larry41onEbay Reviews

What Happened to Jones? (1925)

A lot of fun comedy and a few awkward twists kept me laughing throughout this hilarious silent now on Blu-Ray

[9/10 · 1 September 2020]

Almost as good as Skinner's Dress Suit (1926), also on Blu-Ray for a limited time. I'm a film lover that used to go to every classic film festival I could afford to seeking good classic films. I've seen over 8,000 titles so far from the late 1800's thru today's latest. However, it's gems like this that I try to recommend to folks who enjoy good silent comedies.

It's star Reginald Denny who I had known as a reliable character actor in the 1930-1960s. What I didn't know what that in the silent era he was the top comedian at Universal studios. Denny was their version of a Harold Lloyd but he does not use clever devices or dangerous thrills. Denny plays a realistic everyday Joe that just wants to get along in life without pushing.

SPOILERS: Tom Jones, a young man of wealth and character, who is tricked on the eve of his wedding into attending a poker party given by his henpecked friend Ebenezer Goodly. The game is raided, but Tom and Ebenezer escape the police by ducking into a ladies' turkish bath. The police are called, and the two exit in drag. The police find Tom's wallet and look for him at his fiancée's home. The two make their way to Ebenezer's house, and Tom dons the clothes of Ebenezer's brother, a bishop, who is expected to arrive soon. Complications arise when the bishop does arrive to officiate at the wedding.

This simple premise is peppered with strong characters, accidents, and many delightful surprises. Let me conclude by saying it is now out on Blu-ray in a package with two other Denny comedy films. SEE IT NOW and you will thank me later!

Skinner's Dress Suit (1926)

Pure silent comedy gold, a screwball about real people, a new suit and a dance that works like magic!

[10/10 · 1 September 2020]

I'm a film lover that used to go to every classic film festival I could afford to seeking good classic films. I've seen over 8,000 titles so far from the late 1800's thru today's latest. However, it's gems like Skinner's Dress Suit that I try to recommend to folks who enjoy good silent comedies. Back in the 1980's I was lucky enough to see SDS at Cinefest in Syracuse, New York when they played a rare 16mm print that belonged to film historian, author and professor William K. Everson. Now my favorite genre is screwball because I really enjoy romantic comedies, but I prefer them to also have a heart and some reality. Like those films by Frank Capra and Howard Hawks. Well as I set in that darkened audience I started to laugh, chuckle and as the story slowly built howl at the humorous scenes as they unfolded before me.

It's star Reginald Denny I had known as a reliable character actor in the 1930-1960s. What I didn't know what that in the silent era he was the top comedian at Universal studios. Denny was their version of a Harold Lloyd but he does not use clever devices or dangerous thrills. Denny plays a realistic everyday Joe that just wants to get along in life without pushing.

In SDS he is happily married to "Honey" played sweetly by Laura LaPlante how believes in her husband and just wants him to get ahead so they can live a little better.

SPOILERS: At the urging of his wife, Skinner, a meek and humble clerk, asks his boss for a raise; he is refused, but in order not to disappoint his wife, he tells her that he got it. She immediately buys him a dress suit, and this single purchase puts Skinner on the road to ruin, involving him in so many new social obligations that he is soon faced with bankruptcy. Greatly burdened with debt, Skinner loses his job. Before he can tell his wife, she whisks him off to a society dance at a hotel where one of his most important clients, Jackson, is trying to crash the exclusive party. Jackson's wife wants to go to the dance and persuades her husband to ask Skinner to invite them.

This simple premise is peppered with strong characters, accidents, and many delightful surprises. Let me conclude by saying it is now out on Blu-ray in a package with two other films almost as good as this one. SEE IT NOW and you will thank me later!

The Sinner (1951)

The Sinner is a romantic tragedy about an artist and a prostitute trying to save them both.

[7/10 · 31 December 2018]

The Sinner was heralded by a storm of publicity regarding its director Willi Forst (Austrian director and actor of mostly charming comedies and musicals) and its young pretty star Hildergarde Neff. The film was Forst's second effort since 1943, and as such it was highly anticipated. The film was also Neff's last German production before her "new" career in Hollywood. According to most contemporary reviews, The Sinner was considered unworthy of Forst's and Neff's talents, though this may have been a negative reaction to the publicity blitz. The film casts its star as a young girl who is no better than she ought to be, but whose good intentions outweigh her bad impulses.

SPOILERS: Believing she has finally found true love in the form of an artist (Gustav Frolich of Metropolis fame), the girl is in for a major disappointment when her lover begins behaving erratically due to a brain tumor. The spectacularly tragic ending to this sorry little tale, coupled with a handful of highly censurable love scenes (nude paintings and one at a distance nude posing), seriously impaired any chances for The Sinner to achieve box-office success in the U.S.

But if you like the genre of romantic tragedy it falls into the same class as Mayerling (1936) and Liebelei (1933, directed by an uncredited Max Ophuls) and it's later remake Christine (1958).

