Let George Do It (film series)

Let George Do It was a series of two-reeler American silent comedy films produced in the latter half of the 1920s.

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The films (40 in all) were based on the comic strip Let George Do It, which was written and drawn by George McManus (who later created the more famous strip Bringing Up Father).[1][2][3] The series was produced by the Stern Brothers (Julius Stern and Abe Stern)[1] and was one of many silent comedy series issued by Universal Pictures.

Syd Saylor starred as George in all of the films. His supporting players included Thelma Daniels,[4] Jean Doree,[5] Dorothy Gulliver,[6] Colin Chase,[6] Dorothy Coburn,[7] Harry Martell,[7] Derelys Perdue,[8] Marie D'Arcy,[8] Betty Walsh,[9] and Lorima Clark.[9]

The New York Times, in a 1927 review of one of the shorts (on the bill with the feature The Callahans and the Murphys at the Capitol Theatre), described it as a "comedy of the conventional kind" which "gets its share of laughs".[10] Raymond Ganly, in Motion Picture News, wrote that Television George "contains some good fun patterned after the usual 'dumb' comedy style of its star, Syd Saylor" and "releases a high proportion of merriment".[11]

Films in the series

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  • George The Winner (1926),[4] directed by Francis Corby[12]
  • Why George! (1926)
  • George's in Love (1926)
  • And George Did! (1926), directed by Scott Pembroke[6]
  • By George (1927)
  • George Runs Wild (1927)
  • Backward George (1927)
  • George Leaves Home (1927)
  • Kid George (1927), directed by Francis Corby[13]
  • George's Many Loves (1927)
  • On Furlough (1927) [5] directed by Sam Newfield[14]
  • Oh, Taxi! (1927), directed by Francis Corby[15]
  • Rushing Business (1927)
  • George Steps Out (1927)
  • Picking On George (1927), directed by George Meins[16]
  • The Disordered Orderly (1927),[5] directed by Gus Meins and Sam Newfield[17]
  • On Deck (1927),[5] directed by Sam Newfield[18]
  • Model George (1927)
  • High Flyin' George (1928)
  • Man of Letters (1928)
  • George's False Alarm (1928), directed by Sam Newfield[19][20]
  • Watch, George! (1928)
  • When George Hops (1928)
  • Sailor George (1928), directed by Sam Newfield[19]
  • George's School Daze (1928), directed by Sam Newfield[19]
  • George Meets George (1928)
  • Big Game George (1928)
  • She's My Girl (1928)
  • Rubbernecks (1928), directed by Gus Meins
Antics at a restaurant with George and Pal making flapjacks and later posing as detectives in a hotel.[citation needed]
  • Look Pleasant (1928)
  • The Cross Country Bunion Race (1928)
  • All For Geraldine (1928), directed by Gus Meins[7]
  • Sailor Suits (1929), directed by Gus Meins[21]
  • Crushed Hats (1929), directed by Gus Meins[22]
  • Television George (1929), directed by Francis Corby[23][24]
This film posits a world where television is practicable. George carries on with girls in a television broadcasting studio, unaware that his wife is seeing this on her receiving set. Hijinks ensue.[11]
  • Seeing Sights (1929), directed by Gus Meins[9]
  • Private Business (1929), directed by Gus Meins[25]
  • Close Shaves (1929), directed by Francis Corby[26]
  • Hot Puppies (1929), directed by Gus Meins[8]
  • Fly Cops (1929), directed by Francis Corby[27]
  • The Cut-Ups (1929), directed by Francis Corby[27]
Henry thinks he has inherited a million and George decides to pose as a butler to impress his girl and her many relatives.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ a b Trav S.D. (Donald Travis Stewart) (March 18, 2018). "Sunday Funnies: 2 Dozen Comic Strips That Became Silent Comedy Films". Travalanche. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  2. ^ Fanning, Charles. "George McManus and Irish America". ImageTexT: Interdisciplinary Comics Studies. 7 (2). Department of English, University of Florida. ISSN 1549-6732. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  3. ^ "George McManus". Lileks. Archived from the original on April 8, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Massa, Steve (2017). Slapstick Divas: The Women of Silent Comedy. BearManor Media. p. 1910. ISBN 978-1629331324. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d Massa, page 1925
  6. ^ a b c And George Did It! at IMDb  
  7. ^ a b c All For Geraldine at IMDb  
  8. ^ a b c Hot Puppies at IMDb  
  9. ^ a b c Seeing Sights at IMDb  
  10. ^ "A Roughhouse Comedy". New York Times. July 12, 1927. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  11. ^ a b Raymond Ganly (April–June 1929). "Television George". Motion Picture News. Media History Digital Library and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Communication Arts. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  12. ^ George The Winner at IMDb  
  13. ^ Kid George at IMDb  
  14. ^ On Furlough at IMDb  
  15. ^ Oh Taxi! at IMDb  
  16. ^ Picking On George at IMDb  
  17. ^ The Disordered Orderly at IMDb  
  18. ^ On Deck at IMDb  
  19. ^ a b c Dixon, Wheeler Winston (2013). Cinema at the Margins. Anthem Press. p. 64. ISBN 9780857281869. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  20. ^ George's False Alarm at IMDb  
  21. ^ Sailor Suits at IMDb  
  22. ^ Crushed Hats at IMDb  
  23. ^ Koszarski, Richard; Galili, Doron (2016). "Television in the Cinema Before 1939: An International Annotated Database". Journal of e-Media Studies. 5 (1). Dartmouth College Library. doi:10.1349/PS1.1938-6060.A.471. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  24. ^ Television George at IMDb  
  25. ^ Private Business at IMDb  
  26. ^ Close Shaves at IMDb  
  27. ^ a b Library of Congress Copyright Office - Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 1, Group 3: Dramatic Compositions, Motion Pictures. Vol. 2. United States Government Printing Office. 1929. pp. 23–24. Retrieved May 22, 2020.