Love is blooming in 'Rough Necking'

Rough Necking (1934)
Starring: June Brewster, Carol Tevis, Grady Sutton, Spencer Charters, and George Chandler
Director: George Stevens
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

After her domineering father (Charters) forbids June (Brewster) from seeing her boyfriend Grady (Sutton), her younger sister Carol (Tevis) convinces Grady to disguise himself as a woman and visit June right under their father's nose. Complications arise when both the father and a male house guest (Chandler) decide to make romantic overtures to the cross-dressing Grady.

"Rough Necking" is one of those comedies where it's a Bad Thing to think too hard about the events that are unfolding. The situation is very funny in the moment, but I foresee jailtime (or at least probation) for two of the characters when all is said and done.

Although that somewhat mood-spoiling thought was in the back of my mind, I still found this film to be very funny. The laugh-lines are plentiful, the physical comedy is well-choreographed and hilarious, the content is exactly as baudy as the punny title implies, and the ending is about as perfect as it can be. (But, like I said, I would hate to be some of these characters the following day.)

"Rough Necking" was the fifth in a series of comedic short films starring Carol Tevis and a troupe of performers. It has been made available to modern audiences on the Blondes and Redheads: Lost Comedy Classics DVD along with three other installments in the series.

Return of the Space Girls!

Fishbowl helmets, ray guns, and form-fitting spacesuits... space girl fashion is as timeless as the little black dress!

By Al Bigley

By J.R. Murray

By Frank Cho

By Casey & Deering

The Space Girls will once again be seen regularly here at Shades of Grey. I may even resume the reposting of Travis Charest's "Space Girl" series, which  I left on a cliffhanger waaaay back in 2011.

'Putting Pants on Philip' is the dawn of a great comedy team

Putting Pants on Philip (1927)
Starring: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Harvey Clark, Sam Lufkin, and Dorothy Coburn
Director: Clyde Bruckman
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

A young Scotsman, Philip (Laurel), comes to visit his uncle (Hardy) in the U.S. After a series of mishaps involving Philip's kilt, the uncle decides to make him wear pants.

"Putting Pants on Philip" is the birth of the legendary comedy team of Laurel & Hardy. While the personalities of their characters weren't in place, and their trademark costumes were likewise nowhere to be seen, the interplay between them is here... and that is enough to make this film worth watching.

In fact, I have a sense that if this film had featured anyone *but* Laurel & Hardy, it may have been boring indeed. Its thin premise is bolstered slightly by the kilt-wearing Scotsman also being a womanizer whom the uncle must keep a close eye on or he will literally chase attractive women down, but unfortunately almost every other gag is repeated to the point where it out-stays its welcome. Even with the charm and unpredictable energy of Laurel & Hardy, the 20-minute run-time of this short film is about five minutes too long. Once we get to the point of the title event of the film, things pick up, but it's a bit of a slog getting there.

For big fans of Laurel & Hardy, or lovers of silent comedies, this film might be worth checking out. Everyone else might want to view some of their films from the mid-1930s. But... don't just take my word for it. Take a look at the film right now: I've embedded it below for your viewing pleasure!

'A Night in the Dormitory' is a fun artifact

A Night in the Dormitory (1930)
Starring: Ruth Hamilton, Ginger Rogers, Thelma White, Si Wills, and Eddie Elkins
Director: Harry Delmar
Rating: Five of Ten Stars

A college girl (Hamilton) returns to the dorm after sneaking out for a night on the town. She relates her experiences to one of her bunkmates.

"A Night in the Dormitory" is an all-singing, all-dancing spectacular that gives the viewer a sense of what it must have been like to go to a night club that featured floor shows Back in the Day. Heck, the obviously underrehearsed chorus lines that back Thelma White and Ginger Rogers (in her second screen appearance) probably added a healthy dose of verisimilitude to audiences watching this short in theatres back in 1930.

If you enjoy musical production numbers and vaudville routines, I think you'll enjoy this 22-minute collection of bits loosely tied together by the college girl's walk on the Great Depression wildside. The tunes are catching--I find myself humming the one performed by White as I type this--and sloppy chorus lines aside, they're fun to watch.


For everyone else, though, this film is little more than a historical artifact that records the live entertainment preferences of a by-gone era... and one that is probably quite faithful to the nightclub experience, since the producer and director of the film got his start booking and staging the kinds of shows this movie revolves around.

Picture Perfect Wednesday: Solo!

I am looking forward to the newest Star Wars prequel, which comes out later this Friday! From the previews, it looks like it could fit right in with the vision I've always had of the Star Wars Universe, one which has been living since I was playing with the action figures on the Death Star playset, and through the Star Wars roleplaying game campaign I've either been running or playing in since 1995.

Here are some illos  in anticipation of "Solo" (aka "When Han Met Lando & Chewie").

