Grampy requests your presence

Betty Boop and Grampy (1935)

Starring: Mae Questal (Voice of Betty Boop)

Director: Dave Fleischer & Dave Tendlar

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

Betty and the Gang are invited to party at Grampy's house... and, BOY!, do they party!

"Betty Boop and Grampy" stars a Betty in the process of transitioning from her wild flapper days to a homemaker. Betty still favors the short skirts, but they aren't as short as they used to be... and instead of visiting Crazy Town with her boyfriend, or going to see the Old Man of the Mountain against everyone's advice, she's happily doing domestic chores around her happy home. Still, there's more than just a little spunk and wildness left in Betty, so when she gets in invitation to come to Grampy's house for a party, she picks up four total strangers while crossing town (including a fireman and a police officer) and invites them along.

Grampy, a bald, white-bearded inventor of weird gadgets with a talent for jury-rigging devices on the spot that puts MacGyver to shame, joins Betty Boop's supporting cast with this installment. With Fleischer having to tone down the more mature aspects of their popular "Betty Boop" cartoons, they were trying different things and wacky Grampy was one of them. 

"Betty Boop and Grampy" is an entertaining bit of nonsense. It's got excellent music (starting with the "Betty Boop Theme", which Betty hums while tending to household chores; continuing through "Over at Grampy's House", which is sung by Betty and the guys she picks up while heading to the party; and "The Tiger Rag", which the characters sing and dance to, as it is played by a makeshift mechanical orchestra that Grampy constructs out of his kitchen appliances. The animation is up to the usual high standards to the Fleischer studio, and the gags are all well timed. It's not a high point in Betty's catalogue, but it's well worth your time.

The only real complaint I have is that Betty shouldn't have been picking up random strangers in response to Grampy's invitation. It would have been nice to see Koko and Bimbo at the party, since they're actually "the gang" mentioned in the letter. I know that Fleischer had removed the anthropomorphic elements of Betty's world by now, but it still would have made the Continuity Geek in me happy.

As is my habit with most of the short films I review, I invite you to take few minutes to brighten your day by watching the subject I've discussed. 

Trivia: In addition to working in animation, Dave Tendlar also illustrated comic books. I edited and wrote some material for a collection of his "Ginger and Snap" stories from NUELOW Games.

Wonder Woman Wednesday

We're down to the last few Wednesdays before the revised postponed release date of "Wonder Woman '84", so it seemed like a good time to feature some portraits of our favorite Amazon that accentuates what comes to people's minds when they think of her.

By Lee Weeks

By Chris Samnee

By Steve Leiber

The Case of the Disappointing Perry Mason Movie

The Case of the Black Cat (1936)

Starring: Ricardo Cortez, Garry Owen, Jane Bryan, June Travis, Harry Davenport, George Rosener, Nedda Harrigan, Carlyle Moore Jr., Bill Elliott, Clarence Wilson, Craig Reynolds, and Guy Usher

Director: William McGann and Alan Crossland

Rating: Four of Ten Stars

A very rich, very grumpy old man (Davenport) dies in a mysterious fire after ordering his attorney, Perry Mason (Cortez), to change his will to completely cut his granddaughter (Bryan) from receiving any inheritance while tying other bequests to the continued employment of the mansion's caretaker (Wilson) and the continued well-being of his pet cat. When the heirs object to the will, Mason finds himself with a cat as his de-facto client... but eventually ends up defending the granddaughter's husband (Moore) for murder.

I have read that the creator of Perry Mason, Earl Stanley Gardner, hated Ricardo Cortez as the famous lawyer. I can see why. Although his portrayal of Mason is vaguely similar to that of Gardner's reportedly favorite Mason, Raymond Burr, it has twice the smarm and barely a fraction of the charm that Burr brought to the character. Cortez, however, is far from the worst thing about this movie.

The biggest problem with "The Case of the Black Cat" is that it may be the stagiest movie ever released. The framing of many scenes and the placement of actors within those scenes feels like their on stage, and the way every line is delivered so as to not step on the line delivered prior to it--including ones where one character is supposed to interrupt another--highlights this feeling even more. I am generally forgiving about this to films from the early days of sound, but by 1936, the technology was solid enough, and the actors should have been comfortable enough performing within its strictures that my patience is a bit short. Perhaps I could have been less bothered by the stageyness of it all if there had at least been a solid adaptation of the Gardner story here, but even that is lacking. Although Mason and Paul Drake solve the mystery, they don't really do a whole lot to do so... and the most important thing poor Della Street gets to do is babysit a cat. Worse, the court-room finale consists mostly of bad acting, worse dialogue, and Perry Mason summarizing the film's convoluted mystery plot without proving anything in particular or even answering some very key questions... and yet the judge dismisses the case without raising those questions.

It's a shame this film is so flawed, because Ricardo Cortez and June Travis were actually quite good as Perry and Della. Cortez's smarm was dialed back in scenes shared with her and their banter was among the most genuine-seeming dialog in the film. It's a shame that this was the only film they appeared in together, because think they could have done some excellent work.

