The Hal Roach Comedy Shorts of Thelma Todd, ZaSu Pitts and Patsy Kelly

by James L. Neibaur

Overview

Hoping to follow his Laurel and Hardy success with a female comedy team, producer Hal Roach paired Thelma Todd with ZaSu Pitts in a 1931 series of two-reel shorts. Pitts left the studio for other pursuits, was replaced by Patsy Kelly and the series continued to be successful. Todd died under mysterious circumstances in 1935 and Kelly tried to carry on, first with Pert Kelton, then with Lyda Roberti. When Roberti died in 1938, the series ended.

This book takes the first film-by-film look at each of the comedies these women made, how they responded to different directors and how production adapted to changes along the way. Credits, production information, period reviews, and critical assessments are included.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476672557
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	12/28/2018
Pages:	185
Sales rank:	520,261
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

James L. Neibaur is a film historian and scholar with more than 30 books and hundreds of articles appearing in Cineaste, Classic Images, Film Quarterly, Films in Review, Filmfax, and Encyclopædia Britannica.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Early Life of Thelma Todd
2. The Early Life of ZaSu Pitts
3. The Films of Thelma Todd and ZaSu Pitts
Let’s Do Things (1931) 11 deleteCatch-As ­Catch-Can (1931) 16 deleteThe Pajama Party (1931) 20 deleteWar Mamas (1931) 23 deleteOn the Loose (1931) 26 deleteSealskins (1932) 30 deleteRed Noses (1932) 34 deleteStrictly Unreliable (1932) 37 deleteThe Old Bull (1932) 40 deleteShow Business (1932) 45 deleteAlum and Eve (1932) 49 deleteThe Soilers (1932) 52 deleteSneak Easily (1932) 56 deleteAsleep in the Feet (1933) 59 deleteMaids a la Mode (1933) 62 deleteThe Bargain of the Century (1933) 65 deleteOne Track Minds (1933) 69
4. The Films of Thelma Todd and Patsy Kelly
Beauty and the Bus (1933) 74 deleteBacks to Nature (1933) 78 deleteAir Fright (1933) 81 deleteBabes in the Goods (1934) 84 deleteSoup and Fish (1934) 87 deleteMaid in Hollywood (1934) 90 deleteI’ll Be Suing You (1934) 94 deleteThree Chumps Ahead (1934) 97 deleteOne-Horse Farmers (1934) 100 deleteOpened by Mistake (1934) 105 deleteDone in Oil (1934) 109 deleteBum Voyage (1934) 112 deleteTreasure Blues (1935) 115 deleteSing Sister Sing (1935) 118 deleteThe Tin Man (1935) 121 deleteThe Misses Stooge (1935) 124 deleteSlightly Static (1935) 127 deleteTwin Triplets (1935) 130 deleteHot Money (1935) 134 deleteTop Flat (1935) 136 deleteAll American Toothache (1936) 140
5. The Death of Thelma Todd
6. The Film of Patsy Kelly and Pert Kelton
Pan Handlers (1936) 147
7. The Films of Patsy Kelly and Lyda Roberti
At Sea Ashore (1936) 151 deleteHill Tillies (1936) 154 deleteNobody’s Baby (1937) 158
8. The Later Years of ZaSu Pitts and Patsy Kelly
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Neibaur’s book is the first to examine the short comedies of these frequently overlooked comediennes”—Silent-ology.

From the Publisher