Reviews of silent film releases on home video.
Copyright © 1999-2025 by Carl Bennett
and the Silent Era Company.
All Rights Reserved. |
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Wandering Papas
(1926)
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This short comedy, directed by Stan Laurel, stars Clyde Cook and Sue O’Neill, with Adolph Milar, Oliver Hardy, Tyler Brooke and Sammy Brooks.
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 Flicker Alley
2021 Blu-ray Disc edition
Laurel or Hardy: Early Solo Films of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy (1914-1926), black & white, 590 minutes total, not rated, including Wandering Papas (1926), black & white, 20 minutes, not rated.
Flicker Alley, FA0073, UPC 6-17311-68739-6.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Regions ABC Blu-ray Disc (two BDs in the set); 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in pillarboxed 16:9 (1920 x 1080 pixels) 24 fps progressive scan image encoded in SDR AVC format at ? Mbps average video bit rate; DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 864 Mbps average audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; 2 chapter stops; 32-page insert booklet; standard two-disc BD keepcase; $49.95.
Release date: 29 January 2021.
Country of origin: USA
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This Blu-ray Disc edition has been mastered from 2K high definition scans of archival film elements.
The film is accompanied by a music score composed and performed on piano by Antonio Coppola.
Supplemental material includes an image gallery featuring photographs from the Library of Congress collections; and a 32-page insert booklet with film notes from film historian Rob Stone, as well as notes on the restorations from Lobster Film’s Serge Bromberg.
This is our recommended home video edition of this film.
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This
Regions ABC Blu-ray Disc edition is available directly from . . .
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 Hal Roach Studios
2000 DVD edition
The Lost Films of Laurel and Hardy, The Complete Collection, Volume Nine (1926-1928), black & white, color-tinted black & white and color-toned black & white, 120 minutes total, not rated, including Wandering Papas (1926), color-tinted black & white, 21 minutes, not rated.
Hal Roach Studios, distributed by Image Entertainment,
HRS 4799, UPC 0-14381-47992-8.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at 4.8 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 mono sound encoded at 256 Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles (optional French intertitles for Why Girls Love Sailors), no subtitles; 6 chapter stops; snapper DVD case (reissued in standard DVD keepcase); $29.99.
Release date: 3 October 2000.
Country of origin: USA •
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This DVD edition has been mastered from source prints that range from 16mm to 8mm reduction prints with maybe a 35mm print tossed in there. Our hipshot opinion of the DVD is that some films look very good and others are passable at best. Some of these films look better in more recent home video editions.
This is our recommended DVD home video edition of the film.
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This Region 0 NTSC DVD edition has been discontinued
and is . . .
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 Alpha Video
2005 DVD edition
Early Silent Classics of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, Volume 1 (1922-1926), black & white, 101 minutes total, not rated, including Enough to Do [British title for Wandering Papas] (1926), black & white, ? minutes, not rated.
Alpha Home Entertainment, distributed by Oldies.com,
ALP 4679D, UPC 0-89218-46799-7.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R disc; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at ? Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to ? fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 mono sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no subtitles; 6 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $7.98 (raised again to $9.99).
Release date: 22 February 2005.
Country of origin: USA
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This DVD edition has been transferred from a very-good but contrasty 16mm reduction print. The print appears to end abruptly, as the storyline ending is unresolved.
The films are accompanied by a series of piano recordings of Scott Joplin songs (if memory serves and has correctly identified the recordings) by Joshua Rifkin.
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This
Region 0 NTSC DVD-R edition is available from
ALPHA VIDEO through . . .
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Other silent era OLIVER HARDY films available on home video.
Other silent era CHARLEY CHASE films available on home video.
Other SHORT COMEDY FILMS of the silent era available on home video.
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