List of Robert Benchley collections and film appearances
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Robert Benchley The Woolen Mitten Situation (1926)
Humorist Robert Benchley (1889–1945) produced over 600 essays,[1] initially compiled over twelve volumes, during his writing career.[2] He was also featured in a number of films, including 48 short treatments that he mostly wrote or co-wrote, and numerous feature films.[3]
The following is a list of those compilations and appearances.
Books
Benchley produced twelve compilation books of his work for the various publications he wrote and freelanced for, and numerous posthumous compilations of his work have been produced since his death. Unless otherwise indicated, all volumes featuring illustrations were drawn by Gluyas Williams.[4]
During his life
- Of All Things - Henry Holt & Company, 1921. 234p. - 22 essays by Robert Benchley published in Vanity Fair, The New York Tribune, Collier's Weekly, Life, and Motor Print.[4]
- Love Conquers All - Henry Holt & Company, 1922. 310p. - 63 essays published in Life, The New York World, The New York Tribune, The Detroit Athletic Club News, and The Consolidated Press Association.[4]
- Pluck And Luck - Henry Holt & Company, 1925. 295 p. - 50 essays published in Life, The Detroit Athletic Club News, The Bookman, College Humor, and The Theatre Guild Program.
- The Early Worm - Henry Holt & Company, 1927. 263p. - 47 essays published in Life, The Detroit Athletic Club News, The New Yorker, College Humor, and The Bell Syndicate.[4]
- 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, or David Copperfield - Henry Holt & Company, 1928. 233p. - 40 essays by Robert Benchley published in The Bookman, The Detroit Athletic Club News, The Forum, Life, The New Yorker, and The Yale Review.[4]
- The Treasurer's Report & Other Aspects of Community Singing - Harper and Brothers, 1930.
- No Poems, Or Around the World Backwards and Sideways - Harper and Brothers, 1932. 330p. - 45 essays.[4]
- From Bed to Worse, or Comforting Thoughts about the Bison - Harper and Brothers, 1934. 286p. - 60 essays.[4]
- My Ten Years in a Quandary, and How They Grew - Harper and Brothers, 1936. 361p - 105 essays.[4]
- After 1903 - What? - Harper and Brothers, 1938.
- Inside Benchley - Harper and Brothers, 1942. 316p. - 50 previously published essays.[4]
- Benchley Beside Himself - Harper and Brothers, 1943. 304p. - 47 previously published essays. Williams illustrations and still photos from Benchley's short films.[4]
Posthumous
- Benchley--Or Else - Harper and Brothers, 1947. 273p - 71 essays, six of which were originally published in The New Yorker.[4]
- Chips off the Old Benchley - Harper and Brothers, 1949. 360p. - Collection of 77 essays compiled by Gertrude Benchley, Robert's wife. Many of the illustrations were previously unpublished in book form.[4]
- The "Reel" Benchley - A. A. Wyn, Inc., 1950. 96p - No Williams illustrations, instead consisting of stills and scripts from many of Benchley's short films.[4]
- The Benchley Roundup - Harper and Brothers, 1954. 288p- A collection of essays, written between 1915 and 1945, edited by Nathaniel Benchley
- Benchley at the Theatre: Dramatic Criticism, 1920-1940 by Robert Benchley - Ipswich Press, 1985. - Edited by Charles Getchell, the volume contains 84 of Benchley's theatrical reviews written for Life and The New Yorker over his career.[4]
- Robert Benchley's Wayward Press: The Complete Collection of His the New Yorker Columns Written as Guy Fawkes (S.L. Harrison, ed.) - Wolf Den Books, 2008. 341p - Collection of all Wayward Press columns, with a Prologue by Nat Benchley.
- The Athletic Benchley-105 Exercises from The Detroit Athletic Club News - Glendower Media, 2010. ISBN 978-0914303022
Film and television
Benchley filmed for Fox Film Corporation, Universal Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures, and then primarily for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Paramount Pictures. Toward the end of his career, he did freelance acting around Hollywood. The films are listed by release date, not by production date.
