The Golden Age of Comedy

The Golden Age of Comedy (1957) is a compilation of silent comedy films from the Mack Sennett and Hal Roach studios, written and produced by Robert Youngson. Youngson had previously produced several award-winning short documentaries beforehand, and this was the first compilation of its kind in feature-length form. Initially, the film was distributed by a small independent company, Distributors Corporation of America, before being taken up by one of Hollywood's best known film studios, Twentieth Century Fox. The film's commercial success led Youngson to follow suit with other silent film compilations over the next decade. The film is often regarded as particularly bringing Laurel and Hardy back into the public's notice after years of obscurity (they are the film's most predominately featured performers), but Oliver Hardy died around the time of the film's release in August 1957. The film was released (along with several other Youngson compilations) on DVD for the first time in the United States in 2007. Its main musical theme is derived from Chopin's Etude Op. 10, No. 3, often known as "Tristesse".