So, I’m getting married in a few weeks, yay me. The wedding is at a movie theatre from 1929 and the whole thing is intended be Jazz Age / Art Deco themed. It’s coming together nicely, but the one aspect we’re having trouble with is films. Since it’s going to be in theatre, we’d love to be able to show some period-appropriate movies, but my knowledge is a little limited and I’d love recommendations.
Specifically, we need two things: some sort of comedy short that we can show before the ceremony, and a feature that we’ll have playing after dinner while there’s music and dancing in the lobby.
For the short, we’re really at a loss. We’d love to find something 10-20 minutes in length that’s funny and hopefully a little romantic. Sound might be preferable, but a silent would be fine as long as it’s something that could keep an audience entertained. Availability on DVD (or BRD) is also pretty much a must, and a decently-mastered DVD that won’t look too lousy blown up on a big screen would be great.
For the full-length, it needs to be silent since we don’t want the audio competing with the band’s. We’re leaning towards Metropolis, since it’s classic, visually amazing, the right length, and is available on DVD with excellently remastered. Thief of Baghdad is also under consideration, but we’re open to other suggestions.
Probably the greatest wedding comedy of all time is the brilliant French silent film The Italian Straw Hat. The entire film is a sly and subversive comedy of errors (large and small) about a poor bridegroom who’s caught up in some hilarious hijinks on his wedding day while navigating both families, the ceremony, and the reception. It really is wonderful.
Seven Chances is also a brilliant film, but there are a couple of scenes in the first half that would be seen as racially insensitive (involving blackface). If you want something light and funny in the background, The General or Our Hospitality would be better (the latter is on the same DVD as Sherlock, Jr..
Harold Lloyd is also a wonderful choice–The Kid Brother, The Freshman or Safety Last are all wonderful. Or, you can’t go wrong with Chaplin’s The Gold Rush.
For the short, if you don’t mind keeping funny but dispensing with romantic, Laurel and Hardy’s Me and My Pal (a 20-minute sound short from 1933) is the perfect choice.
Ollie is due to seal his future by marrying the great oil magnate Peter Cucumber’s daughter, but Stan (his best man) brings him a jigsaw puzzle as a wedding gift an hour before they’re to depart for the wedding.
The two of them, plus the butler, a cab driver and a cop get so caught up in putting it together that they never make it to the wedding, and by the end, er, mayhem ensues as Ollie’s father-in-law not to be (the redoubtable James Finlayson) arrives to see what the hold-up is.
You can get it on DVD here, though I can’t vouch for the quality as I don’t own any of this series. As a bonus, this set also has Thicker Than Water, Laurel and Hardy’s final sound short from 1935, which would give everyone a peek at the “domestic bliss” to come!
Watched “One Week”…it’s pretty much perfect. Entertaining, era-appropriate, and I’m a fan of Keaton. Now I just have to find the best-quality version I can.