"The Case of the Black Cat" was the fifth of six Perry Mason films produced by Warner Bros. during the mid-1930s, all loosely adapted from Gardner novels, and it was the only one where Ricardo Cortez wore Mason's suits. All of them are included in a reasonably priced collection, with two films to disc.

Musical Monday with The Golden Filter

You may still be feeling the summer heat, but the nights are getting cooler and autumn in just around the corner. On this Musical Monday, we bring you the Golden Filter with a hauntingly beautiful song and a chilling video that may send a shiver down your spine and prepare you for what's coming in October...

The Golden Filter is a two-person band, consisting of singer and composer fronted by vocalist Penelope Trappes and musician Stephen Hindman. Originally from New York City, they are currently based out of London, and they specialize in electronica with shadowy undertones.

Coercion (2019)
Starring: Penelope Trappes and Chloe Trappes
Director: Agnes Haus
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

'The New York Hat' crowns Mary Pickford's stint at Biograph

The New York Hat (1912)

Starring: Mary Pickford, Lionel Barrymore, Charles Hill Mailes, and Madge Kirby

Director: D.W. Griffith

Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

A village parson (Barrymore) triggers mean-spirited, self-righteous gossipers when he buys an expensive hat for a teenaged girl, Mollie (Pickford). 

I usually don't have the patience for silent dramas., especially the ones from the early 1910s. More often than not, when I try to watch one, I give up a few minutes in. I'm usually turned off by the pacing, the disorganized and uninspired staging of most scenes, and the style of acting which seems laughably over-the-top to my modern eyes.

When it comes to the dramatic short films helmed by director D.W. Griffith, however, I have yet to disappointed. He's three for three in holding my attention, as well as showing that he deserves to be remembered as one of the greatest directors of the silent film era.

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Griffith understood how to frame a scene and how to place actors within it to get the greatest impact; it's like he's creating paintings that move instead of just recording stage plays with indifferent blocking. And speaking of stage plays, Griffith also seemed to understand that if he just let stage actors give their usual kind of performances, he'd get all the impact that was needed, with the audience being more than able to pick up on the action. Griffith had a feel for the film media that was far superior to many of his contemporary, and this is why these short films are worth watching today.

And this is very much true of "The New York Hat". Aside from being a showcase for Griffith's ability to frame a scene, his ability to let actors be their very best is also on brilliant display here, with Mary Pickford convincingly portraying the hurt and excitement of a naïve young teen, despite the fact she was 20 when this film was made; and with Lionel Barrymore being allowed for the first time to show he could do more than comedy in film. (While this film was a first for Barrymore, it was a last for Pickford--it was the last film she'd make at the company that launched her film career in 1909... but far from her last collaboration with Griffith.)

In addition to great performances from its stars, "The New York Hat" is filled with other excellent performances, ranging from bit parts by customers at the hat shop to church elders; to minor players, such as the "mean girls" and the three town gossips; and supporting characters like the hat-shop clerk (Madge Kirby) and Mollie's skinflint, domineering father (Charles Hill Mailes). In fact, the only thing that isn't excellent about this film is the ending which is just a little too pat for my liking.

I invite you to take a few minutes out of your busy day and check out this great movie, right here from this post. 

Saturday Serial: Jenna of the Jungle

Continuing Don Hudson's "Jenna of the Jungle" (and including a random bonus jungle girl afterwards). Click on any panel for a larger version, and come back next Saturday for Part Seventeen.


JENNA OF THE JUNGLE: PART SIXTEEN
By Don Hudson

To Be Continued...

Girls of the Jungle

By Mitch Foust

Firearms Friday with Pam Grier

Born in 1949, Pam Grier was catapulted to fame in 1971 as the "blaxploitation" category of film exploded across genres of American cinema. She remains one of the actors and actresses most closely associated with those films, as well as going on to emerging as one of the most respected African-American actresses of the 20th century.

Over the course of her 50-year career, Grier has appeared in over 100 feature films and television series, spanning almost every genre. Her most recent work was a supporting role for two seasons of the ABC sitcom "Bless This Mess" (2018-2019), but she will be forever remembered for "The Big Doll House" (1971), "The Twilight People" (1972), "Coffy" and "Scream, Blacula, Scream" (both in 1973), "The Arena", "Foxy Brown" and "'Sheba, Baby' (all in 1974), "Above the Law" (1988), "Jackie Brown" (1997), and "Ghosts of Mars" (2001).

Tom & Jerry battle the Baby from Hell

Puzzled Pals (1933)
Starring: Anonymous Voice Actors

Directors: Frank Sherman and George Stallings

Rating: Five of Ten Stars

Tom and Jerry become the instant fathers when the stork leaves a baby on their doorstep. 

"Puzzled Pals" is a mildly amusing entry in the "Tom and Jerry" series. It has a lot of potential, but that ends up being mostly unrealized, as the middle section is dragged down by repetitive gags.

