Musical Monday with Coldplay

Magic (2014)
Starring: Ziyi Zhang, Chris Martin, and Peter Fonda
Director: Jonas Aakerlund
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

The best music videos are those that are narrative short films, be they silent movies where the song they are made promote serves as the score, or mini-musicals. Beautifully shot and skillfully edited performance videos where someone is just standing around singing while the band plays are nice and all, but they are far less interesting and creatively worthwhile than something that tells a story.

And, boy, does this video tell a story.

In "Magic", a female illusionist in a traveling show (Zhang) is married to a vicious, abusive man (Fonda). Her assistant (Martin) is secretly in love with her, and, to not only become closer to her, but to also free her from her situation, he becomes not only a master illusionist but actually masters real magic. 

This is a well-acted little fantasy film (unsurprising, since both Zivi Zhang and Peter Fonda are talented, experienced actors) that blends seamlessly with the song it underscores as the narrative weaves its way around Chris Martin singing and practicing magic. If the plot had unfolded just a tiny bit different (in regards to the fate of the villainous Fonda--there's nothing necessarily wrong with it but I just wanted more) this would have gotten Ten of Ten Stars!

Check it out. I'm fairly certain you won't see anything more magical on this Musical Monday!

Musical Monday with U2

U2 was one of the biggest bands of the 1980s and 1990s. I have a sense that people either love or hate them. Personally, I like some of their hit songs, and I can't stand others. Today's selection falls into the "like" category, and the same is true of the very interesting video that was made to promote it, when it became the fourth and final single off the 1988 album "Rattle and Hum".

All I Want Is You (1989)

Starring: Paolo Risi and Paola Rinaldi

Director: Meirt Avis

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

A dwarf circus ringmaster (Risi) pines for the love of a beautiful trapeze artist (Rinaldi)

As is befitting the beautiful, romantic, yet somehow still haunting, song "All I Want Is You", the promotional video that was made in support of the single featuring it. I kept expected the story here to take a "Freaks"-like turn--especially with the hint that the female trapeze artist may be in an abusive relationship with her handsome lover--but that never happens. Instead, we get a mysterious, magical twist and a sad ending. I don't know what quite to make of either, but it's cool, it supports the music, and it's fun to think about what might have happened. All that adds up to me not having any complaints... although I do have a few more thoughts to bring up. I'll do that below the video, so as to keep to my self-imposed rule of not posting "spoilers" around here.

Okay... so at the end of "All I Want Is You". the object of the dwarf's love has died, presumably falling from the trapeze. I know there's apparently controversy about that inperperation, and as the video was unfolding, I thought is was the dwarf who had fallen to his death as well, but that doesn't work. First, the coffin being carried is too big, and, second, why would the now-ghostly dwarf throw the ring he'd purchased into the grave? A bigger question, though, is what does the flying sequence mean? It's very interesting, but if the dwarf didn't fall from the trapeze, then what's that flying bit all about?

If anyone can enlighten me, please leave a comment below. (The same is true if you just think I'm thinking too hard.)

And for what it's worth--I think the trapeze artist was murdered by her overly jealous and possessive lover. He made it look like an accident, but he did in fact murder her. The dwarf and his strongman friend discover, and they take revenge in some sort of gruesome and poetic fashion which I'm sure I could work out if I wanted to apply myself! (That said, maybe it was the dwarf who killed her; he climbed up and sabotaged the trapeze, thus freeing himself from his unrequited love? I like the other notion better though.)

Hussy breaks clown's heart in 'Circus Capers'

Circus Capers (1930)
Starring: Anonymous Singer and Voice Actor
Directors: John Foster and Harry Bailey

Rating: Six of Ten Stars

A circus clown has his heart broken when he discovers that his bareback-riding girlfriend is also carrying on with the ringmaster (who tries to kill him).

"Circus Capers" was one of four or so short films presented under the "Aesop's Fables" banner that featured a pair of amorous mice who just happened to (purely by coincidence and not-at-all-intentionally [wink-wink, nudge-nudge]) look very much like Walt Disney's Mickey and Minnie characters. 

While Milton and Rita (as the Van Beuren characters are named) looked like their more famous counterparts, they and their adventures were far raunchier: While I can imagine Mickey having a rival for Minnie's affections, I can't picture her being as slutty as Rita is in this cartoon. And the Walt Disney Company couldn't picture it either, and a successful lawsuit against Van Beuren eventually put an end to Milton and Rita's antics.

As for "Circus Capers" specifically, the plot is pretty much described in its entirety in the teaser summary at the top of this review. I could pad it out with punny double-entendres to describe the action and the characters, but I'll spare you that and instead just note that the strongest part of the cartoon is when the broken hearted Milton sings the at-the-time well-known song "Laugh Clown, Laugh"; it's actually one of the better renditions I've come across. The ending was also one that I appreciated very much, as I think Milton behaved exactly as he should when Rita tried to get him to her back. On the downside, the cartoon suffers from slip-shod animation that results in characters changing shapes and sizes for no reason other than poor quality control. It's a shame, because, with a little more effort this could have been quite good instead of merely average. (That said, I loved the supremely goofy lion-tamer bit; it takes an unexpected turn, and it make me laugh.)

