American singer/songwriter and guitarist Bruce Springsteen turns 75 years old today!
Here's one of his many MANY famous songs in celebration of his six decades of bringing us all entertainment through great music! A good argument can be made that this is one of best songs, so it's a shame it's faded a bit from public awareness as the years have passed. (As a bonus, the video is also a great exploitation of Springsteen's image as a Man of the People.)
Brilliant Disguise (1987) Starring: Bruce Springsteen Director: Meiert Avis Rating: Six of Ten Stars
The Lady and the Monster (1944) Starring: Vera Ralston, Richard Arlen, Erich von Stroheim, and Helen Vinson Director: George Sherman
Rating: Six of Ten Stars
A millionaire's mind is preserved after death through weird science... and he soon begins to telepathically force his will upon others in revenge and to carry on with his evil ways.
"The Lady and the Monster" is a great-looking film, with stylish sets and beautiful cinematography that takes full advantage of the black-and-white format. The excellent cast--headed by Erich von Stroheim, Vera Ralston, and Richard Arlen--give decent performances despite the fact that they are delivering some truly awful dialogue at times. The film is further undermined slightly by something of a tone-shift at the halfway point, but all in all, the good outweighs the bad here and it's a film that's worth your time.
And speaking of your time, we are happy to make it easy for you to watch "The Lady and the Monster" by embedding it in this very post, via The Screening Room on YouTube.
(If elements of the story and some of the characters seem familiar, it's possible you'll either read the novel upon which it was based, or seen one of the other two films based upon the same source--"Donovan's Brain" by Curt Siodmak. This was the first screen adaptation, however.)
Full Circle (2016) Starring: Michelle Shampton, Abby Main, David Schwering, Morgan Nash, and Cameron Gall
Director: Abby Main
Rating: Six of Ten Stars
Three bullies (Gall, Nash, and Schwering) are set upon by a mysterious, blood-thirsty avenger (Main) after they pick on the wrong girl (Shampton).
"Full Circle" is another of those obscure student films that I've uncovered in the dark and dusty abandoned corners of YouTube. The story is structured like the original "there's a killer on campus"-type films where teens and twenty-somethings are brutally murdered... but you, as the viewer, can't help but feel like cheering the killer on because the victims are so reprehensible. There are a couple twists, however, that lifts this film above so many others of this type.
There are some negatives here, though, and they mostly focus on lead actress Michelle Shampton. For about half of the film's running time, you'll think that she might be suffering from some mental disability because she seems abnormally cheerful. Eventually, we learn the real reason for her behavior and the issue is that Shampton was just going a bit over-the-top with her performance. In the scene where this becomes obvious, we actually get a look at proof that she actually is a pretty good actress. It's a shame that this appears to be the only film she was in. (This is true of all the cast members, actually.)
Another (nitpicky and personal) complaint is the artificial film "aging" artifacts that have been added to "Full Circle". Based on the overall look of the footage, I am guessing that it was originally shot with a digital camera and the desaturated to achieve the black-and-white look. It's done better here than in many other student efforts I've watched over the years, but adding streaks and other fake "old movie" flaws to the film is taking this a step too far. In my opinion, such effects should only be added to a film that its creators are trying to make look like it's from the "olden days" (which is not the case here), or the damage is so extreme that a claim can be made that it was "restored from footage recovered under desperate circumstances after it was nearly destroyed". The light "damage/wear-and-tear" touches to a film that's clearly set in the 1990s or 2000s are more distracting than anything else. Or at least it is to me.
Despite those two paragraphs of negativity, I feel this is a film that's well worth you time, if you like works of the "disgusting people get their due" variety. The fact that it has a couple plot twists that put it a little outside the norm makes it even better. So, take a few minutes out of your busy day and check out "Full Circle". (You might even be able to get away with watching it at work, since it's a silent movie and you just turn down the volume on the music!)
Garden of Souls (2022) Starring: Betty Roehm Widdoss, Karen Lynn Gorney, Eric Bower, and Jackie Capizzi Director: Christopher Milewski Rating: Six of Ten Stars
A grieving young widow (Widdoss) is approached by a strange old woman (Gorney) with a promise to reunite her with her dead love.
