Welcome to ANOTHER NICE MESS. This website aims to cover review of films made by the Hal Roach Studios between 1914-1948;
as well as the individual films featuring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charley Chase and the Our Gang short films made for MGM.

This is not a fan-made, kiss-ass website. Reviews and opinions herein are my own and occasionally contain very negative remarks which some people may find offensive.

If you would like to make a small contribution to the site, this will be acknowledged with a personal reply and a credit on the site.



ON THIS DAY: APRIL 1


LATEST UPDATED/REVIEWED FILMS LATEST UPDATED/ADDED ACTORS
UPDATED RECENTLY
NUMBER OF MAILS, MESSAGES, FORUM NOTIFICATIONS AND UPDATES THAT HAVE BEEN SENT TO ME STILL AWAITING PUBLICATION AS OF APRIL 1ST: 17


APRIL 1
-Working on reviewing Harold Lloyd's Safety Last!, as it celebrates its 100th birthday today. Plenty of help and support for this one from my friends (Annette D'Agostino Lloyd, Richard W. Bann and many others), after I posted it on my Facebook page, and with lots of previously unlisted actors being discovered and added to the page listing (big thanks to Jesse for many of those). Was hoping to have it done by the end of the day but it is such a complex film to document. To view, write the summary, grab the screenshots, identify the actors... it's a huge task.
MARCH 31
-New film credit added for Alphonse Martell (2).
MARCH 30
-Added Matthew Betz to the site (and noted the IMDb have stolen my image for him, the bastards).
MARCH 29
-Image and information added for Billy Quirk. [Jim Jarvis]
MARCH 28
-New film credits found for Charlie Hall (179) and a first Roach film for Gary Cooper (1). **BOTH ARE SUBJECT TO ME DOUBLE-CHECKING**
-Added George Reed to the site.
-Added a full set of lobby cards, 2 posters, 3 stills and additional cast for Wife Tamers.
-Image and height added for James Horne Jr. [Jim Jarvis]
MARCH 27
-I now have images, birth & death dates and a small bio for Josephine Hilton courtesy of her great granddaughter who wrote to me and provided the necessary information. Trying to locate Josephine in the Harold Lloyd film she is credited for however, won't be as simple!
MARCH 26
-Whilst fixing the page (format and broken links) for Our Gang's Spanky, I have finally gone and removed the erroneous credit for Tommy Bond (after a lot of persuading), which now brings his total credits down to 21. Also added a credit for Clarence Howerton, which now takes his credits up to 2.
-Bio and page updates for Charles Williams and Frank Gage. [Jesse]
MARCH 25
-Reformatted the page and fixed all the links for Our Gang's School's Out.
-Added some missing screenshots from the films of Jackie Condon.
-Image and additional bio information added for King Lockwood. [Jesse]
MARCH 24
-Fixed the broken links and page structure for From Soup To Nuts.
-Updated the page for Mary Emery with image, autograph and screenshot.
-More cast identified from Laurel & Hardy's Double Whoopee, namely Robert Bolder, Eleanor Fredericks, Mary Emery and Betty Caldwell. [Jesse]
-Improved header image added for Mary Mayo.
-Bio, image, death certificate and cause of death now added for recent inductee Tom Mintz. [Jesse]
-Added Colin Chase to the site.
-New credit found for Gus Kerner (2). [Jesse]
MARCH 23
-New bio and correct dates now added for the beautiful Beverly Loyd (formerly on the site as Beverly LLOYD), thanks to some extensive research by Jesse, whom this site owes so much to for his dedication for accuracy.
-Some interesting information regarding the sound discs for two Laurel & Hardy films, Liberty and Unaccustomed As We Are has been added to both pages' trivia sections. [Steve Wright]
-We now have a face, height, correct real name and more accurate place of birth for Art Dillard. [Jarvis]
-We now have a face (and first identified screenshot) for W.L. Adams. [Jesse]
-New film credit added for Bobby Heck (2), though this could potentially be disputed (because it is listed by IMDb - whom I do not trust - but not listed by Robert Demoss/The Lucky Corner - whom I do trust.)
-Added Stanton Heck Jr. and Tom Mintz to the site.
-Reconstructed the page format and tidied up That's My Wife and still have to add the intertitle cards and backlot screenshots. It's never ending!
