Felix fights because Feline Lives Matter

Felix Revolts (1923)

Director: Otto Messmer

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

After the mayor and the city council resolves cats are useless and decides to drive all cats out of a city, Felix organizes his fellow felines to fight back.

"Felix Revolts" is a silent animated short film that has stood the test of time. The plot line feels like it mirrors the "social justice movements" that have been sweeping across western nations in recent years. It even captures the stupidity of extreme positions, with a "happy ending" that is the status quo that existed before the beginning of the cartoon is put in writing.

All that said, this cartoon is one of those that both adults and little kids can enjoy, perhaps even taking away different stories from what unfolds on the screen--but certainly taking away different lessons from the results. The best sequences are enjoyable no matter how old, mature, or immature the viewer is, and they all revolve around Felix organizing the cats, and, subsequently their normal enemies the rats, to squeeze the humans. My adult, logical mind couldn't help but wonder what a horrible place that city must be to live in--and how dumb the human population must be--but the kid in me is vastly amused by the protests Felix stages.

I might have given this a rating of Eight Stars if it had just been a couple minutes shorter. There's a sequence involving Felix sabotaging a seafood shop that is so nonsensical that it crosses the line from absurdism to just plain stupid. Since it was Felix's abuse at the hands of the fish-monger that triggered the events of the story, it makes sense that the character and his shop are among the targets the cats go after, but the way it's executed is just dumb. It's not funny, it's not dramatic... it just feels like time-filling nonsense.

Animation-wise, there's nothing particularly outstanding or bad about "Felix Revolts" in comparison to other films from the time, as well as other Felix films. It's cute and it gets the job done--although I could nitpick a couple points for what looks like excessive looping but they're funny so I can be forgiving.

"Felix Revolts" is one of ten early Felix the Cat cartoons contained on Alpha Video's "Felix the Cat: Early Cartoon Classics". The version featured was digitized from a copy held in the personal collection film historian and preservationist John Carpenter, and, although it's a little washed out, it's in far better shape that the ones you can find on YouTube (such as the one embedded below).

If you're not familiar with Felix's antics, and you enjoyed the sample above, I strongly recommend ordering yourself a copy of the Alpha Video collection. The price certainly is one that can't be beat, and your financial support will encourage the making of more such collections.

As Friday the 13th comes to a close....

The Avengers Dossier, Page Sixteen

It's time for another look at a guest-star from an episode of "The Avengers".

BILL FRASER
In "Small Game for Big Hunters", Bill Fraser plays a reclusive retired Army officer whose charitable research foundation may be the center of something truly evil.

Scottish-born William "Bill" Fraser was born in Perth in 1908. He trained to be a bank clerk, but by his late teens he had grown so miserable and bored that he headed off to London in pursuit of a dream of becoming an actor. His early years there were lean--so lean, in fact, that he often would have to sleep out-of-doors on Embankment by the Thames. By sticking  to it, however, he eventually found success as a comedic actor on stage and just before World War II began appearing in movies as either bumbling or sinister police detectives and other authority figures.

Fraser's acting career spanned from the 1920s through the 1980s, and, although he did most of it on stage, he still had more than 130 roles in both film and television, including lead roles in the television series "The Army Game" (1959-1960), "Foreign Affairs" (1950), and "Bootsie and Snudge" (1960 - 1974). He also had a recurring role as an obnoxious judge on "Rumpole of the Old Bailey" (1978 - 1987).

Fraser also ran his own repertory theater company, and he gave Peter Cushing his first acting job while  working as a stage manager at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. This, in turn, led to Cushing getting a scholarship to attend the school... and the rest is horror and sci-fi movie history.

Fraser's final role was in as Mr. Casby in the 1987 screen adaptation of the classic novel "Little Dorit". He passed away later that year.

It's Friday the 13th...

... but we're not afraid or superstitious here at Shades of Gray! Well... David Manners and Adrienne Ames are a little afraid...

... but only because the rest of us are doing this:

The Jane Birkin Quarterly

It's summer, it's hot. We should all do what Jane Birkin is getting ready to do: Lay around in a hammock, wearing just enough to not get arrested.

Circumstances may be such that isn't an option, though. Then, you can play with the kids in the pool. 

That way, they'll be tired, they'll go to sleep early... and you'll have some quiet time with the hubby (or to just lounge about in that aforementioned hammock)!

Roman Wives #2: Sharon Tate

Born in 1943, Sharon Tate's early life was that of a nomadic U.S. Army Brat. While her father was stationed in Italy, she began modeling and landed some work as an extra in Italian movies. This led to her being signed to a seven-year contract with the Filmways production company in the early 1960s. After giving her some practice as a recurring character on "The Beverly Hillbillies" television series from 1963 to 1965, Filmways began giving her larger parts in films, and her star rose swiftly.

In 1967, Tate met Roman Polanski while working on the horror comedy "Fearless Vampire Killers"; Polanski was both the film's director and one of her co-stars. They dated briefly and got married in London in January of 1968.

Horrific tragedy struck in August of 1969 when Sharon Tate was murdered by the psychopathic cohorts of Charles Manson. A collateral victim of her murder was her unborn son, as she was eight months pregnant at the time. Polanski has stated that the slaying of his second wife turned his worldview from one of boundless optimism to eternal pessimism.

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This post was part of the Shades of Gray Roman Polanski Month.

Irony and twists abound in "The Lamp"

The Lamp (1959)

Starring: K. Romanowski
Director: Roman Polanski
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

A dollmaker (Romanowski) modernizes his shop with unfortunate results.

"The Lamp" was made by future super-star director Roman Polanski when he was still in film school. It is one of his first films that use sound... and it does so with varying success. It's still basically a silent movie, but it uses sound effects to note the passage of time, as well as the power of electricity when the dollmaker's shop is wired for such.