Short films
- The Treasurer's Report (1928) - Fox Film Corporation
- The Sex Life of the Polyp (1928) - Fox
- The Spellbinder (1928) - Fox
- Lesson No. 1 (1929) - Fox
- Stewed, Fried, and Boiled (1929) - Fox
- Furnace Trouble (1929) - Fox
- Your Technocracy and Mine (1933) - Universal Pictures
- How to Break 90 at Croquet (1935) - RKO Radio Pictures
- How to Sleep (1935) - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Written and acted by Benchley, the short was based on a study on sleep and won the Academy Award in 1935 for Best Short Film. Benchley played narrator and sleeper.[5]
- How to Behave (1936) - MGM
- How to Train a Dog (1936) - MGM
- How to Vote (1936) - MGM
- How to Be a Detective (1936) - MGM
- The Romance of Digestion (1937) - MGM
- How to Start the Day (1937) - MGM
- A Night at the Movies (1937) - MGM - Written and acted by Benchley, this short was his most well-received since How to Sleep. About a man going to the movies,[6] the short was nominated for an Academy Award.[7]
- How to Figure Income Tax (1938) - MGM
- Music Made Simple (1938) - MGM
- An Evening Alone (1938) - MGM
- How to Raise a Baby (1938) - MGM
- The Courtship of the Newt (1938) - MGM
- How to Read (1938) - MGM
- How to Watch Football (1938) - MGM
- The Opening Day (1938) - MGM
- Mental Poise (1938) - MGM
- How to Sub-Let (1939) - MGM
- An Hour for Lunch (1939) - MGM
- Dark Magic (1939) - MGM
- Home Early (1939) - MGM
- How to Eat (1939) - MGM
- The Day of Rest (1939) - MGM
- See Your Doctor (1939) - MGM
- Inferiority Complex (1939) - MGM - Also known as That Inferior Feeling
- Home Movies (1939) - MGM
- The Trouble with Husbands (1940) - Paramount Pictures - Written by and starring Benchley
- Waiting for Baby (1941) - Paramount - Written by and starring Benchley
- Crime Control (1941) - Paramount - Written by and starring Benchley
- The Forgotten Man (1941) - Paramount - Written by and starring Benchley
- How To Take a Vacation (1941) - Paramount - Written by and starring Benchley
- Nothing But Nerves (1941) - Paramount - Written by and starring Benchley
- The Witness (1941) - Paramount - Written by and starring Benchley
- Keeping In Shape (1941) - Paramount - Written by and starring Benchley
- The Man's Angle (1942) - Paramount - Written by and starring Benchley
- My Tomato (1943) - MGM - Starring Benchley
- No News Is Good News (1943) - MGM - Written by and starring Benchley
- Important Business (1944) - MGM - Written by and starring Benchley
- Why, Daddy? (1944) - MGM - Written by and starring Benchley (his last short film for MGM)
- Boogie Woogie (1945) - Paramount - Written by and starring Benchley
- Hollywood Victory Caravan (1945) - Paramount and the United States Treasury Department - Starring Benchley, a film version of the touring show
- I'm a Civilian Here Myself (1945) - United States Navy - Written by and starring Benchley
Feature films
- You'd Be Surprised (1926) - Paramount - Writer of intertitles for the film
- The American Venus (1926) - Paramount - (uncredited) writer of intertitles for the film
- Sky Devils (1932) - RKO - Featuring Benchley as a writer
- The Sport Parade (1932) - RKO - Written by and starring Benchley
- Secrets of the French Police (1932) - RKO - additional dialogue
- Headline Shooter (1933) - RKO - Starring Benchley
- Dancing Lady (1933) - MGM - Written by and starring Benchley
- Rafter Romance (1933) - RKO - Starring Ginger Rogers and Benchley
- Social Register (1934) - Columbia Pictures - Starring Benchley in a bit part
- The Gay Divorcee (1934) - RKO - Featuring Benchley as a writer; it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture
- The Gay Bride (1934) - MGM - Featuring Benchley as a writer
- Murder on a Honeymoon (1935) - RKO - Featuring Benchley as a writer
- China Seas (1935) - MGM - Starring Benchley
- Pursuit (1935) - MGM - Featuring Benchley as a writer
- The Perfect Gentleman (1935) MGM - Featuring Benchley as a writer
- Dancing Pirate (1936) - RKO - Featuring Benchley as a writer
- Riffraff (1936) MGM - Featuring Benchley as a writer
- Piccadilly Jim (1936) - MGM - Featuring Benchley as a writer and actor; based on the novel of the same name by P. G. Wodehouse
- Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937) - MGM - Starring Benchley in a bit part
- Live, Love and Learn (1938) - MGM -Featuring Benchley as a writer
- Foreign Correspondent (1940) - United Artists/Walter Wanger Productions - Directed by Alfred Hitchcock and featuring dialogue written by Benchley. Benchley also acted in the film.
