My Top 5 Charles Rogers Must-Watches
In celebration of his 138th birthday, today I'll be sharing what I feel are the top 5 must-watches starring, written by, or directed by Charles (Charlie/Charley Rogers). Some of these films are certainly more obscure than others that Rogers worked on, which is largely why I've chosen to draw special attention to them. I'd love to hear from fellow enthusiasts about their own favourite Rogers films too!
#5 A Hit With a Miss (1945)
This is a Columbia short starring the wonderful Shemp Howard, and a re-make of an earlier Three Stooges short, 'Punch Drunks' (1934).
Rogers stars here as Professor Periwinkle, who assists prize-fighter Ramses (Howard) at his fights by playing 'Pop Goes The Weasel' - a song which inexplicably sends him into strong and violent fits of rage. Rogers (along with the rest of the cast) gives a wonderfully funny performance in this film - and yet it's not one I see mentioned much when his filmography is being discussed. I'd definitely say it's worth a watch!
#4 Strange Innertube (1932)
This is a Taxi Boys short. As cab driver Hercules, Rogers definitely steals the show somewhat and has several great laughs throughout. It's something of a rarity to see Rogers play something akin to a lead in a Roach - and yet here he does it effortlessly and hilariously!
It makes it seem such a shame that what would have been his biggest Roach lead, Hopping Off, never had the chance to be seen beyond the studio walls - but more on that another time!
#3 Brewster's Millions (1945)
Brewster's Millions is definitely the most well-known of these films, and follows Montague L Brewster and his friends as he tries to desperately follow the bizarre conditions of his uncle's will - to spend $1 Million of his prospective $8 Million inheritance without keeping any assets, all before he turns 30 - which only gives him two months!
Brewster's Millions is also widely noted for offering, for its time, a relatively progressive depiction of black Americans with the character of Jackson, portrayed by the wonderful Eddie "Rochester" Anderson. So progressive was this depiction that it was actually banned in Memphis for containing what was disgustingly deemed as "too much social equality and racial mixing".
There are several adaptations of Brewster's, which was originally a novel by George Barr McCutcherton - the most recent being Brewster's Millions Christmas, which only came out last year!
The full film can be found on Youtube;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo3pPFFUkkU
#2 Babes in Toyland/March of the Wooden Soldiers (1934)
This one is, to many of our readers, a given classic.
Now considered by many to be a holiday-season staple, this is Laurel and Hardy's dearly beloved comedy adaptation of the 1903 Victor Herbert operetta Babes in Toyland.
Rogers not only co-directed the film, but also starred as Simple Simon. He can be glimpsed several times throughout the first half of the film, and as I've recently learned from Randy Skretvedt's wonderful book, March of the Wooden Soldiers: The Amazing Story of Laurel & Hardy's Babes in Toyland (1934), he was originally going to have a separate scene with the villainous Barnaby himself.
#1 Double Trouble (1941)
This is a film that I'd never heard of until my fellow A Lot of Fun Writers researcher/blogger and good friend Matthew Lydick showed me it a few years ago. It's the film that first made me fully aware of Rogers' skills as a comedic performer. This ultimately led me to become something of a Rogers fan, and even more ultimately a biographical researcher - and the rest is, as they say, history!
As well as Rogers, this film also stars Harry Langdon, whom Rogers had previously directed at Hal Roach Studios, as brothers Alf and Bert Prattle. If the names seem familiar to you, it's likely because Stan and Ollie's twins in the 1936 Laurel and Hardy film Our Relations, written by Rogers and Langdon, share the same names.
Alf and Bert are both refugees fleeing from the Blitz in London - they're sent to New York to live with the upper-class Whitmore family, who own a bean cannery business. It's an utterly delightful and whimsical watch, which I'm sure fans of Langdon and Rogers alike are sure to enjoy - it also has a sequel, House of Errors (1942)!
The full film has kindly been uploaded to Youtube by the Harry Langdon Archive;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRr1JrKJImg
And just to round up...
On the anniversary of his birth, I'd just like to say a huge thanks to all of you for sharing and expressing your enthusiasm for Rogers and his work. We've heard so many lovely things from so many people about how refreshing and surprising it is to learn so much more about him, especially given just how fascinating much of his life was. I never would have guessed just how much there was to uncover - and I'm still finding myself uncovering more and more! I'm looking forward to sharing more of the Rogers story with all of you - and trust me when I say some of it is stuff you would never have expected!
Thank you again to all of you fellow Rogers, Roach, and Laurel and Hardy enthusiasts for your support - not only for this research, but for our blog as a whole. And thank you especially to my dear friend and fellow researcher Matthew Lydick, without whom none of this research would have started or been possible, and who has helped out hugely along the way with his own Rogers and wider Roach research and knowledge.
And perhaps most importantly - HAPPY 138th BIRTHDAY, CHARLIE!
Written by Holly Foskett :)
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