Robert Benchley's Hollywood Short Subjects (2025)

NEWS! At last, this collection is available on DVD (release date, February 21, 2006.)

Robert Benchley & The Knights of the Algonquin reviewed by Gordon Ernst, Director, Robert Benchley Society and author of Robert Benchley: An Annotated Bibliography --This collection contains the following Benchley shorts:

The WitnessThe Trouble with Husbands The Man's Angle
Crime ControlThe Sex Life of the PolypThe Treasurer's Report
With the exception of the last two, these titles are from Benchley's later work at Paramount. The picture quality of the shorts is generally good, although some of them were transferred from re-issue prints, and so lack the original titles. The two shorts from 1928 are interesting for their historical significance (and for preserving two of Benchley's best known routines), but the print for The Treasurer's Report has specks of lint in it which obscure the picture for at least half of its 10 minute running time. The video also contains the shorts Traffic Control and Humorous Flights by Donald Ogden Stewart; and Mr. W's Little Game by Alexander Woollcott.Almost as welcome as a shaker full of martinis, The Complete Thin Man Collection represents an eagerly awaited DVD milestone for fans of the fizzy MGM movie series. The best film in the series came first: The Thin Man (1934), W.S. Van Dyke's marvelous adaptation of a Dashiell Hammet novel. The movie gods were in a generous mood when they paired William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, the upper-class sophisticates whose sleuthing escapades somehow joined the classic form of the whodunit with the giddyup of screwball comedy. Contains seven films on five DVDs: A Night at The Opera, A Day at The Races, A Night in Casablanca, Room Service, At the Circus, Go West, The Big Store

Extras:

  • Commentary by Leonard Maltin on A Night at the Opera
  • Commentary by "The Marx Brothers Encyclopedia" Author Glenn Mitchell on A Day at the Races
  • All-New Documentaries "Remarks On Marx," "On Your Marx, Get Set, Go!"
  • The Hy Gardner Show (1/1/61) excerpt featuring Groucho Marx
  • Vintage Shorts:
  • "Fitzpatrick Traveltalk's Los Angeles: Wonder City Of The World"
  • "Sunday Night At The Trocadero"
  • Robert Benchley's Academy Award-Winning "How To Sleep"
  • "Pete Smith Specialty Quicker 'N A Wink"
  • "Flicker Memories"
  • Joe McDoakes's "So You Think You're A Nervous Wreck"
  • "Fitzpatrick Traveltalk Cavalcade Of San Francisco"
  • Robert Benchley's "A Night At The Movies"
  • MGM Cartoons: "Gallopin' Gals," "Mama's New Hat," "Jitterbug Follies," "Old Smokey," "Officer Pooch," and "The Milky Way"
  • Looney Tunes Cartoons: "The Daffy Doc" and "Acrobatty Bunny"
  • Our Gang Comedy Shorts: "Party Fever" and "Dog Daze"
  • Audio-Only: Musical Outtake A Message From The Man In The Moon (performed by Allan Jones), "Where There's Music," and an MGM Radio Promos "Leo Is On The Air"
  • Theatrical Trailers
  • Re-creating the role she originated in Philip Barry's wickedly witty Broadway play, Katharine Hepburn stars as the spoiled and snobby socialite Tracy Lord in this sparkling 1940 screen adaptation of The Philadelphia Story, one of the great romantic comedies from the golden age of MGM studios.

    DVD Features Disk 1:

  • Digitally Remastered Movie with Commentary by Film Historian Jeannine Basinger
  • George Cukor Movie Trailer Gallery
    DVD Features Disk 2:
  • Two Insightful Documentaries About the Star and Director: Katharine Hepburn: All About Me - A Self-Portrait and The Men Who Made the Movies: George Cukor
  • Robert Benchley Short "That Inferior Feeling"
  • Cartoon The Homeless Flea
  • Audio-Only Bonus: Two Radio Adaptations Featuring the Movie's Three Stars.
  • Cary Grant and Irene Dunne, in a world of marital confusion. Presuming his wife to be dead, Grant remarries--on the same day that his bedraggled spouse (that's Dunne) returns.

    DVD Features:

  • All new digital transfer
  • Radio production starring Cary Grant and Irene Dunne
  • Robert Benchley's short subject "Home Movies"
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • Complete Listing of Benchley's "Short Subjects"