Escapade (1935)

I wish this film which survives could get shown! Only old reviews are accessible so far...

[7/10 · 12 December 2018]

"If "Escapade," the new Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film at the Capitol, goes down in cinema history at all-which is doubtful-it will be remembered only as the occasion of Luise Ranier's Hollywood début. The dark-haired actress from Vienna, whose mannerisms and inflection are bound to suggest Elisabeth Bergner, joins forces with William Powell in a foredoomed attempt to pull a heavy screen vehicle out of the mire of its own tedium.When a story gets under way as a frothy Viennese, farce and then is sidetracked into heavy tragedy, one can only commiserate with the players. What they did, they did for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and there is no greater love than this.Here again, after he had been spared the type for several moons, Mr. Powell appears as the debonair breaker of hearts. As Fritz Heideneck, well-known Viennese artist, his arrival at any public gathering is a signal for husbands to collect their wives, assume their sternest manner and begin speaking in loud tones of their deadly aim with pistols at twenty paces.When one flirtatious wife poses for him in a mask, chinchilla scarf, muff and a warm smile-and when the revealing sketch finds its way into the papers-there is a great to-do. The husband of the errant model is convinced that the lady of the mask really is his brother's fiancée. He insists the brother get the truth from Heideneck or challenge him to a duel, perhaps both.Heideneck, to save the lady's reputation and his own neck, chooses a name at random and identifies a Miss Major as the model. You must have guessed, at this point, that there really is a Miss Major who, becoming involved in the plot, wins the artist's love, but not until after the romance has been watered by bitter tears, pruned by the sharp tongues of the defeated rivals and almost severed by a pistol bullet.The picture manages to keep its head above the waters for about the first third, but thereafter its story thread is so tortuous and Miss Rainer's tears and hysterics so abundant that interest is bound to droop.As a test flight for Miss Rainer, "Escapade" gives the attractive newcomer a fairly wide range. Alternately shy, demure, vivacious, petulant, happy, miserable, tragic and broodingly maternal-which is a broad sweep for any one picture-Miss Rainer justifies at least the conservative estimate of "promising." We should have been happier had the story chosen to limit its emotional range a bit, but Metro unquestionably wanted to show off its newest find from every conceivable angle.Mr. Powell, in one of his less interesting rôles, appears willing to give the newcomer every possible advantage, even at some disadvantage to himself. Reginald Owen comes through with some comedy relief, of which there should have been more. Frank Morgan, Mady Christians and Virginia Bruce do well enough in the lesser rôles.The stage show features Sid Gary, Florence and Alvarez, Paul Gerrits, Helene Denizon, Georgie Tapps, Prosper and Meret and the Danny Dare girls." It survives at UCLA.

The Whistle at Eaton Falls (1951)

A message from yesterday that still applies today, that is if we want to have a job tomorrow...

[8/10 · 11 December 2018]

The Whistle At Eaton Falls (1951) Is a timeless drama about people facing changes, labor versus technology versus job security versus management profits and or the lack thereof. The whistle is on the largest employer in a small New England town, a plastics factory that is struggling to keep up with competition when the president suddenly dies. His widow played by former silent film legend Dorothy Gish promotes young labor leader Lloyd Bridges hoping he can inspire the workers to see that the new changes that must be made if the company town expects to keep most of their jobs. Inside the union there are factions that want the new necessary changes and equipment to fail so they can keep one man on one machine. But the new machines can run so efficiently, one man can operate two at one time thus making the company profitable enough to stay open. But first there are production contracts that must be made to sell those plastic parts to pay the bills and buy the new equipment. Before long Lloyd is running out of time and money so fast he is forced to close the factory, lay off the employees and sell the backlog of stock at a loss while he works non-stop, round the clock to find the timesaving edge over his competition. Meanwhile Murray Hamilton (the weak whiny mayor from Jaws) brings in outside agitators to try and take over the union. Also on the side of the opposition is Russell Hardie a disgruntled employee who is so bitter about not getting the promotion to president he goes to work for the competition and tries to convince the Eaton Falls union he's on their side, all the while he's planning to close the plant once they steal Bridges' new ideas. Can the situation be resolved before yet another factory closes permanently, or will only one side win and take down everyone else? A message from yesterday that still applies today, that is if we want to have a job tomorrow...

Waltz War (1933)

Lanner vs. Strauss, together they made dance music history but only after the public chose both.

