c382000 Reviews

The Music Box (1932)

Piano Delivery Made Easy!

[10/10 · 3 January 2017]

"Heave" - "HO!" "Heave" - "HO!" So NOW doesn't everyone see how easy piano delivery can be? Well, it's a "Piece of Cake" according to The Boys! First, you only have to carry the piano up the hill (only 131 steps!) to the house. Okay, maybe multiple times, because... Well, okay, it *could* be easier...

Then since no one is at home, you should DEFINITELY break into the house, hoist the piano up to the second story (Really...), and then drag the thing down the stairs. A little water from the Fountain Dunking? They'll fix that...

From 1932 - A Laurel & Hardy TREASURE. One of my Top-2 L&H movies!

Towed in a Hole (1932)

How Could Buying A Boat POSSIBLY Be A Bad Idea?

[10/10 · 31 May 2010]

Two fishmongers get the idea to purchase their own boat So They Can Avoid The Dreaded "Middleman". Sounds like a brilliant idea, right? Uhhh, unless it's Laurel & Hardy...

1. Purchasing the boat with their life savings? - No Problem. The junkyard owner (Keyword: JUNKYARD) was all too happy to take cash for a Heap 'O Rotten Wood.

2. Fixing up the boat for fishing? - HUGE Problem! (Hey - They're Laurel & Hardy!) Repair Time? Well, what could possible happen there??? Painting Time? No Problem! Ollie is ready to take on the Entire Task - But too bad that Stan is not able to Add His Help. Or Is He? Well, No Problem: Ollie will muddle on, as he always does. Good thing he doesn't mind a little paint on himself. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Ha Ha HA HA!

One Of The Best Scenes In The First 50 Years Of Movies: Watching The Two of Them See Their Boat Roll Down The Hill To Its Total Destruction. Stan was so-o-o apologetic. Ollie - well, gotta watch this short to see his reaction...

Yellowstone Cubs (1963)

Does This Bring Back Memories

[9/10 · 6 September 2008]

I rated it pretty high, because I remember it as an episode of Wonderful World of Disney from the early 1960s, and *I have not seen it since.* So I last saw the show about 45 years ago as a teenager. I do recall that, like most Disney shows, it was well produced, cleverly written, and the narration by Rex Allen was the perfect complement to the rest of the production.

My family had bought a color television in 1958, and this was a color production. In fact, the Wonderful World Of Disney was one of the early color productions on NBC. Sunday evening was quite a treat.

I still vividly remember the scene of the two little bears breaking into a cabin *and wrecking the place.* I especially the scene in which one of the bears climbed up to the cabinets and pulled the container of flour onto himself. Too Funny!

Bonanza: Any Friend of Walter's (1963) Season 4, Episode 26

One of the Top 10 Episodes

[10/10 · 18 February 2008]

As a testament to the earlier comments, I can still remember seeing this Bonanza episode from its original airing in 1963 (when I was 15).

"AFoW" features two of the best character actors in TV: Dan Blocker and Arthur Hunnicutt. Then there's "Walter" - clearly a "Dog For All The Ages." Robbers are trying to steal Obie's (Hunnicutt's) gold. Hoss is attacked as he rides by, and takes refuge in the miner's cabin. Ready for a Fight To The Death, Hoss is not reassured by Obie's demeanor. Obie does not appear to be troubled by the criminals' attacks at all. But this is with good reason: the attackers discover (to their distress) the dead-falls and (YIKES) hidden dynamite left by Obie outside the cabin. Finally, Hoss and Obie lure the robbers into the cabin - and BEAT THE TAR OUT OF THEM. The thugs are *more than ready* to surrender to *anybody.* But when the Sheriff shows up, who is it that has all the bruises? - So Hoss and Obie are arrested, but Have No Fear: Walter will Figure Out Something to get them all out of jail!

I have looked for this episode on every Bonanza collection to date. It is HILARIOUS in its understated humor.

Jan 2009 Update: AFoW is now available on "Best of Bonanza Vol. 1". And I've already ordered my copy. (And after watching it, the episode is as smart - and funny - as ever. What has happened to "modern" TV, that so witty a show could not be made now?)

The DuPont Show of the Week: Windfall (1963) Season 2, Episode 10

A couple buy an antique chest - which contains A LOT of hidden MONEY!

