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438,018 | 306,861 | 23,985 | 10 |
Paul Robeson's Triumph
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By murder & guile , a black Pullman conductor becomes THE EMPEROR JONES on an impoverished Caribbean isle . Eugene O'Neill's allegorical fable comes alive in this unique and intriguing film , recently restored by the Library of Congress . The legendary Paul Robeson dominates the film as a man who abandons his wife & Baptist upbringing to worship himself , wallowing gleefully in sin & violence as long as it furthers his goal for power & riches - the chance to become an emperor of his own tiny domain is merely the latest opportunity in a serendipitous sequence to be exploited . Robeson's athletic physique , magnificent singing voice , accomplished acting skills and over-sized personality make him the ideal choice for the complex role . Whether leading chained prisoners in song , using brains & bravado to seize his little kingdom , or slyly peering at himself in a succession of mirrors as he enters his throne room in full military regalia , Robeson is never less than fully entertaining . Fredi Washington shines in her small role as Robeson's faithful wife . Dudley Digges is appropriately unsavory as the white trader with whom Robeson must do business in order to keep his throne . Movie mavens will recognize a young Moms Mabley as the owner of a New York City nightclub ; an even younger Harold Nicholas ( of the Nicholas Brothers ) as a boy tap dancer & the wonderful Rex Ingram as Robeson's Court Crier - all uncredited . This film should be considered as a product of its times ; it makes no pretensions towards political correctness . O'Neill's play is obviously based on the historical Henri Christophe ( 1767-1820 ) , the former slave who , after being involved in the bloody revolution against the French and the assassination of his predecessor , became president of northern Haiti in 1807 and its self-proclaimed king in 1811 . Despotic & brilliant , King Henri enjoyed a reign of enormous brutality and opulence . He built for himself 6 châteaux , 8 palaces and the massive Citadelle Laferrière , still considered one of the wonders of the age . Christophe supported himself with a fabricated nobility consisting of 4 princes , 8 dukes , 22 counts , 37 barons & 14 knights . After a paralytic stroke left him disabled , the people rose in revolt and Christophe ? s followers fled . Naturally reluctant to face the wrath of his former subjects , Christophe shot himself with a silver bullet .
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437,194 | 306,861 | 26,233 | 10 |
Delightful Disney Cartoon
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A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short . A hobo gingerbread man helps a sweet young thing become queen of THE COOKIE CARNIVAL . Varied male desserts now vie for her attention , but who will she select to be her king ? An excellent example of the wealth of imagination Disney was developing . Cookie & dessert motifs abound throughout this cartoon . That's Pinto Colvig , normally heard as Goofy , who voices the gingerbread man . And who wouldn't love to see more of Miss Jello ? The SILLY SYMPHONIES , which Walt Disney produced for a ten year period beginning in 1929 , are among the most interesting of series in the field of animation . Unlike the Mickey Mouse cartoons in which action was paramount , with the Symphonies the action was made to fit the music . There was little plot in the early Symphonies , which featured lively inanimate objects and anthropomorphic plants & animals , all moving frantically to the soundtrack . Gradually , however , the Symphonies became the school where Walt's animators learned to work with color and began to experiment with plot , characterization & photographic special effects . The pages of Fable & Fairy Tale , Myth & Mother Goose were all mined to provide story lines and even Hollywood's musicals & celebrities were effectively spoofed . It was from this rich soil that Disney's feature-length animation was to spring . In 1939 , with SNOW WHITE successfully behind him and PINOCCHIO & FANTASIA on the near horizon , Walt phased out the SILLY SYMPHONIES ; they had run their course & served their purpose .
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437,542 | 306,861 | 39,017 | 10 |
Speeding Towards Death
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The passengers of a train running from London to Edinburgh endure TERROR BY NIGHT when a murderer goes after a fabulous gem . Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce yet again step into the personas of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic characters , Sherlock Holmes & Dr . Watson . As before , the two actors are the main reason for watching the film , with Rathbone the epitome of cerebral acuity , and Bruce mumbling and grumbling alongside , but Universal Studios also made sure the tale could boast of some fine atmospherics and plenty of action . Inevitably , some viewers will be reminded of Murder On The Orient Express by Dame Agatha Christie . Dennis Hoey returns as Scotland Yard's intrepid Inspector Lestrade . Alan Mowbray , one of the really fine character actors of the era , makes something of his role as a slightly stuffy retired officer from the Indian Service . Pretty Renee Godfrey plays a mysterious young woman accompanying an odd coffin to Scotland . Chubby Billy Bevan is a friendly train attendant , and Boyd Davis does well with his small role as a gruff Scots Police Inspector . There must always be eccentrics in every Sherlock Holmes film , and this one is well served by imperious Mary Forbes as an insufferable noblewoman ; cranky Frederick Worlock as a most displeased mathematics professor ; Gerald Hamer & Janet Murdock as a very nervous married couple ; and little Skelton Knaggs as a creepy killer . Movie mavens will recognize marvelous old Sir C . Aubrey Smith , the leader of Hollywood's British Colony , in a tiny unbilled cameo as the crusty gentleman Bruce & Mowbray nearly knock over on the train platform . This film , which borrowed elements from Sir Arthur's stories The Empty House and The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax , was preceded by PURSUIT TO ALGIERS ( 1945 ) and followed by DRESSED TO KILL ( 1946 ) , the last in the series .
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437,261 | 306,861 | 23,986 | 10 |
Powerful Pre-Code Retail Drama
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12 , 000 workers pass through the EMPLOYEES ' ENTRANCE of Franklin Monroe & Co . , the world's largest department store . Hounded & harried by their merciless management , they have produced a superior retail establishment . However , the cost in broken hearts & lives has been tremendous , as greed & ambition struggle for control of the entire corporation . . . This is an excellent film that rewards diligent attention from the viewer . Like its predecessor , SKYSCRAPER SOULS ( 1932 ) , the story takes a diverse cast of characters , puts them in a large structure , stirs in a witches ' brew of human emotions , and applies intense pressure on them all from the top down . Fine production values help the believability in this pre-Production Code drama . Warren William dominates the picture - just as he did in SKYSCRAPER SOULS ( 1932 ) in an identical role - as the store's completely amoral , conniving , tyrannical manager . He is perfect in the part and it is fascinating to watch a skilled actor portray a thoroughly bad character . As one of the finer actors of the decade , it is indeed a shame the William is all but forgotten today . The rest of the cast is excellent : Wallace Ford & Loretta Young as a secretly married couple whom William tries to corrupt ; Alice White as the store floozy , willing to drop her morals at William's command ; Ruth Donnelly as William's no-nonsense secretary ; Frank Reicher & Charles Sellon as two old men who respond in very different ways to having William destroy their livelihood ; and Hale Hamilton as the store's ineffectual , absentee owner . Movie mavens will recognize Allen Jenkins as an undercover store security officer and Charles Lane as a shoe salesman , both unbilled . Although meant to be great entertainment and nothing more , this film should raise just enough questions in the viewer's mind so as to get them pondering what really goes on behind all those closed doors at their own favorite department store .