-Another monthly donation from Brian Barr. Thanks very much.
-New film credits discovered for Helen Gilmore (113), Chet Brandenburg (93), Dick Gilbert (81), Jack Gavin (42), Jules Mendel (26) and Charles Meakin (12).
-Additional information and cast added for The Spat Family's Excuse My Glove [Jesse].
MARCH 22
-Added this still for Laurel & Hardy's Brats.
-Thanks to Irv Hyatt for his kind words and donation.
MARCH 21
-I have fixed the mix-up regarding the film credits for Betty Jane Beard and Carlena Beard. It now means I do not now have an image for Carlena. [thanks Matthew Lydick]
-Added some of the missing cast screenshots from Topper Returns (1941).
-Added Rafaela Ottiano, Trevor Bardette and Eddy Chandler to the site.
-New film credits added for Olive Borden (12), John Kelly (3), Brick Sullivan (2), Dennis O'Keefe (2) and Donald MacBride (2).
-Lots more hours working on the site, mostly with page upgrades. It's all slowly coming together.
MARCH 20
-And still they come... donation from Jim Jarvis. Did I save somebody's life or something?! I don't want this thread to all be about donations, but donations are what keeps this site going, keeps me motivated and keeps me alive so it is important to acknowledge every one. Whether it is £1 or £100, they all mean something. Thank you.
MARCH 19
-6 (that's not a typo!) donations in the past 24 hours! I'm overwhelmed by the kindness of my friends: Randy Skretvedt, Warren Jones, Dave Samuelson, Steve Wright, Michael Greenfield - and also to Rob Stone and Miss Jackie for their help. Your kindness helps me feed my family (and climb mountains). It is appreciated more than you know.
MARCH 18
-OMG thank you so much Steve for today's donation. I had absolutely no money and have been worried about food and finances. I desperately needed that. Thank you so much.
MARCH 16
-Photo, height and cause of death now added for Michael Mark. [Jim Jarvis]
MARCH 15
-Added the six remaining cast members from Here Comes Trouble (1948) to the site: Fred Aldrich, Rod Bacon, Mimi Berry, Donald Kerr, Emmett Lynn and Tommy Reilly.
MARCH 14
-New film credits found for Evelyn Burns (30), Lew Davis (10 - which brings him into the Top 200+ Club), and Kay McCoy (6). [Jesse]
-Fixed all of the films in the On This Day section.
-Viewed and reviewed the final film in the Paul Parrott series to be released (97 years ago today): Hired And Fired (filmed 1921, released 1926). From it I was able to identify several cast members, which adds to their total Roach tallies: William Gillespie (195), George Rowe (119), Ernest Morrison (105), Eddie Baker (83), Mark Jones (76) and Jobyna Ralston (47).
MARCH 13
-Still don't have a photo of him, but at least all of the links to all of the films on the page for W.L. Adams now work.
-Added the height for Christian J. Frank @ 6'1". [Jim Jarvis]
-Updated all the film pages from the On This Day section from today including some more names added for Ten Years Old (which took over an hour to fix!)
-Updated the pages for two Our Gang child actors who have died in recent times: Laura June Williams and Rex Downing. My thanks to Matthew Lydick, Bob Satterfield and 'Anonymous' for their help.
-I have now fixed all of the film pages for all releases from February 24-29 (the period I was away). The most notable upgrades were for The Finishing Touch and High Gear, which required a lot of work. All films released between January 1st - March 13th are now in the correct format and with all links working. I will start working through the e-mails I need to sort out now. (You don't really believe that do you?)
-Added 2 lobby cards for Our Gang's The Smile Wins.
-New film credits found for Ham Kinsey (69), Cy Slocum (24), Bobby Mallon (14), F.F. Guenste (7), Peggy Eames (6), Howard Truesdale (3), Billy Lord (2) and Buck Black (2). [Jesse Brisson]
MARCH 11
-Added Madeline McGowan, Barbara Stevenson and Patsey Edwards to the site.
-1 film credit ("Forgotten Babies") removed for Ruth Hiatt (4).
-New film credit added for Bobs Watson (4).
-Evelyn Finley has been removed from the site after being misidentified as Red Riding Hood in Laurel & Hardy's Babes In Toyland. [Jesse Brisson]
MARCH 10
