It's a musical without all the extra stuff

Office Blues (1930)
Starring: Ginger Rogers, Clairborne Bryson, and E.R. Rogers
Director: Mort Blumenstock
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

A secretary (Rogers) fantasizes about having a romantic relationship with her stern boss (Bryson) while ignoring the coworker who carries a torch for her (Rogers).

Do you like the musicals from the early talkies period? Would you like them even more if there were the barest minimum of all that dialogue and stuff between the songs and production numbers? Well, then "Office Blues" is for you!

"Office Blues" is a short (barely nine minutes log) musical that still manages to offer two really catchy songs and a big production number. There isn't much time for comedy or drama (although the prematurely balding coworker who's pining for the boss's beautiful secretary offers a bit of both), but I think lovers of music from this era will enjoy this film a lot. Personally, my favorite part is the production number and the costumes worn by the chorus line.

Fans of Ginger Rogers should also definitely check this out. It's one of her earliest starring roles--she was 18 at the time this was filmed--and it's clear that she excelled in song, dance, and acting. To say that she is "radiant" and "lights up the screen" in this "Office Blues" is not overstating her screen presence here. (Although she is made to look even more spectacular due to the fact that her co-stars have the charisma of dish rags.)

"Office Blues" is embedded below for your viewing convenience and pleasure. I hope you enjoy it!

The gathering has begun....

International Dance Day is coming at the end of the month. The runaway dancers are making their way home for the celebration!

 

An amusing silent comedy with new music!

The Water Plug (1920)

Starring: Billy Franey, Robert McKenzie, and Silas Wilcox

Director: George Jeske

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

A hobo (Franey) acquires a fake fire plug and a policeman's badge, and sets out to make some money taking bribes from motorists trying to get out of parking tickets.

 

"The Water Plug" is a swiftly moving comedy that consists of a series of loosely connected gags, first involving water and then the water plug of the title as our hobo hero tries to earn a dishonest buck. 

The strength of this film rests with the fact that it's non-stop action from the very beginning through the final fade. While not every gag is bust-a-gut funny, all will at least invoke a smile... and if you don't laugh during the "gopher" sequence, you may need to look into a sense of humor transplant.

One thing I also appreciated about the version that formed the basis for this post (and which you can watch by clicking below) is the original score--composed and performed by Ben Model. Too many of the silent movies you find uploaded to YouTube or elsewhere are saddled with some random bits of public domain music that rarely fits the mood of the film, and hardly ever matches the action on screen. On a simlar note, I also appreciated the history provided as to how this comedy was "accidentially preserved".

Musical Monday with George Michael

Here at Shades of Gray, our typical content is generated from anywhere across 200 years of pop culture. If you took the stuff posted here, blended in all together, and added a hefty dose of Crazy, you'd probably end up with something very much like this spectacularly strange video for George Michael's "Spinning the Wheel". It's something you MUST see!

Spinning the Wheel (1996)

Starring: George Michael

Director: Vaughan Arnell

Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

'Hugo' by Milton Knight

During the 1980s, there was a bit of a revival of the Funny Animal comic book genre with the number of series and width of genres embodied reaching that of its Golden Age during the 1940s. The best remembered characters and comics from this period are Stan Sakai's "Usagi Yojimbo", Steve Purcell's "Sam & Max", and, of course, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles".

Cartoonist, painter, and animation historian Milton Knight's contribution to the revival was "Hugo", a series about a put-upon court jester who pined for the love of Princess Tish against the backdrop of an anthropomorphic fantasy kingdom. Here's a short tale, which originally appeared in "Hugo" #1 (Fantagraphics, 1982).

For regular updates on what Milton Knight is up to, and to support his current creative efforts, sign up at his Patreon page!)

It's a Fanny Fool's Day!

 

Never before shown to the public!

It's rare that we get to post scoops/previews here at Shades of Gray... but today is one of those times!

We are proud to have been the outlet chosen to be the first to bring you a photo that was taken on April 23, 1961, just as the Beatles were about to hit it big. It's the only picture of everyone in the band, including the legendary Fifth Beatle, Reginald Netherthong! (Netherthong is in the back, to the right. Also pictured, left to right, are George Harrison, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and Paul McCartney.

Fanny Friday

In 1927--the year this week's Flapper Fanny cartoon was originally published--the U.S. was fully engulfed by the Black Bottom dance craze. For more information, and to see demonstrations, check out this previous Shades of Gray post.

Plaaaay ball!

Today, Major League Baseball starts its 2023 season. We're celebrating the return of America's Pastime with Julie Newmar... and weirdness in a cornfield! (We're not sure if it's the Field of Dreams we've heard so much about, but it would explain a lot if it is.)

 
 

 
 

 
If you want to learn more about baseball, we've compiled everything we know about the game into this handy booklet. All proceeds go to support our coffee habits, although if Julie Newmar showed up wanting to go to a ballgame, we'd spend that money on tickets!

What are the dancers doing now that it's Spring?

On International Dance Day 2022, the ballerinas ran off into the wild. We're trying to keep track of them, and we'll try to bring you updates on the last Wednesday of each month until International Dance Day 2023.

And now that winter is ending, and Spring has arrived, we're checking in to see what's up with the ballerinas.

We have discovered that some are dancing around their favorite trees, encouraging leaves to grow. (While also demonstrating the Unifying Theme here at Shades of Gray.)

Some of the ballerinas have also come back inside, so they can properly prepare for International Dance Day 2023, which is one month away!