Moment of Zen: Farewell to "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart"

Credit: Comedy Partners (Comedy Central)

NOTE: While the author of "At The Matinee" respects viewpoints from all sides of the political spectrum, this post isn't about politics or anything related to the field of politics, this is related to the field of satire and comedy.  Thank you.

May 22nd, 1992: The "king of late night," Johnny Carson (1925-2005) hosted his final episode ofThe Tonight Show on NBC.

August 6th, 1993: Joe Franklin (1926-2015) retired from hosting his local New York (and later, Secaucus) talk show, The Joe Franklin Show.  Throughout Franklin's 40 years in television from his WABC and WOR/WWOR shows, the pioneering talk show host hosted more than 21,425 programs (more on "the king of nostalgia" here). 

November 18th, 2011: Regis Philbin stepped down from "Live," after co-hosting 17,000 hours of live morning television.

December 18th, 2014: Stephen Colbert hosted his last episode of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central.  That same evening, Craig Ferguson hosted his final episode The Late Late Show on CBS (read the previous blog post here).

May 20th, 2015: After 33 years in late night television (on NBC and CBS), David Letterman bid farewell to The Late Show on CBS.

August 6th, 2015: After sixteen years and over 2,500+ shows on Comedy Central, noted personality Jon Stewart bid farewell to The Daily Show.  One could have said that the evening of Thursday, August 6th was a "golden" evening for comedic satire.

Cover from the DVD box set of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart:
Indecision 2004 episodes during the 2004 Presidential campaign.
Stewart is surrounded by his then-Daily Show corespondent
team, consisting of Stephen Colbert, Rob Corddry,
Samantha Bee and Ed Helms.  From the vast At The Matinee media vault. 

"So if you smell something, say something." -Jon Stewart, on his final telecast of Comedy Central's The Daily Show.

On the same night that the first televised  Republican 2016 Presidential candidates' debate took place, Stewart bid farewell to his Daily Show colleagues (past and present), along with pre-recorded messages from celebrities, dignitaries, top guests and foes who wanted to bid farewell to Jon Stewart. The tribute included a farewell greeting from the president of the fast-food chain Arby's, Paul Brown (Stewart made hilarious rants about Arby's during his stint as host of The Daily Show).

Throughout Jon Stewart's tenure as host, the majority of Daily Show corespondents throughout the years have credited the show as a springboard to later successes in their careers.

Past and present Daily Show corespondents were on hand to bid farewell to Stewart, including Steve Carrell, Lewis Black, Wyatt Cenac, John Oliver (who has his own successful weekly satirical news series on HBO), Samantha Bee, Jason Jones, Mo Rocca (who is now a correspondent for CBS' Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood), Vance DeGeneres, Larry Wilmore (who now hosts his own post-Daily Show series, The Nightly Show), original Daily Show host Craig Kilborn (who hosted the show from its inception in 1996 until the end of 1998), Ed Helms, Michael Che, Rob Corddry, Nate Corddry, Aasif Mandvi, Jordan Klepper, Dave Attell, Hasan Minhaj, Kristen Schaal, Rob Riggle, Jessica Williams, John Hodgman, Olivia Munn, Al Madrigal, Matt Walsh, Dan Bakkedahl, successor host Trevor Noah, Bassem Youssef, Josh Gad and last but not least- the great Stephen Colbert, sharing his moments with Stewart (apart from Colbert's faux arch-conservative pundit role on the successful Daily Show spin-off, The Colbert Report from 2005-2014).  Colbert will be taking over David Letterman's old Late Show spot on CBS this September.

Promotional leaflet (circa 2005) for
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,which was included with the
Indecision 2004 DVD box set (from the vast At The Matinee
media vault).

There were also pre-recorded appearances by noted celebrities, politicians, pundits and news commentators, including Representative Charles Rangel, New Jersey Governor (and Republican Presidential candidate) Chris Christie, Senator Chuck Schumer, former First Lady, Senator, Secretary of State (and current Democratic Presidential candidate) Hillary Clinton, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, MSNBC morning hosts/commentators Joe Scarborough and co-host Mika Brezinski, CNN anchor/reporter Wolf Blitzer, Senator (and Republican Presidential candidate) Lindsay Graham, Secretary of State (and former Massachusetts Senator) John Kerry, Stewart's arch-nemesis Bill O'Riley, and Senator John McCain- all taking a jab at Stewart.

