Henry Brandon and Zarz

[Frank J. Lhota]

I have been a long time fan of Laurel and Hardy, the slapstick comedy
team from the 1920's through the 40's. Several of the original MST3K
crew were also Laurel and Hardy fans; Keyin Murphy raves about them in
his book, "A Year at the Movies". Among other things, they launched the
career of one of the stars of a season 11 movie.

Henry Brandon (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0104770) was one of
Hollywood's most prolific heavy, playing the bad guy in science fiction,
westerns, comedies, and TV shows. He got his start playing the
villainous Barnaby in the Laurel and Hardy film, "Babes in Toyland"
(1934). He was a frequent guest at the L&H international conventions.
Henry Brandon's last role was Zarz in "Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II".
At the last Laurel and Hardy convention he attended, he warned his fans
to NOT see the film, that it was terrible.

Given his low opinion of the film, it is a shame that Henry did not live
to see this film get riffed. He probably would have loved it.
--
"All things extant in this world,
Gods of Heaven, gods of Earth,
Let everything be as it should be;
Thus shall it be!"
- Magical chant from "Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi"

"Drizzle, Drazzle, Drozzle, Drome,
Time for this one to come home!"
- Mr. Wizard from "Tooter Turtle"

[Doug Elrod]

Post by Frank J. Lhota
I have been a long time fan of Laurel and Hardy, the slapstick comedy
team from the 1920's through the 40's. Several of the original MST3K
crew were also Laurel and Hardy fans; Keyin Murphy raves about them in
his book, "A Year at the Movies". Among other things, they launched the
career of one of the stars of a season 11 movie.

I wonder if there are some early Laurel and/or Hardy films that could use some MSTing. Rumor has it that Hardy played a woman in at least one of these....

Post by Frank J. Lhota
Henry Brandon (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0104770) was one of
Hollywood's most prolific heavy, playing the bad guy in science fiction,
westerns, comedies, and TV shows. He got his start playing the
villainous Barnaby in the Laurel and Hardy film, "Babes in Toyland"
(1934). He was a frequent guest at the L&H international conventions.
Henry Brandon's last role was Zarz in "Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II".
At the last Laurel and Hardy convention he attended, he warned his fans
to NOT see the film, that it was terrible.

Clearly MST3K's task is not done, until all such films have been "redeemed"!

Post by Frank J. Lhota
Given his low opinion of the film, it is a shame that Henry did not live
to see this film get riffed. He probably would have loved it.

Thanks for the info. After people see WotLKII, give a toast in his honor!

-Doug Elrod (***@cornell.edu)
Zarz just lacks "do" of being ZARDOZ! :-)

[Frank J. Lhota]

Post by Doug Elrod
I wonder if there are some early Laurel and/or Hardy films that could use some MSTing. Rumor has it that Hardy played a woman in at least one of these....

You may be thinking of "Twice Two" (1933), where Hardy plays Laurel's
wife, and Laurel plays Hardy's wife. They do a lot of split screen
effects in that film.

Joel has noted that comedies are hard to riff. When they MST'd "Catalina
Caper" (1967), they came up with lots of funny stuff about the creepy
girl romance, but they struggled to come up with anything for the failed
attempts at comedy relief - and that was with slapstick not done nearly
as well as what Laurel and Hardy did.

Post by Doug Elrod
Clearly MST3K's task is not done, until all such films have been "redeemed"!

Good point, undoubtedly there are many other actors who would like to
see a turkey they starred in get the riffed.

Post by Doug Elrod
Thanks for the info. After people see WotLKII, give a toast in his honor!

Agreed wholeheartedly!

Post by Doug Elrod
Zarz just lacks "do" of being ZARDOZ! :-)

--
"All things extant in this world,
Gods of Heaven, gods of Earth,
Let everything be as it should be;
Thus shall it be!"
- Magical chant from "Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi"

"Drizzle, Drazzle, Drozzle, Drome,
Time for this one to come home!"
- Mr. Wizard from "Tooter Turtle"