shadejford Reviews

The Perils of Penelope Pitstop (1969–1971)

Simultaneous heroine/victim

[24 April 2008]

One of Hanna-Barbera's better comedies. It was a good parody of cliffhangers that were popular during the early 20th century. Penelope herself had feminist overtones. The Ant Hill Mob were supposed to be her saviors, yet they usually botched their rescue attempts and Penelope would save herself from her predicaments. Last Tuesday, I viewed an episode in which she saved the Ant Hill Mob.// Another highlight is the way she ran. The animators humorously displayed her femininity by having her run like a ballet dancer.// And Paul Lynde was at a peak in his career at this time by doing the voice of The Hooded Claw in this series and that of the prissy suburbanite in another Hanna-Barbera series Where's Huddles? Lynde was almost as much a creative asset to the studio as was Mel Blanc. Art fans should appreciate the mixture of expressionism and impressionism in the cartoon's backgrounds. Adults enjoyed this show as much as kids.

Friend or Phony (1952)

The Real "Bluto's Revenge."

[7 October 2007]

Actually, the cartoon that could be truly titled "Bluto's Revenge" would the one released two years before this one--How Green Is My Spinach(l950). That's the one in which Bluto eliminates all of the spinach in the world. The punishment he dishes out to a weakened Popeye in that film far exceeds what he does to Popeye in this cartoon. The similarities between both cartoons are interesting. Bluto shares his nefarious plans with the (us) viewing audience and Popeye doesn't have a clue of what's about to happen to him. Both films show Popeye heavily dependent on his spinach. This is curious for I remember films in which Popeye wasn't so helpless without his spinach. Both films don't feature Olive Oyl. The emphasis in both films is Bluto's obsession with beating Popeye to death. The can marked"Spinach" is the real hero in these films.

The Lucy Show (1962–1968)

Lucy, Viv and Gale: The Lucy Show Triumvirate

[12 December 2005]

Although it was called "The Lucy Show," the core of this program was always the interaction between Lucille Ball, Vivian Vance and Gale Gordon. Having key film crew personnel from "I Love Lucy" certainly didn't hurt. The show did lose some punch when Vance left for she,along with Ball and Gordon, were "The Lucy Show Triumvirate". However, I feel the post-Vance episodes were almost as enjoyable for they featured interesting and entertaining guest stars. The "Main Street" episode featuring Mel Torme, Paul Winchell AND John Bubbles is a delight for musical fans. Check out the sequence showing Bubbles dancing with Lucy. Also, these later episodes still featured Gale Gordon who bounced off Lucy just as effectively as Vance did. Plus, the addition of Roy Roberts as Gordon's boss helped for he and Gordon bounced off each other well.

13 Seconds (2003 Video)

Horrific acting

[3/10 · 22 November 2005]

Most of the acting in this flick is flat and boring. And some of the dialog is rather derivative. What kept me watching the whole film were the interesting performances from Robert Miller(Sidetrack) and Daniel Rowe(Adramalech). Demonologists should know who "Adramalech" really is. It's too bad you don't see Rowe appear until the movie's last half hour. My interest was perked whenever Miller and Rowe appeared on screen. Otherwise, the other actors and actresses' performances caused my interest to decrease rapidly. I wish Rowe had more screen time in this flick. At least the makeup was decent. Finally, kudos should go to artists who created the film's paintings.

Omen IV: The Awakening (1991 TV Movie)

Delia's relationship with her parents.

[27 August 2005]

Some viewers of this Omen film and of the previous ones have commented how many of Damien's and Delia's actions would have been prevented if the parents had better parenting and disciplinary skills. Well, this is why I like Faye Grant's performance as Karen York in Omen IV. Some of the most interesting scenes display Karen's no-nonsense attitude towards Delia's bratty behavior. Other interesting sequences feature Karen playing the role of investigator as she gradually discovers Delia's satanic background. Alas, she gets no support from her clueless husband Gene who has obviously fallen victim to Delia's devilish charms. All this is highly reminiscent of The Bad Seed.

The Stupidstitious Cat (1947)

An animated version of The Jack Benny Program

[24 July 2004]

Here, we have toon versions of Jack Benny & Rochester with Jack as the cartoon's eponymous character and Rochester as the tricky black crow Buzzy. However, these characters are not actually voiced by Benny and Rochester. Jackson Beck provides an amusing "Rochester-like" voice for Buzzy. I don't know who does the Jack Benny-like voice for the cat. When this Famous Studios cartoon was released in l947, The Jack Benny Program was one of the most popular radio shows in America. // Buzzy is more known for his comic book appearances which were published for many years by Harvey Comics. The comic book stories are faithful adaptations of his cartoons. In this cartoon, as in the comic book stories, a cat is trying to eat Buzzy and the crow outsmarts the cat. // Basing the characters' voices on popular radio characters makes them appealing. Jackson Beck voiced many characters in Famous' cartoons and his vocal characterization for Buzzy is just as appealing as the voice he provided for Bluto in Famous' Popeye series.// Famous put out their best cartoons during the l940's and this one is no exception. The studios is notorious for putting out cartoons featuring mindless violence that was sometimes more disturbing than funny, but that was characteristic of most of the cartoons the studio produced after l950. Animation fans who dislike Famous' cartoons might find this one a pleasant surprise.

The Creeper (1948)

A film from the Val Lewton School

[14 December 2003]

Although the film's director and actor Onslow Stevens have done similar work for Universal, this film is more reminiscient of Val Lewton's horror thrillers for RKO. The film title itself refers to a black cat and many of the key scenes take place in dark, shadowy environments. Also, like Lewton, you don't see the monster until the very end. Interestingly, CREEPER features dream sequences that reminds me of RKO's noir films. CREEPER is from 20th Century-Fox. However, the story is typical of mid-40s Universal horror flicks while the mood is characteristic of Lewton's CAT PEOPLE films.

Beware of Barnacle Bill (1935)

This is one reason Max Fleischer's Popeye series is a classic.

[22 June 2003]

My introduction to the song"Barnacle Bill" was via this film, which I first saw as a kid on Richmond's then popular Sailor Bob show. It's an example of how Fleischer,unlike most of Popeye's later producers, understood the character. And it's also an example of how well the Fleischers were with animated syncopation. The character's actions are in perfect match with the music's rhythm. Compare this to the earlier Fleischer BARNACLE BILL(l930) and you will see how the Fleischer studio itself progressed in five years.