Product: MGM's The Big Parade of Comedy [VHS] (1963)
Rating: 3.0
All-star comedy cast makes this sampler worth watching
What "That's Entertainment" is to MGM musicals, this compilation is to MGM comedies. There are some great moments here: Laurel & Hardy, Buster Keaton, and Abbott & Costello are shown to best advantage in lengthy excerpts from their vintage features, and there are good gags from Pete Smith and Robert Benchley shorts. The Marx Brothers and Red Skelton scenes are taken from their less familiar appearances. Producer Robert Youngson tried to cram too much into the feature, so some of the clips are very short (you'll barely see The Three Stooges, Bert Lahr, Jimmy Durante, Lucille Ball, and others). Still, there is a surprising amount of material from a studio that wasn't strong on comedy, and movie buffs should enjoy this.