- Hired Wife (1940) - Universal - Starring Benchley
- The Reluctant Dragon (1940) - Walt Disney/RKO - Benchley played himself in the live action portions of this feature, giving a tour of the then-new Walt Disney Studios facility. Benchley was unhappy with the final product, as the writers relied too much (in his opinion) on pratfalls and visual gags.[8]
- Nice Girl? (1940) - A dramatic film, and a straight role for Benchley, often considered his finest straight performance.[8]
- You'll Never Get Rich (1941) - Columbia - Starring Benchley
- Three Girls About Town (1941) - Columbia - Starring Benchley
- Bedtime Story (1941) - Columbia - Starring Benchley
- Take a Letter, Darling - (1942) - Paramount - Starring Benchley
- The Major and the Minor (1942) - Paramount - Starring Benchley in a film directed by Billy Wilder
- I Married a Witch (1942) - United Artists - Starring Benchley in a film directed by René Clair
- Young and Willing (1943) - United Artists - Starring Benchley
- The Sky's the Limit (1943) - RKO - Starring Benchley
- Flesh and Fantasy (1943) - Universal - Benchley narrated
- Song of Russia (1943) - MGM - Starring Benchley
- See Here, Private Hargrove (1944) - MGM - Starring Benchley
- Janie (1944) - Warner Bros. - Starring Benchley
- National Barn Dance (1944) - Paramount - Starring Benchley, a fictional account of the radio show of the same name.
- Practically Yours (1944) - Paramount - Starring Benchley
- Pan-Americana (1945) - RKO - Starring Benchley as narrator
- It's in the Bag! (1945) - United Artists - Starring Benchley
- Duffy's Tavern (1945) - Paramount - Starring Benchley as narrator in the film version of the show of the same name
- Kiss and Tell (1945) - Columbia - Starring Benchley
- Week-End at the Waldorf (1945) - MGM - Starring Benchley
- Snafu (1945) - Columbia - Starring Benchley
- Road to Utopia (1945) - Paramount - Benchley narrated
- The Stork Club (1945) - Paramount - Starring Benchley
- The Bride Wore Boots (1946) - Paramount - Starring Benchley
- Janie Gets Married (1946) - Warner Bros. - Starring Benchley
Television
- Light's Diamond Jubilee (1954) TV special broadcast on all 4 TV networks, archive footage (from How to Raise a Baby)
Further reading
- Gordon Ernst, Robert Benchley: An Annotated Bibliography. (Greenwood Press, 1995).
Works cited
- Billy Altman, Laughter's Gentle Soul: The Life of Robert Benchley. (New York City: W. W. Norton, 1997. ISBN 0-393-03833-5).
- Robert Benchley at the Internet Movie Database. URL accessed 6 May 2007.
- The Robert Benchley Society: The Annotated Bibliography of Robert Benchley Writings. David Trumbull, URL accessed 20 May 2007.
- Norris W. Yates, Robert Benchley. (New York City, Twayne Publishers, 1968.).
References
External links
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