Jack Hill Movies

This Civil War comedy, related in flashbacks, depicts the misadventures of Buster Keaton as he tries to avoid getting killed by both Confederate and Union soldiers. When news of the outbreak of war reaches his family, Keaton and his brother Cyrus (Monty Collins) go off to enlist. But when they return home, they're in different uniforms: Keaton has joined the Confederacy and Cyrus the Union. As opposing armies sweep through the land, the brothers keep changing uniforms to blend in. Ultimately, Keaton is able to warn the Confederate forces and rescue them from the Union army. Note that producer/director Jules White remade this script (written by longtime Keaton collaborator Clyde Bruckman) as the 1946 Columbia two-reeler Uncivil Warbirds starring the Three Stooges. ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide

Twenty years after the Armistice, doughboy Stan Laurel continues guarding a trench in France--simply because no one told him the war was over. His rescue coincides with the first wedding anniversary of his old pal Oliver Hardy. Heading to town to pick up a gift for his wife (Minna Gombell), Ollie discovers that Stan has been located and is now residing at the Veteran's Home. The two buddies share a warm reunion, whereupon Ollie invites Stan home to enjoy a "big thick juicy steak" prepared by Mrs. Hardy. As a result of Ollie's hospitality, Stan inadvertently wrecks Ollie's brand new car; the boys spend half the afternoon trudging up and down 13 flights of stairs; Ollie gets into a fight with belligerent Jimmy Finlayson; Mrs. Hardy angrily walks out on her husband; the boys manage to blow up the kitchen while preparing their own meal; and Hardy's beautiful next-door neighbor (Patricia Ellis) ends up minus her dress in Ollie's steamer trunk, with both Mrs. Hardy and the neighbor's husband, big-game hunter Billy Gilbert, converging upon our bethumped heroes. Essentially a remake of the 1929 Laurel and Hardy two-reeler Unnaccustomed as We Are, Block-Heads is a brilliant parade of virtuoso comedy turns. The best bits of business include the mountain of bean cans representing Stan's two decades in the trenches; the "white magic" gags involving Stan's pulling down the shadow of a window shade, producing a glass of water from his pocket and smoking his thumb like a pipe; and an uproarious "black" joke involving Ollie's mistaken belief than Stan has lost a leg in the war. The film sustains its high level of humor for 56 of its 57 minutes, faltering only in its disappointing closing gag (borrowed from the 1928 short We Faw Down). Among the writers of this chucklefest was former silent comedian Harry Langdon. Erroneously announced in 1938 as Laurel and Hardy's final feature, Block-Heads was indeed the last of the team's genuine classics. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lovable old Gus (Gus Leonard) is forced to move his tiny lemonade stand when sidewalk-diner owner William Wagner and his bratty son Leonard Kibrick complain that Gus represents "unfair competition." As Gus relocates near a barber shop at the invitation of friendly boot black Joe Mathey, the Our Gang kids decide to drum up business for their favorite merchant by staging a makeshift parade and musical show. Wagner and his son finally get their comeuppance when a scalp-massaging device becomes lodged in Wagner's trousers, forcing the villain into a brief but colorful "dancing" career. Highlights include Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer's deathless rendition of "Little Brown Jug" and a lengthy comedy set piece involving soap-spiked lemonade. Though filmed for Our Gang's 1934-1935 season, The Lucky Corner was inexplicably withheld from release until March 14, 1936. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Confined to a neck brace, poor little rich boy Dickie Moore would like to play with the neighborhood kids, but his overprotective mother (Lillian Rich) won't let him. On the sly, however, Dickie sneaks out of his bedroom in search of adventure in the company of his best pal, Matthew "Stymie" Beard. Purchasing a ride on the donkey-driven "taxicab" piloted by Breezy Brisbane (Kendall McComas), the boys, along with hitchhikers Spanky McFarland and Jacquie Lyn, experience enough thrills and excitement to last a lifetime when the taxi begins rolling down a steep hill ---with no brakes! A classic "Our Gang" entry (who could forget the shot of the "runaway" spare tires, or Stymie's instant "cure" of Dickie's stiff neck?), Free Wheeling was originally released on October 1, 1932. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fascinated by the story of Aladdin's magic lamp, the Our Gang kids gather together every electric light fixture in the neighborhood, hoping that by rubbing them vigorously, a genie will appear. Thanks to a series of coincidences -- not least of which involves a friendly stage magician -- the kids become convinced that they've succeeded in emulating Aladdin. But their excitement turns to dismay when Mathew "Stymie" Beard believes that he's transformed his kid brother Cotton (Bobby Beard) into a monkey! Despite a marvelous sequence in which Spanky McFarland enjoys a free meal at a lunch counter, courtesy of a trained monkey, it cannot be denied that this film contains a great deal of casually racist humor that seems tasteless when viewed today. For that reason, "A Lad an' a Lamp," originally released on December 17, 1932, has been withdrawn from the "Little Rascals" TV package, though the film is available to home-video collectors. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Our Gang kids prepare to enter their scraggily pets in a high-society dog show, where their pal Allen "Farina" Hoskins is working as an usher. Meanwhile, Jackie Cooper tries vainly to prevent his troublesome kid sister (Dorothy "Echo" DeBorba) from jumping into every mud puddle that she sees. And little Bobby "Wheezer" Hutchins has a high old time trying to round up his runaway puppies, who change directions every time they hear a bell ringing. A truly delightful two-reeler, "Pups is Pups" expertly combines slapstick, verbal humor and pathos in one neat, entertaining package. Originally released on August 30, 1930, this was the first "Our Gang" comedy to utilize the captivating background music of LeRoy Shield, notably such familiar tunes as the lilting "Teeter-Totter", the rousing "Hide and Go Seek", and the lively "On to the Show", later made famous as the secondary opening theme for Hal Roach's Laurel and Hardy comedies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

