Days of Thrills and Laughter

Mar 21, 1961

1h 33m

★ 6.0

Overview

An appreciative, uncritical look at silent film comedies and thrillers from early in the century through the 1920s.

Genres

Documentary

Production Companies

Robert Youngson Productions

Days of Thrills and Laughter Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Self (archive footage)

Douglas Fairbanks

Self (archive footage)

Charlie Chaplin

Self (archive footage)

Stan Laurel

Self (archive footage)

Oliver Hardy

Self (archive footage)

Pearl White

Self (archive footage)

Mabel Normand

Self (archive footage)

Roscoe Arbuckle

Self (archive footage)

Ruth Roland

Self (archive footage)

Harry Langdon

Self (archive footage)

Ben Turpin

Self (archive footage)

Harry Houdini

Self (archive footage)

Harry 'Snub' Pollard

A day in the city of Berlin, which experienced an industrial boom in the 1920s, and still provides an insight into the living and working conditions at that time. Germany had just recovered a little from the worst consequences of the First World War, the great economic crisis was still a few years away and Hitler was not yet an issue at the time.

6.9

Becoming Bond

Mar 11, 2017

The stranger-than-fiction true story of George Lazenby, a poor Australian car mechanic who, through an unbelievable set of circumstances, landed the role of James Bond despite having never acted a day in his life.

0.0

Not Without My Dogs

Oct 14, 2013

Out of love for Huskies, nature and cold winters Dave and Kristen Olesen moved from Minnesota to the North West Territories in Canada 25 years ago to create their own little universe on the magnificent East arm of Great Slave Lake. With their two daughters Annika 15 and Liv 12 and their 37 dogs, the Olesens enjoy a unique lifestyle in the wide open wilderness far away from civilization. One winter they all leave their self-built homestead with ten dogs on a two and a half thousand mile family expedition allowing Annika to run the Junior Iditarod in Alaska. As unexpected obstacles all along the trip culminate in three heavily injured dogs the whole endeavor is at risk. Optimism, love and loyalty prevail on this exciting epic family voyage.

6.5

Film-Tract n° 1968

Jun 1, 1968

In the 1968 movement in Paris, Jean-Luc Godard made a 16mm, 3-minute long film, Film-tract No.1968, Le Rouge, in collaboration with French artist Gérard Fromanger. Starting with the shot identifying its title written in red paint on the Le Monde for 31 July 1968, the film shows the process of making Fromanger’s poster image, which is thick red paint flows over a tri-color French flag. —Hye Young Min

7.6

Terry Pratchett: Back in Black

Feb 11, 2017

A poignant and humorous film telling the life story of the hugely popular author of the discworld series of books, in his own words.

No Image

7.0

The Dawn of Sound: How Movies Learned to Talk

Sep 2, 2007

Film historians, and survivors from the nearly 30-year struggle to bring sound to motion pictures take the audience from the early failed attempts by scientists and inventors, to the triumph of the talkies.

7.1

Nanook of the North

Jun 11, 1922

This pioneering documentary film depicts the lives of the indigenous Inuit people of Canada's northern Quebec region. Although the production contains some fictional elements, it vividly shows how its resourceful subjects survive in such a harsh climate, revealing how they construct their igloo homes and find food by hunting and fishing. The film also captures the beautiful, if unforgiving, frozen landscape of the Great White North, far removed from conventional civilization.

7.2

The Last Shaman

May 12, 2017

James, giving himself 12 months before he has "a license to kill himself," sets off to the Amazon rainforest with hopes of finding a shaman who can save his life.

6.0

Bicycle

Jan 1, 1965

Rhythmic composition of moving photographs of cyclists in Amsterdam, ‘set’ to Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons.

7.8

Totally Bill Hicks

Nov 23, 1998

Consisting of two parts: ‘Revelations’, Bill Hicks’ last live performance in the United Kingdom made at the Dominion Theatre; and a documentary about Hicks’ life ‘Just a Ride’ featuring interviews with friends, admirers, and family.

0.0

Watch the Tempo

Mar 30, 2018

On 18th of December 2017, the Filarmonica Teatro Regio Torino, directed by Timothy Brock, presented "The Gold Rush" by Charles Chaplin, with live performance of the soundtrack. But let's go back a few days: this short film takes us in the backstage of the concert!

6.6

Jackass 3D

Oct 15, 2010

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."

5.2

Carmencita

Mar 14, 1894

The first woman to appear in front of an Edison motion picture camera and possibly the first woman to appear in a motion picture within the United States. In the film, Carmencita is recorded going through a routine she had been performing at Koster & Bial's in New York since February 1890.

6.1

Traffic Crossing Leeds Bridge

Oct 15, 1888

A film by Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince, shot in late October 1888, showing pedestrians and carriages crossing Leeds Bridge.

6.3

El circo

Dec 31, 1950

Madrid, Spain, 1949. The Circo Americano arrives in the city. While the big top is pitched in a vacant lot, the troupe parades through the grand avenues: the band, a witty impersonator, the Balodys, acrobats, jugglers, acrobatic skaters, clowns and… Buffallo Bill.

5.0

Train Entering Hove Station

Sep 22, 1897

Most movie fans know that the first filmmakers liked to shoot trains entering stations. This example by Sussex film pioneer George Albert Smith illustrates why. The train's rush towards the audience brings movement and visual drama. The flurry of human activity offers plenty for the audience to engage with - who are these people and where are they going? And the time pressure exerted by the fact that the train must soon depart adds narrative tension - will everyone get on and off in time?

5.4

The Dangers of the Fly

Nov 23, 1920

The Dangers of the Fly is an educational film made by Ernesto Gunche and Eduardo Martínez de la Pera, also responsible for Gaucho Nobility (1915), the biggest blockbuster of Argentinean silent cinema. De la Pera was a talented photographer, always willing to try new gadgets and techniques. This film experiments with microphotography in the style of Jean Comandon's films for Pathé and it is part of a series which included a film about mosquitoes and paludism and another one about cancer, which are considered lost. Flies were a popular subject of silent films and there are more than a dozen titles featuring them in the teens and early twenties.