The focal point of this installment is the baby that gets dropped off with these two confirmed bachelor roommates by a stork who grew frustrated at being unable to find a more suitable place for it--because not only does there appear to be a pandemic going on in Tom & Jerry's world (just like today), but households already jam-packed with children fight the stork off with literal gunfire. The stork eventually recognizes the error of its ways, but not before our two heroes show themselves to be so inept at taking care of a baby that if the stork hadn't returned, social workers would have taken the child away and Tom & Jerry would undoubtedly be looking at jail-time for child neglect or abuse.

Still, their inability to control and care for their unexpected "bundle of joy" isn't entirely their fault, as this baby is a demon-child on the magnitude of something out of an "Evil Dead" movie or television episode. This "baby" is so clever and so destructive that it must have been spawned in Hell and the very act of bringing it to the earthly plane was some sort of cosmic paperwork mix-up. Basically, once thie hell-child gets his hands on the industrial strength vacuum cleaner that Tom and Jerry keep in their house, they are fighting for their lives.

The combination of the vacuum cleaner and the hell-baby is why I'm rating "Puzzled Pas" at the low end of average. The gags with the vacuum cleaner are repetitive, go on and on, and get boring after awhile. Perhaps, because vacuum cleaners were just becoming common household items in 1933, the audience back then would have been more entertained by the humor involving one, but it began to think that it sucked when it kept going. And the baby... oh, that baby. Obnoxious children doing obnoxious and downright deadly stuff is a mainstay in cartoons from the this period, but they usually have an innocent quality about them that gives them a degree of cuteness that makes their antics palatable. The baby that gets dropped on Tom and Jerry has nothing innocent about it; it seems motivated by malice from the moment it enters the home. Perhaps some viewers will find this funny, but I found it more disturbing than anything else.

Although I dislike of the central action of "Puzzled Pals", I adored the stork character whose baby-delivering activities bookend this episode. He may actually be the most appealing character in all the Tom & Jerry cartoons!

But why don't you take a few minutes and check out the film for yourself? It's embedded below. Just click and sit back and watch. (And if you feel inclined, leave a comment and let me and everyone else know what you liked or disliked about the film.)

The Unifying Theme with Gal Gadot

Since January of 2020, we've been posting bi-weekly galleries of great Wonder Woman portraits in anticipation of "Wonder Woman 1984" being released. It's taking a bit longer than anticipated, but we'll keep them coming until we get to see Gal Gadot wearing the magic bracers and riding the lightning on screen.

Since this is an off-week Wonder Woman-wise, we are instead bringing you a gallery of photos of Gal Gadot being Gal Gadot (or, the Model Gal Gadot) while demonstrating the unifying theme of this blog.

Torchy Blane gets a fluffy send-off

Torchy Blane... Playing With Dynamite (1939)

Starring: Jane Wyman, Allen Jenkin, Tom Kennedy, Sheila Bromley, Eddie Marr, and Joe Cunningham

Director: Noel Smith

Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Torchy (Wyman) gets herself sent to jail in the pursit of an exclusive article about notorious bank robber Denver Eddie (Marr) via his incarcerated girlfriend (Bromley). Meanwhile, her fiancé, police Lt. Steve McBride (Jenkins), and his assistant Gahagan (Kennedy) decide to moonlight as bounty hunters and team up with Torchy in an effort to catch the robber and collect a $5,000 reward.

With a title like "Torchy Blane... Playing with Dynamite", I had hoped there'd be a mad bomber somewhere in the mix here.. but no. There wasn't even a time bomb in this, the final outing for Torchy Blane. This isn't the first time where the title of a Torchy Blane film has been a little off-the-mark

There's nothing particularly bad about this film, except perhaps the shaky logic that motivates the characters Lt. McBride and Gahagan to fly across the country in pursuit of the bank robber.., and perhaps Torchy's running around committing actual crimes to get herself put in jail, on the off-chance that she'll make friends with the bank robber's girlfriend and thus get not only a scoop but also the chance to arrest him. However, if you try to put yourself in the mindset of a 10- or 12-year-old, then the logic makes perfect sense.

The best thing about "Torchy Blane... Playing With Dynamite" is that it's constantly moving and almost every moment is devoted to somehow advancing the film's story or providing some tidbit of character development. It's only an hour long, but it flies by so fast it feels even shorter.

Another strong point of the film is that Gahagan got to do a little more than just be a moron who gets in the way. In fact, he is key to the film's climactic sequence revolving around a professional wrestling match

This was the final entry in the Torchy Blane series, but it saw two of the three lead characters portrayed recast with Jane Wyman wearing Torchy's hats and Allen Jenkins carrying Steve's badge. While Jenkins is a good replacement for Barton MacLane (who previously played the character), Jane Wyman is less effective in taking over from Glenda Farrell. Wyman has plenty of screen presence and energy, but she lacks the aggressive edge that made Farrell's Torchy believable as someone who over and over would outshine her male colleagues on the crime beat, but also take their ribbing and throw it right back at them. Wyman's a good Torchy, but she's not a great one.

All in all, Torchy's swan song is a solid B-movie. It's better than some in the series, but it's no "Smart Blonde" or "Blonde at Work".