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437,509 | 306,861 | 21,794 | 10 |
Mister Mouse Delivers The Music
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A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon . Mickey THE DELIVERY BOY spots Minnie washing clothes and that's all it takes for the two of them to stop and make merry music together . The action in this humorous little black & white cartoon is driven entirely by the soundtrack and its renditions of ' In The Shade Of The Old Apple Tree ' & ' Stars And Stripes Forever . ' The animators have included several of their favorite underwear gags , but the turtle spoofing the Yiddish dancer takes the booby prize for dubious taste . Look for a quick cameo appearance by Pegleg Pete as a dynamite blaster . Walt Disney supplies Mickey's squeaky voice . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off .
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437,658 | 306,861 | 33,268 | 10 |
Out On A Ledge With Mr . Duck
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A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon . Donald & Pluto are WINDOW CLEANERS on a large skyscraper , but the Duck's day comes unstrung when he plays a joke on a very belligerent bee . . . This was one of a small handful of cartoons to co-star the Duck and the Pup , their very different personalities bouncing well off of each other . The addition of the Bee to the mix only adds to the vertiginous hilarity . The legendary Carl Barks wrote the story ; Clarence Nash supplied Donald with his unique voice . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off .
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437,625 | 306,861 | 23,943 | 10 |
Mr . Laurel & Mr . Hardy Fall In Among Thieves
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Two hapless misfits find themselves working for Fra Diavolo ( THE DEVIL'S BROTHER ) , the notorious singing bandit of the early 18th century . Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy are at the top of their form - high praise indeed - in this lavish , but rather obscure , rendition of Daniel-François Auber's popular operetta . Laurel's frightened squeak & Ollie's pout of wounded dignity are on display , as is the easy camaraderie and genuine affection of these two gentle souls . Here they are simply allowed to do what they did best : amuse . One hilarious sequence follows another : Stan attempting to hang Ollie ( really ! ) ; their slapstick endeavor to capture the bandit ; the Boys helpless in an uncontrollable fit of laughter . Director Hal Roach understood their comedic style better than anyone , and he lets them make the most of their time before the cameras . Their every moment captured on film is precious ; each minute they are missing so that subplots may develop is decried as an intolerable waste . In the title role , British opera star Dennis King monopolizes much of the screen time . A good deal of his vocalizing is unintelligible , but he plays the charming rogue well . However , it is important to notice that despite his charm , he is one of the most dangerous villains the Boys encounter in any of their films . Beneath the thin veneer of civility , he is little more than a murderous , thieving rapscallion . He has nothing but his handsome face & dulcet tones to separate him from a Karloff or a Lugosi . Peppery James Finlayson & lovely , tragic Thelma Todd play silly , vain aristocrats who have more jewels than common sense . Both of these wonderful performers were always welcome in roles large or small - his bristling mustache and popping eyes & her classic beauty so often the focal point of great humor . But here they have very little contact with the Boys and so much of their comedic talent is rather dissipated in mildly adulterous scenes with the Bandit Chief . Pity . . . There is a subplot involving the Innkeeper's daughter and her forbidden love of a young military officer , but fortunately it is not allowed to intrude too much . Henry Armetta as the Innkeeper , however , is given some very funny moments as he tries without success to duplicate Stan's intricate hand games .
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438,313 | 306,861 | 213,622 | 10 |
Do We Hear Wedding Bells ?
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An MGM PETE SMITH SPECIALITY Short Subject . While THE DOMINEERING MALE may think the romantic initiative is all his , it's often the female who's doing the real conniving . This bit of typical Pete Smith zaniness takes a humorously cynical look at a wily woman's for-profit relationship with the man she intends to marry . The poor sap probably doesn't stand a chance . . . Often overlooked or neglected today , the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents , both in front & behind the camera . The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film , something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel . Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material , short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios ' feature films .
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438,112 | 306,861 | 28,371 | 10 |
Blondell & McHugh In The Winner's Circle
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A meek & mild fellow , with the uncanny knack of picking winning race horses , is taken in charge by a trio of racketeering gamblers . Fast-moving & fun , THREE MEN ON A HORSE is another example of the comedy crime picture that Warner Bros . was so expert at producing in the 1930's . Casts & plots could be shuffled endlessly , with very predictable results . While this assembly line approach created few classics , audience enjoyment could usually be assured . Frank McHugh & Joan Blondell are both well cast in the lead roles , especially Brooklyn-accented Blondell with her unsophisticated charm & pert blonde looks . Interesting thing about the screenplay is that there is absolutely no romantic development between McHugh & Blondell . He remains true to his dimwitted spouse Carol Hughes , while Blondell carries the torch for her bad guy boyfriend Sam Levene . The rest of the cast is excellent . Guy Kibbee appears as McHugh's bad-tempered blustery boss . Plain talking Allen Jenkins & excitable little Teddy Hart play Levene's gang members . Slow-burning Edgar Kennedy has a good role as the bartender who wants to use McHugh's talents to finance his early retirement . Obnoxious Paul Harvey does very well as McHugh's bullying brother-in-law . In smaller roles , Eddie ? Rochester ' Anderson scores as a gambling elevator operator ; Harry Davenport has one tiny scene as an employee in a greeting card publishing house ; and Eily Malyon plays a stern maternity ward nurse . Movie mavens will recognize an unbilled Charles Lane playing a laconic laundry man .
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437,916 | 306,861 | 233,267 | 10 |
Seein ' The Dentist With The Little Rascals
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An OUR GANG Comedy Short . In order to earn money for their baseball equipment , Alfalfa & the Rascals plan to have all their teeth extracted and then left under their pillow for the Good Fairy to turn into dimes . However , the kindly dentist the kids visit has a few plans of his own & soon the Boys will have to face THE AWFUL TOOTHA funny little film . Highlight : Alfalfa in the dentist's chair .
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437,020 | 306,861 | 28,368 | 10 |
More Troubles With The Big Bad Wolf
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A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short . The Big Bad Wolf returns to the forest , this time with his sons , the THREE LITTLE WOLVES . Fortunately for them , Fifer & Fiddler Pigs are as gullible & silly as ever . . . A follow-up to THE BIG BAD WOLF ( 1934 ) and THE THREE LITTLE PIGS ' second sequel , this is a very pleasant cartoon with lots of good imagination at work . The ' Wolf Pacifier ' is fascinating & must have warmed the heart of Rube Goldberg himself . Followed by the non-Symphony THE PRACTICAL PIG ( 1939 ) . The SILLY SYMPHONIES , which Walt Disney produced for a ten year period beginning in 1929 , are among the most fascinating of all animated series . Unlike the Mickey Mouse cartoons in which action was paramount , with the Symphonies the action was made to fit the music . There was little plot in the early Symphonies , which featured lively inanimate objects and anthropomorphic plants & animals , all moving frantically to the soundtrack . Gradually , however , the Symphonies became the school where Walt's animators learned to work with color and began to experiment with plot , characterization & photographic special effects . The pages of Fable & Fairy Tale , Myth & Mother Goose were all mined to provide story lines and even Hollywood's musicals & celebrities were effectively spoofed . It was from this rich soil that Disney's feature-length animation was to spring . In 1939 , with SNOW WHITE successfully behind him and PINOCCHIO & FANTASIA on the near horizon , Walt phased out the SILLY SYMPHONIES ; they had run their course & served their purpose .
