Laurel and Hardy Society Sons of the Desert Way Out West Tent Los Angeles
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The Brushwood Gulch Gazette is the newsletter of the Way Out West Tent. It is published six times a year, shortly before regular tent meetings. Members receive the complete printed edition in the mail. The online edition features most of the articles found in the printed version, minus photos.

Ahoy Laurel & Hardy! Next Meeting August 16th at The Mayflower Club

Our film program for our August meeting will feature a crooked card game on an ocean cruise, two sailors on leave, a "ghost ship," and two sets of identical twins long separated by an ocean. Can you guess the names of the four Laurel & Hardy films that we will screen on Tuesday evening, August 16th, at the Mayflower Club? The first film should be a little hard to guess (as we rarely screen it), but the other three films should be fairly easy to guess. Take a few moments to think about it. Okay, time's up!

Our first film for the evening will be the early silent short Sailors Beware! (1927). After taxi cab driver, Chester Chaste (Stan Laurel), drops off Madame Ritz (Anita Garvin) and her odd looking baby Roger (Harry Earles) on a soon departing cruise ship, Chester accidentally gets himself and his cab loaded on that same cruise ship. Chester is considered to be a stowaway and soon finds himself working on the passenger deck under the watchful eyes of Purser Cryder (Oliver Hardy). Cryder's watchful eyes also like to flirt with women passengers. When Chester later observes Madame Ritz and Roger, he sees that little Roger is very interested in the card game that his "mother" is playing. Although Stan and Babe are not quite "Stan and Ollie," the film gives you a glimpse how their characters are beginning to develop.

The plot of the silent short, Two Tars (1928) is fairly simple. Sailors Stan & Ollie, while on leave, rent a car and meet two girls. With the exception of a couple of driving problems and a gum ball machine that doesn't work, the Boys and their girlfriends seem to have a pretty nice day together. Then they start the drive home, and that's when all the 'fun" begins. Everything that could go wrong in a traffic jam goes wrong. Just sit back and enjoy a classic Laurel & Hardy film. It's one of their best. Watch for Edgar Kennedy and Charlie Hall, among the many angry drivers.

In the short, The Live Ghost (1934), down and out Stan and Ollie agree to help Captain Long (Walter Long) shanghai a new crew for his ship. The problem is that ship has a reputation as being "a ghost ship." In typical Laurel & Hardy fashion, the Boys also manage to shanghai themselves on the ship with the Captain's angry new crew. Mae Busch and Arthur Housman also co-star in the film. Housman is exceptional.

Our feature for the evening will be Our Relations (1936). In Our Relations, Ollie and Stan's identical twin brothers, Bert and Alf, arrive in town unannounced after many years at sea. Soon Ollie's wife (Daphne Pollard) and Stan's wife (Betty Healy) mistake Bert and Alf for Ollie and Stan. Then Bert and Alf's captain (Sidney Toler) and shipmate (James Finlayson) mistake Ollie and Stan for Bert and Alf. Mistaken identities continue throughout the film. Also supporting the Boys in the film are Iris Adrian, Lona Andre, Alan Hale Sr., and Arthur Housman. Besides being a very funny feature with a great cast, Our Relations has some of the best looking sets ever in a Laurel & Hardy film.

"Fisher Franks" (quarter pound 100% beef hot dogs) with your choice of chips will be sold at The Mayflower Club Kitchen. Refreshments will be sold at The Mayflower Club Bar. Free cake will be served during our second break. The Mayflower Club is located at 11110 Victory Boulevard in North Hollywood. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Our meeting starts at 7:15 p.m. Join us for a great time on August 16th!

Click here for a map to the Mayflower Club...


Special Saturday October 1st Meeting

I hope that all of you have noticed from reading our Upcoming Events column that we plan to have a Special Event Saturday night meeting this year on October 1st. Detailed information on our Special Event will be in the mail on or before Friday, September 9th.


Notes From Our June Meeting

At our June meeting we celebrated Stan Laurel's 126th birthday! In Stan's honor, we screened: That's My Wife, One Good Turn, Blotto, and Block-Heads. I was very glad that That's My Wife got such a good reception. I think that it's a film that sometimes gets a little overlooked. Before we served Stan's birthday cake, we all sang Happy Birthday.

Thanks to Randy Skretvedt for coming to our June meeting. Randy you're always welcome. Your new book is a winner, and I hope that everyone that went home with a copy enjoyed it as much as I did! Thanks again for all the work you put in it.

Thanks to Laura Reuther, Jason Castle, J.T. Tropper, Bob Duncan, Jayne Barnhart, Randy Skretvedt, and Dave Greim for helping me with the toasts and song. I also want to thank Tom Llewellyn for playing his Ukelele for the crowd. Thanks to all our members who came to our June meeting. It was a good turnout. I appreciate your support.

 


L&H Film Festival At Old Town Music Hall

On the weekend of November 25th, 26th, and 27th, the Old Town Music Hall will once again do a special all Laurel & Hall film program. The Old Town Music Hall is located at 140 Richmond Street, El Segundo (310-322-2592). Their evening programs will begin at 8:15 on Friday and Saturday. Their matinee programs will begin at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Admission to the theater is $10 per person or $8 for people 62 or older. Each program begins with a Wurlitzer Theater Pipe Organ audience sing-along. For information about other film programs at the Old Town Music Hall, go to: oldtownmusichall.org/films.htm


 


From the Grand Sheik

We went to the Convention. Had a swell time and the wives think that we went to Hawaii. Except my wife joined me at the Convention, and we went to England, but we still had a swell time.

Kris and I can't believe that we went to our first Sons of the Desert Convention 38 years ago! It's especially hard to believe, since we're only 40. We wish. Seriously, Kris, Jimmy, and I had a great time in England. It was good to be with friends and catch up on what has happened in our lives over the last two years. It was great fun to be with them. I wish they all lived in Southern California. The Cumbria Grand Hotel in Grange-over-Sands is still a great hotel. I could get use to those English breakfasts. We were at the Convention five days and only missed the sun part of one day. Kris, Jimmy, and I stayed at The Cumbria Grand Hotel for the first time 32 years ago for the 1984 Sons Convention. Time flies.

Click here for day by day happenings at the Convention



 




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