Pick and Shovel
About Pick and Shovel
Stan Laurel takes a job at a pit whose gate reads "A Worthless Mine, Inc." He collects a pickaxe from the girl at the kiosk, steps onto the lift, walks too far, and is still on the surface when the others drop. Foreman James Finlayson comes over. Before Stan can explain, he falls down the shaft and lands on the crew. Katherine Grant plays the foreman's daughter, the reason he is there.
Cast & crew
More about Pick and Shovel
George Jeske directed the one-reel comedy for Hal Roach. Frank Young photographed it. Pathé Exchange released it on 17 June 1923, also under the title The Miner. It was copyrighted on 12 May 1923. Production number D-3. Shooting ran from 26 February to 5 March 1923, with retakes on 9 March. Ham Kinsey handled properties. W. P. Hackney was assistant director. William Gillespie plays the boss. George Rowe and Sammy Brooks play miners. Dorothy Devore is in the Silent Era cast without a named part.
Themes
Making
The company built the gag around a lift that leaves without the man who boarded it first, then dropped him down the same shaft.
Look
Frank Young photographed the kiosk, the sign over the shaft, and the fall onto the crew at the bottom.
Preservation
A 16mm reduction positive survives. Silent Era lists the film as public domain in the United States.
Notes
- Five men get off the mine lift at the start, then another twelve get on, which is how Stan ends up alone on the platform.
- The alternate American title is The Miner.
- Silent Era lists a surviving 16mm reduction positive and public-domain status in the United States.
- Lord Heath's shot log, citing Rob Stone, dates the copyright to 12 May 1923 and the retakes to 9 March.
Scenes
- Stan walks too far on the platform and watches the lift go down without him.
- Finlayson steps over, and Stan drops the length of the shaft onto the miners.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (Pick and Shovel (1923).webm)
