Laurel & Hardy

1929 “Double Whoopee”

B/W Movie Publicity Still 8”x10” glossy

Black and white photographic print on paper - not a digital reprint

Hal Roach Studios

Print circa 1957 for re-release

Still code: L20-12

Pencil inscription on reverse: “Double Whoopee”, 1929, Double Whoopee

Very clean with excellent gloss. Small dent/crease just off Laurel’s left arm, and at crotch, (but that could just be Stan…) The levels enhanced scan of the reverse reveals very slight yellowing of edges and minor dents not visible without enhancement. “Psycles of Eidolon” watermark added to the digital scan - it is not on the still. I acquired this still in 1998 from a private collector.

Image scan made with no levels adjustment. Will appear slightly less contrasty than actual print. Reverse side scans: first with no levels adjustment, second enhanced to reveal defects. 

Item dimensions: 8 x 10 x 1/72 inches, 1 oz.

Shipping dimensions: 14” x 11” x 1” 14oz. Un-matted print ships in plastic sleeve sandwiched between a 12"x9" masonite board and foam fronted cardboard within reinforced protective mailer. (Same rate for 1 oz to 1 lb, so I went for maximum protection of the item.)

Double Whoopee: Set in a grand hotel, this L&H film is notable in it’s spoofing of two film legends of the day: Eric Von Stroheim’s Count in “Foolish Wives” and Emil Janning’s Doorman in Murnau’s “The Last Laugh.” Our hapless hero and exasperated sidekick do their usual social gaffes and bumbling brawling as footman and groom, briefly enjoy the honor of mistaken identity, before settling in to make a grand mess of things including the old ink-in-the-makeup gag, reducing Jean Harlow’s wardrobe to a filmy slip, and pitching the look-a-like Stroheim under the elevator - twice! This is L&H at their well-oiled best, timing, rhythm, sets and costumes at peak deployment right at the end of the silent era - and moments before the crash and the Great Depression. Capt. John Peters, who successfully lampooned Erich von Stroheim in this film, had been von Stroheim's double, and repeated all his nuances and characteristics. Noel Madison, who played the desk clerk, later said no one was prepared for the appearance of 17 year old Jean Harlow, who wore a translucent slip under her dress. Madison reported that, even though he had been in burlesque, he had "never seen anything like that before".

Stan Laurel (June 16, 1890 - February 23, 1965) was born Arthur Stanley Jefferson on the 16th of June in Ulverston, Cumbria in England, 1890. His father was a vaudeville performer and this led Arthur to being a stage performer too. He didn't get much schooling and this led to the joining of Fred Karno's Troupe where Arthur understudied the future star, Charles Chaplin. In 1912 they went on a tour to America where Chaplin remained, but Stan went straight back to England. In 1916 he returned to the States and did an impersonation of Charlie Chaplin and the act was called "The Keystone Trio" and it was quite successful. In 1917 Stan made his first movie entitled Nuts in May (1917) and at the first screening among the people in the audience were Chaplin himself and producer Carl Laemmle who were both impressed. This led onto more short comedies with such greats as 'Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson' , Larry Semon, and Hal Roach. Stan now changed his surname to Laurel thus given the name Stan Laurel. In 1917 Laurel had in fact appeared in a film called The Lucky Dog (1921) with an actor in the cast by the name of Babe Hardy. They formed a friendship but not a very good one. Stan later said they did not see each other for another 2 or 3 years… – Daniel Dopierala  on IMDb

Oliver Norvell Hardy: (18 January 1892 - 7 August 1957) Although his parents were never in show business, as a young boy Oliver Hardy was a gifted singer and, by age eight, was performing with minstrel shows. In 1910 he ran a movie theatre, which he preferred to studying law. In 1913 he became a comedy actor with the Lubin Company in Florida and began appearing in a long series of shorts; his debut film was Outwitting Dad (1914). He appeared in he 1914-15 series of "Pokes and Jabbs" shorts, and from 1916-18 he was in the "Plump and Runt" series. From 1919-21 he was a regular in the "Jimmy Aubrey" series of shorts, and from 1921-25 he worked as an actor and co-director of comedy shorts for Larry Semon. In addition to appearing in two-reeler comedies, he found time to make westerns and even melodramas in which he played the heavy. He is most famous, however, as the partner of British comic Stan Laurel, with whom he had played a bit part in The Lucky Dog (1921). in the mid-1920s both he and Laurel wee working for comedy producer Hal Roach, although not as a team. In a moment of inspiration Roach teamed them together, and their first film as a team was 45 Minutes from Hollywood (1926). Their first release for Roach through MGM was Sugar Daddies (1927) and the first with star billing was From Soup to Nuts (1928)…. – Ed Stephan on IMDb

Stills of this type, a staged publicity shot representing a frame from a film were sent out with press kits aimed at newspapers and also with the display and advertising kits the cinemas received. Until recently, most movie houses would display three or four stills framed below each poster, right out front, under the marquis, or inside with the lobby-cards. This happens much less in the multiplex era. Stills from press kits often have printer’s crop marks in the margins or on the back.

About Movie stills:

The words contradict each other. It should refer specifically to an enlargement of a single frame from a movie, a still frame. However, studios also hired still photographers to photograph productions and pose actors for publicity shots. Most ‘Movie Stills” are actually staged publicity shots. In the early days, these were shot with large format cameras, 4x5” and very often 8x10” negatives for portraiture. If retouching was required an 11x14” or larger print was made, retouched, then re-photographed as an 8x10” negative from which the “stills” would be contact-printed photographically. Actors also circulated head shots, and photos were composited for promotional purposes. I include in this category all film industry and industry-related 8x10 glossies (and early matte finish) of freeze frames (the true movie/still), publicity stills, head-shots, production and continuity photos, press photos, paparazzi shots (don’t think I have any of those) Press Kits, contact sheets and negatives of any of the above, in original issue, distributor reprint, or those awful modern knock-offs which I avoid. Around 1980 plastic-backed photo paper became very popular, and took over the movie still market. By the mid 80’s the cheap plastic was pricing the paper off the market, and movie stills not offset printed were run on plastic photo paper. Most duplicate movie stills from that point on were done on plastic, and the knock-offs followed suit, as it was the cheapest route. Wikipedia even leaves out the actual still frame:

"A film still (sometimes called a publicity still or a production still), is a photograph taken on or off the set of a movie or television program during production. The photos were taken by studio photographers for promotional purposes. Such stills consisted of posed portraits, used for public display or free fan handouts, which are sometimes autographed. They can also consist of posed or candid images taken on the set during production, and may include stars, crew members or directors at work. The main purpose of such publicity stills is to help studios advertise and promote their new films and stars. Studios therefore send those photos along with press kits and free passes to as many movie-related publications as possible so as to gain free publicity. Such photos were then used by newspapers and magazines, for example, to write stories about the stars or the films themselves. Hence, the studio gains free publicity for its films, while the publication gains free stories for its readers." - Wikipedia 2011

Note to buyer: When framing, do not dry-mount, or glue to backboard, as value will be diminished. Use archival tape mount or corner mounts.

No rights to reprint or redistribute the image is being implied or sold: copyright remains with the original rights holders.

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