Short Subject, Feature Film: Okay, Jose & Broadway Melody of 1936

Welcome to the first installment of Short Subject, Feature Film, a name that took hours to come up with, so feel free to bask in its genius. First up is the short, an early Technicolor romp called “Okay, Jose” starring my friend and yours, El Brendel: If you’re wondering how 1935 Technicolor could look so…

Recently Watched: Female (1933) and God’s Country and the Woman (1937)

And now, on to the show. There isn’t much I can say about “Female” (1933) that my beloved Mordaunt Hall hasn’t already said. I agree completely with Hall’s assessment that some of the scenes undermined the otherwise terrific characterization of Alison, and while watching the film I kept thinking that this would be great if…

Happy 120th Birthday, El!

A mini El Brendel gallery to celebrate what would have been the Elster’s 120th birthday. El and a group of lovely ladies from “Phoney Cronies” (1942). Harry Langdon, Rebel Randall, and El in “Snooper Service” (1945). El and Fifi, the cutest couple ever, from “Mr. Lemon of Orange” (1931). I am not 100% sure, but…

Happy Birthday, El

March 25th is the birthday of our favorite universally-hated comedian El Brendel, who was born in 1891. As a rather belated present to El — he died in 1964 — we at She Blogged By Night have created an “El Brendel” tag just for him. Click it to see all the posts that feature El.…

El Brendel

Much of my information came from online sources (listed below) and the book pictured here, Anthony Slide’s Eccentrics of Comedy. Originally, my plan had been to thrill you all with a quick one-two punch, er, I mean series, of El Brendel-related posts. That is, until my plans were waylaid by an uncooperative fact that involved…