[6/10 · 21 October 2018]

Walzerkrieg (lit. The War of the Waltz, Germany 1933) is Ludwig Berger's most successful film. The 'war' over the best Waltz unfolds in Vienna in the first half of the 19th century. The film is dominated by Waltz music, dance and song. Walzerkrieg is not only one of the highlights of early German sound film operettas, but also marks a decisive point for German film production in socio-political terms. Even before filming began, there was a special meeting of the UFA Board on 29 March 1933 to discuss the continued employment of Jewish employees. The day before that, Joseph Goebbels had held a speech before several filmmakers. UFA obediently complied with the expectations of the Nazi regime even before the regime had passed the first anti-Semitic laws and regulations. As such, the UFA Board of Directors decided there and then to dismiss 20 employees, among them some of the people working on Walzerkrieg. The script by Hans Müller and Robert Liebmann was still accepted in 1932, but the authors were dismissed with immediate effect. The studios also wanted to get rid of director Ludwig Berger, but his contract with UFA had already been signed. The head of the UFA Orchestra, Werner Richard Heymann, received an offer to stay, but he decided not to accept the extenetion of his contract and emigrated to Paris.

At the film's premiere on 4 October 1933, neither the scriptwriters nor the director or the actor Adolf Wohlbrück later Anton Walbrook were mentioned in the opening credits.

Man braucht kein Geld (1931)

Delightful COMEDY about how a high finance bluff saves a job, a bank, a town and a love!

[7/10 · 21 October 2018]

No Money Needed in German: "Man braucht kein Geld" is a 1932 German comedy film directed by Carl Boese and starring Heinz Rühmann, Hans Moser and featuring a very young and pretty Hedy Lamarr. It premiered on 5 February 1932. It was based on a play by Ferdinand Alternkirch and was shot during November 1931. A virtually bankrupt businessman in a small town manages to convince people that his newly arrived cousin, who is equally impoverished, is an American millionaire.

A French remake "Pas besoin d'argent" and an Italian remake "Non c'è bisogno di denaro" were made in 1933. Boese himself remade the story in 1953 under the title The Uncle from America.

Liebling der Götter (1930)

Emil Jannings as a great opera singer must learn he can't burn the candle at both ends.

[7/10 · 21 October 2018]

The tenor Albert Winkelmann is a celebrated artist whom everyone admires for his singing and for whom the women in particular lie in mass at his feet - in short: he is a "darling of the gods". His wife Agathe sees the bohemian spouse's preference for the "weaker sex" with some concern. But Winkelmann always knows how to arrange everything: on the one hand, he lives off his love of life, good to food and drink, and can celebrate and be feasted on by the women of the world. On the other hand, he gives his wife the feeling that they have a home and only she counts for him. Imbued with apparently undiluted happiness, the powerful singer does not believe that anything could ever end his career. But one day his family doctor tells him his life style is bad for his health, more precisely: his heart. As so often, the cheerful artist faces this warning with ridicule and scorn, many continue to rely on him, the darling of the gods, nothing will happen, and he embarks on a South American tour, where he even larger would like to celebrate triumphs.

But on the ground, the hot and humid climate does not appeal to him at all, and not only palpitations are noticeable: To make matters worse, his vocal cords now also become limp, so that Winkelmann can no longer sing and has to cancel his tour. Frustrated and deeply depressed, he travels to Austria. Even his wife does not know how bad his health is. She is glad to finally have him for herself. Winkelmann braced himself against the idea that he would have to retire under these circumstances. Outwardly, he plays the only temporarily exhausted singer, who voluntarily wants to enjoy the tranquility at home on Lake Wolfgang and therefore refuses future offers for performances. In truth, however, it continues to urge him onto the stage, back into the spotlight. One day when he begins to sing another song out of mischief, all of a sudden his voice has returned. Agathe now realizes that her husband, as a retiree, would be heartbroken. His art belongs to everyone, and his world is the stage. He's back having learned his lessons.

I Do Not Want to Know Who You Are (1932)

Delightful romantic comedy with role reversal twists. Very charming hoot!

[7/10 · 21 October 2018]

The impoverished Count Lerchenau works under the name Robert Lindt as a chauffeur. He lost his last job, however, because women love him so much. His former servant Ottokar remains loyal to him and tries to get him to marry a rich woman. In the restaurant, where he's supposed to meet an "acceptable" lady, he ends up flirting with the attractive Alice instead. In order to get a position on President Fuhring's staff, Robert gives "Count Lerchenau" (himself) as a reference. But, of course, Fuhring then wants to meet Lerchenau to speak to him about "Robert" and Franz has to play the role of the count!

The Private Secretary Gets Married (1933)

Early German sound film is sweetly similar to Marty, title translates to The Ugly Girl.

[7/10 · 21 October 2018]

"Das hässliche Mädchen" (The ugly girl) of the title is young Lotte (Dolly Haas), who is hired as a secretary by an insurance company precisely for her supposed ugliness, as the director (Otto Wallburg) hopes to avoid amorous affairs in his company this way. But as these things go, not only does one of his employees, Fritz (Max Hansen), fall for her, but unsurprisingly the ugly duckling soon transforms into a lovely lady. Fritz realizes a little too late that he's in love with Lotte, however, and meanwhile establishes an affair with the company director's girlfriend. And obviously, this leads to all sorts of problems and funny situations...