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437,244 | 306,861 | 41,884 | 10 |
Baseball or Beethoven ?
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A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon . Donald & Buzz-Buzz have an energetic disagreement over what should be playing on the patio radio - the World Series or classical music . SLIDE DONALD SLIDE was one of a small number of cartoons which showcased the struggle between the Duck & the Bee and is fairly typical of the lot - fast moving and quite funny . The maestro Buzz-Buzz is imitating is most likely Leopold Stokowski , who was a major collaborator with Walt Disney in the creation FANTASIA ( 1940 ) . Clarence Nash provided Donald with his unique voice . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off .
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437,615 | 306,861 | 23,950 | 10 |
Cleaning Chimneys With Mr . Laurel & Mr . Hardy
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A LAUREL & HARDY Comedy Short . The Boys arrive to sweep the chimneys at the home of Professor Noodle , a mad scientist who's just perfected his rejuvenation serum . Stan & Ollie proceed with their DIRTY WORK , spreading destruction inside the house and on the roof . Then the Professor wants to try out his new potion . . . A very funny little film . The ending is a bit abrupt , but much of the slapstick leading up to it is terrific . Especially good is Stan & Ollie's contest of wills at opposite ends of the chimney . That's Lucien Littlefield as the Professor .
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437,775 | 306,861 | 23,948 | 10 |
An All-Star Classic
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A flamboyant old actress with memories of lovers long dead . An alcoholic actor desperate for one more chance on the stage . An Oklahoma tycoon and his below-the-tracks , tough as nails wife . A philandering doctor and his faithful wife . They're all invited to meet tonight at the mansion home of a dying industrialist and his flighty , society-obsessed wife for DINNER AT EIGHT . Following the great success of GRAND HOTEL in 1932 , MGM & producer David O . Selznick embarked on producing an even greater all-star triumph . They succeeded . DINNER AT EIGHT takes a first class list of performers at the top of their form ( Marie Dressler , John Barrymore , Lionel Barrymore , Wallace Beery , Jean Harlow , Billie Burke ) and seamlessly , if a bit implausibly , weaves a plot full of comedy & tragedy which allows each star to strut their stuff . Dressler was Hollywood's top star at this time and she is wonderful , fingering her jewelry - each piece a remembrance of an ancient romance . She has only one scene with gorgeous Harlow and that comes at the very end of the film , but it's a classic . The rest of the cast is a wonderful grab bag of talent : peppery Lee Tracy , elderly Louise Closser Hale , gentle Jean Hersholt , as well as Phillips Holmes , Edmund Lowe , Karen Morley , Madge Evans , Grant Mitchell , Elizabeth Patterson , May Robson , Herman Bing . Take a moment to consider Edward Woods , playing Eddie the bell boy . The year before at Warner Brothers he had traded roles with James Cagney in a little picture called PUBLIC ENEMY . Cagney became an instant , huge celebrity . Woods continued to play bell boy roles . . .
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437,056 | 306,861 | 23,949 | 10 |
Wheeler & Woolsey Journey Into A State Of Confusion
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A pacifistic Indian tribe sends two zany barbers to be its envoys at the Peace Conference in Geneva . The DIPLOMANIACS soon find themselves up against the machinations of spies working for a powerful munitions company who have a vested interest in seeing that war continues the demand for their explosive bullets . Wheeler & Woolsey take a plot ridiculous even by their standards and manage to get some solid laughs out of it . The Boys ( Bert Wheeler is the little fellow with the curly hair ; Robert Woolsey is the skinny guy with the cigar & glasses ) are always tremendous fun to watch , but the viewer who tries to find anything meaningful or coherent in this film would be wasting their time . However , in its own goofy way , DIPLOMANIACS holds its own against DUCK SOUP & MILLION DOLLAR LEGS , two contemporary films with which it shares an hysterical point of view . The Boys are given a fine supporting cast , each of whom get to shine for a few moments , as they are given no chance for any real character development : Louis Calhern as the suave master spy ; Edgar Kennedy as the harried head of the Peace Conference ; elderly Richard Carle as an inebriated ship's captain ; spunky little Marjorie White as Wheeler's violent love interest , choking him into submission ( a very funny comedienne nearly forgotten today , a tragic car wreck would claim her life two years after the release of this film ) ; and Hugh Herbert as an inscrutable proverb-spouting Oriental . Movie mavens will spot Charlie Hall as an eager beaver valet . Wheeler & White fight their way through ' Sing To Me ' - while the Boys vocalize with ' On The Boulevard ' and ' No More War . '
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437,700 | 306,861 | 38,992 | 10 |
Behind Studio Doors
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An MGM PETE SMITH SPECIALITY Short SubjectNarrator Pete Smith takes the viewer on a tour of a few of the more unusual things to see during a behind-the-scenes STUDIO VISIT . What gets to be seen is slight-of-hand master Louis Zingone at work ; beautiful Lena Horne singing in a bathtub ; and remarkable Helen Sue Goldy , aged three , who exhibits her amazing sense of balance . Often overlooked or neglected today , the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents , both in front & behind the camera . The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film , something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel . Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material , short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios ' feature films .
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437,883 | 306,861 | 134,155 | 10 |
War's Cost , Love's Hope
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An MGM PASSING PARADE Short Subject . Peter Ravitch , a gentle soul from a small Yugoslav town , writes a poignant letter TO MY UNBORN SON as he lies dying from a Nazi bullet . This true-life story of courage against the Nazi oppressor features a reading of Peter's remarkable letter , in which he hopes for a peaceful world full of boundless opportunity & joy for his son . The film is a good example of MGM's mastery of the short subject format . After Pearl Harbor , Hollywood went to war totally against the Axis . Not only did many of the stars join up or do home front service , but the output of the Studios was largely turned to the war effort . The newsreels , of course , brought the latest war news into the neighborhood theater every week . The features showcased battle stories or war related themes . Even the short subjects & cartoons were used as a quick means of spreading Allied propaganda , the boosting of morale or information dissemination . Together , Uncle Sam , the American People & Hollywood proved to be an unbeatable combination . Often overlooked or neglected today , the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents , both in front & behind the camera . The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film , something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel . Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material , short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios ' feature films .
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437,097 | 306,861 | 35,196 | 10 |
A Pup Tale With Beasties
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A Walt Disney PLUTO Cartoon . You can be sure there will be plenty of action with PLUTO AT THE ZOO attempting to steal a huge bone from the lion . This standard Disney film is enlivened by Pluto's encounters with the lion , kangaroo , ape & crocodile . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off .
