Selected Short Subjects

What do The Little Rascals, The Three Stooges, and Laurel & Hardy have in common? They all achieved stardom in twenty-minute shorts-known as two-reelers-that delighted moviegoers long before television gave these films a new lease on life. Leonard Maltin documents the great series as well as the forgotten ones, peppering his ground-breaking research with first-hand accounts from the people who made these mini-movies. Here is a window into the vast world of "extra added attractions" that were a vital part of Hollywood's golden age. The cast of characters includes Mack Sennett, Hal Roach, W.C. Fields, Jack Benny, Robert Benchley, and many others...with spotlights on such popular titles as Crime Does Not Pay and John Nesbitt's Passing Parade (which turn up regularly on Turner Classic Movies). Maltin's definitive filmographies have been updated with new cast information for this e-book edition, which also features a newly-written introduction.