Wonder Woman Wednesday

It's the Furious Fists of Wonder Woman!

Krazy Kat in motion

Krazy Kat Goes A Wooing (1916)

Starring: N/A

Director: Leon Searl

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

Krazy Kat goes to serenade Ignatz Mouse. 

If there ever was a cartoon that needed a better musical score, it's "Krazy Kat Goes A-Wooing". I would love to hear what Krazy Kat is playing on his banjo or even hear what it sounds like when he or she (I have no idea what sex Krazy is, even after all these years) sings. I know this was originally a silent film, but it really needs someone to put together a score that more accurately reflects what's happening on the screen. (All versions I've come across feature piano music, and, with the exception of the one hosted by the Library of Congress--which I've embedded below via YouTube--they all seem to be randomly selected pieces. A score using a banjo, a mouth harp, or maybe just a person humming through an electric fan would be far better, especially if created specifically for this.)

If you've read and enjoyed any of George Herriman's "Krazy Kat" comic strips, I think you'll like this animated trip to the "heppy land that is fur, fur away". Unlike later Krazy Kat animated entries--of which there were well over 250 between the years of 1915 and 1947--this one is close to Herriman's strips in feel and look and overall execution. The odd, yet very cool (or maybe kool) flying car that Krazy Kat travels around in not something I remember seeing before. It's the perfect addition to the animated version, however.

Musical Monday with Gershon Kingsley

On January 15, 1969, composer and keyboardist Gershon Kingsley released the single "Pop Corn". It went onto become the first fully electronic piece of music that became a hit. (Although Kingsley's version was popular, it wasn't until 1972 and the cover by Hot Butter that this great little tune became an international smash. In fact, most of the covers that are still being recorded to this day are based on the Hot Butter version, not Kingsley's original.

In celebration of the 52nd anniversary of "Pop Corn" popping, here's the original version AND the original video that came with it. It is interesting to listen to, even now, as it feels both outdated and futuristic at the same time. One can only imagine what people in 1969 thought when they first heard it.

The Growing-up of Emma Peel: Part Twelve

Click on the images for larger, more easily read versions.

The tale of a formative experience in the life of the future Mrs. Peel may have come to an end, but you'll continue to find reviews of episodes of "The Avengers"--which chronicle Emma's adult exploits as a covert agent for the British government-- here at Shades of Gray every other Thursday until the end of 2021.

Emma Peel contemplates giving some bad guys a spanking. 
(Scene from "The Avengers: Death at Bargain Prices".)

The Avengers: The Gravediggers

The Gravediggers (1965)
Starring: Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, Ronald Fraser, Paul Masse, Caroline Blakiston, and Victor Platt
Director: Quentin Lawrence
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

In order to find the source of signals jamming Great Britain's early warning radar systems, secret agents John Steed (Macnee) and Emma Peel (Rigg) trace mysterious malfunctions at Britain's early warning radar system must first unravel the secret that links a funeral home, a charitable hospital for railway workers, and an eccentric, train-loving nobleman (Fraser).

"The Gravediggers" features an intricate plot that may seem a little odd to anyone who doesn't remember the Cold War. The threat against the early warning system was perceived as an extremely dire one in the world of 1965, so the trouble the enemy agents go through to distribute their network of jammers. The clever way by which they fund and literally power their operation is also well-conceived, so long as one is able to buy into the comic book reality that The Avengers exist in.

As is the case with all the greatest episodes during the Patrick Macnee/Diana Rigg, the serious and the silly co-exist easily in the episode. The eccentric train obsessed nobleman with his sitting room done up to mimic a railcar in motion and the miniature train and tracks he has running throughout his property is amusing, but when it gets used as a send-up of silent movie melodrama (where maidens get tied to the train tracks) and old-time westerns (where the hero battles bad guys atop moving train cars), it becomes absolutely hilarious. Even better--despite the very intentionally ridiculous nature of the episode's climactic action, there is also a real sense that Peel and Steed are in danger of losing the fight and possibly even their lives. It is an expertly written and paced episode.

