El Brendel (1936-1945)
El Brendel's only gimmick was he spoke in a Swedish dialect. His character of a simple Swede was a hit in vaudeville, and on screen during the earliest years of "the talkies". He was considered one of the most popular screen comedians.
In 1936, Columbia signed him to appear in two shorts. Upon completing these initial two, Brendel left the unit and kept himself busy with feature film assignments. In 1941, he returned to the studio's shorts department to continue the series, sometimes paired with Tom Kennedy and Monty Collins. In 1944, the studio unsure what to do with Brendel, teamed him with Shemp Howard in a one-shot comedy entitled PICK A PECK OF PLUMBERS, as well as with Harry Langdon for both of their final shorts with the studio.
El and Shemp, as well as El and Harry, failed to click as a team. When Langdon died in 1945, Brendel's contract was not renewed.
Several of the El Brendel comedies were syndicated by Screen Gems Television in 1959.
PLEASE NOTE: Available titles will be in ITALICS and UNDERLINED
If a title is not in ITALICS and UNDERLINED....I do not have it in my collection.
In 1936, Columbia signed him to appear in two shorts. Upon completing these initial two, Brendel left the unit and kept himself busy with feature film assignments. In 1941, he returned to the studio's shorts department to continue the series, sometimes paired with Tom Kennedy and Monty Collins. In 1944, the studio unsure what to do with Brendel, teamed him with Shemp Howard in a one-shot comedy entitled PICK A PECK OF PLUMBERS, as well as with Harry Langdon for both of their final shorts with the studio.
El and Shemp, as well as El and Harry, failed to click as a team. When Langdon died in 1945, Brendel's contract was not renewed.
Several of the El Brendel comedies were syndicated by Screen Gems Television in 1959.
PLEASE NOTE: Available titles will be in ITALICS and UNDERLINED
If a title is not in ITALICS and UNDERLINED....I do not have it in my collection.
AY TANK AY GO (12/4/36) D: Del Lord. Phylis Crane, Bud Jamison. Poor El wants to woo his sweetheart, but they're on opposite sides of a hillbilly feud.
THE SUPER SNOOPER (2/25/37) D: Preston Black. Monte Collins, Bud Jamison, Don Brody, Wilfred Lucas, Cy Schindell, Eddie Laughton, Al Frazier, Bob Keats, E.L. Dale, Jerry Uhlick, Sam Lufkin, Billy Lally, William Irving, Blackie Whiteford, Frank Mason, Tommy Hicks, Brick Sullivan, Art Miles, Gale Arnold, Ethelreda Leopold. El and Monte investigate the robbery of an express company.
YUMPIN' YIMINY! (3/7/41) D: Jules White. Fred Kelsey, Don Brody, Vernon Dent, Dorothy Appleby, John Tyrrell, Cy Schindell, Victor Travers. El unwittingly becomes a jewel thief's assistant.
READY, WILLING BUT UNABLE (5/30/41) D: Del Lord. Tom Kennedy, Anne O'Neal, Dudley Dickerson, Jack Norton, Bud Jamison. El accidentally hits a mannequin with his automobile; believing he's killed a man, he and Tom set out to dispose of the body. TRIVIA: Reworked with the Three Stooges as THREE PESTS IN A MESS (1945). A reworking of the Laurel and Hardy silent HABEAS CORPUS, as well as The Taxi Boys short WRECKETY WRECKS. Incidentally, WRECKETY WRECKS was also directed by Del Lord.
LOVE AT FIRST FRIGHT (7/25/41) D: Del Lord. Marion Martin, Tiny Ward, Duke Ward, Louise Carver, Hank Mann, Blanche Payson, Frank Mills, Bert Young. A family of hillbillies mistake radio announcer El for a long-lost relative. TRIVIA: Reissued theatrically in January, 1954.
THE BLITZKISS (10/2/41) D: Del Lord. Tom Kennedy, Yolande Mollot, Bud Jamison Cy Schindell, Vic Travers, Symona Boniface. El gets drafted into the army. TRIVIA: Nominated for an Academy Award.
SWEET SPIRITS OF THE NIGHTER (12/25/41) D: Del Lord. Tom Kennedy, Lew Kelly, Frank Lackteen, Duke York, Marjorie Deanne, Vernon Dent, Bud Jamison, Hank Mann. Patrolmen El and Tom tangle with a mad scientist who's trying to revive the dead. TRIVIA: British film censors found the material in this film objectionable enough to award the short an adults only "H" certificate, a rating reserved for genuine horror films. A reworking of Collins and Kennedy's MIDNIGHT BLUNDERS (1936).
OLAF LAUGHS LAST (6/18/42) D: Jules White. Anne Jeffreys, George Lewis, Bud Jamison, Eva McKenzie, John Tyrrell, Ethelreda Leopold, Al Thompson, Victor Travers, Lynton Brent, Charles Heine Conklin, Cy Schindell. El Saves his girlfriend from a gang of kidnappers.
