Golden Age of Comedy, The(1957)

The Golden Age of Comedy was a compilation of silent comedy films (from the Mack Sennett and Hal Roach studios), released in 1957, written and produced by Robert Youngson. Youngson had previously produced several award-winning short documentaries beforehand, and this was the first compilation of its kind in feature-length form. Initially,the film was only distributed by a small independent company (DCA)Its commercial success led Youngson to follow suit with other silent film compilations over the next decade. The film is often regarded as particularly bringing Laurel and Hardy back into the public’s notice after years of obscurity (they are the film’s most predominately featured performers), but sadly Oliver Hardy died around the time of the film’s release in August 1957.

78 minutes, B&W, 1957