"Garden of Souls" is one of many attempts at emulating the style and content of silent movies from the 1910s and 1920s that you can find while prowling through the depths of YouTube. Although the pacing is a bit slow at times and the story logic is a bit murky, the creators here captured the style of early films with great effectiveness.
One thing that would have improved this film would have been a more effective use of the color tinting. I am not a fan of this, but when I've seen it used in actual vintage films, I could easily and quickly grasp what they were trying to convey, either scenery-wise or character-wise. Here, there didn't seem to be an immediate comprehensible reason for some of the color choices -- or maybe I was just particularly dense on the day I watched the film. Take a moment and watch the film (embedded below for your convenience) and tell me what YOU think the viewer should infer from the various tints.
Another thing that would have made this a much stronger film would have been a stronger attention to detail as far as the costumes go. In one scene, Widdoss character while dressed in an immaculate white gown picks up a shovel and starts digging in a grave. When she's done, her gown is still spotless. This REALLY pulled me out of the film, and I think that even filmmakers in the 1910s would have dirtied her up a bit.
Suds (1920) Starring: Mary Pickford, Harold Goodwin, Albert Austin, and Rose Dione Director: John Francis Dillon Rating: Six of Ten Stars
A London laundress (Pickford) spins a fantasy that she is a disherited noblewoman who is just waiting to be rescued by her banished lover (Austin). As she tries to make her fantasy a reality, she pushes away and disregards a man who truly loves her (Goodwin).
"Suds" is one of those rare films where there's no antagonist whatsoever; the main character is the source of every obstacle to her success and happiness. It's also a film where every cast-member has a degree of presence and likeability that makes the film extremely watchable. Between the talented cast and some excellent photography, the film moves easily from comedy to drama and back to comedy again. Similarly, the subplot involving an aging horse might not have seemed as impactful and relevant as it did.
The leader of this excellent cast is, in every way, Mary Pickford. In the film's real world, her character is at times comedic, at times uncouth bordering on revolting, at times so pitiful it makes the viewer want to cry for her. On the other hand, in the world of her character's imagination, she is poised, elegant, devoted to her lover beyond concern for even her own life. Where the real character is scattered and clumsy, she imagines herself as focused and graceful. It is in this form that we get to see the Mary Pickford we can recognize from other films.
Perhaps the most tragic thing about Pickford's character in "Suds" is that she is actually the noble character she imagines herself to be, at least in personality. The aforementioned subplot with the draft horse sees her go above and beyond to save it shows her kind and noble character very clearly. She doesn't have the self-esteem and social grace to apply it properly.
If you have enjoyed Mary Pickford in other films, I think you're going to enjoy her here, too. She gets to play a character very different from what you have seen her do before, but she also provides some examples of her "standard" performance styles.
Click below to watch "Suds" in its entirety. The version featured has a modern score that works in some places and doesn't in others. For all I know, it might be a random piece of instrumental music that is just repeated over and over... and any of the times when it matches perfectly with the action on the screen is purely luck.
Nursery Scandal (1932) Starring: Anonymous Singers and Voice Actors Directors: John Foster and Harry Bailey
Rating: Five of Ten Stars
Magic gnomes cause characters from fairy tales and nursery rhymes to emerge from a discarded book, and they all proceed to have a Rave Party 1930s style. Meanwhile, Mother Goose gets romantic with a scarecrow.
"Nursery Scandal" is a innocuous bit of nonsense for all ages. Adults and children alike will find the most entertainment here from identifying all the fairy tales and nursery rhymes that emerge for the big party. The only thing scandalous here might be Mother Goose making time with a scarecrow... but as scandals go, it's a pretty minor one.
There is no plot to get in the way of the story here: Gnomes find the book of rhymes and fairy tales; gnomes cause various characters to come to life; gnomes host a dance party. If Modest Mussorgsky had based "Night on Bald Mountain" on a book of fairy tales instead of folklore about witches and demons, events similar to what we have in "Nursery Scandal" would have formed its storyline.