This is the second film that Henry Koster directed, then still using the name of Hermann Kosterlitz, but due to the political circumstances his name was purged from the credits and replaced by "Buch und Regie: Hasse Preiss". The trivia remark on the film at imdb explains this sad affair thus: "This was the last film that Henry Koster directed in Berlin before having to leave due to Nazis. He left Berlin, having knocked out an SS officer, one day before filming was finished on the movie. The nazis removed his name from the credits and substituted the name of "Hasse Preiss", the lyricist." For more background information, please also look at the rather extensive wikipedia entry on this film.

Anyway, this is a rather charming and stylish comedy which not only features Dolly Haas as the female lead, but also the great satirical cabaret singer Max Hansen, who gets to do some nice singing here (not enough to qualify the film for the 'musical' tag, though). Hansen was a major star of the German musical scene in the late Weimar era, and also played in a few films, but like so many others he had to flee from Germany in 1933, and not only for having famously insinuated (in his song "War´n Sie schon mal in mich verliebt?") that Hitler was gay. His departure was finally caused by nazi attacks during the premiere of this film, incidentally.

Censored! (1999 TV Movie)

Good documentary, if a little short about adult stories/situations trimmed for "moral" reasons.

[7/10 · 15 September 2018]

There is good taste and bad, but lots of good stories come close to the edge and do not offend. However for many decades Hollywood was censored by local and state groups until Hollywood started policing it's self. This documentary tries to offer examples of good and bad censorship. I recommend it for those who know little about the subject. This is an interesting sampler to the history of forced editing for our own good, or how the truth was ignored to keep movies sanitary. Really it should be up to the consumer to decide.

Easy to Take (1936)

Marsha Hunt again charms in this romantic comedy about kiddies radio show from Paramount.

[7/10 · 8 September 2018]

Let's just jump into the plot: When wealthy spinster Sara Westlake dies, she leaves the majority of her estate to her spoiled eleven-year-old nephew Wilbur, appointing "Uncle Roddy" Garfield (John Howard), a famous radio "adventurer," as his guardian. Although Roddy, who actually never leaves the studio, is tired of making up stories of his world-wide adventures and wants to end the sham, his manager, "Doc" Reginald Kraft, insists his association with the Westlakes will be a great publicity ploy. Wilbur's older sister Donna (Marsha Hunt), who attends the Miss Darcey School for Girls, visits the radio station and walks in on Doc and Roddy coldly discussing the Westlake millions. Assuming they are a pair of swindling publicity hounds, Donna tries to get an injuction against Roddy becoming Wilbur's guardian, but is unsuccessful, thanks to Doc, who tells the judge that Roddy is going to be married. When reporters accost Donna outside the courthouse, Roddy whisks her into a parked car, where they hide. The car belongs to a newspaper photographer, however, who snaps a picture of them huddling together in the back seat. Although Roddy takes the film, the next day, the newspapers announce the engagement of Roddy to Donna, and she, believing Roddy was behind the announcement, chastises him at the Westlake home, where he is becoming acquainted with the impudent Wilbur. The family lawyer, Olney, then tells Roddy that the Westlakes are broke, and appeals to him to take advantage of the publicity long enough to support the family until Donna finishes school. At Doc's insistence, Roddy hosts a Children's Radio Hour, with Wilbur as a guest. When Roddy interviews Wilbur on the air and asks him if he considers himself lucky to have a sister like Donna, Wilbur retorts, "You take her, you probably will anyway." Fed up with Wilbur's insolence, Roddy gives him a sound spanking while still on the air. The public is outraged at Roddy's behavior, and to keep a new sponsor, Doc leaks the story that Roddy has been playing Santa Claus to the bankrupt Westlakes. Also printed is the photograph of Roddy and Donna huddled in the car. Believing that Roddy, with whom she is now in love, gave the papers the photo, Donna tells her friend Celia that she is running away. Celia calls Roddy, telling him that Donna is going to commit suicide, and he makes appeals over the radio for her to come back. Donna stubbornly waits in a bar until Doc announces on the air that Wilbur has been in a terrible car accident and is calling for his sister. Speeding back home, Donna is arrested, and Roddy retrieves her. Donna apologizes for her nasty treatment of Roddy, who is about to confess that Wilbur was not in an accident when they see a smashed car in front of the Westlake home. Entering the library, they find Wilbur wrapped in bandages on the couch. Unknown to Donna, Doc promised Wilbur a radio contract if he pretended to be hurt. When reporters arrive, Donna allows them to photograph her and Roddy, who are going to marry after all.

That's My Gal (1947)

Old film starts with plot that was also used in THE PRODUCERS only 20 years earlier!