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438,170 | 306,861 | 26,205 | 10 |
On The High Seas Of Adventure With Gable , Harlow & Beery
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British Hong Kong , mid 1930's . A freighter makes ready to lift anchor on its way to Singapore , carrying with it £250 , 000 in hidden gold . The passengers & crew are a colorful mix of often violent hatreds & animosities . Traveling into typhoon-swept , pirate-haunted waters , danger & death awaits all those who enter the CHINA SEAS . While admittedly the plot is a little far-fetched , this was one of the great all-star features which MGM did so well during its heyday . The sets are lavish ( especially the bustling docks ) and except for the occasional use of a model , the ship scenes look realistic . The cast is made-up of some of the Studio's best : Clark Gable as the captain - given to drink & homesick for England , he must choose between the two women he loves ; Jean Harlow , the brassy blonde with too much past , passionate in defense of her man ; Wallace Beery , gambler & exporter , bluff , hearty & treacherous ; Rosalind Russell , the English society girl , cool & beautiful . Rounding out the excellent supporting cast are Lewis Stone , as an old ship's officer accused of cowardice ; Robert Benchley as a perpetually inebriated American novelist ; Edward Brophy & Lillian Bond as American tourists who attract the notice of lustful Russian swindler Akim Tamiroff ; and wonderful old Sir C . Aubrey Smith , as the founder of the shipping line . Film mavens will spot uncredited performances by Willie Fung as a cabin boy ; Donald Meek as a chess player ; Emily Fitzroy as a gossipy passenger ; and especially Hattie McDaniel , hilarious as Harlow's maid . On a side note , one of the writers for this film was Paul Bern , an important MGM producer & Harlow's husband . His 1932 murder by his deranged common-law spouse , made to look like a suicide by MGM security to protect Harlow's career , would provide one of Hollywood with one of its most famous scandals .
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437,879 | 306,861 | 28,356 | 10 |
Love & Lies
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Three innocent people have their lives shattered by malicious gossip . THESE THREE is a vividly acted , excruciatingly dramatic look at how unrequited love & evil lies can undermine relationships and destroy reputations . Lillian Hellman authored the script ( and altered the emotional bias ) from her original play , The Children's Hour and director William Wyler created a film which never lets up in its emotional intensity . The viewer feels terribly for the three protagonists as they suffer unjustly and equally powerless to do anything about it . Teachers Miriam Hopkins & Merle Oberon both love doctor Joel McCrea . One will win him , the other will hurt quietly . All three act at a perfect pitch , each performer complementing and supporting the other two , most especially when their characters experience the devastation created by a wicked student ( played with chilling persuasion by Bonita Granville ) . Two fine character actresses now in danger of being forgotten have important supporting roles . Catherine Doucet plays Hopkins ' silly , vindictive aunt , a vain woman completely capable of doing the wrong thing every time . Alma Kruger plays Granville's wealthy grandmother , proud & patrician , she is seduced into doing much harm through her unwise love . In a small role , Walter Brennan is a joy as a rustic taxi driver . Marcia Mae Jones is quite compelling as a child struggling against enormous iniquity . Marvelous Margaret Hamilton , as Kruger's no-nonsense hatchet-faced housekeeper , gets to deliver one of cinema's most satisfying face slaps . Movie mavens will recognize an uncredited Greta Meyer as a Viennese waitress .
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437,075 | 306,861 | 59,200 | 10 |
A Serious Subject Presented With A Laugh
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A Walt Disney GOOFY Cartoon . Getting over FREEWAYPHOBIA and other bad habits behind the wheel are essential to developing good driving skills on the Super Highways . Aside from being entertaining , this cartoon presents some valuable advice to staying safe on the nation's busiest roads . Goofy takes on the personas of Driverius timidicus , Neglecterus maximus and Motoramus fidgitus . Paul Frees is the narrator . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Bambi , Peter Pan and Mr . Toad . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off .
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437,113 | 306,861 | 23,955 | 10 |
John Ford & Will Rogers : A Great Combination
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Will Rogers stars in this little slice of Americana . He's the town's only doctor and a bit of a ladies ' man . He's also the source of most of the local old maids ' gossip . Which gives Will a great chance to use his special brand of humor to skewer the foibles of the human creature . John Ford provides good atmosphere . This would be the first of 3 pictures he would make with Will . Rochelle Hudson shows why she was one of the prettiest actresses of the early ' 30's and Andy Devine is hilarious as a hypochondriac who is the bane of Doctor Bull's existence .
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437,929 | 306,861 | 21,768 | 10 |
Mr . Wheeler & Mr . Woolsey Are At It Again
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A couple of CRACKED NUTS find themselves mixed-up in a Latin American revolution . Wheeler & Woolsey , America's greatest forgotten comedy team - Burt Wheeler was the short guy with curly hair , Robert Woolsey had the spectacles & cigar - find themselves in a film with as inane a plot as any they ever made . Which is all to the good as far as the Boys are concerned , as it gives them ample opportunity to sling the dialogue at each other , fast & furious . They are never boring & always funny ( their El Dorinda map routine , with fierce general & villain Stanley Fields , will remind viewers of the Brothers Marx ) . Unfortunately , their co-stars are given few lines with any life . Dorothy Lee is , appropriately , Wheeler's love interest , but she gets little to do except look kewpie-doll-cute . The formidable Edna May Oliver does what she can in the role of Miss Lee's dragon aunt , but she deserves much better dialogue to be really effective . Interestingly , there is no interaction between her character & Woolsey , as might be expected . Far better roles would await Miss Oliver in years to come & she would not disappoint . Boris Karloff appears as a financier trying to foment revolution . Once again , his lines let him down & give him very little to work with ; he gives no hints in this RKO film as to the legend he would very shortly become at Universal Studios . Movie mavens will recognize Silent Cinema comic Ben Turpin as the cross-eyed bombardier . Wheeler & Miss Lee sing ? Dance And The World Dances With You . '
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437,337 | 306,861 | 28,367 | 10 |
Superior Western
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A trio of desperadoes , fleeing from a violent Christmastime bank robbery , become THREE GODFATHERS after rescuing a dead mother's baby in the desert . Here is a very fine little film , ( largely forgotten due to its color remake years later starring John Wayne ) which rewards the fortunate viewer with very good acting , excellent production values , some taut drama and a fair amount of humor . Lewis Stone dominates the film as the thief with a conscience . Quietly intellectual & patrician , his tenderness for the infant is immediate and absolute . Stone's acting cannot be faulted ; watching him painfully choose which of his beloved books to leave behind in the burning desert is to see a true artist at work . Chester Morris does a dandy job of making the viewer both like and despise his character . Quick-tempered & revengeful , his attack upon the New Jerusalem bank is his opportunity to wreck havoc on both the town which rejected him and the decent young banker in love with his former sweetheart . Morris wants nothing to slow down his escape - - not poisoned water holes or dead horses , and especially not a helpless baby . Walter Brennan practically steals the entire movie with his portrayal of an old , illiterate outlaw whose childlike innocence and decency compels him to protect the infant . He also has some droll comedy sequences , especially at the Church Social , where he has a memorable encounter with a plate of asparagus . His scenes in the desert , with desperate thirst stalking his footsteps , show the consummate skill he would exhibit the rest of his life as one of America's favorite character actors . In smaller roles , Sidney Toler is wonderfully droll as an itinerate dentist with a deadly aim ; bucktoothed Victor Potel is his unfortunate customer . Rotund Roger Imhof plays the friendly sheriff of New Jerusalem ; Dorothy Tree is the saloon hostess with a hankering for Morris . Pretty Irene Hervey does well as Morris ' former love ; her fiancé is nicely played by Robert Livingston , who finds the padding in his Santa suit to be most fortuitous .