PHONEY CRONIES (8/27/42) D: Harry Edwards. Tom Kennedy, Dudley Dickerson, Monty Collins. El and Tom, owners of a transfer company, are hired to deliver crates to a museum in the middle of the night.
HAM AND YEGGS (11/27/42) D: Jules White. Elise Ames, Barbara Slater, Eddie Laughton. A vamp tries to marry El after he inherits $50,000.
HIS WEDDING SCARE (1/15/43) D: Del Lord. Louise Currie, Monty Collins, Vernon Dent, Dudley Dickerson, Lloyd Bridges, Stanley Blystone, Eddie Laughton, Chester Conklin, Snub Pollard, Charles "Heine" Conklin, Stanley Brown. El and his new bride go on their honeymoon; no matter where they go, they keep running into her former husbands.
I SPIED FOR YOU (4/30/43) D: Jules White. Kathryn Keys, Bud Jamison, Stanley Blysone, Vernon Dent, Barbara Salter, Edward Hall, Johnny Kascier, Al Thompson, Bobby Barber. Seaman Brendel thwarts a ring of Nazi saboteurs.
BOOBS IN THE NIGHT (6/25/43) D: Del Lord. Monty Collins, Charles Middleton, Frank Lacketeen. El and Monte, auxiliary Home Defense workers, encounter a mad scientist seeking a human head for his mechanical man. TRIVIA: Remade with the Three Stooges as DOPEY DICKS (1950).
A ROOKIE'S COOKIE (10/8/43) D: Jules White. Adele Mara, Lloyd Bridges, Bernard Gorcey, John Tyrrell, Dewey Robinson, Fred Snowflake Toones, Dudley Dickerson, Al Thompson. Rookie cop Brendel falls in love with a girl who's being pursued by a numbers racketeer. TRIVIA: The original working title was CLUBS ARE TRUMPS.
THE SUPER SNOOPER (2/25/37) D: Preston Black. Monte Collins, Bud Jamison, Don Brody, Wilfred Lucas, Cy Schindell, Eddie Laughton, Al Frazier, Bob Keats, E.L. Dale, Jerry Uhlick, Sam Lufkin, Billy Lally, William Irving, Blackie Whiteford, Frank Mason, Tommy Hicks, Brick Sullivan, Art Miles, Gale Arnold, Ethelreda Leopold. El and Monte investigate the robbery of an express company.
YUMPIN' YIMINY! (3/7/41) D: Jules White. Fred Kelsey, Don Brody, Vernon Dent, Dorothy Appleby, John Tyrrell, Cy Schindell, Victor Travers. El unwittingly becomes a jewel thief's assistant.
READY, WILLING BUT UNABLE (5/30/41) D: Del Lord. Tom Kennedy, Anne O'Neal, Dudley Dickerson, Jack Norton, Bud Jamison. El accidentally hits a mannequin with his automobile; believing he's killed a man, he and Tom set out to dispose of the body. TRIVIA: Reworked with the Three Stooges as THREE PESTS IN A MESS (1945). A reworking of the Laurel and Hardy silent HABEAS CORPUS, as well as The Taxi Boys short WRECKETY WRECKS. Incidentally, WRECKETY WRECKS was also directed by Del Lord.
LOVE AT FIRST FRIGHT (7/25/41) D: Del Lord. Marion Martin, Tiny Ward, Duke Ward, Louise Carver, Hank Mann, Blanche Payson, Frank Mills, Bert Young. A family of hillbillies mistake radio announcer El for a long-lost relative. TRIVIA: Reissued theatrically in January, 1954.
THE BLITZKISS (10/2/41) D: Del Lord. Tom Kennedy, Yolande Mollot, Bud Jamison Cy Schindell, Vic Travers, Symona Boniface. El gets drafted into the army. TRIVIA: Nominated for an Academy Award.
SWEET SPIRITS OF THE NIGHTER (12/25/41) D: Del Lord. Tom Kennedy, Lew Kelly, Frank Lackteen, Duke York, Marjorie Deanne, Vernon Dent, Bud Jamison, Hank Mann. Patrolmen El and Tom tangle with a mad scientist who's trying to revive the dead. TRIVIA: British film censors found the material in this film objectionable enough to award the short an adults only "H" certificate, a rating reserved for genuine horror films. A reworking of Collins and Kennedy's MIDNIGHT BLUNDERS (1936).
OLAF LAUGHS LAST (6/18/42) D: Jules White. Anne Jeffreys, George Lewis, Bud Jamison, Eva McKenzie, John Tyrrell, Ethelreda Leopold, Al Thompson, Victor Travers, Lynton Brent, Charles Heine Conklin, Cy Schindell. El Saves his girlfriend from a gang of kidnappers.
PHONEY CRONIES (8/27/42) D: Harry Edwards. Tom Kennedy, Dudley Dickerson, Monty Collins. El and Tom, owners of a transfer company, are hired to deliver crates to a museum in the middle of the night.