The show ended with legendary musician Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band (one of the band's members, percussionist Max Weinberg, was Conan O'Brien's original bandleader on NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien from 1993 to the program's conclusion in 2009) performing a tribute song in honor of Stewart's Daily Show career.

During Stewart's Daily Show career, the show transformed from a niche cable "fake" news program with celebrity and comedic personalities, to one of the most-watched popular television programs in the nation.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart surpassed traditional news platforms over time, as Stewart interviewed political experts, figureheads, authors, pundits, politicians, humanitarians, national and world leaders.  When it came to certain politicians and people in the field of politics- Stewart would put them on the "hotseat," and ask questions that no other anchor/host from a news (or interview-based) program would have asked.

Stewart's show would spawn two best-selling books (with fellow Daily Show correspondents and writers)- America (The Book) in 2004 (the audiobook version won the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word album), and Earth (The Book) in 2010.  Stewart is also praised for charitable causes, it was noted that he helped raise $2.2 million dollars (from his final show) for the organization New York Collaborates for Autism (according to CNBC).

In October 2010, both Stewart and Colbert (in his faux arch-conservative pundit role on The Colbert Report) took their comedic routine to Washington, D.C.- by having the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear on the grounds of the National Mall.  It would have been great to have seen both Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert in person that year (a "Frederick to Washington" tour bus group was launched for interested patrons to attend the event, but was unfortunately scrapped due to a lack of interest for the event).  Luckily, I purchased a commemorative T-Shirt from the event (via Comedy Central's website).

With Stewart's departure from The Daily Show, the general public may never see another entertaining (and interesting) program like Stewart's Daily Show.  With the zaniness of the 2016 Presidential election coming in, who will we turn to for a satirical look at the election?  I guess Conan O'Brien's TBS show and Colbert's Late Show on CBS (which will premiere this September) will do for my "late night" fix.

At The Matinee salutes Jon Stewart for sixteen great years of The Daily Show.  

#JonVoyage

"At The Matinee" wants to hear from you!

1939 trade advertisement for the
screwball comedy Midnight, with
comments/suggestions from test
audiences who saw the test screening.

As we transition into August, the author of At The Matinee would like to hear from fellow friends and readers of this blog.

As I've stated before, this blog is dedicated to the field of classic/contemporary motion pictures, television, music and technology.  It has come to my attention that some readers of At The Matinee may not be interested in these subjects at all.  No matter what, that will not deter me from writing about classic/contemporary cinema and television (along with technology and music from time to time).

Plus, I will continue writing about the Frederick area cinema venues* and their ignorance of showcasing classic/contemporary films, the way they were meant to be seen- on the big screen.

ATM Wants To Hear From You!  As I am the author/head writer of this blog, I would enjoy hearing comments/suggestions from fellow readers and newcomers to At The Matinee.

For example: what works on this blog, and what doesn't work on this blog?  What improvements/changes could be made to this blog, and what general suggestions would you have for future posts on At The Matinee?

Plus, I'm also open to the idea of contributing posts (from interested writers) to this blog on classic/contemporary cinema, and other topics related to those aforementioned fields.

Again, I am open to all comments on At The Matinee or anything related to this blog (NOTE: all comments are monitored by the author).  Don't be afraid to ask!

You can add your comments at the bottom of this post, or you can e-mail me anytime (by clicking on the hyperlink).

Be on the lookout for new posts in August!

Thanks to all for your suggestions.  I highly appreciate it.

All the best,
Chris Hamby

*Excluding The Weinberg Center For The Arts from the cinema venues that are refusing to show revival screenings of classic/contemporary films, since the theater is closed for air-conditioning renovations from now until October.  

Shout! Factory to present streaming "Kaiju" movie marathon

There are many interesting aspects to the field of modern Japanese cinema- the groundbreaking films of "auteur" filmmakers, including Akira Kurosawa (1950's Rashomon and 1954's Seven Samurai), Yasujiro Ozu (1953's Tokyo Story and the Early Spring/Late Spring/Early Summer/Late Summer series of films)  and Keisuke Kinoshita (1954's Twenty-Four Eyes).  Besides these and other significant works of modern Japanese film, there's one genre that also fits in with modern cinema from Japan, and that would be known as Kaiju films.

Still from the original version of Godzilla (1954), which will be part of
Shout! Factory's streaming Kaiju marathon.  The original Japanese cut is also
available on DVD and Blu-Ray (paired with Godzilla: King of the Monsters)
from Janus Films' Criterion Collection line (under license from Toho Co., Ltd.).