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437,268 | 306,861 | 45,757 | 10 |
A Goofy Sunday
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A Walt Disney GOOFY Cartoon . FATHER'S WEEK-END turns out to be something rather different from the quite respite for which he'd hoped . This humorous little film has Goofy once again portraying his vaguely human alter ego George Geef . The viewer has to feel a tad sorry for him as he deals with all the complications the Disney animators can hurl his way . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work will always pay off .
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437,191 | 306,861 | 28,365 | 10 |
Disney Spoofs Dumas
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A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short . The THREE BLIND MOUSEKETEERS set about getting their cheesy meal , despite the best efforts of villainous Captain Katt to destroy them . An enjoyable , though unremarkable , spoof of swashbuckling movies . Disney would revive the term ' Mouseketeer ' two decades later for use in the Mickey Mouse Club TV show . Katt seems to owe a lot to the personality of character actor Noah Beery ; and is that Walt vocalizing the skinny mouse ? The SILLY SYMPHONIES , which Walt Disney produced for a ten year period beginning in 1929 , are among the most interesting of series in the field of animation . Unlike the Mickey Mouse cartoons in which action was paramount , with the Symphonies the action was made to fit the music . There was little plot in the early Symphonies , which featured lively inanimate objects and anthropomorphic plants & animals , all moving frantically to the soundtrack . Gradually , however , the Symphonies became the school where Walt's animators learned to work with color and began to experiment with plot , characterization & photographic special effects . The pages of Fable & Fairy Tale , Myth & Mother Goose were all mined to provide story lines and even Hollywood's musicals & celebrities were effectively spoofed . It was from this rich soil that Disney's feature-length animation was to spring . In 1939 , with SNOW WHITE successfully behind him and PINOCCHIO & FANTASIA on the near horizon , Walt phased out the SILLY SYMPHONIES ; they had run their course & served their purpose .
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437,716 | 306,861 | 30,563 | 10 |
A Medical Murder Mystery
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Private Thatcher Hospital is suffering a spate of murders , but THE PATIENT IN ROOM 18 - a young detective recovering from a nervous breakdown - is determined to find the killer . Fast-moving & fun , this is another example of the comedy crime picture that Warner Brothers was so expert at producing almost without effort . Casts & plots could be shuffled endlessly , with very predictable results . While this assembly line approach created few classics , audience enjoyment could usually be assured . Patric Knowles & Ann Sheridan spark the action here . As a convalescing detective & stern head nurse with romantic difficulties in their recent past , they keep the plot racing - especially after murder rears its ugly head . Knowles , who never quite graduated to starring roles in major pictures , shows a fine flair for comedy . Sleepwalking down the street dressed in pajamas & bowler , he is indeed a very droll sight . Sheridan shows flashes of the talent that would eventually make her an important star at Warner Brothers . Unfortunately , the two most potentially interesting characters in the film - Eric Stanley's English valet & Greta Meyer's German cook - are given very little to do . And what about the film's other mystery : just what is so special about Room 18 ?
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438,103 | 306,861 | 43,761 | 10 |
No Luck For Mister Duck
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A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon . Donald holds the LUCKY NUMBER which will win him his coveted Zoom V-8 sports car - but only his Nephews know it . This standard Donald versus Nephews film is noteworthy in that it portrays Huey , Dewey & Louie as teenagers ( it had been 13 years since their first cartoon ) . As if Donald didn't already have enough trouble . . . Clarence " Ducky " Nash supplies the voices for the entire Duck family . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off .
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437,390 | 306,861 | 39,331 | 10 |
Daisy's Moment To Shine
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A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon . DONALD'S DILEMMA is really Daisy's - after a conk on the head leaves her boyfriend a crooning sensation with no remembrance of her whatsoever . Daisy has one of her very best screen roles in this humorous little film . The fickleness of the public's taste in popular entertainment comes in for a bit of gentle ribbing . Roy Williams , one of the adult members of TV's The Mickey Mouse Club , was the writer on this project . Clarence Nash provides Donald with his ordinary voice . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a storm of naysayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off .
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437,270 | 306,861 | 37,181 | 10 |
Flying High With Mister Duck
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A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon . Donald puts together an airplane made entirely out of plastic . Now he's ready for the test flight . . . THE PLASTICS INVENTOR is a very enjoyable little film , with good sight gags & a funny plot which is perfect for the frenetic Duck . The Plastic Hour , with the soothing murmur of Professor Butterfield giving outrageous instructions , is a hilarious spoof of radio cooking programs of the era . Clarence Nash provides Donald's unique voice . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work will always pay off .
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437,090 | 306,861 | 23,676 | 10 |
A Mouse Tale For The Birds
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A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon . Utter chaos ensues when THE WAYWARD CANARY Mickey brings Minnie turns its tiny babies loose in the house . This black & white little film has some fun humor , although the plot is quite familiar . The swastika on Minnie's cigarette lighter ( ? ! ) has nothing to do with the Nazis ; it is an ancient symbol used in many cultures centuries before the Third Reich . The autographed photos on Minnie's desk are of Doug Fairbanks & Mary Pickford . Walt Disney provides Mickey's squeaky voice . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off .
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437,908 | 306,861 | 21,738 | 10 |
Blackmailing Business With Mr . Laurel & Mr . Hardy
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A LAUREL & HARDY Comedy Short . It's CHICKENS COME HOME to roost when a crazy lady from Ollie's past shows up to blackmail him just as he is to receive the nomination for mayor . When she threatens to disrupt a dinner party at his home , Ollie sends Stan to distract her . That's when the trouble really starts . . . This is a hilarious little film , with the Boys & Mae Busch , as the frantic female , at their best . Lots of laughs . That's Thelma Todd as Mrs . Hardy , Norma Drew as Mrs . Laurel , Patsy O'Byrne as the busybody & the long-suffering James Finlayson as Ollie's butler .
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437,086 | 306,861 | 37,168 | 10 |
Holmes ' Creeping Menace
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While searching for THE PEARL OF DEATH , Holmes & Watson encounter a master criminal and his terrifying backbreaking thug . This vivid & suspenseful film makes a welcome addition in the series of movies highlighting the exploits of Baker Street's most famous inhabitants . There is danger around every corner and Holmes must match his intellect against raw brute evil as he attempts to recover the Black Pearl of the Borgias . As always , Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce are beyond praise as they bring Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's celebrated characters to life . To the viewers ' delight , Holmes finds he can be thoroughly duped and Watson uses his mouth for something other than gab . Holmes ' rivals for possession of the Pearl are little Miles Mander and pretty Evelyn Ankers . Together , they provide the master detective with one of his most challenging cases . All three characters ( most especially the men ) make good use of cunning disguises to try to find the diminutive treasure . Dennis Hoey as the inept but courageous Inspector Lestrade and dear Mary Gordon as Mrs . Hudson return to roles they've already essayed very well in the past . The always reliable Ian Wolfe has the small part of a helpful crockery shop proprietor . The most intriguing member of the cast is Rondo Hatton , a tragic sufferer from acromegaly , a terrible disease which deformed his body into a grotesque horror . He is most effective as the sinister Creeper , especially during his few moments with Rathbone at the film's climax , and he was immediately spun-off into cheaply produced chillers playing essentially the same character . Apparently he hated being exploited , but this was to end sadly with his sudden death in 1945 . Movie mavens will recognize an uncredited Billy Bevan as a meal-bearing constable . This film was loosely based on Conan Doyle's short story The Adventure of the Six Napoleons . It was preceded by THE SCARLET CLAW ( 1944 ) and followed by THE HOUSE OF FEAR ( 1945 ) .