If you have a few minutes to spare and are in the mood for something strange, then you should click below. I suspect you won't come across anything weirder today.
Atlantic Flight (1937) Starring: Dick Merrill, Paula Stone, Weldon Heyburn, Jack Lambie, Milburn Stone, and Ivan Lebedeff Director: William Nigh Rating: Five of Ten Stars
Real-life, record-breaking pilots Dick Merrill and Jack Lambie star as test-pilots and daredevils who undertake a dangerous cross-Atlantic flight to deliver life-saving medicine to the engineer who designed their latest stunt plane (Heyburn). Before that, though, one them develops a hate/love/hate relationship with a beautiful and wealthy dilletante aviatrix/stunt-pilot groupie (Stone).
"Atlantic Flight" was one of the first productions mounted after Monogram Pictures was reestablished in the wake of a ill-fated merger with Republic Pictures and an ensuing court battle. In 1937, Dick Merrill and Jack Lambie were minor celebrities for having broken some flight records. Monogram's executives hoped that building a film around them is about average for a Monogram Pictures release. In the plus column, it's got a swift moving plot that's mostly logical in the way it unfolds; all the characters we're expected to like are actually likable; and the stock footage from airshows and Merrill and Lambies actual history-making trans-Atlantic flight.
Given that this is a Monogram Pictures production from the 1930s, ones sits down to watch it assuming it's either going to be a lot of fun, or it's going to be a tedious exercise in stagey acting and questionable writing. In the final analysis, "Atlantic Flight" is about average for what the studio offered during this time.
On the plus side, this is a fast-moving film with a mostly sensible plot; the characters we're supposed to like are generally likable and the acting is pretty good all around; and the aviation documentary/stock footage is so well-integrated with the scenes that surround it you can't tell it was not originally part of the film.
On the negative side, the fast-paced script has a number of flaws. The primary among these are that the subplot of the film's villain being wrapped up with aflashing a headline across the screen instead of actual story-content; the supporting character of Pokey (played by Milburn Stone, who would later go onto a 20-year stint as Doc on "Gunsmoke") is more interesting than any of the alleged lead characters; and the event of the title comes so late in the film so as to almost feel like an afterthought... and then it's motivated by such outlandish reasoning that it almost seems silly.
"Atlantic Flight" is an innocuous bit of fluff that tried to latch onto long-forgotten celebrities of its time. It's main appeal for modern audiences is limited to its pleasant and talented cast... although those with an interest in the histor of aviation might find it fascinating for the included real-life footage.
You can watch the film straight from this post by clicking below!
... the Department of Defense produced a series of animated shorts starring Private Snafu, a character who did everything wrong so the enlisted men would not as World War II raged. These were created by top-notch talent who were established writers and artists and filmmakers and animators who had been drafted and then assigned to positions where their talents could do the most good for training and/or propaganda purposes.
The main talents behind the "Private SNAFU" series were director Chuck Jones (with animators he'd worked with at Warner Bros.), voice artist Mel Blanc (another Warner Bros. animation regular), and writer Theodor Geisel, (an old hand at political cartoons and propaganda who is better known under his pen name Dr. Seuss), and it's another series of 1940s-era training films that makes me wish the things I've had to sit through over the years were half as entertaining.
This is the first of several "Private SNAFU" we'll be bringing you over the next many months. We're not leading with the best of them--today's featured cartoon is amusing, but there are far wilder entries in the series--but this one seemed perfect for our Mermay celebration (which the still above probably already clued you into).
This is a fun student film by Madison Barlow that's well-worth a couple minutes of your time. (BTW, I think there IS a good way to eat a banana, but the point of this film is still dead-on.
There's No Right Way to Eat a Banana (2023) Starring: Grace Moloy, Peyton Biddle, Morgan Landry, Aniyah Faisal, and Arin Hincer Director: Madison Barlow
Take a Chance (1918) Harold Lloyd, Bebe Daniels, Harry 'Snub' Pollard, William Blaisdell, Belle Mitchell, and Helen Gilmore Director: Alfred J. Goulding Rating: Six of Ten Stars
A dapper young man (Lloyd) sets out to woo a pretty cleaning lady (Daniels). Trouble, chaos, and police chases ensue.