[6/10 · 8 September 2018]

Tell me if some of this doesn't sound familiar.... In Allentown, after seeing a burlesque show called "That's My Gal," confidence men Harry Coleman and Louie Koblentz decide to buy the show. They visit producer Benny Novak's hotel room, where they explain their plan to sell interest in the show, while making it so lewd that the town's mayor will be forced to close it down on opening night, allowing them to keep most of the backers' money for themselves. Convinced that their plan will work, Benny agrees to produce the show, in which Harry and Louie sell interests totaling 250 percent. When backer Joshua Perkins arrives at the rehearsal, one of the dancers demonstrates a provocative dance called the "snake hips," and Perkins collapses and dies. Because Perkins leaves no heirs, Natalie Adams, who works for the state, takes over Perkins' estate, which includes a fifty-one percent share in "That's My Gal." Natalie visits the gang at their office and asks to see their account books, but they tell her they have been sent out for auditing. Worried about her prying, Benny decides to distract Natalie by taking her out to the Jungle Club that evening and plying her with champagne. Benny is the one who gets drunk, however, and by the time he awakes the next morning, Natalie has already arrived at the show's rehearsal. After a "jury" of twelve citizens judges the show to be sordid, Natalie offers Benny money from the state treasury in order to improve it, thereby protecting government money already invested in the show. When State Assemblyman McBride learns that state money is going into the show, he angrily denounces Governor Thompson, against whom he is campaigning. Natalie arranges a meeting, in which the governor tells the gang that if the show is a failure, he will be voted out during the upcoming election. Benny insists that Harry and Louie buy back the oversold interest in the show, but none of the backers will sell. The show opens and in the audience are both McBride and the governor. Backstage, the show's backers speak with Natalie, who realizes that the show is oversold. When Natalie explains this to them, they frantically sell their interest back to Benny. Natalie then attempts to stop the show, which is a huge success, so Benny offers to donate his forty-nine percent interest to the state. Overjoyed, Natalie announces the news to the grateful audience.

The River Changes (1956)

Back in the 1950s movies like this were made to warn about bullies suppressing freedom and free speech.

[6/10 · 7 September 2018]

Plot description: A remote middle-European village lies close to a river that serves as a natural boundary between two countries. The country on the opposite shore has a totalitarian system of government. Mayram, a young woman from the village, lives with her uncle Jonathan and his wife Leah, who is pregnant. After Jonathan discovers that landslides have clogged the river's source in the mountains, he rides to a military post to acquire some dynamite. While he is away, a severe storm passes through the area, causing a dam to give way and change the course of the river. The village now falls within the boundary of the neighboring country and the villagers are summoned by guards to a meeting in the center of the village. The Leader, a political spokesman for the totalitarian regime, explains that the village is now part of his country and that the villagers will need to be interviewed and registered. When Leah attempts to explain Jonathan's absence to The Leader, his assistant, The Questioner, states that it is illegal to possess dynamite, and suspects Jonathan of being a subversive. At night, when leading villagers hold a meeting to discuss sending someone back across the river to advise their countrymen of what has happened, guards break in, as secret meetings are now prohibited. The next day, all firearms are confiscated and The Leader further harangues the villagers, telling them that their country is decadent and that they will be indocrinated about their new land where the state is supreme. The Leader then orders all food products to be delivered to a central storeroom where they will be rationed, and Mayram's cow is taken and slaughtered. One night, although she has a romantic relationship with young Teman, Mayram keeps a rendezvous with Kurus, one of the guards who has been flirting with her. As they walk by the river, Kurus kisses her and she reveals to him that she moved to the village after her parents were killed in a city that was being bombed. The next day, as the villagers work in the fields, one of them, Aaron, escapes and attempts to cross the river, but is spotted by the guards and killed. The Leader interrogates Aaron's widow, confiscates her house and belongings and assigns her to work as a servant at his headquarters. One night, Jonathan returns, and after learning of the events, volunteers to cross the river as he will not be missed in the official daily roll call. The meeting is again interrupted, however, by guards who arrest Jonathan as he is suspected of being an enemy agent. Jonathan is then interrogated by The Leader and beaten. The next day, The Questioner announces that no one can live within ten miles of the border and all the villagers will have to move or be shot. Asa, one of the village elders, decides that somehow they will all cross the river that night. Leah cannot leave without Jonathan, however, so Mayram flirts with his guard, enabling him to escape. Jonathan takes a rifle, ammunition and a strong rope and heads for the river. Mayram then goes to see her lover, Kurus, and agrees to spend the night with him, thereby distracting him from his duty. Kurus tells her that he is in love with her and promises her a great future in his country. Jonathan swims across the river with the rope, anchors it on both sides and collects the dynamite he brought back. After The Questioner discovers Jonathan has escaped, a search for him is organized. Meanwhile, the exodus begins as the villagers assemble at the crossing point. While Jonathan delays The Leader and guards with dynamite sticks and gunfire, women and children begin to cross the river, holding onto the rope. Kurus runs to help his fellow guards and is about to shoot Jonathan when Mayram picks up a rifle and shoots him. She gives the rifle to the villagers and goes to help Leah, who will not cross without Jonathan. After Teman shoots The Leader, all the villagers make it across the river. The last guard left alive decides not to fire on them and walks away. The villagers are ecstatic to be back in their own land.

