Why Don't You Do Something To Help Me?Why Don't You Do Something To Help Me? -- January 17 At Mayflower Club
On Tuesday night, January 17th, in honor of Oliver Hardy's 120th birthday, we will screen four films where Ollie turns to his friend Stan for help. We all know that it's a mistake for Ollie to ever ask Stan for help, but it's always fun to see how things turn out. Our four films for the evening will be That's My Wife, Our Wife, Helpmates, and Saps At Sea.
Our first film for the evening will be That's My Wife (1929). In this silent film, Ollie's wife (Vivien Oakland) walks out on Ollie. She has had it with Stan, who also lives with them. Just after Ollie's wife leaves, he hears that his rich uncle is about to visit him. Ollie's uncle will disown him if Ollie isn't happily married. So Ollie asks Stan to dress up as a women and pose as Ollie's wife.
In Our Wife (1931), Ollie decides to have Stan be his Best Man for his wedding to Dulcy (Babe London). Then, when Dulcy's father (James Finlayson) refuses to allow the wedding, Ollie asks Stan to help Ollie and Dulcy to elope.
While his wife is out of town, Ollie has a party that leaves his home a big mess in Helpmates (1932). Ollie asks Stan to clean up the mess, so Ollie can dress up and look nice before he picks up his wife (Blanche Payson) at the train station.
Our feature for the evening is Saps At Sea (1940). In the film, Ollie and Stan work at a horn factory where they tune horns. All the constant horn noise in the factory causes Ollie to have a nervous breakdown. Ollie's doctor (James Finlayson) tells Ollie and Stan that Ollie's "hornophobia" could easily turn into "hornomania," unless Ollie goes on an ocean voyage and drinks plenty of goat's milk. Being a good friend to Ollie, Stan agrees to help Ollie follow the doctor's orders.
The Mayflower Club is located at 11110 Victory Boulevard in North Hollywood. Doors open at 6:30 PM. Our meeting starts at 7:15 PM. Fisher Franks (100% beef hot dogs) and your choice of chips will be sold at the Mayflower Club Kitchen. Refreshments will be sold at the Mayflower Club Bar. Free birthday cake will be served during our second break. Please join us in celebration of Babe's birthday on Tuesday January 17th!
Click here for a map to the Mayflower Club...
Maude Booth Family Center
Thanks for coming through again with your can goods and cash donations for the Maude Booth Family Center of North Hollywood. Everything that you do for them is greatly appreciated by the Center. Your continued enthusiasm and generosity in all Way Out West activities makes us very happy.
Mail In Your Dues For 2012
In 2012, we will again have six regular meetings at the Mayflower Club. We will also have a Special Event, tentatively scheduled for Saturday night, October 20th (its theme and location are yet to be decided). Only our Special Event will have a separate door charge. Admission to each of our six regular meetings is covered by paying your annual dues. Our membership rates remain unchanged from last year. A complete list of all our meeting dates and membership rates and types of memberships are listed here.
Notes From Our December Meeting
After singing the Sons of the Desert Song and giving our toasts, we showed my son Jimmy Wiley III's "106." In case you have never heard of "106," it features a clip from each of the one hundred and six films that Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy appeared in together in just over two minutes.
In keeping with our December meeting theme, we showed different versions of Their Purple Moment, Below Zero, and Babes in Toyland. The silent film, Their Purple Moment, was not silent, but had a full score of Laurel & Hardy music, scored specially for the film by The Beau Hunks Orchestra of Amsterdam. Our version had sound effects, and even showed the titles of each piece of Laurel & Hardy music, as it was played on the screen.
Our different version of Below Zero was the Spanish version of Below Zero (Tiembla y Titubea). Although it follows the same general story, Tiembla y Titubea is seven minutes longer than Below Zero, begins with a scene in the police station with the policeman, whose wallet is found by Stan and Ollie, with his Chief. The scene with the blind man is also extended, and in my opinion, the whole tone of the film is tougher.
The high point of the evening however, was Babes in Toyland in full color. I had thought about showing Babes in Toyland in color, since it was released in the 90's, but always at the last moment I "chickened out." I thought, if I did show it, no one would show up for our meeting. I would be criticized by all Laurel & Hardy purists. In short, as Stan's character would say, I could be "ostrichsized" from the Sons. Well, none of those things have happened (so far). We had a good turnout for the film, and no one who saw Babes in Toyland in color even booed me or tried to throw a pie at me. In fact, I think most everyone was blown away by the color and picture quality of the film shown in high definition video. To clearly see all the detailed sets made for the film in color was almost like seeing a whole different film for the first time. Thanks to Dave Griem, Jayne Barnhart, Ken Runyan, and Bob Duncan for helping with the toasts. Thanks to Michelle Malik, Dave Griem and Bob Duncan for helping with the raffle. Thanks also to Denise Kress for donating some of the raffle prizes. The raffle, by the way, netted our club $114.00. That went a long way towards covering the cost of renting the special video equipment we used for the meeting. Thanks to everyone who bought a ticket.
International S.O.D. Convention This Summer
As most of you know, one Sons of the Desert tent is chosen to host an International Convention every other year. Way Out West hosted the second convention in 1980. The next convention will be the 18th, and it will be held in Manchester, New Hampshire, between July 19th and July 22nd. Currently there are nineteen people registered from tents in Southern California, so chances are you know somebody that's going. If you want to join the fun, please pick up a registration form at the next meeting or find out more by going to: http://2012.looserthanloose.com