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437,162 | 306,861 | 37,171 | 10 |
True Friendship Suffers Much
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A Walt Disney Cartoon . THE PELICAN AND THE SNIPE atop a lighthouse off the coast of Uruguay almost have their friendship destroyed due to an unfortunate misunderstanding caused by the Pelican's dangerous somnambulism . This humorous little film strikes a serious note about the pressures put upon true friendship . Note the wartime atmosphere - U . S . troops did lots of training in Latin America before being sent overseas . As narrator , Sterling Holloway gives another first rate performance . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work will always pay off .
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437,667 | 306,861 | 21,742 | 10 |
Disney's Tale Told Under The Blue Willow Tree
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A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short . THE CHINA PLATE on the shelf has much to tell , if you examine the picture on its face carefully . There you'll find the story of a dreadful old mandarin who forbids the love of his daughter for a simple fisherman . . . An interesting black & white cartoon , which alternates between action / reaction antics & the plot of the romantic story . The animation is stylized to look somewhat like a blue willow pattern plate . Quite a few racist elements in the story . The SILLY SYMPHONIES , which Walt Disney produced for a ten year period beginning in 1929 , are among the most interesting of series in the field of animation . Unlike the Mickey Mouse cartoons in which action was paramount , with the Symphonies the action was made to fit the music . There was little plot in the early Symphonies , which featured lively inanimate objects and anthropomorphic plants & animals , all moving frantically to the soundtrack . Gradually , however , the Symphonies became the school where Walt's animators learned to work with color and began to experiment with plot , characterization & photographic special effects . The pages of Fable & Fairy Tale , Myth & Mother Goose were all mined to provide story lines and even Hollywood's musicals & celebrities were effectively spoofed . It was from this rich soil that Disney's feature-length animation was to spring . In 1939 , with SNOW WHITE successfully behind him and PINOCCHIO & FANTASIA on the near horizon , Walt phased out the SILLY SYMPHONIES ; they had run their course & served their purpose .
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437,461 | 306,861 | 21,746 | 10 |
Epic Frontier Film
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A charismatic Kansas lawyer takes his bride to the Oklahoma Territory's CIMARRON Country to start a newspaper in the violent , rawboned town of Osage . Edna Ferber's sprawling novel of frontier life comes to the big screen in a film deemed fine enough to win a few Oscars , including Best Picture . It was one of the first great epics of the Sound Era and is still very entertaining to watch . Occasionally there is a bit of overacting , perhaps , and technical difficulties with the microphones can be discerned while trying to hear the stars ' voices clearly during some crowd scenes , but this in no way detracts from the enjoyment of viewing the film . The performance of Richard Dix as pioneer & dreamer Yancey Cravat has been criticized as being too florid and overripe , but this is unfair . The popular actor had his roots in silent films when acting techniques were somewhat different , but this robust style perfectly suits the energetic wanderlust of his character . Anything less than abundant enthusiasm would look silly in a fellow called upon to deliver a sermon and shoot an outlaw almost simultaneously , vigorously champion the rights of fallen women and racial minorities and yet still blithely abandon his family for long years as he follows his own star of destiny . Call it what you may , Dix's performance can certainly never be tagged as being dull . Irene Dunne , as Yancey's wife Sabra - his ? Sugar ' - provides the calm emotional center for the film . She is the one who holds the family and newspaper together while her husband is off bringing civilization to other frontiers . She is even able to achieve substantial business and political importance . What saves Dunne's performance from becoming too sweet is the story giving her a few personality wrinkles to deal with , most notably her determination to destroy the town's bawdy house madam ( well played by Estelle Taylor ) and her intense bigotry towards the local Indians . Her growth as a human being is juxtaposed with that of Oklahoma's expansion as a state . Some fine character actors provide prime entertainment value : stuttering Roscoe Ates as the Cravats ' faithful printer ; George E . Stone as a gentle Jewish peddler who becomes a firm family friend ; Stanley Fields as a town tough who tangles with the wrong hombre ; William Collier Jr in a brief , vibrant outlaw role as The Kid ; and Eugene Jackson as the young Black servant who gives the ultimate sacrifice of loyalty to the Cravats . Marvelous gossipy Edna May Oliver , replete with snooty sniffs & piercing glances , neatly tucks all her scenes as a society matron into her handbag and stalks off with them . With production costs of 1 . 5 million dollars , RKO could give CIMARRON excellent production values , featuring crowds of extras and very realistic sets . A few of the scenes are classics and remain in the mind for a long time : the 1889 Land Rush sequence which opens the film ; the church service in the saloon ; the gun battle in the dusty street . It is very interesting to watch how the town of Osage changes during the movie , from a dangerous dirty settlement to an Oklahoma metropolis in 1930 , all achieved most convincingly for the screen . The Cimarron is a wild & unruly river that arises in New Mexico and runs for about 600 miles before becoming a tributary of the Arkansas River near Tulsa , Oklahoma . The word is Old Spanish and refers to the thickets along the River and the bighorn sheep which inhabited them
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437,323 | 306,861 | 21,745 | 10 |
Holiday Short Subject
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This hard-to-find little film was MGM's Christmas Short Subject for 1931 and it's a lot of fun for old movie buffs . The plot ( Jackie Cooper wants to give a Christmas dinner to his neighborhood pals and his friends at the studio lend a hand ) is a mere contrivance to show as many of MGM's top talent as possible in 9 minutes . Norma Shearer - as Thalberg's wife she was Queen of the Lot - gets the most screen time . The enjoyment is in trying to put the correct moniker to all the others as they appear - most for only a few seconds . In order of their appearance , here is a complete listing of the uncredited celebrities : Jackie Cooper , Norma Shearer , Jimmy Durante ( dressed as Santa ) , Marie Dressler , Wallace Beery , Polly Moran , Reginald Denny , Clark Gable , Charlotte Greenwood , Lionel Barrymore , Leila Hyams , Cliff Edwards , Ramon Novarro , Marion Davies , and Anita Page . Often overlooked or neglected today , the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents , both in front & behind the camera . The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film , something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel . Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material , short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios ' feature films .
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438,218 | 306,861 | 32,269 | 10 |
New Trouble For Pluto
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A Walt Disney PLUTO Cartoon . Pluto has some major BONE TROUBLE when he attempts stealing the delicious comestible from a ferocious Butch next door . This very humorous little film , scripted by the legendary Carl Barks , was the debut for Butch the bully bulldog ; he would antagonize the Pup in a number of cartoons through 1950 . The excellently animated Hall of Mirrors scene will strike many viewers as a precursor to the somewhat similar ' Pink Elephants On Parade ' segment in DUMBO ( 1941 ) . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work will always pay off .