What is Kaiju?  For those that may not know this, Kaiju is Japanese for "monster." After the success of the Toho studio and the popular 1954 Ishiro Honda film, Godzilla (Gojira, which was released here in the United States as Godzilla: King of the Monsters in 1956 with Raymond Burr), it set a cultural phenomenon not only in Japan, but worldwide as well.

Competing studio Daiei responded to Toho's success with the Godzilla, Mothra and Rodan series of films, by creating their own Kaiju film franchise- Gamera, beginning in 1965 (the original Gamera films were later picked up for television syndication by Sandy Frank, and have been famously riffed on Mystery Science Theater 3000)

When Godzilla, Gamera, and other Japanese Kaiju films were released in the United States, they were known for one interesting factor: poorly-dubbed English dialogue to replace the original Japanese dialogue track.

From the 1970's throughout the mid-1980's (before the author of this blog was born), many Japanese Kaiju films were staples of Saturday morning/Saturday afternoon movie programs on independent television stations from coast-to-coast.  The art of Japanese Kaiju motion pictures has a definitive place in motion picture and pop culture history.

SHOUT! FACTORY PRESENTS STREAMING KAIJU MOVIE MARATHON: If you're a Kaiju film enthusiast, a person who wants to learn more about cult Japanese monster films, or if you've never seen the original Godzilla film, Shout! Factory TV is offering an all-day marathon of classic Japanese Kaiju films.  The marathon will consist of nine Japanese monster films produced by Toho Studios, including the original uncut version of Godzilla.

In addition to the Toho-produced Kaiju feature films, there will be select episodes of the cult Japanese action television series, Ultra Seven and Ultra Q.  The marathon will be hosted by the world's foremost expert on Japanese Kaiju monster films, August Ragone.  The marathon will stream on the live website for Shout! Factory TV (not sure if it will be available on Shout's Roku channel) this Saturday at Midnight, and will last until Sunday at Midnight (EST).  The event will also be shown through Shout! Factory's online "live feed" on Pluto.TV (Channel 427).

Sit back, relax and watch some Kaiju films (whenever possible).

Double Indemnity (1944): Another classic that the Frederick area will miss out on

1944 Paramount promotional advertisement for
Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity, featuring Fred MacMurray,
Barbara Stanwyck, and Edward G. Robinson.

Billy Wilder's 1944 suspense film, Double Indemnity is one of the definitive films of the 1940's, and is considered by many as one of the true motion pictures in the "film noir" genre category.

It was adapted from James M. Cain's 1943 crime novel of the same name, which was originally featured as an eight-part story in Liberty Magazine.  Double Indemnity features Fred MacMurray as insurance salesman Walter Neff, Barbara Stanwyck as femme fatale Phyllis Dietrichson, and Edward G. Robinson as investigator Barton Keyes.  This was not the first pairing of MacMurray and Stanwyck, the two were in a previous Paramount film four years earlier, the Preston Sturges Christmas comedy Remember The Night (1940).

I'm not going to give away the complete synopsis of Double Indemnity, due to a upcoming re-release of the film.  With its dark, suspenseful gritty overtones and intriguing moments throughout the film, Wilder's adaptation of Double Indemnity became a smash success when it was released in 1944.  The film received numerous Academy Award® nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Barbara Stanwyck), Best Director (Billy Wilder), Best Screenplay (Billy Wilder & Raymond Chandler) and Best Dramatic Score (Miklos Rozsa).

1944 Newspaper ad for the Paramount-owned cinema in Newark, New Jersey-
showcasing Double Indemnity (from a 1944 issue of Motion Picture Herald).

Fourteen years later after its theatrical release, Double Indemnity was one of many pre-48 Paramount sound feature films that were sold to Lew Wasserman's MCA for television distribution, along with  re-release/re-make rights.  Television audiences in the Frederick area (circa 1958) may have experienced viewing Double Indemnity along with many other vintage Paramount features in the MCA package, when Washington's WTOP-TV 9 (W*USA after 1986) and Baltimore's WBAL-TV 11 acquired the broadcast rights (according to an advertisement in the Lantern Media History Archive).  

It was remade in 1973 as a made-for-TV-movie by Universal Studios, with Richard Crenna (as Walter Neff), Samantha Eggar (as Phyllis Dietrichson), and Lee J. Cobb (as Barton Keyes).

Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity will never fail to disappoint.  It is one of the many interesting (and iconic) classic motion pictures of all-time.  If you've never seen it before, see it when you have the chance to.

SPECIAL REVIVAL SCREENING OF DOUBLE INDEMNITY NATIONWIDE:  Universal Studios, Turner Classic Movies and NCM Fathom Events will present a special revival screening of Double Indemnity (1944) in theaters nationwide on July 19th and July 20th at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM (all times eastern).

Yet unfortunately, the Frederick area will miss out on this gem.  Frederick's cinema venues, MDL Holiday Cinemas, and the "eyesore" that is known to many as Regal Cinemas' 16-plex "Westview" complex are not planning to screen this definitive classic,  Frederick's cinemas (excluding the Weinberg Center For The Performing Arts, which is closed due to air-conditioning system renovations) are missing out on this golden opportunity, to showcase classic films the way they were meant to be seen- on the big screen.  

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This may sound far-fetched to some, but I think it's past time that Frederick had another movie theater/cinema venue.

Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

It's almost Independence Day here at the "screening room" (and worldwide headquarters) of At The Matinee.  While the current lineup of "summer blockbusters*" mostly consisting of "endless" reboots and remakes, there's one definitive classic that outshines the competition.  And it's perfect for the July 4th weekend.

Poster for Warners' Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
featuring James Cagney as George M. Cohan.

That definitive classic film is 1942's Yankee Doodle Dandy.  Directed by Michael Curtiz and produced by Hal B. Wallis, the film features James Cagney (as George M. Cohan), Joan Leslie (as Mary Cohan), Walter Huston (as Jerry Cohan), Richard Whorf (as Sam Harris), Irene Manning (as Fay Tempelton), George Tobias (as Dietz), Rosemary DeCamp (as Nellie Cohan), Jeanne Cagney (as Josie Cohan), Frances Langford (as Nora Bayes), S.Z. "Cuddles" Sakall (as Schwab), and Eddie Foy, Jr. (as the senior Eddie Foy).

Based off the story of real-life songwriter George M. Cohan (1878-1942), the film goes into the life, times and career of the multi-talented entertainer and songwriter, who brought such popular classic songs including Yankee Doodle Dandy, Over There, You're A Grand Old Flag, just to name a few.

When the film premiered in New York at the Hollywood Theatre in May 1942, it was tremendous hit, and was one of the top-grossing motion pictures of 1942.  According to The New York Times, the audience on opening night purchased $5,750,000 worth of war bonds to help America's war effort during the Second World War.

For Warner Bros. (who acquired the rights from Cohan for his life story, where Warners' competitors declined Cohan's story throughout the latter years of his life), it would be the studio's top-grossing film at the time (along with Warners' other popular noteworthy films released that same year, including Casablanca, Air Force, George Washington Slept Here, and Now, Voyager).

The film won three Academy Awards for Best Actor (James Cagney), Best Sound Recording (Nathan Levinson and the Warner Bros. sound department), and Best Music, Scoring of a Motion Picture (Ray Heindorf and and Heinz Romfeld).

My first experience of watching Yankee Doodle Dandy was on WETA's Saturday classic film showcase several years ago.    I was originally going to plan to attend the recent revival screening of Yankee Doodle Dandy at the Majestic Theater in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania- but could not attend due to an important family commitment.

Warners has recently released Yankee Doodle Dandy on Blu-Ray (through the studio's "Archive" line), from a new high-definition transfer (along with several extras ported over from the previous DVD release).  It is also available for streaming on Flixster and Warners' YouTube VOD service. The film will be the highlight of Turner Classic Movies' primetime lineup for the Fourth (at 8:00 PM EST).

I'm not going to give away any other additional information on this.  To my fellow readers- if you haven't seen Yankee Doodle Dandy, see it when you have the chance to.  It is an entertaining and enlightening motion picture about the life and times of George Cohan, portrayed by James Cagney (in one of his few non-gangster roles on the screen).

I feel that in recent times, we need uplifting entertainment.  And Yankee Doodle Dandy is one of the best examples of uplifting screen entertainment.  You won't be disappointed!

1958 advertisement for Associated Artists Productions (AAP),
advertising the 1942 film Yankee Doodle Dandy, one of many pre-48
Warner Bros. feature films (along with shorts and select cartoons)
that were available for syndication to local television stations.

