Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersIndependent Spirit AwardsWomen's History MonthSXSWSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
IMDbPro

The Golden Age of Comedy

  • 19571957
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 19m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
449
YOUR RATING
The Golden Age of Comedy (1957)
ComedyDocumentary
A compilation of scenes featuring some of the best-known comics from the silent era in their best films.A compilation of scenes featuring some of the best-known comics from the silent era in their best films.A compilation of scenes featuring some of the best-known comics from the silent era in their best films.
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
449
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Robert Youngson
  • Writers
    • Robert Youngson
    • René Clair
  • Stars
    • Stan Laurel(archive footage)
    • Ward Wilson(voice)
    • Oliver Hardy(archive footage)
  • Director
    • Robert Youngson
  • Writers
    • Robert Youngson
    • René Clair
  • Stars
    • Stan Laurel(archive footage)
    • Ward Wilson(voice)
    • Oliver Hardy(archive footage)
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 10User reviews
    • 7Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos6

    The Golden Age of Comedy (1957)
    The Golden Age of Comedy (1957)
    The Golden Age of Comedy (1957)
    The Golden Age of Comedy (1957)
    Ben Turpin in The Golden Age of Comedy (1957)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Stan Laurel
    Stan Laurel
    • Stan
    • (archive footage)
    • (as Laurel)
    Ward Wilson
    • Self - Narrator
    • (voice)
    Oliver Hardy
    Oliver Hardy
    • Ollie
    • (archive footage)
    • (as Hardy)
    Will Rogers
    Will Rogers
      Carole Lombard
      Carole Lombard
        Jean Harlow
        Jean Harlow
          Ben Turpin
          Ben Turpin
          • Rodney St. Clair
          • (archive footage)
          Harry Langdon
          Harry Langdon
            Charley Chase
            Charley Chase
              Billy Bevan
              Billy Bevan
                Andy Clyde
                Andy Clyde
                • Andy
                • (archive footage)
                Harry Gribbon
                Harry Gribbon
                  Edgar Dearing
                  Edgar Dearing
                  • Policeman at car fight
                  • (archive footage)
                  Madalynne Field
                  • Fat Girl Track Competitor
                  • (archive footage)
                  Thelma Hill
                  Thelma Hill
                  • Brunette Girlfriend
                  • (archive footage)
                  Madeline Hurlock
                  Madeline Hurlock
                  • Circus showgirl
                  • (archive footage)
                  Edgar Kennedy
                  Edgar Kennedy
                    Daphne Pollard
                    Daphne Pollard
                    • Coach
                    • (archive footage)
                    • Director
                      • Robert Youngson
                    • Writers
                      • Robert Youngson
                      • René Clair
                    • All cast & crew
                    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

                    More like this

                    The Bullfighters
                    6.2
                    The Bullfighters
                    The Night of the Iguana
                    7.6
                    The Night of the Iguana
                    Shadow of the Thin Man
                    7.2
                    Shadow of the Thin Man
                    We're No Angels
                    7.4
                    We're No Angels
                    All Quiet on the Western Front
                    7.1
                    All Quiet on the Western Front
                    Two Women
                    7.8
                    Two Women
                    The Garden of Eden
                    6.8
                    The Garden of Eden
                    The Blue Gardenia
                    6.9
                    The Blue Gardenia
                    Daisies
                    7.3
                    Daisies
                    Another Thin Man
                    7.4
                    Another Thin Man
                    The Last Bus
                    6.5
                    The Last Bus
                    A Man for All Seasons
                    7.7
                    A Man for All Seasons

                    Storyline

                    Edit

                    Did you know

                    Edit
                    • Goofs
                      The narrator cites a clip of Laurel and Hardy as coming from "We Slip Up." Laurel and Hardy never made a movie with that title. The actual movie referenced is We Faw Down (1928).
                    • Quotes

                      Narrator: Movie fans still fondly remember such daring innovations as the Mack Sennett bathing beauties, in whose ranks, many a star was born and who did so much to liberate the American woman from the Mother Hubbard bathing suit.

                    • Connections
                      Edited from The Dare-Devil (1923)

                    User reviews10

                    Review
                    Review
                    Featured review
                    10/10
                    Sight Gags, Foot Chases & Custard Pie In The Face
                    BY THE TIME that this first celluloid primer on the screen clowns of the Silent Screen hit the movie houses, the movies had been talking for about thirty years. It was 1957 and the USA was enjoying probably the most prosperous of times ever. We all had the marvels of Televisioon, right in our own living rooms.