Secret Sinners (1933)

Low budget film suffers weak script, fair acting, little direction and lazy editing.

[4/10 · 27 July 2018]

Just watched this film and here's the story... This love story was filmed as the Hays censors were beginning their work, but it was obviously not screened or approved by the censors, because there is way too much skin in the follies dancing scenes, and way too much witty dialogue about the lack of clothing that chorus girls Sue and Margie wear at work. Sue is a chorus girl who is not embarrassed about performing with very little of her body covered, and Margie is an Iowa farmer's daughter who has come to New York to become a famous Broadway actress. Margie cannot find work and is cleaning rooms at a boarding house for actors and Sue helps her get a job in the chorus of the Follies. Sue is in love with a young songwriter, and Margie will meet a millionaire who falls in love with her . . . . Of course, the millionaire's wife will cause them some grief . . . . But not more than they can handle. Enough about the story, I've just gotta dish some Hollywood gossip . . . . You don't mind do ya?

Well, first off, the perky and pretty brunette Sue, who has such good chemistry with her young songwriter boyfriend, is Sue Carol, the real-life wife of Nick Stuart, the fellow playing her boyfriend in the story. . . . No wonder they have such great chemistry! But wait . . . . That chemistry will not last . . . They will get divorced for some reason and Sue will fall in love with another actor . . . . Sue Carol was born Evelyn Jean Lederer, and her mother's name was Caroline, and when she started acting in movies she used the name Sue Carol. Well, a few years after she and Nick Stuart split up, she fell in love once again. On March 15, 1942 she married legendary actor Alan Ladd and they lived happily until his death many years later.

The other chorus girl in this story is Cecilia Parker, who you will remember not for her sexy chorus girl roles, but for her mid-west feel-good family stories. Four years after this movie, in 1937, Cecilia got a role in a movie called A Family Affair, where she played the older sister to Mickey Rooney in the first story about Judge Hardy and his son Andy Hardy. She would play Andy's older sister in most of the sixteen movies about Andy Hardy . . . . Except the one episode that entered public domain early and you can watch here: Love Laughs at Andy Hardy.

One more bit of trivia about the actors . . . When Jimmy buys the music publishing house he meets real-life composer/pianist Harry Barris, who would write songs that have been performed in movies ever since. Harry Barris died in 1962, but his music lives on to this day. His song 'I Surrender Dear' was featured in the 2005 movie The Notorious Bettie Page, and before that his music was used in the 1999 blockbuster "The Green Mile" . . . . And I could go on with movie after movie going all the way back to this one. . . . . But it is now time to pop a big bowl of white kernel popcorn with plenty of warm melted butter drizzled over it and enjoy the show. . . . Oh, I almost forgot . . . . One more thing that you might miss if I don't tell you to watch for it . . . For a good hoot, when we first meet Cecilia Parker as the scrub woman in the boarding house, watch the landlady closely as she delivers fresh towels to each room . . . Keep an eye on the towels :-)

The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies (1995 TV Movie)

It may be brief, but it introduces a lot of interesting clips, stars, history, changes in covering 100 years of the movies.

[8/10 · 14 July 2018]

This 90 minute journey thru the first hundred years of cinema history is amazing with over 267 stars, directors, historians seen, appearing or speaking about the highlights. I find it funny that someone on IMDB reviewing it finds fault that it does not go into more detail. Let's see, they cover 100 years in 90 minutes, that's less than a minute a year... but for all those 90 minutes it is fascinating! Just try getting someone who only watched videos on their phone to sit still for 90 minutes. There are "hundreds" of good documentaries about the history of movies, and none of them covers everything. But if you enjoy discovering more, I suggest you see Kevin Brownlow's HOLLYWOOD series which comes in 13, hour long episodes and only covers silent film. Brownlow's HOLLYWOOD like his book THE PARADES' GONE BY is just the starting point for appreciating early cinema. There are countless volumes of books dedicated to the history of film, and particularly to the legacy, scandal and extravagance of golden-age Hollywood. But over the years, several film scholars and critics have reached into the realm of documentary film to spread their knowledge further. These educational docs-in the guise of easygoing entertainment and spot-the-celeb appearances-are valuable for anyone who wants to brush up on the background of the American film industry. I also recommend: These Amazing Shadows (2011); A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese through American Movies (1995); MGM: When the Lion Roars (1992, 6 hours); You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story (3hrs, 48m) and The Story of Film: An Odyssey (at 900 minutes) that covers international film.

The Adventures of Biffle and Shooster (2015)

My first misadventure with a Biffle and Shooster short was at Cinevent in 2018 with a crowd of early comedy buffs and the crowd loved it!