FOURTH OF JULY OFFERINGS ON TV:

TCM will have a schedule of movies related to America's day of independence, beginning at 11:45 AM with the 1955 film, The Scarlet Coat (featuring Cornel Wilde, Anne Francis, and George Sanders), followed by The Devil's Disciple (1959, with Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas and Lawrence Oliver) at 1:30 PM, the musical 1776 (1972, featuring William Daniels, Howard Da Silva and Ken Howard) at 3:00 PM, the modern comedy Miss Firecracker (1989, with Holly Hunter and Tim Robbins) at 6:00 PM, the 1943 Warner Bros. short subject on the United States Army Band at 7:50 PM, and the big highlight of the night- Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) at 8:00 PM.  It will be followed by The Music Man (1962, featuring Preston Foster, Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett and Ron Howard) at 10:15 PM, and Rosalie (1937, with Nelson Eddy, Eleanor Powell and Frank Morgan) at 1:00 AM (eastern standard time).

As I've stated before, it wouldn't be the Fourth of July without the annual Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York City, which will be telecast live on ESPN2 at Noon EST.  

Of course, there's always A Capitol Fourth, live from Washington, D.C. on PBS (from 8:00-9:30 PM EST).

Last but not least, it wouldn't be Saturday without Svengoolie on Me-TV, showcasing the third (and final) film in Universal's Creature From The Black Lagoon franchise, The Creature Walks Among Us (1956), which will be shown at 10:00 PM EST (for viewers from coast-to-coast, check local listings for time and channel).

WITH ALL THAT ASIDE: At The Matinee wishes everyone out there a happy (and safe) Fourth of July weekend.  Do something great and exciting during this weekend!

NOTE: Again, I'm not criticizing the recent "summer blockbusters."  I'm sure there are many (like myself) who would like more variety in the field of cinema entertainment.

"Cool" Tivoli Theater: The tale of Frederick's first major building with air conditioning

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have been on hiatus for a brief time, due to a recent family medical situation that took place on Father's Day (June 21st).   After several days of medical treatment and recuperation, my father is doing fine.  He is resting and relaxing comfortably at the home office and worldwide headquarters of At The Matinee.  

My family and I would like to take this time to thank everyone out there for the prayers, well wishes and kind messages of concern.   All of us highly appreciate it.  

All the best,
Chris Hamby

Marquee of The Weinberg Center For The Arts, formerly known as the
Tivoli theater, which was the first major building (and cinema venue)
in the Frederick area to have air conditioning.

You may have heard by now that the Weinberg Center For The Arts (the former Tivoli theater) will be shuttering its doors for a brief period, due to the installment of a new air conditioning unit in the building, according to The News-Post.  The theater will be closed after the Frederick Film Festival concludes on June 28th, and will reopen on October 1st.  This post is being called "Cool" Tivoli, in reference to vintage newspapers calling air-conditioned cinemas "cool" in advertisements for the city's air-conditioned cinema location.

The new unit will replace the theater's older air conditioning unit, which was installed in 1940, during the "golden age" of Hollywood cinema.  To paraphrase Joe Franklin (1926-2015), let's take a trip down "Memory Lane."

1940- Enter "Challedon," Warner Bros.' Jack L. Warner, W.L. Brann and Dr. Thomas: The idea for air-conditioning in the Tivoli theater came one day before the 1940 Hollywood Gold Cup thoroughbred horse race at Santa Anita Park in the town of Arcadia, California.

Jack L. Warner (late 1940's).

At a party that was held on the day before the race, Warner Bros. studio head Jack L. Warner was overheard by guests that he would bet $50,000 on the favorite horse in the race.  One of the guests, Dr. Edward "Eddie" Thomas, a local Frederick physician encouraged Warner to place his bet on the thoroughbred racehorse "Challedon" instead.  The youngest Warner took Thomas' advice, and decided to place his bet on Challedon.

Challedon, champion racehorse that Warner Bros. head
Jack L. Warner bet on, decided to return Dr. Edward
"Eddie" Thomas' favor on installing air-conditioning
at the studio-owned Tivoli theater in Frederick.

Thomas was close friends with advertising executive W.L. Brann (1877-1951), who bred Challedon at his own farm, Branncastle Farm (now Glade Valley Farms) in Mount Pleasant (which is close to the home office of At The Matinee).  Brann's racehorse would win both 1939 and 1940 titles of "Horse of the Year," won second place in the 1939 Kentucky Derby and won first in the Preakness stakes that same year.