HAM AND YEGGS (11/27/42) D: Jules White. Elise Ames, Barbara Slater, Eddie Laughton. A vamp tries to marry El after he inherits $50,000.
HIS WEDDING SCARE (1/15/43) D: Del Lord. Louise Currie, Monty Collins, Vernon Dent, Dudley Dickerson, Lloyd Bridges, Stanley Blystone, Eddie Laughton, Chester Conklin, Snub Pollard, Charles "Heine" Conklin, Stanley Brown. El and his new bride go on their honeymoon; no matter where they go, they keep running into her former husbands.
I SPIED FOR YOU (4/30/43) D: Jules White. Kathryn Keys, Bud Jamison, Stanley Blysone, Vernon Dent, Barbara Salter, Edward Hall, Johnny Kascier, Al Thompson, Bobby Barber. Seaman Brendel thwarts a ring of Nazi saboteurs.
BOOBS IN THE NIGHT (6/25/43) D: Del Lord. Monty Collins, Charles Middleton, Frank Lacketeen. El and Monte, auxiliary Home Defense workers, encounter a mad scientist seeking a human head for his mechanical man. TRIVIA: Remade with the Three Stooges as DOPEY DICKS (1950).
A ROOKIE'S COOKIE (10/8/43) D: Jules White. Adele Mara, Lloyd Bridges, Bernard Gorcey, John Tyrrell, Dewey Robinson, Fred Snowflake Toones, Dudley Dickerson, Al Thompson. Rookie cop Brendel falls in love with a girl who's being pursued by a numbers racketeer. TRIVIA: The original working title was CLUBS ARE TRUMPS.
DEFECTIVE DETECTIVES (4/3/44) D: Harry Edwards. El Brendel, Christine McIntyre, Vernon Dent, Snub Pollard, Heinie Conklin, John Tyrell, Eddie Laughton, Snub Pollard, Dick Boiler. Private detectives Harry and El are hired to keep on the trail of a mobster who has been threatening injury to a banker and his wife.
PICK A PECK OF PLUMBERS (7/23/44) D: Jules White. John Tyrrell, Al Thompson, Kathryn Keys, Willa Pearl Curtis, Beatrice Blinn, Frank Billy Mitchell, Jean Murray, Brian OHara, Judy Malcolm, Charles Heine Conklin, Joe Palma. Vagrants El and Shemp become plumbers assistants; on their first assignment, they reduce a house to shambles while searching for a lost ring. TRIVIA: Stock shot of waterlogged ceiling taken from ANDY CLYDE GETS SPRING CHICKEN (1939). A remake of Sidney and Murray's PLUMBING FOR GOLD (1934) and a reworking of the Three Stooges A-PLUMBING WE WILL GO (1940). Later remade with the Three Stooges as VAGABOND LOAFERS (1949) and SCHEMING SCHEMERS (1956).
SNOOPER SERVICE (2/2/45) D: Harry Edwards. El Brendel, Rebel Randall, Dick Curtis, Vernon Dent, Fred Kelsey, Buddy Yarus. Harry and El, private sleuths, are hired to follow a beautiful showgirl.
PISTOL PACKIN' NITWITS (4/4/45) D: Harry Edwards. El Brendel, Christine McIntyre, Brad King, Dick Curtis, Tex Cooper, Victor Cox, Charles Heine Conklin. Harry and El protect a pretty saloonkeeper from a gang of Western thugs. TRIVIA: Columbia Production #4035. The original working title was TENDERFEET. Reworked with the Three Stooges as OUT WEST (1947).
PICK A PECK OF PLUMBERS (7/23/44) D: Jules White. John Tyrrell, Al Thompson, Kathryn Keys, Willa Pearl Curtis, Beatrice Blinn, Frank Billy Mitchell, Jean Murray, Brian OHara, Judy Malcolm, Charles Heine Conklin, Joe Palma. Vagrants El and Shemp become plumbers assistants; on their first assignment, they reduce a house to shambles while searching for a lost ring. TRIVIA: Stock shot of waterlogged ceiling taken from ANDY CLYDE GETS SPRING CHICKEN (1939). A remake of Sidney and Murray's PLUMBING FOR GOLD (1934) and a reworking of the Three Stooges A-PLUMBING WE WILL GO (1940). Later remade with the Three Stooges as VAGABOND LOAFERS (1949) and SCHEMING SCHEMERS (1956).
SNOOPER SERVICE (2/2/45) D: Harry Edwards. El Brendel, Rebel Randall, Dick Curtis, Vernon Dent, Fred Kelsey, Buddy Yarus. Harry and El, private sleuths, are hired to follow a beautiful showgirl.
PISTOL PACKIN' NITWITS (4/4/45) D: Harry Edwards. El Brendel, Christine McIntyre, Brad King, Dick Curtis, Tex Cooper, Victor Cox, Charles Heine Conklin. Harry and El protect a pretty saloonkeeper from a gang of Western thugs. TRIVIA: Columbia Production #4035. The original working title was TENDERFEET. Reworked with the Three Stooges as OUT WEST (1947).