This is a film that's full of funny bits that are so loosely connected that this film just ends. Literally. Nothing in what little plot we have gets resolved, and if it was a serial I'd be eager to see the next installment, because it ends on quite the cliffhanger. In fact, when the film ended, I thought maybe it was a fragment and that the last few minutes (or maybe an entire second reel) had not survived to the present day... but every description of the film (at IMDB, Wikipedia, and elsewhere) give its run-time as the roughly ten minutes that the version embedded below.
It wasn't a surprising conclusion to reach that I watched a complete version of "Take a Chance", because the version I saw is among one of best preserved and/or restoration jobs of any film from the 1910s I've come across. Nonetheless, it was a disappointing one, because it showed that very little thought was put into what passes for the story here.
Although there are better Harold Lloyd/Bebe Daniels vehicles, this one is still worth watching for a number of reasons. First, Daniels is a joy to watch as always; no one mugged at the camera better than her, nor seemed to be having so much fun or being so annoyed as her. Second, although nearly every one of the loosely connected slapstick and/or comedic chase sequences go on for a little too long, each and every one of them is initially very funny. As a collection of bits, this is an excellent film, but the fact the story presented has a beginning and a middle but no proper end to speak of.
"Take a Chance" is embedded below for your convenience. Take a chance and check it out. See if you agree or disagree with my take... and leave a comment below!
Office Blues (1930) Starring: Ginger Rogers, Clairborne Bryson, and E.R. Rogers Director: Mort Blumenstock Rating: Six of Ten Stars
A secretary (Rogers) fantasizes about having a romantic relationship with her stern boss (Bryson) while ignoring the coworker who carries a torch for her (Rogers).
Do you like the musicals from the early talkies period? Would you like them even more if there were the barest minimum of all that dialogue and stuff between the songs and production numbers? Well, then "Office Blues" is for you!
"Office Blues" is a short (barely nine minutes log) musical that still manages to offer two really catchy songs and a big production number. There isn't much time for comedy or drama (although the prematurely balding coworker who's pining for the boss's beautiful secretary offers a bit of both), but I think lovers of music from this era will enjoy this film a lot. Personally, my favorite part is the production number and the costumes worn by the chorus line.
Fans of Ginger Rogers should also definitely check this out. It's one of her earliest starring roles--she was 18 at the time this was filmed--and it's clear that she excelled in song, dance, and acting. To say that she is "radiant" and "lights up the screen" in this "Office Blues" is not overstating her screen presence here. (Although she is made to look even more spectacular due to the fact that her co-stars have the charisma of dish rags.)
"Office Blues" is embedded below for your viewing convenience and pleasure. I hope you enjoy it!
"Round Whippin'" is a song from the Peruvian DJ/singer known as A.Chal. It's a pretty chill tune that starts to feel a little repetative as it closes out, but the video remains absolutely engrossing, and more than a little spooky, throughout.
While I don't know what message the artist was trying to convey, I think it all adds up to, "Drugs are bad. Don't do drugs."
Alice Chops the Suey (aka "Alice in Chinatown") (1925) Starring: Margie Gay Director: Walt Disney Rating: Five of Ten Stars
When Alice is kidnapped by cartoon Chinese gangsters, her animated cat friend sets out to save her.
"Alice Chops the Suey" is a so-so entry in the "Alice Comedies" (referred to as "Alice in Cartoonland" in these parts where the strengths are almost cancelled out by the weaknesses. It was an early series animated by Walt Disney himself, and if it tells us anything about Disney, it's that his talent for gathering and managing creative teams was superior to his own creative talents.
Coming during the latter half of the series, and ostensibly starring the fourth and final girl to play the live-action character having adventures in a cartoon world, this short film is literally non-stop action from beginning to end. Like some of the other best moments in the series, the fun it has with cartoon-world physics and the malleability of animated characters are also highlights here, especially if you have a taste for surrealism and the absurd.