Challedon won the Hollywood Gold Cup race, and Warner won his bet.  The prolific studio mogul wanted to throw a party in honor of Dr. Thomas, yet Thomas declined Jack Warner's offer.  Warner wanted to ask the Frederick physician what he could do to return the favor.  Thomas told Warner about one of his studio's theaters in Frederick- the Tivoli, and how the theater could benefit from having an air-conditioning unit in the theater.  Warner agreed, and ordered his associates in New York to install air conditioning at the studio-owned Tivoli theater in Frederick.

NOTE: Warner Bros. acquired the Tivoli, along with two other Frederick area cinema venues- the City Opera House (now Brewer's Alley Restaurant), and the Frederick theater in 1928, as part of the studio's acquisition of The Stanley Company of America, a major cinema chain (and around the same time, First National Pictures and its major Burbank studio complex, which would become the official home of Warners).

One factor of this was because of the Stanley chain's installation of Warners' landmark "Vitaphone" sound-on-disc sound motion picture projection equipment.   The studio would own these theaters until the 1948 Paramount anti-trust consent decree, where the major studios were forbidden to own movie theaters (Warners' theater holdings were spun off to Fabian Interests, and were renamed Stanley-Warner Theaters, the organization sold the three theaters to the Weinberg family at the end of the 1950's).

Since then, audiences flocked to the Tivoli to see landmark motion pictures throughout the years in the "cool" on hot summer days, along with the latest newsreels and short subjects.

An interesting tale of how a prominent Hollywood studio mogul, two Frederick residents and a celebrated racehorse brought air-conditioning to Frederick's "crown jewel" theater.

SIDEBAR: Here's something I would like to know (to the current management of the Weinberg)- When is the theater going to show classic films from Hollywood's golden age on the big screen to compliment the "Flying Dog Brewery Movie Series"?

I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with the Flying Dog Movie Series, I think it would be great (along with fellow classic cinema enthusiasts) to showcase vintage and contemporary films the way they were meant to be seen, on the big screen.   

"Lost" reel of Laurel & Hardy's "Battle of the Century" Found

Section from a 1927-28 trade ad for Hal Roach's short subjects
(distributed at the time by MGM), featuring Laurel & Hardy.

A missing link to one of the most iconic moments in cinema history has been found, after one of the reels for this classic 1927 slapstick short was considered "lost" for many years.

According to Matthew Dessem's article on Slate, the discovery was recently announced at the Library of Congress' fourth annual Mostly Lost classic film festival.

The festival showcases select restored motion pictures that were once considered to be lost (or surviving fragments from "lost" motion pictures) at the State Theater in Culpeper, Virginia, the same city that is home to the Library of Congress' National Audio-Visual Conservation Center.

Dessem's article mentioned that silent film historian Jon Mirsalis uncovered the "lost" second reel of the classic 1927 Hal Roach comedy, Battle of the Century (featuring Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy).  The second reel of the comic duo's 1927 short was classified as "lost" for nearly 60 years, due to the fact that clips from the film were used for a compilation film on classic moments in motion picture comedy (the "pie fight" sequence was served as the inspiration for Blake Edwards' 1965 farce, The Great Race).

ENTER ROBERT YOUNGSON: In 1957, filmmaker Robert Youngson (1917-1974) decided to make a feature-length motion picture, a compilation celebrating classic silent comedy, utilized from the libraries of Mack Sennett and Hal Roach.  This compilation film was titled The Golden Age of Comedy.

SIDENOTE: Youngson was no stranger to the industry, he originally made retrospective short subjects for Warner Bros., beginning in the late 1940's (compliled not only from the studio's own films, but from Warners' Vitagraph and First National holdings).  Some of Youngson's short subjects for Warners can be seen from time to time on Turner Classic Movies.

Fast forward to 1957, and Youngson was making his feature-length tribute to classic silent comedies. According to further findings from Dessem, Youngson might have been one of the last persons to see Battle of the Century in its complete form at the time.  He chose the legendary "pie fight" sequence in Roach's film, and it is widely speculated that Youngson junked the rest of Battle of the Century.

Shortly after the release of Youngson's compilation film, the original nitrate camera negatives became unusable (either due to mishandling or poor film storage).

It wasn't until last year, when Mirsalis found a can (acquired as part of a private film collection that once belonged to the late Gordon Berkow) with a label identifying the second reel of Battle of the Century. Thought to be lost, the film elements for Hal Roach's Battle of the Century are now being restored by Lobster Films in Paris.

This might be a clear sign that there will be a "complete" version of this classic Laurel & Hardy film sometime in the near future.