The reason to watch this film is for the creative cinematography and lighting that infuses a great level of spookiness into the elderly dollmaker and his shop, as well as the creepiest anthromophication of an old-school fuse box you're ever likely to see. The film is further elevated by the way it plays with the audience's expectations, and, finally, by an ending that's ironic on many different levels. Polanski's takent for filmmaking is on full display, even in this very early work.

Check out "The Lamp", below. I think you'll find it well worth a few minutes of your time.

(On a purely personal note, I found myself struggling to not interpret this film in light of Polanski's predilection for wanting to control and have sex with young girls. It adds new levels of possible meaning to the film, some of them really disturbing, some of them showing more self-reflection that I imagine a sick person like Polanski is capable of. It can be hard to separate the art from the artist...)

Musical Monday With The Interrupters

We interrupt your Monday to bring you the Interrupters, a four-piece ska band that's been playing and touring since 2011. "She's Kerosene" is from their 2018 album "Fight the Good Fight" and it's their greatest hit so far. This is their second appearance here at Shades of Gray.

Watch the video. Get pumped for the week that lies ahead.

Ska makes everything better. We now return you to your regularly scheduled week.

The Dude Would Name This as His Favorite...

This was among the first of the blends I ordered from Florida-based Bones Coffee Company, because I was amused by the artwork and obvious callback to "The Big Lebowski". It turns out that it ranks among my favorite so far.

BONES COFFEE COMPANY: WHITE RUSSIAN

Bones Coffee's White Russian blend is another one of their flavored medium roasts that's just as tasty as its novelty packaging is amusing.

In preparation for this review, I first educated myself on what a White Russian is supposed to taste like. My liquor of choice happens to be vodka, and I am as enamored with flavored vodkas I am with flavored coffee. And like coffee, I rarely drink my vodka straight, even the flavored kinds; I tend to make mixed drinks with milk, fruit juices, or soda.

With that said, why would I need to educate myself on what a White Russian is supposed to taste like? Well, because my idea of a "White Russian" for years was vodka and milk over ice while a "Black Russian" was vodka and chocolate milk--which is what I did for myself at home. As you can tell, there's been a key component missing, namely Kahlua.

In preparation for this review, I got a bottle of Kahlua and mixed and drank a range of White Russians, using different milks and creamers and even matching the shade of the White Russian cocktails consumed by the Dude himself. 

Because I am all about self-sacrifice and going the extra mile for my readers. You take the trouble of clicking through to the blog and reading the posts, so I put as much effort into making them as humanly possible... including the sloshed on cocktails and buzzed on flavored coffee!

So--White Russian from Bones Coffee Company. Good or bad?

I say very, very good. 

While brewing, I didn't really notice any particular aroma beyond what usually issues forth from my drip coffee maker as it worked its magic. From the first sip of the White Russian coffee blend--as it had been poured into my mug--the flavor of the Dude's favorite cocktail was on my tongue. When I added a little unsweetened almond milk to the coffee, the flavor of the liquor and the edge of vodka popped even stronger. The blend captures the taste and sensation of White Russians perfectly, and it gets better if a little milk or creamer is added.  

The White Russian flavor remains strong and intact when this brew is consumed iced. This makes it even more satisfying, because that is how the cocktail the blend emulates is consumed. I recommend this highly to anyone who likes flavored coffees, and who might want to start their day with a White Russian but doesn't want to start the day intoxicated.

Can Bolshoi Ballerinas Binge Coffee? 'Course!

One thing I SHOULD have done in the course of this review was seeing what happened if I added vodka to a cup of this blend. I have a bottle of chocolate-flavored vodka in the freezer, and I think it would mix wonderfully with this blend of coffee. But, by the time I had this thought, I'd finished off all of the White Russian blend. Down the road, I will have to get some more and do some experiments. I will provide updates here when I do.

Early Disney version of 'Cinderella' disappoints

There's a new version of "Cinderella" debuting on Amazon Prime on September 3. To prepare, we're watching and reviewing some of the more obscure versions of the tale from yester-year. This time, it's an early effort from Walt Disney!

Cinderella (1922)
Director: Walt Disney

Rating: Four of Ten Stars

It's a modern-day (well, modern-day in 1922), slightly wonky retelling of a classic fairy tale about the abused girl who gets the prince with the help of a magical Fairy Godmother.

This is a cartoon that's really hard for me to like. Maybe it's because this isn't 1922. Maybe it's because I'm an adult... but between our introduction to the supposedly charming prince involves him massacring a clan of dancing bears who were literally just partying at their cave, and badly thought-out scene where the Fairy Godmother makes Cinderella's "carriage" appear inside her house yet Cindy gets in it and drives away with no issue, I was almost completely turned off by this before it had even reached the halfway mark. 

There are some very cute bits--almost everything involving Cinderella's talking cat sidekick, the portrayal of Cinder and Prince Charming's relationship, and a gag involving a duck near the end--and the way Cinderella reverts from an enchanted, high-fashion flapper girl to a down-trodden scullery maid is a cleverly and amusingly animated. These all add up to make this cartoon entertaining enough, but the opening sequence with the prince and bears--one that I have a hard time imagining anyone one but a psychopath finding that amusing--casts a shadow over everything that follows.

But perhaps I am reacting too strongly a bit of harmless fun. Why don't you take a few minutes to watch it and let us know what you think? If nothing else, "Cinderella" is worth checking out due to its historical significance: It's one of Walt Disney's earliest animated efforts... and I'm sure everyone will be able to appreciate that his output (and that of the army of animators he eventually had on the payroll to create the famous, feature-length remake of this short in 1950) was much, much better.

Click below... and watch the animated creatures go!