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437,862 | 306,861 | 21,755 | 10 |
In Big Trouble With Mr . Laurel & Mr . Hardy
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A LAUREL & HARDY Comedy Short . Stan & Ollie save the life of a bizarre woman attempting to drown herself . Instead of gratitude , the ferocious female follows them home , ensconcing herself in Ollie's bedroom & demanding money . Not wanting to COME CLEAN to their wives only makes the problem much worse . . . A hilarious little film . Highlight : Stan in the bathtub . That's Mae Busch as the female ( her name is misspelled in the opening credits ) & Charlie Hall as the soda jerk .
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437,300 | 306,861 | 45,890 | 10 |
Cutting The Rug With Mister Geef
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A Walt Disney Goofy Cartoon . Tired of being a wallflower , Goofy takes instructions in HOW TO DANCE . This humorous little film was one of several made by Disney between 1940 & 1956 in which Goofy receives instruction in some task or pastime - with inevitably chaotic results . In this cartoon the Goof once again portrays his vaguely human alter ego George Geef . The snappy soundtrack was provided by The Fire House Five Plus Two , a lively little Dixie band founded by wacky Disney animator Ward Kimball and consisting entirely of other Disney staffers ; they appear as toons during the film's closing scene ( Kimball is the fellow playing the trombone ) . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work will always pay off .
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437,732 | 306,861 | 21,752 | 10 |
Disney Takes A Tick Tock Tour
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A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short . With the coming on night , the denizens of THE CLOCK STORE all awake to dance & sway & pirouette to their rhythmical music . There is virtually no plot in this little black & white film , until the boxing alarm clocks start their fisticuffs at the climax . The cartoon boasts a lovely opening scene , however , with the old lamplighter moving along the block , dispelling shadows . This one sequence hints at the quality Disney would display in later years . The SILLY SYMPHONIES , which Walt Disney produced for a ten year period beginning in 1929 , are among the most fascinating of all animated series . Unlike the Mickey Mouse cartoons in which action was paramount , with the Symphonies the action was made to fit the music . There was little plot in the early Symphonies , which featured lively inanimate objects and anthropomorphic plants & animals , all moving frantically to the soundtrack . Gradually , however , the Symphonies became the school where Walt's animators learned to work with color and began to experiment with plot , characterization & photographic special effects . The pages of Fable & Fairy Tale , Myth & Mother Goose were all mined to provide story lines and even Hollywood's musicals & celebrities were effectively spoofed . It was from this rich soil that Disney's feature-length animation was to spring . In 1939 , with SNOW WHITE successfully behind him and PINOCCHIO & FANTASIA on the near horizon , Walt phased out the SILLY SYMPHONIES ; they had run their course & served their purpose .
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438,173 | 306,861 | 26,542 | 10 |
A Neglected Drama of Canadian Life
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The grand old house stands on an extensive estate , for generations home to the Whiteoaks , prosperous Canadian farmers . Ruled by a sharp-tongued but benevolent matriarch , life flows on much as it always has , evenly & predictably . But when two brides are brought home on the same day , passions are unleashed that will bring heartbreak , despair & death , right to the very core of JALNA . Based on a Canadian bestseller , this unpretentious film has been unfortunately ignored . Filled with both charm & good acting , it rewards thoughtful viewing . All of the performers do a fine job : Ian Hunter as the brother too busy running the farm to have a life of his own ; David Manners , in arguably his finest role , charming & self-centered as the brother with a poetic bent ; Theodore Newton , blunt & passionate , as the brother determined to find love ; sister Peggy Wood , jilted by hearty neighbor Nigel Bruce , suffering noisily for twenty years ; Sir C . Aubrey Smith & Halliwell Hobbes as the old bachelor uncles ; Jessie Ralph , as the peppery 99-year old grandmother , wise with age ; and Kay Johnson , compassionate & sensible , as the American newcomer who marries into the family . Notice the interesting way the film introduces the characters in the first scene , by panning around the supper table & labeling each actor .
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437,578 | 306,861 | 45,892 | 10 |
Goofy Yearns For Yawns
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A Walt Disney GOOFY Cartoon . Down through history , man has encountered the age-old problem of HOW TO SLEEP . . . Electric blankets , hot milk & counting sheep are just some of the remedies Goofy uses to fall asleep in this humorous pseudo-documentary . A few nuggets of authentic information can be gleaned among the chuckles . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off .
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438,098 | 306,861 | 230,989 | 10 |
Basic Biology From Disney
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A Walt Disney THE HUMAN ANIMAL Cartoon . Jiminy Cricket gives us just the facts concerning YOU AND YOUR SENSE OF TOUCH and its receptors for warmth , cold , pressure and pain . This is one of a short series of little films in which Disney educated his young viewers about the workings of their remarkable bodies , with comparisons & examples drawn from the world of nature . Did you know that our sense of touch never rests , but is constantly helping us learn about the world around us ? Jiminy , as voiced by the inimitable Cliff Edwards , is the perfect pedagogue . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work will always pay off .
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438,097 | 306,861 | 230,988 | 10 |
More Basic Biology From Disney
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A Walt Disney THE HUMAN ANIMAL Cartoon . Jiminy Cricket gives us just the facts concerning YOU AND YOUR FOOD and how it helps us grow , supplies us with energy and helps us to keep fit . This is one of a short series of little films in which Disney educated his young viewers about the workings of their remarkable bodies , with comparisons & examples drawn from the world of nature . Did you know that a balanced diet of the five kinds of food ( meats , cereals , dairy , vegetables & fruit ) should give us all the proteins , carbohydrates , fats , minerals & vitamins we need to keep us full of pep ? Jiminy , as voiced by the inimitable Cliff Edwards , is the perfect pedagogue . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work will always pay off .
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437,239 | 306,861 | 164,935 | 10 |
High Kicking Kids
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A WARNER BROS . VITAPHONE Short Subject . A pair of dancing sweethearts carry on a private romance in a very public department store window . TIP TAP TOE is an enjoyable little film and serves primarily as a showcase for its incredibly lithe & limber young stars Hal LeRoy and Mitzi Mayfair , stars of the Ziegfeld Follies of 1931 . The story is very silly , but agreeable , and the plot doesn't get too much in the way of the highly energetic duo . Often overlooked or neglected today , the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents , both in front & behind the camera . The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film , something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel . Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material , short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios ' feature films .
