Month: May 2025

The Sound of Laughter – download the programme notes

Next Saturday, the Kennington Bioscope’s event The Sound of Laughter takes place at London’s Cinema Museum.

It’s an all day celebration of 1930s comedy, everything from Laurel & Hardy, the Marx Brothers and W.C. Fields to Clark & McCullough, Charley Chase, Thelma Todd, Harry Sweet,  Robert Benchley, Harry Langdon and more! There’s also a spotlight on sound films of the silent comedians, with a complete screening of Buster Keaton’s wonderful French film LE ROI DES CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES, and the classic British farce comedy ROOKERY NOOK – shown on 35mm.

The programme notes are now available for download at the bottom of this post – 12 pages of info written by Glenn Mitchell, Mark Newell and yours truly. Some bonus reading if you’ve finished reading issue 15 of The Lost Laugh by now!

The full programme for The Sound of Laughter is online here: http://www.cinemamuseum.org.uk/2025/kennington-bioscope-presents-the-sound-of-laughter/

For those tempted to join us, there are still some tickets available, a steal at £21 for an all day pass / Afternoon and evening pass £16 / Evening pass £8. You can also book dinner (£12) at the Cafe Jamyang, next door to the Museum. Tickets and dinner bookable here.

The Sound of Laughter – programme notesDownload

Issue 15 of THE LOST LAUGH magazine is out now!

Well, it’s been a while, but the new issue is done.

At 60 pages, this is the longest one yet, and I’m proud to feature some fantastic guest contributors this time. Syd Chaplin’s biographer Lisa Stein Haven has provided some great insights into our cover star, as well as his more famous little brother… There are also some details on the newly restored Syd feature, Oh! What a Nurse!.

I’m absolutely thrilled to be able to publish an exclusive excerpt from Steve Massa’s new book about Harold Lloyd’s Lonesome Luke films, and the early years of the Hal Roach studios – available soon from Split-Reel. There’s also a very informative Q & A with Steve about the new book.

There are also articles about Jerry Drew, Marion Byron, Monty Banks and a piece about gagman extraordinaire Charles Rogers, by Holly Foskett and Matthew Lydick from A Lot of Fun Writers. Plus, a transcript of an interview with Al St John, film and BluRay reviews and lots more.

You can download the magazine below:

The Lost Laugh #15 to publishDownload

I really hope you enjoy this issue. I hope it won’t take as long for #16 to come along! If you’d like to contribute an article, plug a project you’re working on, or take part in a Q & A for the next issue, please do get in touch – either in the comments section here, or by emailing movienightmag [AT] gmail.com

And finally… The magazine is totally free. However if, you do enjoy reading the issues and would like to make a donation to support site running costs, software etc then these would be gratefully received! If you would like to donate, you can buy me a coffee on Ko-Fi. Thanks!