Stop, Look and Listen (film)

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Stop, Look and Listen
Film magazine advertisement
Directed byLarry Semon
Written byLarry Semon
Based onStop, Look and Listen
by Irving Berlin and Harry B. Smith
Produced byLarry Semon
StarringOliver Hardy
CinematographyJames S. Brown Jr.
Hans F. Koenekamp
Production
company
Larry Semon Productions
Distributed byPathé Exchange
Release date
  • January 1, 1926 (1926-01-01)
Running time
6 reels
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)
Ad in The Film Daily, 1926

Stop, Look and Listen is a 1926 American film comedy film starring Larry Semon and Dorothy Dwan and featuring Oliver Hardy.[1] Semon and Dwan were married at the time. This was Hardy's final film appearance with Semon.

Plot[edit]

As described in a film magazine review,[2] Luther Meek is a well-behaved young citizen of a small town with a sweetheart named Dorothy who pines for footlight fame. She coaxes him into backing a traveling show in which she is starred. On the opening night of the show, while the stage-struck Dorothy gets muddled in her initial appearance, the Stage Manager and Dorothy's graceless stepbrother rob a bank. Luther is blamed for the crime, but he escapes his pursuers and follows the thieves, finally catching the ringleader and recovering the money. Dorothy then decides to abandon her stage dreams and weds Luther.

Cast[edit]

Production[edit]

Stop, Look and Listen was the first film by Semon's production company and was based upon the successful 1915 musical comedy play of the same name by Irving Berlin and Harry B. Smith. The film, however, was not a financial success for Pathé Exchange.[3]

The African-American actor and stuntman Curtis McHenry is featured during the motorcycle and sidecar chase sequence. Oliver Hardy, who co-directed, also performs a difficult high and hard fall on to train tracks at the finale.

Preservation[edit]

The majority of the film was considered to be lost.[1] In early 2020, it was announced that approximately 10 minutes of footage exists. The last reel of the film was found by a Japanese film researcher, Toshihiko Sasayama, who bought it off an antiques dealer.[4] A 43-minute reunited version, including the climactic motorcycle and train chase, was exhibited by Matsuda Film Productions in Tokyo in January 2024 with a live benshi commentary and piano accompaniment.[5]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Progressive Silent Film List: Stop, Look and Listen". silentera.com. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  2. ^ Pardy, George T. (January 30, 1926), "Pre-Release Review of Features: Stop, Look and Listen", Motion Picture News, 33 (5), New York City, New York: Motion Picture News, Inc.: 600, retrieved February 2, 2023 Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ Sassen, Claudia (2015). Larry Semon, Daredevil Comedian of the Silent Screen: A Biography and Filmography. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 152. ISBN 978-1-4766-2027-5.
  4. ^ "Stop, Look and Listen". lordheath.com. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  5. ^ Silent Movie Viewing Newsletter, Vol. 227, No. 195, 1 January 2024, ed. Makoto Matsuda, Tokyo, pp.2 & 8.

External links[edit]

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