[7/10 · 28 June 2018]

... so of course, I had to buy the DVD set "The Misadventures of Biffle and Shooster!" to see more of these charming, funny shorts and LOTS of extras and outtakes!

And if you are a fan of the short films of Laurel & Hardy, Abbott and Costello, Wheeler & Woolsey, Smith and Dale, the Three Stooges, Martin and Lewis, Shaw & Lee, Clark and McCullough, Weber and Fields, the Ritz Brothers, vaudeville and burlesque, etc. You will enjoy these recently and lovingly recreated "new" comedy shorts created by the Orson Welles of Corny comedy, Mike Schlesinger and his talented team of rascals starring Nick Santa Maria (Biffle) and Will Ryan (Shooster).

Each short is a mix of clever dialogue, deftly delivered asides, freshly recycled stage schtick and catchy tunes. Be sure to pay attention to both the opening and closing credits as they are filled with tributes and in-jokes as well as well-earned acknowledgment to a bunch of talented artist reviving the best of the good old days.

Speed King (1923)

Richard Talmadge is the poor man's Douglas Fairbanks, fun action comedy on a budget!

[6/10 · 3 May 2018]

Jimmy Martin, king of the motorcycle speedsters, visits the Kingdom of Mandavia for a race. There he is persuaded to impersonate the king by a traitor, Rodolph D'Henri, who intends to annex part of Mandavia for neighboring Selmarnia. The real king is in jail. D'Henri's plot is successful until Martin falls in love with Princess Margaret of Alvernia. Then he discloses his true identity, releases the real king, exposes the traitor, earns knighthood, and marries Margaret.

The Great Cattle War (1920)

Heaven's gate meets Romeo and Juliet in 1400's Germany!

[6/10 · 5 April 2018]

The main plot is about power struggle between poor simple mountain peasants who have been raising milk cows on common land and a village bailiff trying to gain power driving them off the land claiming and old ducal parchment document states that only oxen are allowed there. But the local farmers also have a ducal document that states the opposite. Things escalate quickly as the bailiff uses the church to try and force the issue to the point that he sends soldiers to intimidate the farmers. In the middle are John Morton a farmer trying to raise his daughter Margaret and crippled son Mikey after his wife has died giving child birth and the bailiff whose son Archibald has just returned from the wars and wants peace. There is a side plot, like the Romeo and Juliet like love story between the bailiff's son and the leader of the farmers' daughter. It is based on the 1914 novel The War of the Oxen by Ludwig Ganghofer. It is a drama set against the backdrop of the War of the Oxen in the 1420s near Bavaria Germany.

The Language of Flowers (1905)

Pathe color film of young boy and girl flirting with flowers in 18th century formal attire.

[6/10 · 26 February 2018]

A young girl (in a pink and yellow dress) and boy (in a turquoise jacket suit) both in 18th century clothes and wigs bow to each other before a table covered with yellow cut flowers. The boy awards a flower to the girl as a gift and politely bows and leaves. She picks up one flower and slowly starts to pull the pedals out one at a time (as if playing, he loves me, he loves me not.)

Calling Hubby's Bluff (1929)

Scarce Billy Bevan comedy about a spoiled husband learning to appreciate his wife.

[5/10 · 12 December 2017]

Billy Bevan plays Billy Barton a spoiled husband who takes his wife played by Carmelita Geraghty for granted. After his buddy Vernon Dent as Vernon Vance is caught flirting with the misses the men leave for work. At the office Widow Schultz played flirtingly by Dot Farley gives a watch to Billy wishing he was free. Outside the office door Mrs. Barton overhears and decides to plunge into this awkward situation. The widow gracefully exits inviting both to a party at her home. Reel 2 opens at party scene with several well dressed people are dancing and mingling. Among them are Irving Bacon as a butler and mustached Robert Young in only his second film appearance as an extra! Bevan spots a beautiful woman in a black dress from behind, when she turns around... it's his wife who he must win back from all the other men who are after her now.

Der Prinz von Arkadien (1932)

That's a Willi Forst comedy! Lucky that this movie has reappeared!

[8/10 · 31 October 2017]

SPOILERS:

The team Walter Reisch (screenplay) and Karl Hartl (director) had learned and worked with Korda in Berlin and could now realize a series of films in Vienna, which urgently need to be rediscovered. Everything is just right here: just the input sequence. His Highness (Willi Forst) should abdicate, the Cabinet waits in the hall, but he does not speak. But from the top you can hear music and laughter. "It has to be," says the prime minister. The Hofmarschall walks along the long corridors, the camera follows him, he knocks on the door, he knocks again and then the door opens a crack, you see the head of a pretty woman, probably in a negligee, and she says insolently: "After midnight, I'm the one who rules". Close the door. Our imagination is enough to imagine what happens behind the door. Such hints are reminiscent of Ernst Lubitsch. Then the trifles - the fountain pen that the abdicating monarch retains, the bouquet of flowers that wanders back and forth, even when Willi Forst sings ("I have a lot of homesickness"), makes it easy to be there. A movie in which a lot of tuxedo is worn, which looks casual, light, funny, allusive, ironic (which monarch would like to thank you?). The photograph by Franz Planner (later USA) is meticulous, tender in transitions, and playful lightness. And one more thing: Hartl was 33 years old, Reisch and Forst 29 years old when they made this movie. It is filled with youth, fun and a passion for life.