One of the livelier late-silent entries in the "Our Gang" series, Cat, Dog & Co. begins with the kids thoughtlessly abusing or overworking their pets. But thanks to the gentle admonitions of a lady from the Be Kind to Animals Society (played by future gossip columnist Hedda Hopper), the kids tearfully vow to change their ways. Determined to extend kindness and generosity to all forms of animal life, the youngsters set loose all the critters in town, including a rather fearsome collection of oversized rodents and amphibians from a local experimental laboratory. The film's strangest sequence finds a conscience-stricken Bobby "Wheezer" Hutchins imagining that he has been put on trial in an all-animal court for being cruel to chickens! Upon its original release on September 14, 1929, "Cat, Dog & Co." came equipped with a sound-on-disc musical score, played on a pipe organ by future Hal Roach composer-arranger LeRoy Shield. This score has been restored for the film's reissue as part of the VHS/DVD "Little Rascals" package--necessitating the interminable stretch-printing of one dialogue subtitle in order to achieve proper synchronization. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The second "Our Gang" talkie, Railroadin' was filmed entirely out-of-doors, on location in and around the railroad yards behind the Samuel Goldwyn Studios in Hollywood. The fun begins when train engineer Otto Fries, the father of Gang members Joe Cobb and Norman "Chubby" Chaney, takes a lunch break, leaving Joe and Chubby to their own devices. Goaded on by their pals, the two kids attempt to operate their dad's locomotive, leading inexorably to a riotous runaway-train sequence, expertly combining laughs and thrills. Originally released on June 15, 1929, Railroadin' was long unavailable because its soundtrack discs could not be located. Then in the late 1970s, a complete talkie print was made available from Blackhawk Films, and subsequently released on video. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In her family, Mrs. Pincher (Fay Holderness) keeps a firm hold on the purse strings, but Mr. Pincher (Stan Laurel) has managed to squirrel away three dollars in the pocket of a portrait hanging in the hallway. Mrs. Pincher discovers the hiding place, takes the money, and substitutes her trading stamps. Mr. Hardy (Oliver Hardy) and his wife (Lyle Tayo) stop by. It isn't long before Mr. Pincher and Mr. Hardy decide to ditch their wives and hit the town, the stash from portrait in hand. They meet two girls (Anita Garvin and Kay Deslys) outside the Pink Pup Cafe and escort them inside. After much entertainment at the club, including a performance by a midget troupe, the wayward husbands finally discover their only means of payment is a handful of trading stamps. The head waiter (Tiny Sanford) and the duo's wives converge upon them and a pie fight ensues. This was one of Laurel and Hardy's earlier shorts; they were not yet consistent with using their real names for their characters. The ending was changed before its release, but the original version looks intriguing from stills: Stan and Ollie are attempting to leave the club by disguising themselves as female members of the midget troupe. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

