Cheer Up With Hours of Classic Hollywood Bloopers

When we watch classic Hollywood movies we see a galaxy of stars, exuding glamour and cool and impossible charm. Because these people are long gone, and because even when they were alive we only saw them under highly controlled circumstances, they sometimes represent a sort of perfection to us.

And that’s one reason why these breakdowns and miscues are so endearing. We realize that Bogart was a very good actor playing an unruffled detective, but it’s fun to see a little ruffling now and then. We know that Bette Davis and Carole Lombard had extraordinary vocabularies for communicating aggravation or displeasure, but it is an absolute joy to hear them express it.

Here’s a tightly edited compilation of some of the best outtakes from Warner Brothers’ end-of-year “Breakdown Reels.” These were created by the studio’s editors, presumably for a holiday party or something.

And here is a playlist consisting of the raw reels, about two hours worth. There are some duds here, but also some shining treasures, and a lot of in-jokes whose meaning is lost to the sands of time. Enjoy.