But don't just take my word for how good or bad "Circus Capers" is. If you have ten minutes, you can watch it for yourself by clicking below..

Tom & Jerry are up to 'Tightrope Tricks'

Tight Rope Tricks (1933)
Starring: Bonnie Poe (Voice of Female Tightrope Walker)
Directors: John Foster and George Rufle
Rating: Five of Ten Stars

Tom and Jerry perform musical stunts on the tightrope and cause chaos at the circus.

"Tightrope Tricks" is another of the middle-of-the-pack entries in the "Tom and Jerry" series. There's nothing about it that's particularly outstanding, nor is there anything about it that's particularly bad. It's just a breezy and fairly mindless bit of entertainment.

In fact, it's so mindless that the writers didn't even pay much attention to the details of the already thin story. The set-up seems to waver back and forth between Tom and Jerry being actual circus performers and being members of the public who are just causing trouble on the grounds. After marching in the circus' parade (as if they are members of the troupe), they mess with an elephant and torment a lion (like obnoxious members of the pubic), perform on the high-wire (as if they are part of an established act), and so on. While either mode in which the main characters function leads to some amusing gags (even if I found myself rooting for the lions rather than the "heroes" during the film's climax), it really feels like two separate films were merged into one here.

One curious detail about "Tightrope Tricks" that's worth noting is illustrated below, with images taken from the scene where Tom changes into tights:

Either Tom likes wearing women's underwear, or he's actually a she! It doesn't make a difference one way or another for most of the "Tom and Jerry" cartoons, but it's a weird detail I think. It's certainly something one would only find a Pre-Code cartoon! Or am I misinterpreting Tom's undergarments? Why don't you take a few minutes and watch the cartoon for yourself and let me know what you think.

'The Sawdust Ring' is a mostly lost silent movie... but what remains is excellent

The Sawdust Ring (1917)

Starring: Bessie Love, Harold Goodwin, Jack Richardson, and Josephine Headley

Director: Charles Miller and Paul Powell

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

Janet and Peter (Love and Goodwin) become wandering circus performers in order to find Janet's long-lost father, a ringmaster (Richardson).

"The Sawdust Ring" was an early starring role for Bessie Love, and it's easy to see why she was a big star during the silent era. She's pretty and her acting style is emotive without being overly stylized. It's easy to see how she was able to transition to the stage some 10-15 years later, after the arrival of talkies and her film career stalled.

When it was first released in 1917, "The Sawdust Ring" ran about an hour and it featured a far more involved plot that what we are left with today... which is a 10-minute version that was made for home screening and released in 1926. That 1926 edit is what this review is of--a brief and sweet fantasy story about two kids destined to be circus performers. Notes on both IMDB and Harpodeon describe additional cast members and character background stories that aren't to be found in this abbreviated version. It made me wish to see the full-length film. That will never be possible, because like the vast majority of silent movies, the original version of "The Sawdust Ring" has been lost.

What we're left with, however, is an well-done abridgment of the original movie that shows what great screen presence Bessie Love possessed (and why D.W. Griffith knew she was going to be a star early on). The rest of the cast are also good in their parts, and the staging and filming of every scene is top-notch. Even if you're one of those people who don't usually like silent movies, I think you'll find this one appealing. (If you're an Amazon Prime subscriber, you can watch it for free.)

'The Glass Tomb' isn't worth visiting

The Glass Tomb (1955)
Starring: John Ireland, Eric Pohlman, Geoffrey Keen, Sidney Taffler, Lian Redmond, Honor Blackman and Sid James
Director: Montgomery Tulley
Rating: Four of Ten Stars

A sideshow promoter (Ireland) comes under suspicion of being a killer-for-hire when the lover of a backer of his latest show is murdered. He is eventually cleared... but only because other murders occurr.


"The Glass Tomb" is a movie that feels like its script was the product of the writer combining material cut from other projects and then spending an afternoon or two doing some half-assed rewrites in an attempt to make a coherent whole.

It swings back and forth between being a thriller and a murder mystery. Is it a thriller about an innocent man caught in a love triangle he's not even aware of? Is it a thriller/mystery about an innocent man being set up by his best friend to take the fall for a murder he's planned? Is it a murder mystery about why third-rate British carnies and dance hall performers are being whacked?

Although the murderer's identity is revealed to the audience about halfway through the movie, some of the scenes proceed as if the murderer's ID is still supposed to be a surprise to us. (And even if we HADN'T known the killer's ID, the characters should have figured it well before we did, because it's not that hard if anyone in the film had been immune from Stupid Character Syndrome.)

"The Glass Tomb" has the further problem that none of the characters are well-developed enough for the viewer to feel particularly attached to anyone, nor even fully understand what role they play in the story. This causes the film to completely fail as a thriller and to fizzle as even a Columbo-esque mystery. This underdevelopment of characters is perhaps the film's greatest flaw, particularly when it comes to the central character and his family. He seems very interested in keeping them separate from his showbusiness and circus life, yet we never fully understand why. A little more insight in this area in particular could have helped up the tension when his wife comes under threat.

There are actually plenty of good story ideas in "The Glass Tomb". If only the writer, producers and directors had picked one or two of them to focus on and left the rest for other projects, this might have been a decent film. As it is, it's a film that even the most ardent genre fan can ignore.