Pot stores are popping up all over. Country/western sensation Wheeler Walker Jr. couldn't be happier, because, well, as he himself says in this song, he likes smoking pot a lot. (Friendly warning: Don't play this song at work, or around the hysterically sensitive.)
(Yeah... I probably should have saved this post until some time in April of 2020 [4/20]...)
Monday, August 5, 2019
Friday, August 2, 2019
'Air Fright' has comedic highs and lows, but mostly stays aloft
Air Fright (1933)
Starring: Patsy Kelly, Thelma Todd, Wilfred Lucas, Don Barclay, and Billy Bletcher
Director: Gus Meins
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars
Thelma (Todd) gets her brash girlfriend, Patsy (Kelly), a job as an air hostess at the same company she works for. Their first assignment together is on a plane where an experimental parachute emergency system is to be tested. It perhaps goes without saying, but things go wrong...
"Air Fright" was the third film that Thelma Todd and Patsy Kelly made together, and it was the best up to this point. The script is the strongest yet, the humor works for the most part, Patsy Kelly's character is more hapless and a fish-out-of-water than annoying and stupid (as she was in "Beauty and the Bus"). There was even some comedic action and suspense mixed in when our heroines end up dangling from the airplane in a tangled parachute.
Although an improvement on the previous films featuring Todd and Kelly, when things didn't work here, they really didn't work. Kelly delivers a number of one-liners that flop to the ground harder than someone jumping from a plane without a parachute, and, once again, the film's pacing is off to the point where the ending feels like the last few minutes of the picture may be missing.
It should be noted that this is basically Patsy Kelly's picture. Todd basically plays the straight man while she fires off jokes and causes chaos; it's said that Hal Roach was shooting for a Laurel & Hardy vibe, but with women when it came to these pictures, but here Todd & Kelly come off like a Abbott & Costello-type team... but without Todd being the sort of jerk toward Kelly that Abbott so often was to Costello in their pictures. I point this out, because, although I enjoyed Kelly in the film, I understand that she has her detractors. Those who can't stand Kelly, but who still want to enjoy Todd--who is once again fun to watch, even if she doesn't get to stretch her comedic muscles much--may want to save this film until they have nothing else to watch.
"Air Fright" is one of 21 short films that Todd and Kelly made together, and it can be found included in the three DVD set The Complete Hal Roach Thelma Todd & Patsy Kelly Collection.
Starring: Patsy Kelly, Thelma Todd, Wilfred Lucas, Don Barclay, and Billy Bletcher
Director: Gus Meins
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars
Thelma (Todd) gets her brash girlfriend, Patsy (Kelly), a job as an air hostess at the same company she works for. Their first assignment together is on a plane where an experimental parachute emergency system is to be tested. It perhaps goes without saying, but things go wrong...
"Air Fright" was the third film that Thelma Todd and Patsy Kelly made together, and it was the best up to this point. The script is the strongest yet, the humor works for the most part, Patsy Kelly's character is more hapless and a fish-out-of-water than annoying and stupid (as she was in "Beauty and the Bus"). There was even some comedic action and suspense mixed in when our heroines end up dangling from the airplane in a tangled parachute.
Although an improvement on the previous films featuring Todd and Kelly, when things didn't work here, they really didn't work. Kelly delivers a number of one-liners that flop to the ground harder than someone jumping from a plane without a parachute, and, once again, the film's pacing is off to the point where the ending feels like the last few minutes of the picture may be missing.
It should be noted that this is basically Patsy Kelly's picture. Todd basically plays the straight man while she fires off jokes and causes chaos; it's said that Hal Roach was shooting for a Laurel & Hardy vibe, but with women when it came to these pictures, but here Todd & Kelly come off like a Abbott & Costello-type team... but without Todd being the sort of jerk toward Kelly that Abbott so often was to Costello in their pictures. I point this out, because, although I enjoyed Kelly in the film, I understand that she has her detractors. Those who can't stand Kelly, but who still want to enjoy Todd--who is once again fun to watch, even if she doesn't get to stretch her comedic muscles much--may want to save this film until they have nothing else to watch.
"Air Fright" is one of 21 short films that Todd and Kelly made together, and it can be found included in the three DVD set The Complete Hal Roach Thelma Todd & Patsy Kelly Collection.
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Spacegirl Adventures, Part Twenty-three
What Has Gone Before: The menacing Cadet Alpha is hot on the trail of Spacegirl, but our heroine is executing what she hopes will be another escape.
SPACEGIRL
Monday, July 29, 2019
The Thelma Todd Quarterly
Actress Thelma Todd was born on July 29, 1906. To mark the date, I'm presenting a series of photos she posed for in promotion of "Horse Feathers". Happy birthday, Ms. Todd, wherever you are!
Musical Monday with Calloway and Boop
The early Betty Boop cartoons are very trippy experiences... but this one seems moreso than others.
