Pitts and Todd

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Pitts and Todd were a 1930s movie comedy duo consisting of actresses ZaSu Pitts and Thelma Todd. Assembled by Hal Roach as the female counterparts to Laurel and Hardy,[1] upon Pitts' departure, similar duos were formed that included Todd and/or actresses Patsy Kelly, Pert Kelton and Lyda Roberti.

History

ZaSu Pitts
Thelma Todd
Patsy Kelly

Roach had previously paired Anita Garvin and Marion Byron in 1928 and 1929, but only three films resulted.[2] Pitts and Todd had both previously worked with Roach in various short films and feature films before filming 17 shorts for Roach from 1931 to 1933.

The 1930 Leroy Shield song "Beautiful Lady" was used as the theme song for the Pitts and Todd films.[3] Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy made a guest appearance in the 1931 short On the Loose. The 1932 short Show Business was directed by Jules White and was later reworked as the 1936 Three Stooges Columbia short A Pain in the Pullman.[4][5] These popular pre-code shorts feature frequent female physical comedy, human limb twister piles, and mugging from Pitts and Todd, with the latter often "accidentally" losing her clothing.[6]

In mid-1933, Pitts left the Hal Roach studios and Patsy Kelly was hired as Todd's new partner. This team filmed 21 short films until Todd's death at the end of 1935. Kelly was next paired with Pert Kelton for one short and one feature film, Kelly the Second, and then with Lyda Roberti for two shorts and one feature film, Nobody's Baby. Roberti died in 1938 at age 31.

In 1941, Pitts and Kelly made their only appearance together in the feature film Broadway Limited. The women echo Laurel and Hardy in one sequence when sharing a bed with a baby and a leaking hot-water bottle.[7]

Filmography

All short subjects were released by Hal Roach Studios and MGM. Many were directed by Gus Meins and featured Billy Gilbert as the exasperated heavy or comic foil.

ZaSu Pitts and Thelma Todd

  • Let's Do Things (June 6, 1931)
  • Catch-as-Catch-Can (August 22, 1931)
  • The Pajama Party (October 3, 1931)
  • War Mamas (November 14, 1931)
  • On the Loose (December 26, 1931)
  • Sealskins (February 6, 1932)
  • Red Noses (March 19, 1932)
  • Strictly Unreliable (April 30, 1932)
  • The Old Bull (June 4, 1932)
  • Show Business (August 20, 1932)
  • Alum and Eve (September 24, 1932)
  • The Soilers (October 29, 1932)
  • Sneak Easily (December 10, 1933)
  • Asleep in the Feet (January 21, 1933)
  • Maids a la Mode (March 4, 1933)
  • The Bargain of the Century (April 8, 1933)
  • One Track Minds (May 20, 1933) (with Spanky McFarland and Sterling Holloway)

Thelma Todd and Patsy Kelly

  • Beauty and the Bus (September 16, 1933)
  • Backs to Nature (November 14, 1933)
  • Air Fright (December 23, 1933)
  • Babes in the Goods (February 10, 1934)
  • Soup and Fish (March 31, 1934)
  • Maid in Hollywood (May 19, 1934)
  • I'll Be Suing You (June 23, 1934)
  • Three Chumps Ahead (July 14, 1934)
  • One-Horse Farmers (September 1, 1934)
  • Opened by Mistake (October 6, 1934)
  • Done in Oil (November 10, 1934)
  • Bum Voyage (December 15, 1934)
  • Treasure Blues (January 26, 1935)
  • Sing Sister Sing (March 2, 1935)
  • The Tin Man (March 30, 1935)
  • The Misses Stooge (April 20, 1935)
  • Slightly Static (September 7, 1935)
  • Twin Triplets (October 12, 1935)
  • Hot Money (November 16, 1935)
  • Top Flat (December 21, 1935)
  • An All-American Toothache (January 25, 1936)

Patsy Kelly and Pert Kelton

Patsy Kelly and Lyda Roberti

  • Hill-Tillies (April 4, 1936)
  • At Sea Ashore (April 24, 1936)
  • Nobody's Baby (April 23, 1937)

ZaSu Pitts and Patsy Kelly

Notes

  1. Maltin, Leonard (1970). Movie Comedy Teams. New York, NY: Signet Book. p. 141. ISBN 0451044533.
  2. Mitchell, Glenn (1998). A-Z Of Silent Film Comedy: An Illustrated Companion. London: Batsford. p. 95. ISBN 0713479396.
  3. Mitchell, Glenn (1995). The Laurel & Hardy Encyclopedia. London: Bath Press. p. 186. ISBN 0713477113.
  4. "A Pain in the Pullman". Three Stooges online filmography. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  5. Solomon, Jon (2001). The Complete Three Stooges: The Official Filmography and Three Stooges Companion. Glendale, CA: Comedy III Productions, Inc. p. 88. ISBN 0971186804.
  6. "Who's Grabbin' The Jobs: Hollywood Has Its Chosen Few". Variety. 110 (10): 3. May 16, 1933. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  7. Mitchell, Glenn (1995). The Laurel & Hardy Encyclopedia. London: Bath Press. p. 150. ISBN 0713477113.