Adding to the value of this episode is some nice banter between Steed and Peel, as well as another example of Peel's versatility as an undercover operative. Here, she successfully passes for a nurse in order to infiltrate the hospital. 

"The Gravediggers" was the second episode to air in "The Avengers" Season Four, and it kept the momentum going from the debut. 

Picture Perfect Wednesday with Frankie Adams

Born in Samoa and raised in New Zealand, Frankie Adams began her professional acting career at 16 as Uli Levin on the long-running NZ soap opera "Shortland Street". Starting in 2010 and going through 2014, she appeared in nearly 300 episodes (the series airs five nights a week). 

In 2016, she joined the cast of the sci-fi series "The Expanse", where she plays Bobbie Draper, a Martian marine turned-under-cover-operative for a renegade United Nations official. Adams is expected to stay with the show through 2021 when it will come to its conclusion.

Here are a few photos of Adams. And when you're done here, you should head over and watch "The Expanse" on Amazon Prime if you aren't already. It is one of the best sci-fi series ever produced.

Deduction from these photos: Frankie Adams is not allowed to wear pants or skirts at the same time she's wearing shirts or blouses.

'Stone Age Stunts' leaves something to be desired

Stone Age Stunts (1930)
Starring: Anonymous Voice Actors (but this is basically a silent movie)
Director: John Foster and Mannie Davis
Rating: Four of Ten Stars

Pre-historic mice (who are basically Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse clones) go dancing at a club, get into a fight with a bully, and end up literally bringing the house down.

An entry in the long-running Aesop's Fables anthology series, "Stone Age Stunts" is seven minutes of crudely animated nonsense. Along the way, there are some scenes that will make you squirm if you have any sensitivity to the issues surrounding domestic violence. (There are riffs on the old cartoon caveman hitting his mate over the head with his club and dragging her off, but they are taken to uncomfortable extremes here.)

The saving grace (and only thing that makes watching this worthwhile) is the music. The animation and the music go perfectly together, and the only humorous that aren't uncomfortable to watch, grotesque, or inexplicably weird (or some combination of all three) are those involving music. The cavemouse suddenly being able to use his club as a flute is amusing, and the sequence that starts at roughly the halfway mark with a band of cartoon animals using other cartoon animals as instruments and a hilarious nightclub act make sitting through the more unpleasant bits worthwhile.

As I always try to do with the Van Beuren productions I review, you can watch it for yourself, right here in this post, and see if you think I'm right or wrong in my estimation of this one. Just click on the video below.

(Trivia: Although the amorous mice who are the stars of "Stone Age Stunts" had been appearing in Aesop's Fables episodes since the early 1920s, their appearances changed to be similar to that of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse once those characters became hits for Disney. Eventually, the Walt Disney Company filed suit against the Van Beuren Corporation. Disney didn't see damages--they just wanted Van Beuren to stop putting Mickey and Minnie look-alikes in crude situations in crudely animated cartoons.)

Musical Monday with the Interrupters

On Wednesday, Jan. 20, Joseph R. Biden is going to be inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States of America. As a warm-up for that event, we bring you the Interrupters, a California-based ska/punk band that's been performing and touring together since 2011.




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A modern attempt at silent comedy style

"Charlie's Chase" is a student film I came across when it showed up when I did a search for "Charley Chase". I've posted a number of student films to this blog over the years that tried to capture the feel and spirit of silent movies, but few been as successful as this one.

Check it out. It's short--just one minute long--and it's quite amusing. (One gag doesn't come off quite right, but I think the rest are excellent when one considers what this is.)

Charlie's Chase (2018)

Starring: Anonymous Actors

Director: Tuatea Schmidt

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

Click here to check out what the maker of this film has been up to recently.

The Growing-up of Emma Peel: Part Eleven

Click on the images for larger, more easily read versions.