Added Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story

Just watched this fascinating documentary on the "TCM Archives: Laurel & Hardy Collection" DVD. It tells of the short film from the silent era to the '50s when television phased them out. We get glimpses of Mack Sennett and the way he made his silent comedies leading to Hal Roach and his founding of Our Gang and later Laurel & Hardy. We see many of the musical acts of vaudeville make their way to the Vitaphone studios of Brooklyn. We see some classic scenes of The Three Stooges. And then there's the various series of short subjects from M-G-M like Dogville, Pete Smith Specialties, Robert Benchley, the Travelogues, and Crime Does Not Pay. Finally, there's the Joe McDoakes shorts from Warner Bros. that starred George O'Hanlon as Joe. He would later become George Jetson's voice on "The Jetsons". Chevy Chase narrated with much of the info provided by Leonard Maltin, expert movie historian. In summary, Added Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story is well worth a look for anyone interested in this sort of thing.