Grill Room Express (Mutt & Jeff), on the Bowers DVD set Options

[Dinky D. Doodle]

I was wondering if anyone else has seen the Mutt & Jeff short entitled Grill Room Express. This short is on the Charley Bowers DVD set which is currently being sold.
This title (If I'm correct) was simply translated from the French (?) title.
Does anyone know if this short has an alternate American title? I can't find it in any filmography, but "The Merry Cafe" sound appropriate.

[Ray Pointer]

What Charlie Bowers DVD set? Who is doing this?

[mark mayerson]

Ray, go to http://www.image-entertainment.com and do a search for Bowers.

From what I understand, the original of this was done by Lobster Films in
France and Image did the region 1 DVD version.

[Dinky D. Doodle]

Ray, go to http://www.image-entertainment.com and do a search for Bowers.

From what I understand, the original of this was done by Lobster Films in
France and Image did the region 1 DVD version.

Correct.

Some familiar titles on the DVDs are "It's a Bird" and "AWOL"
It also has an interesting intro in French (with English subtitles) about how the founder of the French archive came across the first of the Bowers films circa 1960.

I got my set at FYE for $26.99

[Ray Pointer]

It is not clear that this DVD contains a MUTT AND JEFF cartoon. Frankly, don't hold your breath. From the cover, it appears that it may contain some of his stop motion work.
Fleischer Studios bought one of his films, MOM AND POP IN WILD OYSTERS to fill their "Animated Antics" series contract for Paramount in 1940.

The fact that Image Entertainment produced this is all the more interesting and puzzling considering a recent disccusion I had with one of their sales reps. He told me that they do not sell a tremendous volume of silent subjects other than well known titles such as METROPOLIS and NOSFERATU. Based on this, he gave me a negative reaction to my product, which included eight different titles. He did idicate some restrained interest in picking up my OUT OF THE INKWELL DVDs, however. The odd thing is that he would only offer me $2500 for $20,000 of inventory. And THIS is a major distributor capable of selling thousands of units?

There are more people who know who Max Fleischer is than Charles Bowers. Yet Image is willing to take a chance on a DVD on someone who is rather obscure to anyone other than film collectors and fans of a limited circle. So as the saying goes, "go figure!"

[rex racer]

I was wondering if anyone else has seen the Mutt & Jeff short entitled Grill Room Express. This short is on the Charley Bowers DVD set which is currently being sold.
This title (If I'm correct) was simply translated from the French (?) title.
Does anyone know if this short has an alternate American title? I can't find it in any filmography, but "The Merry Cafe" sound appropriate.

Tom, I think "Grill Room Express" and "The Merry Cafe" could be one and the same. I'm currently writing an article for the website I contribute to on Bowers right now, with some stills lifted from this DVD. Bowers appears to have been a fairly accomplished pen and ink artist judging by the two hand drawn animation films which appear here. The problem is we don't know if he really animated them or if it was another staff member. It's been quite a challenge to gather all the snippets of information available about this animator/ film producer, and even more difficult to discern what is fact, or simply opinion. Bowers did not work for the major studios for the most part, so there is little in the way of exisitng public record, save news articles, or a rare interview with another animator from the era. When he passed away in 1946, he left no survivors, save his wife.

[Ray Pointer]

"Animation Films"? Hmmm..new term for what already exists? "Animations," yet?

[Dinky D. Doodle]

It is not clear that this DVD contains a MUTT AND JEFF cartoon. Frankly, don't hold your breath.

Ray, it in fact has several comedies which incorporated stop motion into them, as well as the two cited animated films above. It does not mention this on the sleeve, however it lists them simply by title on the insert.

[Ray Pointer]

I am still puzzled that Image would go to this trouble for this subejct matter. I would be curious to hear how many people in this forum have ever heard about Bowers beyond about 10 or 12 people here?

[Sourpuss]

I am still puzzled that Image would go to this trouble for this subejct matter. I would be curious to hear how many people in this forum have ever heard about Bowers beyond about 10 or 12 people here?

I've been a Charley Bowers fan ever since I first saw his only starring talkie, "It's A Bird" on the old PBS Matinee At the Bijou show back in the early 80s. It's great that Bowers is finally getting his due. This material certainly proves his worth next to O'Brien and Harryhausen. And he's a pretty good comic to boot.

As for Bowers doing his own pen-and-ink animation, I believe that AWOL is almost entirely his own work. It's curious that AWOL is drawn letter-perfect in the style of Al Smith, Mutt and Jeff's creator. I'd love some background on that one...

[Dinky D. Doodle]

I am still puzzled that Image would go to this trouble for this subejct matter.  I would be curious to hear how many people in this forum have ever heard about Bowers beyond about 10 or 12 people here?

I've been a Charley Bowers fan ever since I first saw his only starring talkie, "It's A Bird" on the old PBS Matinee At the Bijou show back in the early 80s. It's great that Bowers is finally getting his due. This material certainly proves his worth next to O'Brien and Harryhausen. And he's a pretty good comic to boot.

As for Bowers doing his own pen-and-ink animation, I believe that AWOL is almost entirely his own work. It's curious that AWOL is drawn letter-perfect in the style of Al Smith, Mutt and Jeff's creator. I'd love some background on that one...

If you notice, Bowers did AWOL and worked on Mutt & Jeff as well. So, I'm guessing the letter-perfect influence came from the man you mentioned while he was working on Mutt & Jeff.

[Ray Pointer]

You might be overlooking Raoul Barre.

[Dinky D. Doodle]

You might be overlooking Raoul Barre.

Yes, Barre might have had a strong influence on Bowers; also working on Mutt & Jeff.
I do wonder; will we ever know for sure the answers to these obscure questions?
Well, what can we do...there are not many records.

[JDWeil]

There's another Mutt & Jeff mystery that might bear looking into. The title of this film is [/I]Alpine Antics and the release date is 1917. This is the film in which the law of gravity was repealed. The story goes this way: The sequencw showed Mutt and Jeff climbing a mountain. Jeff ascended the mountain while Mutt leaned back on handrail to watch his progress. What happened was this. The cameraman forgot to place the cel with handrail into the picture so it looked like Mutt leaning against thin air. Roual Barre was not especially amuse by the gafffe but the rest of the crew laughed it up to see such a sight and this started a new trend. Ans that's that's the story. So what's wrong with this picture?
For one thing I can't find any reference to Alpine Antics[I] in the Mutt & Jeff listings (or anywhere else for that matter) Was this film actually made? Or is it just another urban legend that should be buried? To be sure, there are some gaps in the Mutt & Jeff filmography but 1917 is all accounted for. Sure would like to know.

[JDWeil]

There's another Mutt & Jeff mystery that might bear looking into. The title of this film is Alpine Antics/I] and the release date is 1917. This is the film in which the law of gravity was repealed. The story goes this way: The sequencw showed Mutt and Jeff climbing a mountain. Jeff ascended the mountain while Mutt leaned back on handrail to watch his progress. What happened was this. The cameraman forgot to place the cel with handrail into the picture so it looked like Mutt leaning against thin air. Roual Barre was not especially amuse by the gafffe but the rest of the crew laughed it up to see such a sight and this started a new trend. Ans that's that's the story. So what's wrong with this picture?
For one thing I can't find any reference to [I]Alpine Antics in the Mutt & Jeff listings (or anywhere else for that matter) Was this film actually made? Or is it just another urban legend that should be buried? To be sure, there are some gaps in the Mutt & Jeff filmography but 1917 is all accounted for. Sure would like to know.