The Old Man of the Mountain (1933)
Starring: Cab Calloway (as the voice of the Old Man) and Bonnie Poe (as the voice of Betty Boop)
Director: Dave Fleischer
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars
Although warned of the danger by an entire town of fleeing citizens, Betty Boop decides that she must see the Old Man of the Moutain herself.
Betty Boop had some surreal adventures in the early 1930s, and this is one of them. Although you have to wonder what when through that extra-large head of hers when she chose to disregard warnings from EVERYONE (including a woman who, depending on how darkly you want to view the storyline, was either the Old Man's unhappy wife, or a rape victim), and heads up to mountain to see for herself what everyone is so afraid of, this is among the more surreal of them. From the moment Betty meets the Old Man of the Mountain, this cartoon just keeps getting weirder and weirder... and keeps getting more and more entertaining.
Another really cool aspect of "The Old Man of the Mountain" is that it's essentially a music video; it's not just a cartoon where the characters sing a song or two, it's filled from beginning to end with jazz music and songs performed by Cab Calloway and his orchestra, along with Bonnie Poe. The character of the Old Man dancing was also reportedly rotoscoped from film of Cab Calloway performing. I've read this is one of three Betty Boop cartoons where the Calloway and his music are bascially the stars; I will be seeking out those and reviewing them in this space.
Meanwhile, if you like funky animation and even funkier jazz, you need to take a few minutes out of your day to watch "The Old Man of the Mountain".
The Old Man of the Mountain (1933)
Starring: Cab Calloway (as the voice of the Old Man) and Bonnie Poe (as the voice of Betty Boop)
Director: Dave Fleischer
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars
Although warned of the danger by an entire town of fleeing citizens, Betty Boop decides that she must see the Old Man of the Moutain herself.
Betty Boop had some surreal adventures in the early 1930s, and this is one of them. Although you have to wonder what when through that extra-large head of hers when she chose to disregard warnings from EVERYONE (including a woman who, depending on how darkly you want to view the storyline, was either the Old Man's unhappy wife, or a rape victim), and heads up to mountain to see for herself what everyone is so afraid of, this is among the more surreal of them. From the moment Betty meets the Old Man of the Mountain, this cartoon just keeps getting weirder and weirder... and keeps getting more and more entertaining.
Another really cool aspect of "The Old Man of the Mountain" is that it's essentially a music video; it's not just a cartoon where the characters sing a song or two, it's filled from beginning to end with jazz music and songs performed by Cab Calloway and his orchestra, along with Bonnie Poe. The character of the Old Man dancing was also reportedly rotoscoped from film of Cab Calloway performing. I've read this is one of three Betty Boop cartoons where the Calloway and his music are bascially the stars; I will be seeking out those and reviewing them in this space.
Meanwhile, if you like funky animation and even funkier jazz, you need to take a few minutes out of your day to watch "The Old Man of the Mountain".
Sunday, July 28, 2019
The tragedy of 'One Cookie Left'
Taken for what this is, "One Cookie Left" is an amusing pastiche of early silent comedies. It's not brilliant, but it's also not bad, and there are several chuckle-prompting moments that you can enjoy right now, because I've embedded the film below. (That said... where did the guy's mustache in the first scene disappear to?)
One Cookie Left (2012)
Starring: Jessie and Max
Rating: Six of Ten Stars
One Cookie Left (2012)
Starring: Jessie and Max
Rating: Six of Ten Stars
Friday, July 26, 2019
'The Soilers' is almost buried by weak slapstick
The Soilers (1932)
Starring: ZaSu Pitts, Thelma Todd, James C. Morton, and Bud Jamison
Director: George Marshall
Rating: Six of Ten Stars
ZaSu and Thelma (Pitts and Todd) try to sell magazine subscriptions to the staff at City Hall and are mistaken for assassins by a judge who's been life has been threatened (Morton).
"The Soilers" is one of the weaker entries in the comedies teaming ZaSu Pitts and Thelma Todd. There's no much story to get in the way of the physical comedy bits, but at least there's more than in the similarly flawed "One Track Mind" (1933) and here enough thought was put into the script to bring the film to a satisfying conclusion. Still, compared to earlier Pitts/Todd teamings, this is disappointing.
I think the biggest flaw here is that the series started emphasizing slapstick and other physical comedy over the situational comedy that had dominated early entries in the series. In "Let's Do Things" (1932), for example, the physical comedy--Thelma Todd being tossed around like a rag doll, ZaSu Pitts being stupid drunk--accentuates the comedic situations the characters are in rather than being present for its own sake.
To make matters worse, the routines that "The Soilers" is packed with just isn't all that good, and several of them outstay their welcome. In the first ten minutes of the film there are four different physical comedy bits that are allowed to drag on to the point of being tedious, although the last of them is punctuated with an extremely impressive prat-fall by James Morton. (Two of the routines are just lame, and grow tedious because they are carried on for too long; but there's some business with characters stuck in a revolving door that ZaSu is too dim to figure out how to use, and a bit with a maintainence man and a ladder that culminates in James C. Morton doing an impressive head-over-heels prat-fall. (I am not joking; this was such an impressive little stunt that I literally exclaimed "Wow!" when it happend.)