This was comedian Harold Lloyd's last silent film, and one of his most charming. Lloyd's character here is called Harold "Speedy" Swift, an upbeat young man whose fatal attraction for baseball always causes him to lose his jobs. After his latest firing, he impulsively spends a day at Coney Island with his sweetheart, Jane Dillon (Ann Christy). Ann's grandfather, Pop Dillon (Bert Woodruff), meanwhile, has a dilemma -- he runs the last horse-drawn trolley in New York City, and the railway magnates desperately want his route. Since Pop won't sell it to them, they plan to get it by underhanded means. Pop must make his rounds at least once every 24 hours, so the magnates hire thugs to stop him. Speedy hears about this plan and, being gainfully unemployed, takes over the route to protect the old man. But the magnates then steal the trolley, and the climax of the film involves Speedy's dash to find the trolley and get it back to its route before the 24 hours are up. He makes it just in time and then forces the magnates to buy the route for a cool 100,000 dollars. This picture was shot on location in a Manhattan that now looks almost quaint for all its concrete and steel. Baseball legend Babe Ruth had a cameo role, playing himself as a very harassed fare when Speedy is working as a cabbie. Their wild ride ends at the old Yankee Stadium. Other historically interesting sites include Coney Island's Luna Park, and Columbus Circle and Wall Street as they were in 1928. In the film's climax, the trolley has a spectacular crash at the Brooklyn Bridge -- this accident was not planned, but was left in the film anyhow. At the time of this picture's release, Lloyd was a top box-office draw, a bigger moneymaker than Charlie Chaplin (whose releases during the '20s was infrequent) and Buster Keaton (whose quirky comedy wouldn't be fully appreciated for several decades). While Lloyd made some fairly amusing sound films, he never again matched the quality of his silent work. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

At the behest of shady professional fundraiser Prince Delmar El Faro (William Gillespie), small-town author Fawn Ochletree (Clara Guiol) stages a charity performance of her latest play -- a Roman epic along the lines of Quo Vadis -- while the local mothers force their kids into playing all the roles. Since several of the budding thespians are members of Our Gang, the viewer can rest assured that havoc will ensue -- and it does, in spades! Not only are the kids unable to learn their dialogue, remember where they're supposed to be standing, or keep a straight face during the play's melodramatic plot convolutions, but the final act is disrupted by the sudden appearance of fireworks, courtesy of little Jackie Condon. On the plus side, fat Joe Cobb does make an impressive-looking Nero. Originally released in October of 1923, the silent, two-reel Our Gang comedy Stage Fright was remade as the 1929 talkie Shivering Shakespeare. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Our Gang kids volunteer to assist a ragtag vaudeville troupe in a performance of their traveling show, but despite their well-meaning efforts, the kids not only wreck the performance, but also release a collection of pesky insects upon the unsuspecting audience. Beyond the standard "theatrical" gags, including the familiar but sure-fire bit in which tiny Allen "Farina" Hoskins exposes a fraudulent Strong Man, the film's best bits are reserved for the lengthy opening sequence, in which the Gang operates its own incredible double-decker "tour bus." Incidentally, two of the adult vaudeville patrons in the climactic scene are played by the fathers of Our Gang stars Joe Cobb and Mickey Daniels. The silent, two-reel Back Stage was originally released on June 3, 1923. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide