Bobby Burns in 1920?

[Rob Stone]

Who was Bobby Burns making movies for in 1920? We have an unidentified Burns comedy that I thought was a latter day Vim comedy.... the door on the doctor's office says something like "LOT A. VIM". However a close look at the license on the car shows a 1920 NEW JERSEY plate, obviously eliminating Vim.

Any ideas?

Rob

[Richard M Roberts]

Who was Bobby Burns making movies for in 1920? We have an unidentified Burns comedy that I thought was a latter day Vim comedy.... the door on the doctor's office says something like "LOT A. VIM". However a close look at the license on the car shows a 1920 NEW JERSEY plate, obviously eliminating Vim.

Any ideas?

Rob

Well, it could be a Cuckoo comedy, but I think those were done in Florida. Burns did a series of King Cole Comedies that were independents released by National in 1922, but who knows when they were filmed or where.

RICHARD M ROBERTS

[Steve Massa]

Hi guys
The 8/6/1922 Film Daily list five King Cole Comedies with Bobby Burns (MOONSHINERS 3/1, STRIKES TO SPARE 4/1, BARS AND STRIPES 5/1, JAZZ BABIES 6/1 and GENERAL NUISANCE 7/1), which were produced by Mark Dintenfass and distributed by National. Sadly there's no info about where they were made. Dintenfass had produced Burns earlier Cuckoo Comedies (of which we saw STARTING OUT IN LIFE at Slapsticon), so I guess it's possible that these were left over Cuckoos that finally got released.

There was an earlier series of King Cole Comedies (1919 - 1920) that starred Sammy Burns and Marion Warner, that were made in Staten Island, NY. These were produced by the Motion Picture Producing Company of America, but it doesn't seem that there's any connection between the two series.

Steve

[Frank Flood]

Bobby Burns appeared in some of the Sun-Lite Comedies, which were produced by Shiller Productions, Inc. and released by Reelcraft in 1921 or thereabouts. The titles I have are BUNGALOW LOVE (with Al Alt), DON’T MARRY (or maybe DON’T MARY; I've seen it both ways), THE BROWN DERBY (with Billy Quirk) and AN EASTERN BREEZE (with Billy Quirk). The Shiller / Reelcraft comedies were produced at the Mittenthal studios in Yonkers, New York. So, I would guess that Rob Stone's film is one of these Sun-Lites.

Frank

[Steve Massa]

The Shiller's home base was in Yonkers at the Mittenthal Studio. The Bud Duncan and Tweedy (Marcel Perez) comedies were made there, but the Sun-Lite Comedies with Billy Quirk, Jobyna Ralston and Bobby Burn were shot in Florida.

Steve

[Frank Flood]

Oh, well. Except for being wrong, it was a good theory.

Frank

[Steve Massa]

Frank, don't despair - your instincts were correct!! While digging around I've found an item that shows that by the end of 1921 Burns had joined the Aladdin unit on the East Coast. This is from the 11/12/1921 Moving Picture World (pg. 191):

"ANOTHER SERIES FOR REELCRAFT
R.C.Cropper, president of Reelcraft Pictures Corporation, announces a new series of two-reel comedies featuring a well-known comedian will soon be added to his company's schedule; also that the latest of the single reel Aladdin comedies, "Dry Water," will have several of the Reelcraft stars in the cast, including Bobby Burns, Billy Gilbert and Billy Moran. The picture is said to be out of the ordinary for a single reeler, and shows several shots of races at a country fair taken from an airplane.

The newest Tweedy Comedy is entitled "Moving." It is the ninth of the series."

Rob, are there any aerial shots of country fair races in your film? (probably a million to one chance)

Steve