On the downside though, there is a lack of attention to detail that felt sloppy and that I found frustrating. The most obvious example of this is the way Alice's shape changed to appear more like one of the natives of the Cartooniverse when she was put in a bag and carried off by the gangsters. I've previously commented on how disappointed I was when the live-action Alice turned into an animated Alice for no reason other than to make the scene easier to execute, but it's never been as badly and sloppily done as it is here. At the very least, Disney could have bothered to make the struggling character in the bag thinner, to match Alice.
I was also annoyed by the way this installment opened, but not for the reasons I understand that has frustrated other reviewers.
I've seen negative comments directed at "Alice Chops the Suey" because its opening moments are a clear and obvious "rip-off" of Fleischer Studios' Out of the Inkwell shorts. I didn't see that as a negative, but more as Disney acknowledging where the inspiration for his series mixing live-action and animation came from... even if Fleischer consistently did it better than Disney ever managed to do.
To my mind, the biggest flaw here is that Disney either forgot the set-up of the series and that the "borrowed" opening from Out of the Inkwell doesn't fit with how he uses it. Alice is NOT a creation of pen and ink, but is instead a flesh-and-blood being who enters Cartoonland. It makes no sense for her to pop out of the ink well, especially not since she isn't a drawn character. I don't know if the target audience for the series would be bothered by this, but it cast a pall over the entire episode for me. And the pat ending didn't help.
Ultimately, though, the good almost cancels out the bad here, with "Alice Chops the Suey" being fast-paced and goofy enough to entertain.
The Gay Goucho (1933) Starring: Gus Wicke Director: Hugh Harman Rating: Six of Ten Stars
Cubby Bear descends from the Argentinian highlands to spend the night with his dancer girlfriend... but when banditos intrude upon their fun, Cubby's defense of her honor places them in deadly danger.
Animation-wise, "The Gay Goucho" is one of the best efforts I've seen from the Van Beuren Studios; the character designs are decent, varied, and they remain stable throughout the entire run-time of the cartoon. Further there are honest-to-god detailed backgrounds and other elaborate scenery, something that's a rariety in a Van Beuren production. There is also a minimal amount of obvious looping and none of the visual gags and other sequences are stretched to the point where they stop being funny and become dull. In fact, one can even describe moments of this cartoon as thrilling.
So why am I only giving it a rating of Six Stars? Because as funny and cute and energetic as this cartoon is, it falls completely apart and the end. The final gag is amusing, but the wrap-up is such a lazy cop-out that I knocked a full star off.
But I've embedded "The Gay Goucho" below for your viewing convenience and--hopefully--pleasure. Let me and everyone else know what YOUR thoughts are about it!
Starring: Mack Sennett, Mabel Normand, Edward Dillon, Jack Pickford, Kate Toncray, and J. Jiquel Lanoe
Director: Mack Sennett
Rating: Five of Ten Stars
A wealthy hypochondriac (Sennett) is instructed by his doctor (Lanoe) to go up onto the mountains to benefit from the pure air. The man's wife (Toncray) and teenaged children (Normand and Pickford) come along for the trip. Snowball fights, illicit lovemaking between the daughter and her boyfriend (Dillon) ensue, with it all culminating with members of the family in mortal danger.
That's a long summary for a short movie, but I couldn't figure out a shorter way to put it. Which is odd, because that paragraph also describes almost everything that happens in the film.
"What the Doctor Ordered" is a fast-moving film where not a second is wasted. In fact, it moves so fast that I wish a little more time had been spent on a few more transition scenes or character interactions to fill in the relationships a bit more. It would have made the film feel less choppy and the story more substantial.
That said, the film is full of raw energy and the actors all give excellent performances. Mabel Normand and Edward Dillon are particularly fun to watch, while Normand's scenes with Jack Pickford have a playfulness in them that will put a smile on your face. Frequent watchers of silent movies may be particularly fascinated to see Mack Sennett in a starring role, since he's usually behind the camera or in very minor parts.
A Trap for Santa Claus (1909) Starring: Marion Leonard, Gladys Egan, Henry B. Walthall, John Tansey, William J. Butler, and Mack Sennett Director: D.W. Griffith Rating: Six of Ten Stars
After a deadbeat husband and father (Wathall) abandons his wife (Leonard) and children (Egan and Tansey), the woman inherits a mansion and a fortune from her aunt. They are all unexpectedly reunited on Christmas Eve when the man tries to burglarize the home that, unbeknownst to him, his family is now living in.
