Joe Weber
Lillian Russell is the sanitized musical biopic of the legendary (and much-married) 19th century musical comedy star. Discovered in 1880 by bandleader Tony Pastor (Leo Carrillo), Lillian Russell (Alice Faye) wastes no time rising to fame and fortune on the Broadway stage. Along the way, she curries the favor of such eligible bachelors as newspaperman Alexander Moore (Henry Fonda), composer Edward Solomon (Don Ameche), and railroad tycoon Diamond Jim Brady (Edward Arnold). She marries the first two, and has a high old time (albeit chastely) with the third. The story ends with Russell's retirement in 1912, and her reunion with the one true love of her life. The film's hands-down highlight is a timeworn but classic routine involving those two Broadway comedy giants Joe Weber and Lew Fields, both of whom had appeared on-stage with the real Lillian Russell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alice Faye, Don Ameche, (more)
- 1925
The comedy duo of Lew Fields and Joe Weber had parted ways for several years when they teamed up once again for this picture, based on the 1917 play by Samuel Shipman and Aaron Hoffman. As youths, Carl Pfeiffer (Fields) and Henry Block (Weber) came to America from Germany. Pfeiffer became a wholesale shoe dealer, while Block became a banker. In spite of their lines of work, they apparently save most oftheir energy for their unending arguments with each other. The latest dispute involves the Great War (the film takes place in the days just before America became involved). Block is completely patriotic towards his new country, while Pfeiffer wavers between Germany and the U.S. When his son, William (Jack Mulhall), decides to enlist, Pfeiffer is upset. He wants to keep the soldiers from going overseas, so he gives money to a fund run by Miller (Stuart Holmes) for that purpose. What he doesn't realize is that Miller is a spy, and he uses the money to sink the transport that is taking the soldiers to Europe. Pfeiffer is grief-stricken when he realizes he helped kill his own son -- but then William reappears, unharmed. As a result, Pfeiffer teams up with Block, who has joined the secret service, and Hilda Schwartz, another secret service agent (Lucille Lee Stewart), to capture Miller. William marries Block's daughter, June (Virginia Brown Faire), and their fathers go on to new quarrels. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lew Fields, Joe Weber, (more)
- 1916
The Broadway comedy team of Joe Weber and Lew Fields were never happy with their contract at Mack Sennett's Keystone studios, but they did whatever they were told, even at great risk of life and limb. In the 2-reel comedy The Worst of Friends, Weber plays the sponging brother-in-law of hard-working janitor Fields. After making a thorough pest of himself, Weber manages to entangle Fields in a compromising situation with the beautiful blonde living next door. Somehow this all ends up with a brouhaha at a swimming pool, with the famous Keystone bathing beauties all in attendance. The best scene in this otherwise unexceptional film was Lew Fields' famous "barber's revenge" routine, which he repeated years later with Fred Astaire in The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