-Our Gang child star Robert Blake has died, aged 89. My thanks to the multiple people who brought this to my attention.
-New film credits added for Chet Brandenburg (92), Ham Kinsey (68), Cy Slocum (23), William J. O'Brien (17), Art Rowlands (16), Grace Woods (14), Jack Cooper (6), Loretta Russell (2).
-Added the page for Our Gang's Edison, Marconi & Co. along with 12 stills. Very big thanks to Jorge and Matthew for their help with this one.
-Image added for Douglas Haig [Jim Jarvis].
MARCH 9
-7 new actors discovered for Charley Chase's Poker At Eight, thanks to Jesse. I have captured their screenshots and added them to the film listing but need to add the film credit to each of their individual pages and update the Top200+ page. Will do this tomorrow. It's getting late here and I am exhausted. I am also in the middle of reviewing another of Chase's films which also needs to be completed as well...
-Added the details and cast for Our Gang's The Holy Terror, which until now had been absent from the site completely. This is the sort of work that desperately needs to be done on this site!
-Added a lobby card for Our Gang's The Buccaneers.
-New films found for Sammy Brooks (270), Lyle Tayo (93), Sydney Jarvis (16) and Florence Hoskins (6).
-Added Marvin Stephens to the site. [Matthew Lydick]
-Added some trivia notes regarding the soundtrack for The Booster. [Steve Wright]
-Added what I believed to be the original title card for Our Gang's Chicken Feed. It turns out it was a very good photoshopped image by Matthew Lydick!
-Count Stefenelli now has an image on his page. [Jim Jarvis]
MARCH 7
-3 new films (all with screenshots) added for Buddy Moore.
-Additional bio information added for August Tollaire, Jack Murphy and Olaf Hytten. [Jim Jarvis]
-Additional bio information added for Jack Egan. [Jesse Brisson/Jim Jarvis]
MARCH 6
-New film credit, as well as image and autograph addeed for Harvey Karels. [Jim Jarvis]
-New film credits (all for Do Your Stuff) added for Sammy Brooks (269), Sam Lufkin (97), Wallace Howe (131) and Owen Evans (11).
-Fixed all the film pages from the On This Day section. Page formats correct, all broken links fixed.
MARCH 5
-New film credit added for Bob O'Conor (83).
-Added Jack Pepper, Douglas Spencer, Lane Bradford, Richard Clayton and Wheeler Oakman to the site.
-Fixed all the film pages from the On This Day section. Page formats correct, all broken links fixed.
MARCH 4
-In recognition of its 100th anniversary today, I have now re-written my review for the Paul Parrott film Do Your Stuff after recently obtaining a complete version of the film. (The previous review was based on a 4 minute fragment of the film).
MARCH 3
-Added this still for Double Whoopee.
-Fixed all the film pages from the On This Day section. Page formats correct, all broken links fixed.
MARCH 2
-Page and bio updates for Laura La Varnie and Rudolph Bylek. [Jim Jarvis]
-Fixed all the film pages from the On This Day section. Page formats correct, all broken links fixed.
-Image now added for Hanny Frick. [Jesse]
MARCH 1
-Added William Peterfield to the site.
-Updated and corrected all film pages on the On This Day section for March 1.
-New film credit added for Janet Gaynor (5).
-Added the page for The Haunted Honeymoon (1925), along with 2 posters and a lobby card.

Reviews, screenshots, programming: Dave Lord Heath
Research detectives: Jesse Brisson, Jim Jarvis
Web hosting: Chris Bungo
Background image courtesy Marc Wanamaker - used with his permission

Acknowledgement is herby given to all those whose work came before me in making their findings available.
Specifically Rob Stone, Randy Skretvedt, Richard W. Bann, Robert Demoss - or basically if your first name begins with the letter R.
Other useful and significant works by Brian Anthony, Leonard Maltin, Norbert Aping and many others are also credited herein.
Special thanks to Gene Sorkin and Max Lanzisera for their essential help in getting this website off the ground.
When works previously published are used to compile the data on this site I have given credit where known.
I do not credit the website IMDb as a source as they have stolen and published my work without any credit or care.

CONTACT ME @ lordheath1972@yahoo.co.uk - or use the site's Forum.