You might want to avoid 'Chinatown After Dark'

Chinatown After Dark (1931)
Starring: Rex Lease, Billy Gilbert, Carmel Myers, Barbara Kent, and Frank Mayo
Director: Stuart Paytom
Rating: Three of Ten Stars

Jim Bonner (Lease) tries to unravel the mystery of his brother's disappearance, while being hounded by an incompetent police detective (Gilbert) and a sinister Chinese criminal mastermind (Myers).

There a scraps of interesting story elements scattered throughout this poorly written, unevenly paced, wretchedly acted,, and badly staged Yellow Peril-style thriller. Most fascinating to me was the casual yet nasty racism on display when the chief homicide detective assigns the investigation of the murder of a well-to-do Chinese man to an officer he states won't be able to solve the case.

Although I reference a mystery in my summary above, there are actually three different mysteries in the film, none of which are handled very well. First, the reason why the villain wants the Chinese dagger is the film's first focus is revealed way too early. Second, the disappearance of the hero's brother (and the hero subsequently coming under suspicion of murder) would easily have been resolved by the hero doing to the police--something which he never really did not have a reason to do, other than there wouldn't be a movie. Third, the question of "how will the hero clear his nane?" was never really a question, because of the ineptitude with which the two previous questions have been handled.

Watching this film, I repeatedly found myself saying, "that would make an interesting story" as some plot nugget or off-hand reference came and went on the screen. Unfortunately, that interesting story is not found in "Chinatown After Dark."

What is also not really found, since this film headlines Carmel Myers, was the elaborate costumes that I imagine some of the audience went looking for. Although little known today, Myers was a huge star during the Silent Ere who was known for wearing spectacular and exotic outfits in her films. Here, while she is midly exotic in her look, there is nothing particularly amazing about her costume; I suppose, in some ways, that can be taken as a reflection of how her star steadily faded after she made her transition to talkies.

I think this film is probably only of interest to hardcore lovers of old films... and even then, you probably don't need to rush to see it. But, if you have nothing better to do, you can watch it right here, right now by clicking below.

Welcome to the first Picture Perfect Wednesday of 2014....

... welcome to the Year of Ann Miller!

Each month for all of 2014, Ann will make an appearance honoring a special day, like, for example, New Year's Day. We hope you'll check back regularly to see what day she shows up on.

Why is this the Year of Ann Miller, you ask? Why not? (If there must be a reason, we could say it's in observation of the 10th anniversary of her moving onto that great dance floor in the sky.)

But while we wait for Ann's next appearance, hope you have a Happy New Year and that 2014 is nothing but smooth sailing for you. Olga San Juan is setting a course toward a great year!

It's almost Midnight...

... and Ann Miller is marching with the last few minutes to the end of 2013!

Hoping to start the New Year with a Bang!

Marilyn Monroe and Ann Miller stand ready to help you start 2014 with a bang! However, I don't recommend following their lead as far as fireworks safety goes....

The Year is Rapidly Coming to a Close

The end of 2013 will soon be upon us! For some, the hands one the clock can't move fast enough past 23:59:59!

Marx Bros deliver 'Room Service'

Room Service (1938)
Starring: The Marx Bros, Frank Albertson, Donald McBride, Lucille Ball, Cliff Dunstan, Philip Wood, Alexander Asro, and Ann Miller
Director:  William Seiter
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

A broke theatrical producer (Groucho Marx) engages in an increasingly desperate series of ruses to prevent eviction of himself and the cast of the play he is trying to secure financial backing for.

"Room Service" is the only Marx Bros. film that was not specifically written for them. It's an adaptation of a play that was hugely successful at the time, and many of the supporting actors (such as Donald McBride as the long-suffering hotel inspector) play the same roles the originated on stage. I assume it's a faithful adaptation, as the stage roots are so visible that the vast majority of the film takes place in a single room, with characters coming and going through its three different doors and one can even sense where the lights would dim and come up between acts.

The fact that the film is "stagey" doesn't hurt it, however, as running in and out of doors and verbal patter is the Marx Bros. stock and trade. I felt that the only weakness here over material tailor-made for the trio was that Harpo feels under-utulized, even if he gets to be at the center of the film's culmination and the conclusion of one of its funniest sequences--a prolonged fake suicide and impromptu memorial

While Groucho and Chico expertly deliver some superb lines, the aforementioned suicide scene and the aftermath with Harpo are the only parts that compare to the many great bits in "Duck Soup" or "A Day at the Races." The pacing of the film is solid and the comedy is top-notch, but in general only that the suicide sequence really felt like it could only have been done by the Marx Bros.

In some ways, this might be a film that even those who don't usually like Marx Bros. movies can enjoy. The story serves a greater function here than just moving us from comedic set piece to comedic set piece, and there isn't the sense that there's a single character that's the target of Grouch's abuse is also lacking. As stories go, the only weak point I felt was the romantic subplot between the playwright (Frank Albertson) and one of the hotel staff (Ann Miller); it added nothing whatsoever to the film.


Trivia: Ann Miller  was only 15 when she appeared in as the love interest in "Room Service", having lied about her age to be hired at RKO as a contract player.

It's Christmas Morning...

... and everyone is dancing with glee over the pile of gifts Santa has brought them!