollywood's go-to action star. And with Roast Master Joseph Gordon-Levitt at the helm, nobody is leaving the dais unscathed.

The Aristocrats

The Aristocrats

One hundred superstar comedians tell the same very, VERY dirty, filthy joke--one shared privately by comics since Vaudeville.

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa .5

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa .5

Bad Grandpa .5 gives you a whole new perspective on the world of Irving Zisman with bonus scenes and pranks also featuring Spike Jonze as "Gloria" and Catherine Keener as Irving's wife "Ellie", plus a look at the evolution of Johnny Knoxville's naughty alter-ego, the makeup effects, and a behind-the-scenes peek at the idiocy it takes to make a hidden camera movie in public.

Comedy Central Roast of David Hasselhoff

Comedy Central Roast of David Hasselhoff

Time to hassle the Hoff at the rudest, raunchiest television event of the year--The Comedy Central Roast of David Hasselhoff. From running in slo-mo on the beach to inspiring Germany with the power of cheesy pop--it's almost too easy.

Jackass: The Lost Tapes

Jackass: The Lost Tapes

The deleted scenes and additional stunts and sketches that originally were not presented in the original series.

Jackass 3D

Jackass 3D

Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Steve-O, Wee Man and the rest of their fearless and foolhardy friends take part in another round of outrageous pranks and stunts. In addition to standing in the path of a charging bull, launching themselves into the air and crashing through various objects, the guys perform in segments such as "Sweatsuit Cocktail," "Beehive Tetherball" and "Lamborghini Tooth Pull."

The Original Kings of Comedy

The Original Kings of Comedy

The house is rockin' and the laughs are rollin' as comedians Steve Harvey (The Steve Harvey Show), D.L. Hughley (The Hughleys), Cedric The Entertainer (The Steve Harvey Show) and Bernie Mac (Life) meet in this riotously comedy summit directed by Spike Lee.

Jerry Before Seinfeld

Jerry Before Seinfeld

Jerry Seinfeld returns to the club that gave him his start in the 1970s, mixing iconic jokes with stories from his childhood and early days in comedy.

Tropic Thunder: Rain of Madness

Tropic Thunder: Rain of Madness

A behind-the-scenes mockumentary of Tropic Thunder.

Comedian

Comedian

A look at the work of two stand-up comics, Jerry Seinfeld and a lesser-known newcomer, detailing the effort and frustration behind putting together a successful act and career while living a life on the road.

Call Me Lucky

Call Me Lucky

An inspiring, triumphant and wickedly funny portrait of one of comedy’s most enigmatic and important figures, CALL ME LUCKY tells the story of Barry Crimmins, a beer-swilling, politically outspoken and whip-smart comic whose efforts in the 70s and 80s fostered the talents of the next generation of standup comedians. But beneath Crimmins’ gruff, hard-drinking, curmudgeonly persona lay an undercurrent of rage stemming from his long-suppressed and horrific abuse as a child – a rage that eventually found its way out of the comedy clubs and television shows and into the political arena.

Talking Funny

Talking Funny

What does it mean to be a successful comedian? How far can the boundaries of taste be pushed to get a laugh? Four top comics, Ricky Gervais, Louis C.K., Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock, discuss and debate their craft.

Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond

Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond

Offbeat documentarian Chris Smith provides a behind-the-scenes look at how Jim Carrey adopted the persona of idiosyncratic comedian Andy Kaufman on the set of Man on the Moon.

American Pie: Revealed

American Pie: Revealed

Documentary about the making of American Pie (1999), American Pie 2 (2001) and American Wedding (2003).

Jackass 3.5

Jackass 3.5

Johnny Knoxville of 'Jackass' releases unused material of stunts, tricks, antics and shenanigans shot during the production of 'Jackass 3D' that didn't make it into the film, as well as the hilarious outtakes.

Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special

Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special

In his final comedy special, Norm Macdonald ponders casinos, cannibalism, living wills and why you have to be ready for whatever life throws your way.

Def Comedy Jam 25

Def Comedy Jam 25

In this special live event, giants of stand-up come together to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Russell Simmons's groundbreaking "Def Comedy Jam."

Jackass Number Two

Jackass Number Two

Jackass Number Two is a compilation of various stunts, pranks and skits, and essentially has no plot. Chris Pontius, Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Bam Margera, and the whole crew return to the screen to raise the stakes higher than ever before.