Slapsticon is a four-day film festival of rarely seen comedies from the silent and early sound eras, held at Arlington VA every July. This year’s festival takes place 15-18 July at Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre, Arlington, and the programme has just been announced:

Thursday July 15, 2010
12:00 pm — Spectrum Doors Open

1:00 pm

* The Great Radio Comedians (1971)

3:00 pm — Weiss-O-Roni II

* Thick and Thin (1929) — Snub Pollard, Marvin Loback
* Taking the Count (1929) — Ben Turpin, Leo White
* Deaf, Dumb and Blonde (1928) — Poodles Hanneford
* Dizzie Daze (1928) — Jimmy Aubrey

5:00 pm — Dinner Break

7:00 pm — Abbott and Costello Rarities, including Africa Screams (1949) in 35mm

9:00 pm

* The Covered Schooner (1923) — Monty Banks
* Too Many Kisses (1925) — Richard Dix, Harpo Marx

Friday July 16, 2010
8:00 am — Spectrum Doors Open

9:00 am — Early Comedies:

* Medium Wanted as Son-In-Law (1908) — Pathé Comedy
* Miss Stickie Moufie Kiss (1914) — Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Drew
* Cruel and Unusual (1915) — Musty Suffer
* Poor Policy (1914) — Billie Ritchie, Henry Bergman
* Mishaps of Musty Suffer: Going Up (1916) — Harry Watson Jr.
* The Feudists (1913) — John Bunny, Sidney Drew
* Lizzy’s Dissy Career (1915) — Neal Burns, Victoria Forde
* Goodnight Nurse (1916) — Neal Burns
* Ham at the Garbage Gentlemen’s Ball (1915) — Ham and Bud

11:00 am — Kids ‘N’ Animals

* Ladies’ Pets (1921) — Snooky the Humanzee
* Dad’s Boy (1923) — Buddy Messinger
* The Knockout (1926) — Dippy Do Dads
* Buster’s Picnic (1927) — Buster Brown
* The Smile Wins (1928) — Our Gang

12:30 pm — Lunch Break

2:00pm — The Sennett Spot

* Shot in the Excitement (1914) — Al St. John, Alice Howell
* Don’t Weaken (1920) — Ford Sterling, Charlie Murray
* The Funnymooners (1925) — Ralph Graves
* Ice Cold Cocos (1926) — Billy Bevan, Andy Clyde
* The Bluffer (1930) — Andy Clyde
* Courtin’ Trouble (1932) — Charlie Murray, Arthur Stone

4:00 pm — Rob Stone Rarities

6:00 pm — Dinner Break

8:00 pm

* The Round-Up (1920) — Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle
* Pop Tuttle’s Movie Queen (1922) — Dan Mason

10:00 pm

* Horse Shy (1927) — Edward Everett Horton
* Wide Open (1930) — Edward Everett Horton

Saturday July 17, 2010
8:00am — Spectrum Doors Open

9:00 am — Cartoon Show

10:30 am — Hal Roach Comedies

* Peculiar Patient’s Pranks (1915) — Harold Lloyd
* Pardon Me (1921) — Snub Pollard
* Shoot Straight (1923) — Paul Parrott
* Cuckoo Love (1927) — Glenn Tryon, Chester Conklin
* Fallen Arches (1933) — Charley Chase
* Taxi Barons (1933) — Taxi Boys

12:30 pm — Lunch Break

2:00 pm

* Modern Love (1929) — Charley Chase
* South of the Boudoir (1940) — Charley Chase

4:00 pm

* You Made Me Love You (1934) — Stanley Lupino, Thelma Todd

6:00 pm &nmash; Dinner Break

8:00 pm

* The Caveman (1926) — Marie Prevost, Tom Moore

10:00 pm — Talkie Shorts

* Fireproof (1929) — Lupino Lane
* Dangerous Youth (1930) — Daphne Pollard
* Gents of Leisure (1931) — Chester Conklin, Vernon Dent
* Old Sawbones (1935) — Andy Clyde

Sunday July 18, 2010
9:00 am — Spectrum Doors Open

10:00 am — More Talkie Shorts

* Honeymoon Trio (1932) — Al St. John, Walter Catlett
* In a Pig’s Eye (1934) — Clark and McCullough
* I Don’t Remember (1935) — Harry Langdon
* Down the Ribber (1936) — Leon Errol
* Teacher’s Pest (1939) — Charley Chase

12:00pm — Lunch Break

1:30 pm

* Luck (1923) — Johnny Hines
* Broken China (1927) — Bobby Vernon
* A Briny Boob (1926) — Billy Dooley

3:30 pm — Ones for the Road

* Papa’s Boy (1928) — Lloyd Hamilton
* Drama Deluxe (1927) — Lupino Lane
* Fluttering Hearts (1927) — Charley Chase

Ah, what joyous things silent and early sound comedies are by their names alone. There’s all the information need on location, accommodation, and registration on the festival site. And, as final temptation, a little bird tells me that those attending may very well be able to see something “that will add a new title to the Charlie Chaplin filmography”. Intriguing.