Another Fine Mess
of New Jersey
Oasis #85
If you live near Wood-Ridge and wish to join the ANOTHER FINE MESS tent, send a letter to Grand Sheik Paul Fitzpatrick at:

Paul Fitzpatrick, P.O. Box 107, Wood-Ridge, NJ 07075

GRAND SHEIK: Paul Fitzpatrick 
VICE SHEIK: Mark Nannes 
CYBER-SHEIK: Yair Solan

YEARLY DUES: $14 per household  

THE 
BUCKSHOT 
BULLETIN
 


In this issue of The Buckshot Bulletin:

  • AFI's 100 Years, 100 Laughs
  • Video News
  • Oliver Hardy Festival
  • Laurel & Hardy Merchandise
  • How to Contact Us

  • Good day, Laurel & Hardy buffs! The latest Sons of the Desert convention has come and gone! The next one will be held in 2002 in Nashville, Tennessee!

    You can go on to the website of the Way Out West tent in California -- www.wayoutwest.org -- to get first-hand reports from the Tacoma convention!


    AFI's 100 Years, 100 Laughs

    The American Film Institute special 100 Years, 100 Laughs aired recently on CBS, with the results of a poll of voters who picked "the 100 funniest films of all time." Limited to feature films, the list included only one Laurel & Hardy film, 1933's SONS OF THE DESERT, way down at number 96! Naturally, I think SONS is a lot funnier than many of the films that ranked ahead of it. Certainly WAY OUT WEST or BLOCK-HEADS would have fit nicely on this list, as would several other L&H features. For the most part, they seem to have picked the more well known comedy titles (IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT, TOOTSIE, ANNIE HALL). At least they made up for snubbing Buster Keaton in the "100 Greatest Films" list, and included three of his films on this one. For the record, the "funniest film" of all time, according to this poll, is 1959's SOME LIKE IT HOT.


    VIDEO NEWS

    Volumes 8 and 9 of the DVD series The Lost Films of Laurel & Hardy are due out August 29, at $29.99 each. Here is the rundown of contents for these new DVD's:

    Volume 8: TWO TARS (1928), THE SECOND HUNDRED YEARS (1927), SLIPPING WIVES (1927), FROM SOUP TO NUTS (1928), SCORCHING SANDS (Laurel solo, 1923), SHOULD TALL MEN MARRY (Laurel's final solo film, 1927)

    Volume 9: YOU'RE DARN TOOTIN' (1928), WHY GIRLS LOVE SAILORS (1927, French & English versions), THE BATTLE OF THE CENTURY (1927, 2 versions), WANDERING PAPAS (1926, Clyde Cook with Hardy), THUNDERING FLEAS (1926, Our Gang with Hardy), MUM'S THE WORD (Charley Chase, neither Laurel nor Hardy in the cast)


    Oliver Hardy Festival in Harlem, Georgia

    The annual Oliver Hardy Festival in his home town of Harlem, Georgia, will be held on Saturday, October 7, starting at 9 a.m. This festival is known for having several fun events such as a look-a-like contest, parades, carnival rides, a street dance, a raffle drawing, clowns, skits, live entertainment, and of course Laurel & Hardy movies. Street vendors will be selling arts and crafts, novelties, and food. There is free parking and no admission charge. Profits go toward the construction of a community center for Harlem.

    For more information, write to: Oliver Hardy Festival, P.O. Box 99, Harlem, Georgia 30814, or call (706) 556-3448, or fax (706) 556-3293.


    Great L&H Stuff!

    Tent member Bill Patscher continues to peruse the catalogs for more great Laurel & Hardy merchandise:

    Worldwide Collectibles & Gifts (www.worldwidecollectibles.com) has several "traditional English hand-painted plaster wall masks" of all sorts, including those of Stan & Ollie! The masks are 6" and are $47 per mask. The likenesses are quite passable;these masks would complement anyone's home decor quite nicely! A company called Fingerhut has a cookie jar in the likenesses of Stan & Ollie, Larry Harmon style. They sell for $34.99 plus $11.29 shipping. This offer expires October 23. Write to Fingerhut, 11 McLeland Road, St. Cloud, MN 56395 or call 1-800-552-2115. Some nice L&H, Our Gang, and Thelma Todd material can be had from Photo Classics at www.photoclassics.com


    How To Contact Us

    If you wish to e-mail Grand Sheik Paul Fitzpatrick, you may do so at comedyfilm@hotmail.com.

    The Buckshot Bulletin is written by Paul Fitzpatrick and converted to viewing on the web by Another Fine Mess tent member and Cyber-Sheik Yair Solan.
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