Cubby vs. Pirates (and Bubbles)

Bubbles and Troubles (1933)
Starring: Anonymous Voice Actors (mostly speaking nonsense)
Director: Mannie Davis
Rating: Five of Ten Stars

When his girlfriend is abducted by pirates, only Cubby can save her!

This Cubby adventure came together better than I had anticipated when it opened. What initially feels like it's going to be a boring mess of unconnected, nonsensical gags--in short order, Cubby goes from doing stunts on his bicycle, to performing magic tricks with soap bubbles to being inflated by one of the bubbles and floating away into the sky--ends up coming together in an amusing and creative fashion when the bubbles of the title end up being central to story as it unfolds.

Almost every moment involving the pirates and their ship from the point the captain decides he wants to add Cubby's girlfriend to his treasure hoard is also a lot of fun. The launching of the longboat was especially amusing. I liked these pirates so much that it's a little hard for me judge whether they're defeated a little too easily, or whether I just feel that way because I wanted to see more of them.

As with the majority of Van Beuren's animated shorts, the use of music is the greatest aspect of "Bubbles and Troubles". The music adds tremendously to this film, and I don't know if I've ever quite experienced "The Sailor's Hornpipe" used so perfectly anywhere before.

But don't just take my word for it. Click below, sit back, and enjoy!

Ballerina Security Corp Adds a New Service!

The Ballerina Security Corporation (BS Corp) is proud to announce we now have a surveillance division! Our highly trained operatives stand ready to get the dirt on cheating spouses, to baby-sit the tweens and teens who doesn't want to be baby-sat, or for any other job that requires them to observe and report.

(Some of our agents may still have to work a bit on developing subtly, but, in their defense, we never said we offer covert survelliance.)
 

Take Couple Minutes to See 'Your Time is Up!'

Your Time is Up! (2021)
Starring: Nhan La
Director: Leon Truong
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

A young woman (La) has a fateful encounter with Death.

Our month-long Halloween celebration may have come to an end yesterday, but this tidbit of horror felt like it belonged on the Day of the Dead... so the spookiness continues!

According to notes from writer/director Leon Truong, "Your Time is Up!" was made first and foremost as an exercise in creating a film that captured the look and feel of a silent movie. While he wisely didn't attempt to dress up actress Nahn La as if it was 1919, he did reach the stated goal of this project by using lighting and special effects techniques similar to what filmmakers in the silent era had access to and then manipulating the resulting footage digitally in post-production.

It's a Danse Macabre Monday

We continue our celebration of Halloween on this Musical Monday with another amazing video for a version of Camille Saint-Saens immortal "Danse Macabre" that is equally amazing! (It's what the dancing dead could play if they used each other as instruments!)

It's Danse Macabre Monday

Danse Macabre (1922)

Starring: Adolph Bolm, Ruth Page, and Olin Howland

Director: Dudley Murphy

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

Young lovers (Bolm and Page) try to escape Death in what is essentially a music video made in the days when film had no sound.

"Danse Macabre" is a spectacular short film, with excellent special effects and starring professional ballet dancers that was made to be precisely timed to the Camille Saint-Saens composition of the same name. The film was meant to be marketed to high-end theaters with full orchestras, where it did indeed play to critical acclaim. It was also popular in less elaborate venues where pianists or smaller ensembles provided the score.

 
Director/producer Dudley Murphy announced plans for an entire series of these sorts of pictures--he called them Visual Symphonies--but at the time it was impractical. They would only be successful if the music they were made for was performed precisely timed to what was happening on screen, by talented, well-rehearsed musicians. Although some movie theaters would have that capacity, many (most even) would not. 

Big hair of 1982 was nothing compared to big hair of 1922

"Danse Macabre" was, as far as I can determine, the only one completed. By the time synchronized sound arrived (bringing audiences things like the Sing-Along series from the Max Fleischer Studio), Murphy had moved onto other ventures, so one can only imagine what he might have come up with if he hadn't been too far ahead of the technological curve.

This, being Halloween, seemed like a perfect time to share this film with you, synced to a roughly contemporaneous recording of "Danse Macabre". Maybe enjoying this great, mostly forgotten masterpiece of early cinematic horror will awaken the Halloween Spirit within you! (There are going to be more "Danse Macabre"-centric posts here at Shades of Gray today. So please check back again later!)

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Ruth Page (1899 - 1991) was a top ballerina and trailblazing choreographer whose career in American dance spanned almost 40 years, and whose impact on the art is still felt to this day. You'll probably see more of her here, during a future observation of International Dance Day!

It's a Danse Macabre Monday

Halloween is here, the ghouls and goblins are dancing and the witches and wraiths are flying! To get the most fun celebration of darkness off to a good start, we bring you this great music video for Camille Saint-Saens's immortal classic "Danse Macabre" constructed of clips from (and even a complete) from silent films!

It's a Mohammed Monday (and it's Halloween)!

THIS WEEK WITH JESUS & MO

Musical Monday with Danse Macabre

 Danse Macabre was, as far as we can tell, a one-man, goth rock outfit that released one album in 1991, Bad. But Not Bad. Here's "She Believes", which was the 10th track and only video and single from the album that we can find any reference to/trace of.

We hope this atmospheric song and chilling video will strengthen your Halloween Spirit on this, the most macabre of Musical Mondays!

Friends don't let friends miss Halloween parties!

When Jack Russell heard that his old pal Vampirella had been captured by a mad scientist bent on "curing" her of vampirism, and that she wouldn't be able to make it to his Halloween party, he immediately leapt into action. He fought his way into the villain's lair and liberated her. Because that's what friends do.

 Friends do whatever friends can do for each other to make sure they can't attend Halloween parties. Most of us will just offer to be the designated driver, but sometimes a rescue mission or some other form of intervention might need to be undertaken!

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Can Betty Soothe the Savage Beast?

Betty Boop's Penthouse (1933)
Starring: Mae Questel, Jack Mercer, and Billy Murray
Directors: Dave Fleischer and Willard Bowsky

Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Betty Boop is enjoying a quiet day of gardening and frolicking and singing in her penthouse garden when she attracts the lecherous attention of the proprietors of a mad science lab, Bimbo and Koko, in a neighboring building. Unfortunately, while the pair admire Betty, an experiment goes awry and a monster gets loose!

"Betty Boop's Penthouse" isn't the strongest of the Boop cartoons, but it's noteworthy for being one of a handful of times where Fleischer stars Bimbo, Koko, and Betty all appeared in the same short film. It has its moments, but the music is so-so and there's only one gag that is truly hilarious. Nothing here falls flat or is particularly bad--this just isn't as strong an effort as the best Boops.

I think Bimbo and Koko make a good pair of mad scientists, and I like the way they get their come-uppance... but the film seems to run out of steam in its final minutes, as the unleashed product of mad science goes after Betty. The ending is bad, but it lacks punch. In that way, I suppose it's matches everything else in this short--it's not bad but it's not particularly good either--but I still wanted more.

But you can take a few minutes to see whether I'm judging this cartoon too harshly by clicking below and watching it from this very post. (And if you have even more time, you can let me and everyone else know what YOU think of it, in the comments section!)