                    SO WHY, YOU may ask, just why were we invited to our local neighborhood movie shows to view a 79 minute compilation of what was now considered obsolete, old hat, passé? All of us kids were familiar with "Old Time Movies" from their being screened on the various TV stations around the country. Names such as: Snub Pollard, Harry Langdon, Bobby Vernon and even the Mickey McGuire Series (starring a young Joe Yule, Jr.*) were all known to us.

                    BEING AN OBVIOUSLY Silent Film buff, Producer/Writer/Director Robert Youngson, set out to pay proper tribute and respect to both the Art Form and to those Men & Women who made it what it was. THE GOLDEN AGE OF COMEDY was his first installment.

                    THE CRAZY QUILT of a movie is made up of a multitude of clips taken from shorts featuring a array of actors' finest work. Getting high billing were names like: Will Rogers, Carole Lombard, Jean Harlow, Ben Turpin, Harry Langdon, Charley Chase, Billy Bevan and Andy Clyde. Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy were given a Lion's share of the screen time; Mr. Youngson obviously being a buff.

                    WE REMEMBER SEEING the "coming attractions" at a Saturday Matinée, and the kids all enthusiastically cheered for Laurel & Hardy when they were mentioned. Once again, they were familiarized to us through the miracle of the Television Tube.

                    WE DID PAY our two bits to see it and very much enjoyed the samplings of clips from so many movies with so many unknown names. The narration was very informative, the music was both appropriate and acted as a very fine instrument for amplifying the visuals before us.

                    UPON FURTHER CONSIDERATION, all these decades later, we now have noticed something about THE GOLDEN AGE OF COMEDY that very well may not be readily observed before. Although what we saw was great in its own right, where were the big stars? THERE IS OBVIOUSLY omissions of what has been called the "Big Three" of the Silent Screen Clowns; those being: Charlie Chaplin, Bjuster Keaton and Harold Lloyd.

                    ALTHOUGH THIS WAS most likely done deliberately, we believe that there was no malice involved.

                    FIRST OF ALL, availability of films would be the prime moving force here. If they ain't out there, no one can get them. The accessible films must also have a price tag on their licensing that is within budget.(That makes two reasons).

                    THIRD WE BELIEVE that time constraints would not allow the proper attention to be given to the major Stars. A compilation such as this is, after all, an anthology; as well as being a sort of overview or survey, if you will.

                    LASTLY, THIS MID to late fifties was only a few, short years removed from that era of hearings by the House Committee on Un-American Activities and the staunch Anti-Communist sentiments of the day. It was in 1952 that the now very prosperous Mr. Charles Chaplin refused to fill out a declaration for American Officials; opting to stay in Europe, rather than returning to the U.S.

                    MOST OF THESE shortcomings were remedied in the very next Youngson production, WHEN COMEDY WAS KING; which prominently displayed works by Keaton and Chaplin. Harold Lloyd was still absent, tough. Owning the rights to most of his major films, he opted for a compilation of his own, HAROLD LLOYD'S WLORLD OF COMEDY (1962).
                    helpful•2
                    2
                    • redryan64
                    • Jul 10, 2014

                    Details

                    Edit
                    • Release date
                      • March 1958 (United States)
                    • Country of origin
                      • United States
                    • Language
                      • English
                    • Also known as
                      • The First Kings of Comedy
                    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

                    Technical specs

                    Edit
                    • Runtime
                      1 hour 19 minutes
                    • Color
                      • Black and White
                    • Sound mix
                      • Mono
                    • Aspect ratio
                      • 1.33 : 1

                    Related news

                    Contribute to this page

                    Suggest an edit or add missing content
                    The Golden Age of Comedy (1957)
                    Top Gap
                    By what name was The Golden Age of Comedy (1957) officially released in Canada in English?
                    Answer
                    • See more gaps
                    • Learn more about contributing
                    Edit page

                    More to explore

                    Recently viewed

                    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
                    Get the IMDb App
                    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
                    • Get the IMDb App
                    • Help
                    • Site Index
                    • IMDbPro
                    • Box Office Mojo
                    • IMDb Developer
                    • Press Room
                    • Advertising
                    • Jobs
                    • Conditions of Use
                    • Privacy Policy
                    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
                    IMDb, an Amazon company

                    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.