    EC*TitleYearStudioDirecting byWriting byActing byNotesF1Boogie Woogie1945ParamountNoel MadisonRay E. SpencerRobert Benchley, Roland Dupree, Darryl Hickman, Frank Cook, Jerry James, John Kelly, Frank Faylen, Carmella Bergstrom, Barbara Matthews, Ann ShoemakerColorF2Courtship of the Newt, The1938M-G-MRoy RowlandRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley
    ---
    F3Crime Control1941ParamountLeslie M. RoushRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley, Ruth Lee
    ---
    F4Dark Magic1939M-G-MRoy Rowland
    ---
    Robert Benchley, John Scarne
    ---
    F5Day of Rest1939M-G-MBasil Wrangell
    ---
    Robert Benchley
    ---
    F6Evening Alone, An1938M-G-MRoy RowlandRobert Lees and Frederic I. RinaldoRobert Benchley
    ---
    F7Forgotten Man, The1941ParamountLeslie M. Roush
    ---
    Robert Benchley, Ruth Lee
    ---
    F8Furnace Trouble1929FoxJames ParrottRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley
    ---
    F9Hollywood Victory Caravan1945ParamountWilliam Russell
    ---
    Robert Benchley et al.
    ---
    F10Home Early1939M-G-MRoy Rowland
    ---
    Robert Benchley
    ---
    F11Home Movies1940M-G-MBasil Wrangell
    ---
    Robert Benchley et al.
    ---
    F12Hour for Lunch, An1938M-G-MRoy RowlandRobert Lees and Frederic I. RinaldoRobert Benchley
    ---
    F13How to be a Detective1936M-G-MFelix E. FeistRobert Lees and Frederic I. RinaldoRobert Benchley
    ---
    F14How to Behave1936M-G-MArthur RipleyRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley
    ---
    F15How to Break 90 at Croquet1935RKOLeigh JasonRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley
    ---
    F16How to Eat1939M-G-MRoy RowlandRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley
    ---
    F17How to Figure Income Tax1938M-G-MRoy RowlandRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley
    ---
    F18How to Raise a Baby1938M-G-MRoy RowlandRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley, Ricardo Cezon, Paul Clark, Robbie and Rolly Jones
    ---
    F19How to Read1938M-G-MRoy RowlandRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley
    ---
    F20How to Sleep1935M-G-MNick GrindeRobert BenchleyRobert BenchleyAcademy Award WinnerF21How to Start the Day1937M-G-MRoy RowlandRobert Lees and Frederic I. RinaldoRobert Benchley
    ---
    F22How to Sub-Let1939M-G-MRoy RowlandRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley
    ---
    F23How to Take a Vacation1941ParamountLeslie M. RoushRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley, Ruth Lee
    ---
    F24How to Train a Dog1936M-G-MArthur RipleyRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley
    ---
    F25How to Vote1936M-G-MFelix E. FeistRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley
    ---
    F26How to Watch Football1938M-G-MRoy RowlandRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley, Joyce Compton, John Butler, Eddie Acuff, Diane Cock
    ---
    F27I'm a Civilian Here Myself1945U.S. NavyHarry Joe Brown
    ---
    Robert Benchley
    ---
    F28Important Business1944M-G-MWill JasonRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley, Ruth Lee, Connie Gilchirst
    ---
    F29Keeping In Shape1942ParamountLeslie M. RoushRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley
    ---
    F30Lesson Number One1929FoxJames ParrottRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley
    ---
    F31Man's Angle, The1942ParamountLeslie M. RoushRobert Benchley Robert Benchley, Ruth Lee
    ---
    F32Mental Poise1938M-G-MRoy RowlandRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley, John Butler
    ---
    F33Music Made Simple1938M-G-MRoy RowlandRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley
    ---
    F34My Tomato1943M-G-MWill JasonPaul Girard SmithRobert Benchley, Ruth Lee, Monty Collins
    ---
    F35Night at the Movies, A1937M-G-MRoy RowlandRobert Lees and Frederic I. RinaldoRobert Benchley, Gwen Lee, Hal K. Dawson, Frank Sheridan, Jack Baxley, Ricardo CezonNominated for Academy AwardF36No News Is Good News1943M-G-MWill JasonRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley, Lon Poff
    ---
    F37Nothing But Nerves1942ParamountLeslie M. RoushRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley
    ---
    F38Opening Day1938M-G-MRoy RowlandRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley, Harlan Briggs, John Butler
    ---
    F39Romance of Digestion, The1937M-G-MFelix E. FeistRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley
    ---
    F40See Your Doctor1939M-G-MBasil WrangellRobert Benchley, Harry ParkeRobert Benchley, Hobart Cavanaugh, Monty Woolley, Helen MacKeller, Claire DuBrey
    ---
    F41Sex Life of the Polyp, The1928FoxThomas ChalmersRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley
    National Film Registry, Library of Congress - 2007
    F42Spellbinder, The1929FoxThomas Chalmers
    ---
    Robert Benchley
    ---
    F43Stewed, Fried and Boiled1929FoxJames ParrottRobert Benchley Robert Benchley, Sylvia Field, Virginia Sale, Edward Brady
    ---
    F44That Inferior Feeling1940M-G-MBasil WrangellRobert Benchley Robert Benchley, Mary Lee, John Butler, Jack Mulhall
    ---
    F45Treasurer's Report, The1928FoxThomas ChalmersRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley
    ---
    F46Trouble with Husbands, The1940ParamountLeslie M. RoushRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley, Ruth Lee
    ---
    F47Waiting for Baby1941ParamountLeslie M. Roush
    ---
    Robert Benchley
    ---
    F48Why Daddy?1944M-G-MWill JasonRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley, Ruth Lee, Fred Brady (Quiz Show Emcee), Richard Hall (Bobby)
    ---
    F49Witness, The1942ParamountLeslie M. RoushRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley, Ruth Lee
    ---
    F50Your Technocracy and Mine1933Universal
    ---
    Robert BenchleyRobert Benchley
    ---
    NOTE. "EC" is a reference to the code assigned each film in Robert Benchley, an Annotated Bibliography, by Gordon E. Ernst, Jr.

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