By Rich Bernatovech

By Sean Murphy

Sean Murphy

Musical Monday: The Final Countdown with Leo

Here's another entry in the series spotlighting the cover tunes by Leo Moracchioli. Moracchioli is an extremely talented musician and producer of music videos from Norway who specializes in making metal-themed covers of... well, just about any type of song from any genre you care to mention. One of the great things about his work is the crazy sense of humor and wild fun that comes with it.

This cover of "The Final Countdown", and the video that comes with it, are fine examples of everything that makes Leo's presentations so enjoyable!




Check out more of Morachioli's covers on the YouTube Channel for Frog Leap Studios.

'The Penguin Pool Murder' is a great start for Miss Withers

The Penguin Pool Murder (1932)
Starring: Edna May Oliver, James Gleason, Clarence Wilson, Mae Clarke, Robert Armstrong, Donald Cook, and Guy Usher
Director: George Archainbaud
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

When a wife-beating, crooked stockbroker (Usher) is murdered, his wife (Clarke) and her one-time boyfriend (Cook) are the obvious suspects. Sharp-eyed and sharp-tongued school teacher Miss Hildegard Withers (Oliver), who found the body, thinks there's more to the situation, and she badgers Inspector Oscar Piper (Gleason) to keep digging into what seems like an open-and-shut case.

"The Penguin Pool Murders" is a breezy mystery with a cast so charismatic and likeable that one almost forgets the dark subject matter at its heart--spousal that may have led to murder. Because the cast is so likeable, I also find myself forgiving the film for, essentially, being a one-suspect mystery, and becoming evenmoreso when the character that I zero'ed in on as the murderer almost immediately starts becoming super-helpful with the investigation; the film is simply too much fun for that flaw to drag it down too much.

Another strength of the film is the interplay between the two main characters, Miss Withers and Inspector Piper. They start out with obvious disdain for each other, but when they realize that each is actually much smarter than they initially gave each other credit for, you can see the mutual respect develop between them... and by the end, a romantic relationship is under way. (And speaking of romance, the *obvious* one--the one we expect involving the young couple in the story--involves a couple nice twists that also make this film stand out.

"The Penguin Pool Murder" was the first of six films with Gleason as Inspector Piper, and of three with Oliver as Miss Withers. I hope every entry in the series is as strong as this one.

'The Undie-World' is fun, but surprisingly mild

The Undie-World (1934)
Starring: June Brewster, Carol Tevis, Grady Sutton, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams, Dewey Robinson, and Will Stanton
Director: George Stevens
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

A gangster (Williams) recruits a violinist (Sutton) to help him impress a pair of sexy roommates (Brewster and Tevis) who live in the apartment across the courtyard from his, by showing them that he's sophisticated and romantic. The girls, however, end up falling for the dorky musician, assuming he's a dangerous Bad Boy. In an effort to salvage his plan, the gangster suggests the four of them go on a double-date. A comedy of errors ensues.

"The Undie-World" is an almost sweet little film that's surprisingly mild, given the title and subject matter. In fact, I can't imagine a more wholesome film where the majority of the main characters are on the make. It's got slapstick, it's got puns, it's got class-based humor... but what it doesn't have is any double-entrendres or anything from the blue category. We get within a mile of "mature" when June Brewster gets knocked down during her first encounter with Grady Sutton and her robe rides up to show some leg, but that's it. Everything though is well-staged and the actors are all perfect in their parts. For the dorky among us, the film even dpresents a little bit of wish-fulfillment as it's the dorky violin teacher who gets the girl(s) in the end.


"The Undie-World" is the first film on the Blondes and Redheads: Lost Comedy Classics DVD collection, but it was the fourth in a series of films that were tied together by featuring as their central characters a pair of young women--one blonde, one redheaded. Although the same actors and actresses appeared in most of them, and usually played characters named after the performers, each film was actually about different characters.

Margot Kidder passes away

This past Sunday, Margot Kidder, the actress who was the cinematic Lois Lane for Generation X, passed away at the age of 69. Here's a gallery of pictures in her memory.

Musical Monday: Leo's Uptown Metal Funk

Norweigan musical virtuoso Leo Moracchioli has performed and produced dozens upon dozens of creative covers of songs along with amusing and creative videos... with the ones where he dons a bunny suit, uses puppets, or borrows his daughter's toy instruments being among the most amusing. No matter what artist, or whatever the original genre the song he's covering is from, Moracchioli takes the song and makes it his own, usually with a hard rock and/or heavy, heavy metal twist. He usually plays every instrument and he plays every one of them well.

I recently noticed that a few of his videos made in black-and-white, so I'm jumping on the excuse to spotlight him here on the blog, just in case someone out there hasn't discovered this great talent. I'll be posting a new one each Monday for the next few weeks. I hope you enjoy these covers as much as I do.

First up is Leo's version of "Uptown Funk." (For much, much more, visit his YouTube Channel.)