The middle section of the film is the strongest. Here, we see Thelma trying to sell magazine subscriptions by being seductive to a court clerk, followed by ZaSu trying to prove that she can also be sexy... and failing. Some of the strongest physical comedy takes place here, as the girls reduce a judges' chambers to shambles and cover both him and themsleves in ink, glue, court documents, and bits of office equipment. It's all very goofy and even a little funny. Bud Jamison also gets to portray what may be the most inept plain-clothes policeman to ever grace the screen during this section, and it's also quite funny. Eventually, the film returns to the uninspired material that opened the film, but thankfully we only get a small dose of it, and the film does close on a high note--a literal bang--and a cute moment between our heroines and the judge whose day they've been ruining.
Although definately one of the weaker entries in the series of Todd/Pitts comedies, it's still ends up being a lot of fun to watch. In fact, I think if a little more effort had been put into crafting a story instead of padding the running time with lame slap-stick material, it could have ended up as one of the better entiries. The cast was excellent, and when they had good material to work with, they were excellent.
"The Soilers" is contained on a two-disc set that contains all of the short films that Thelma Todd and ZaSu Pitts made together
Starring: ZaSu Pitts, Thelma Todd, James C. Morton, and Bud Jamison
Director: George Marshall
Rating: Six of Ten Stars
ZaSu and Thelma (Pitts and Todd) try to sell magazine subscriptions to the staff at City Hall and are mistaken for assassins by a judge who's been life has been threatened (Morton).
"The Soilers" is one of the weaker entries in the comedies teaming ZaSu Pitts and Thelma Todd. There's no much story to get in the way of the physical comedy bits, but at least there's more than in the similarly flawed "One Track Mind" (1933) and here enough thought was put into the script to bring the film to a satisfying conclusion. Still, compared to earlier Pitts/Todd teamings, this is disappointing.
I think the biggest flaw here is that the series started emphasizing slapstick and other physical comedy over the situational comedy that had dominated early entries in the series. In "Let's Do Things" (1932), for example, the physical comedy--Thelma Todd being tossed around like a rag doll, ZaSu Pitts being stupid drunk--accentuates the comedic situations the characters are in rather than being present for its own sake.
To make matters worse, the routines that "The Soilers" is packed with just isn't all that good, and several of them outstay their welcome. In the first ten minutes of the film there are four different physical comedy bits that are allowed to drag on to the point of being tedious, although the last of them is punctuated with an extremely impressive prat-fall by James Morton. (Two of the routines are just lame, and grow tedious because they are carried on for too long; but there's some business with characters stuck in a revolving door that ZaSu is too dim to figure out how to use, and a bit with a maintainence man and a ladder that culminates in James C. Morton doing an impressive head-over-heels prat-fall. (I am not joking; this was such an impressive little stunt that I literally exclaimed "Wow!" when it happend.)
The middle section of the film is the strongest. Here, we see Thelma trying to sell magazine subscriptions by being seductive to a court clerk, followed by ZaSu trying to prove that she can also be sexy... and failing. Some of the strongest physical comedy takes place here, as the girls reduce a judges' chambers to shambles and cover both him and themsleves in ink, glue, court documents, and bits of office equipment. It's all very goofy and even a little funny. Bud Jamison also gets to portray what may be the most inept plain-clothes policeman to ever grace the screen during this section, and it's also quite funny. Eventually, the film returns to the uninspired material that opened the film, but thankfully we only get a small dose of it, and the film does close on a high note--a literal bang--and a cute moment between our heroines and the judge whose day they've been ruining.
Although definately one of the weaker entries in the series of Todd/Pitts comedies, it's still ends up being a lot of fun to watch. In fact, I think if a little more effort had been put into crafting a story instead of padding the running time with lame slap-stick material, it could have ended up as one of the better entiries. The cast was excellent, and when they had good material to work with, they were excellent.
"The Soilers" is contained on a two-disc set that contains all of the short films that Thelma Todd and ZaSu Pitts made together
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Picture Perfect Wednesday: Bebe Daniels
Bebe Daniels may be one of the most resilient actresses in film history. Born in 1901, she got her start as a child actor, at the age of 10, in the early days of the silent film movie industry. She successfully transitioned to adult roles in her teens, survived the dramatic shift to the talkies during her 20s, matured into dramatic roles in her 30s, and found a successful career in radio acting as she entered her 40s. She continued as a working actress in radio and on television until 1961.
Today, Daniels is helping to remind us of the unifying theme of this blog. (And you can click here to read reviews of--and even watch--several of the movies she appeared in, including the one that launched her long and varied career.)
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Today, Daniels is helping to remind us of the unifying theme of this blog. (And you can click here to read reviews of--and even watch--several of the movies she appeared in, including the one that launched her long and varied career.)
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| Bebe Daniels as Joan of Arc |
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