"A Trap for Santa Claus" is a fast-moving short film from a filmmaker who helped create the visual language of cinema. Although less innovative than works that would follow later, this cute little Christmas film is full of scenes that are framed and performed by actors who are more effectively blocked and directed for film than was typical in films of this vintage.
As should be expected, there are aspects that have not aged well. Among these are some pantomiming by adult stars Marion Leonard and Henry B. Wathall, as they successfully convey plot points and emotions with gestures. This aspect of their performances will not seem as annoying as it might in some films, because it's balanced out by the effective blocking and more natural gestures and subdued character interactions than was common during this period. The two child actors featured also give performances that feel less overblown than one might expect -- and they even server as effective comic relief as the story moves into its climactic sequence. (John Tansey even does a pratfall with a style that one wouldn't think an 8-year-old would possess!)
I was torn between assigning this film a Six or Seven Star rating. I eventually decided to go with the lower of the two, because, although I appreciate the quick pacing of the film and the universally good performances by the entire cast, the pat happy ending that arises from a Christmas Miracle of coincidences was just a bit much for me. I know this is a Christmas story, so I expected there to be redemption and forgiveness for the deadbeat dad before the film was over, but it felt unearned and too easy. The ending isn't terrible, but I think the century that's passed since this film was released, and the many Christmas movies that have followed, have upped expectations from fare like this. (Of course, with its running time of 15 minutes, there also wasn't a whole lot of time to fit in a proper redemption arc.)
In the final analysis, though, this is a film that's still worth watching, and we've embedded it below for your convenience. Pour yourself a glass of eggnog, sit back, and enjoy!
This is also worth watching, because, like pretty much all of Melies' short films, it's better in some ways than modern SFX-driven films. Check it out--it'll only take a couple minutes of your time!
Bubbles and Troubles (1933) Starring: Anonymous Voice Actors (mostly speaking nonsense) Director: Mannie Davis Rating: Five of Ten Stars
When his girlfriend is abducted by pirates, only Cubby can save her!
This Cubby adventure came together better than I had anticipated when it opened. What initially feels like it's going to be a boring mess of unconnected, nonsensical gags--in short order, Cubby goes from doing stunts on his bicycle, to performing magic tricks with soap bubbles to being inflated by one of the bubbles and floating away into the sky--ends up coming together in an amusing and creative fashion when the bubbles of the title end up being central to story as it unfolds.
Almost every moment involving the pirates and their ship from the point the captain decides he wants to add Cubby's girlfriend to his treasure hoard is also a lot of fun. The launching of the longboat was especially amusing. I liked these pirates so much that it's a little hard for me judge whether they're defeated a little too easily, or whether I just feel that way because I wanted to see more of them.
As with the majority of Van Beuren's animated shorts, the use of music is the greatest aspect of "Bubbles and Troubles". The music adds tremendously to this film, and I don't know if I've ever quite experienced "The Sailor's Hornpipe" used so perfectly anywhere before.
But don't just take my word for it. Click below, sit back, and enjoy!
Your Time is Up! (2021) Starring: Nhan La Director: Leon Truong Rating: Six of Ten Stars
A young woman (La) has a fateful encounter with Death.
Our month-long Halloween celebration may have come to an end yesterday, but this tidbit of horror felt like it belonged on the Day of the Dead... so the spookiness continues!
According to notes from writer/director Leon Truong, "Your Time is Up!" was made first and foremost as an exercise in creating a film that captured the look and feel of a silent movie. While he wisely didn't attempt to dress up actress Nahn La as if it was 1919, he did reach the stated goal of this project by using lighting and special effects techniques similar to what filmmakers in the silent era had access to and then manipulating the resulting footage digitally in post-production.
We're one week away from the Big Night--Halloween--so here's a song and video that's equal parts pretty and spooky... so you can get your week started in a pleasant way but still keep the Halloween Spirit building!
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