Billy's Riot (1914)

Early Hollywood child star comedy made long before The Kid & Our Gang.

[7/10 · 30 October 2017]

PLOT SPOILERS:

Two young boys watch a girl dance outdoors at an school function and fall in like with her. The tall boy talks the girl into walking with him in the nearby park which makes the medium sized boy jealous and he enlists the help of an even smaller and young boy Little Billy (and his peashooter) into helping separate the girl from her beau. However the pea strikes the girl and she thinks the tall boy did it and walks away angry only to be comforted by the medium boy (quietly passing the peashooter to small Billy). Billy then wanders off to shoot projectiles at a man reading a newspaper, a bricklayer who blames his assistant which causes both to call for reinforcements and a brick throwing fight ensues. When a policeman gets hit by a stray brick he calls the riot squad who fall all over themselves trying to get to the scene of the riot. Many Hollywood locations are spotted behind the action.

The Witching Hour (1921)

A tinted and toned nitrate print is held by the Library Of Congress but it's starting to deteriorate.

[6/10 · 30 October 2017]

I saw a 35mm black & white film print projected and it was fascinating but the image did jitter in the projector film gate and the story/action jumped in spots. But, I hear that there is a tinted and toned nitrate print that is held by the Library Of Congress but it's starting to deteriorate. I hope it gets preserved in color and soon.

PLOT & SPOILERS:

While Jack Brookfield is entertaining guests at his gambling house in Louisville, young Clay Whipple, who is obsessed by a fear of cat's-eye jewels, is taunted by Tom Denning with a scarf-pin and kills him. Clay, who loves Viola, Brookfield's niece, is then tried and sentenced to death. Brookfield visits Judge Prentice and convinces him that Clay is entitled to a retrial; and he exposes Hardmuth, an attorney seeking the gubernatorial nomination, as involved in the governor-elect's murder. Hardmuth tries to shoot Brookfield, but the latter, through mental suggestion, thwarts him, and in the second trial Clay is acquitted. He is later reunited with the woman he loves.

Deluge (1933)

Famous low budget Sci-Fi tried taking on the end of the world in 1933, and was lost until recently.

[5/10 · 29 October 2017]

A rumbling, gurgling: thriller, titled 'Deluge,' unfolds Itself a little clearer after being found in better shape. For years you could not see it anywhere, then a subtitled version in fair shape was found in Italy. Then in 2016 a composite dupe negative was discovered and a better, though not perfect copy is now available. But what of the content, is it a good film?

SPOILERS:

After starting in 1933 (pre-Code) USA with the actions of alarmed meteorological experts and then showing what purport to be major coastal cities demolished by earthquakes and a flood, "Deluge," turns to melodramatic villainy and romance. It is remarkable how soon the few remaining mortals regain their composure after the world disaster and become quite interested in living in caverns and shacks. There is the handsome but not precisely brainy hero who battles with a rugged scoundrel to save a fair college graduate, presumed at the time to be the only woman alive in that part of the world.

Most of the incidents in this rumbling and gurgling thriller occur somewhere about forty miles from "where New York City was." Martin Webster, the stop-look-and- listen hero, tells Claire Arlington, the pale, blonde co-ed and marvelous swimmer in panties and bra, that they cannot be far from where his country home once stood. Martin has lost his wife and two children, or thinks he has. Being a brave young chap, however, he succeeds in forgetting them and falls madly in love with Claire. It would seem that Claire is happy, until a shooting affray starts. The vile Jephson and his fierce underlings fortunately decide not to continue the attack in the day, but to wait for night. It is nothing short of a miracle (or script writing) how Martin and Claire elude Jephson.

And just when Martin tells other survivors found at a settlement that Claire is his wife, he learns that the charming Mrs. Webster and her youngsters are alive and well. This leads to a certain acidity on Claire's part, but she decides to do the gallant thing in the end, by swimming out to sea. In fact, she is called upon to do a great deal of long-distance swimming throughout this melodrama.

The best moments in the film are those concerned with the excited weather men and scientists. The destruction of skyscrapers is never particularly real and the rushing waters seem strangely out of focus at times. The dialogue never rises above the action of the story and the players deserve sympathy.

Bottom line: It's more important to see this once lost oddity with low budget but massive model and miniature work than to celebrate it's story and acting. See it with low expectations and you'll be impressed until you get bored.