[10/10 · 6 August 2007]

Saw this program at the 1963 original airing - and have never seen it since. It remains with me now, over 50 years later.

The story is this: A couple buys a chest at an antique auction, and when they get it home, find that it contains A LOT of cash - I seem to recall the figure $50,000 (equal to half a million 2000s dollars.) Efforts to contact the original owners are not fruitful, and so the money finally becomes theirs. They can pay off their house, etc. But there is a dark side: the husband's employer thinks he embezzled the money and he is fired. Friends and family demand money. Then there's the IRS who thinks he stole the money.

The upshot is that the money was nothing but a curse. After much agony, they finally resolve their problems - until they take off the back of the chest to finish the restoration they had started - AND FIND MUCH, MUCH, MUCH MORE CASH - I seem to recall that it was over ten times the original amount. After the misery that the original money had brought, they can do the only sane thing - THEY BURN THE NEW MONEY in their fireplace - "Here's a home in Europe"; "Here's the kids' college bills"; etc.

At a young age, I saw how wealth can be a curse as well as a blessing. This was one of the most useful lessons I have ever learned from media, which should be obvious from the fact that I still recall the program after over 50 years.

The Grey Fox (1982)

Real people, real situations, real... everything

[10/10 · 20 February 2006]

No soap-opera writing. No clothes-tearing, overblown, wa-a-ay-too-dramatic acting. No smart-mouthed kids. No adam sandler. No *Pop Personalities*. No *SPECIAL EFFECTS*. No ad placement. No pre-digested, pre-ordained, pre-viewed politically-correct plot that everyone has seen at least 1000 times.

Grey Fox has much more than anyone expects to see in modern movies. Unknown actors (who REALLY KNOW how to act); spectacular photography; a REAL story line about REAL people.

You will be excited, hopeful, sad. You will weep. What more would you want in a motion picture?

The Defenders (1961–1965)

Very compelling writing and acting

[24 November 2005]

I have not seen an episode since the mid-60s (YIKES, how long is that?), but I remember many of them. In one, these father/son are assigned the defense of a young Nazi. The man was defacing a synagogue when he was interrupted by the rabbi, who accidentally fell and hit his head and died. The man was caught and charged with murder, since it was assumed that he had killed the rabbi. There turned out to be a witness who could clear the man. When the Defenders finally tracked him down, he told them the most horrific story of his arrest and transfer to a concentration camp - and for that reason he would not testify for "one of THEM." Their response was, "Do you want us to be like them, ignoring the truth?" And that was how the episode ended - would the witness testify or not? How childish modern TV "drama" seems in comparison...

Viva Max (1969)

Incredibly realistic for a 1969 movie!

[8/10 · 8 September 2005]

What a hoot! Wa-a-a-ay too subtle a depiction of Texas characters for a Scotsman to understand.

Then there's the action: Border crossing? - If only it were this stringent... San Antonio - yep. Mexican Army - Yeah: been there, seen them. State Department characters - figures (in fact, it's rather flattering to our "diplomats".)

Other images: El General riding his horse, while the soldados walk; the "army" riding the bus into San Antonio - PERFECT. John Astin as El Sargente - que bueno!

Then there are the main characters: Peter Ustinov - perfect for the role. Pamela Tiffin - The Baylor coed - exactly as shown.

Thumbs up for Viva Max from a life-long Texan.

Project Twenty: The Real West (1961) Season Unknown, Episode Unknown

Memorable after 40+ years

[19 June 2002]

It was the last program made by Gary Cooper, one of my favorite stars, who was dying of lung cancer. I believe he passed away only a month or two after this program was done. At the beginning of the show, Cooper stated that he had appeared in many western movies, and these movies often gave an incorrect view of the American West, but that this show was an attempt to present the actual events and people of that era.

I remember seeing this show as a 12-year-old kid. I have only seen a short clip of it since that original airing, but the program is still vivid in my memory after 40+ years.

Winky-Dink and You (1953–1957)

One of my favorite kid shows

[18 June 2002]

Couldn't get this show in my hometown, but it was a real treat to go to my grandmother's house in Oklahoma, because Winky Dink was on there. I even had the Winky Dink kit there - green plastic to put on the screen, a couple of crayons, and a cloth towel to wipe the marks off. It was so exciting to draw a bridge for Winky Dink to escape across a river, then erase it before the villain could cross it!