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437,220 | 306,861 | 21,697 | 10 |
Another Mouthful For Mr . Brown
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A couple of BROADMINDED fellows find romance on a road trip to Pasadena , California . Comic Joe E . Brown scores another hit in this very humorous little Pre-Code film which gives him free rein to engage in his madcap capers . Here he plays the supposedly responsible young man chosen to chaperone his highly libidinous cousin after the latter is forced to beat a hasty retreat from a Big City scandal . Brown , of course , proves remarkably capable of causing trouble wherever they travel , thus providing the film with much of its plot . With his large rubbery face & huge mouth a constant source of amusement , Brown enters the movie with much hilarity - - costumed as a bawling infant at the baby party which opens the film . Further on , the scene where he finds himself locked out of his hotel room in his underwear is particularly jovial . Most of the cast is on hand to provide support during Brown's antics : William Collier Jr . as his frisky cousin ; Holmes Herbert as Collier's stern New York City father ; Margaret Livingston as Collier's vindictive former flame ; Ona Munson as Collier's new heart throb ; Grayce Hampton as her frightful aunt . Even perky little Marjorie White , as Brown's new gal pal , is not given much to do . The two major exceptions are statuesque Thelma Todd , delightful as a compliant actress eager to help the boys out of a nasty jam , and marvelous Bela Lugosi - - the same year he would become an international star as Count Dracula - - lending his malevolent presence as the fierce Gentleman From South America who menaces Brown throughout the film . Movie mavens will recognize an uncredited Margaret Mann as an elderly hotel guest eager to see some Indians .
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437,726 | 306,861 | 30,371 | 10 |
Little Shirley Lights Up The Stage
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Orphaned Betsy Brown is sent to live in a New York City theatrical boarding hotel and quickly becomes involved in the struggle to keep the sour old landlady from closing down the establishment . By starring as LITTLE MISS BROADWAY in a show staged in a judge's courtroom , the moppet hopes to sway the verdict in her friends ' favor . Shirley Temple shines in this pleasant musical comedy . Her youthful spunk and astonishing talent are very much on display . As her leading man , dancer George Murphy is elegant & charming , just what the audience expects from Shirley's knight errant . Murphy's flirtation with Phyllis Brooks is dull stuff ; we can't wait for him to dance again with Miss Temple . Along with Murphy , Shirley faces unusually stiff competition from the comics & character actors involved in this film . The inimitable Edna May Oliver is the villainess here , and she doesn't care a fig for the feelings of the little girl ; diminutive Donald Meek is her brother who longs for an adventurous theatrical life . The great Jimmy Durante brings his own brand of insanity to the proceedings as a band leader ; it's almost criminal that he's given so little screen time with Shirley . Dialect comedian El Brendel has some funny moments and gets to interact with a peculiar penguin . That's Jerry Colonna as one of the band members . Jane Darwell is sweet , as always , in her matronly role as the orphanage director - she would appear in several Temple films in similar roles . Old Claude Gillingwater has fun with his role as the sympathetic judge . George & Olive Brasno , two of Hollywood's famous Little People , appear as themselves . Movie mavens will spot an unbilled Dick Elliott as a cheerful cellist . Shirley warbles ' Be Optimistic , ' ' How Can I Thank You ? ' & ' If All The World Were Paper ; ' Murphy joins her in singing & dancing through ' We Should Be Together ' & ' Little Miss Broadway . '
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437,864 | 306,861 | 28,429 | 10 |
Settin ' Off Firecrackers With The Little Rascals
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An OUR GANG Comedy Short . Buckwheat & Porky are simply TWO TOO YOUNG to have firecrackers , but have them they do and it is up to Spanky & Alfalfa to scheme a way to get the explosives for themselves . A funny little film , with good performances from Buckwheat & Porky . Highlight : Alfalfa's recitation of ' The Charge of the Light Brigade ' . Rosina Lawrence plays the teacher .
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437,810 | 306,861 | 66,306 | 10 |
Dangerous Waters , Sinister Shores
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Two American adventurers on a Mexican island find themselves swept up in the search for the fabled RIVER OF GOLD . This made-for-TV feature is an enjoyable tale , offering plenty of fisticuffs and romantics . Although the plot is a bit more convoluted than the film's 74 minutes can handle , there is still entertainment in enjoying the action , puzzling out the meaning of a mysterious poem ( don't try ) and enjoying the antics of a good cast . Playing an evil millionaire who won't shirk at murder , Ray Milland acts properly villainous in his three scenes . Lovely Suzanne Pleshette is completely fetching as an eagerly amorous young widow . As the buddy duo sailboating around the world , sensitive Dack Rambo & stalwart Roger Davis make an energetic team - - it's too bad the ratings didn't warrant producing more of their exploits . From the first edition of his 1974 autobiography , Wide-eyed In Babylon , it is obvious that Milland despised this film and had contempt for his two male costars . The name of the guys ' sailboat , the Fred C . Dobbs , was Bogart's shiftless character in THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE ( 1948 ) .
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437,714 | 306,861 | 32,815 | 10 |
A Mouse Tale On The Tracks
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A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon . MR . MOUSE TAKES A TRIP by train from Burbank to Pomona - a distance of about twenty-five miles as the elephant flies - but Pluto's presence on board causes a major confrontation with the conductor . This very enjoyable little film is a tip of the straw hat to the classic screwball comedies of the 1930's , with their wild antics often set on board trains . Superior animation and quick pacing keep the action moving right along . Pete is perfect as the villainous conductor . Can there be any doubt that the unseen female he twice upsets in the lower berth is none other than Clarabelle Cow ? Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off .
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438,171 | 306,861 | 19,823 | 10 |
George Arliss ' Most Famous Role
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London , 1874 . The old man sits in the great office , endlessly plotting & planning , benevolently scheming for the good of Queen & Empire . Although not too busy to further the romance of two young persons he loves , he puts all his talents & force of will into keeping Russia from dominating Asia & British India . This can only be achieved by thwarting a wily female spy & secretly purchasing control over the Suez Canal from the corrupt Egyptian khedive . Will he fail & suffer political disaster , or triumph & forever make famous the name of Prime Minister Benjamin DISRAELI ? Reveling in his most famous film role , George Arliss gives an Oscar-winning acting lesson . Endlessly fascinating to watch , his every twitch of eyebrow or turn of hand is capable of great humor or emotion . He becomes Disraeli , inhabits the fellow , and presents him before our eyes . It's a shame that Mr . Arliss has become obscure & almost forgotten to modern movie fans . It is their loss . Although George Arliss is the main reason to watch any George Arliss film , he is given good support here from Florence Arliss , his real-life wife , playing Disraeli's wife Mary . Also appearing are Doris Lloyd as Mrs . Travers , the convivial spy ; Joan Bennett & Anthony Bushell as the two young lovers ; and Ivan F . Simpson as a Jewish financier . If the production appears rather stiff & stagy , it must be remembered that this is a very early talkie , and that directors & performers were still adapting to the demands & restrictions imposed upon them by that new tyrant , the microphone . Just keep your attention on Arliss - his acting skills transcend the limitations . It must be mentioned that the film distorts historical reality in two very significant areas . Opening in 1874 , it portrays Disraeli as a very happily married man with a loving , elderly wife . The marriage had indeed been an outstanding one , but Mary had died of cancer in 1872 . Also , financier Hugh Myers , who bankrolls the Suez scheme , is fictional . It was the Rothschild family who came to Disraeli's aid .
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438,039 | 306,861 | 122,748 | 10 |
A Tiny Treasure
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A much abused young man , driven to desperation & murder , hears his conscience rebel in the beating of THE TELL-TALE HEART . Edgar Allen Poe's story is turned into a short subject gem , with the magnificent performance of Joseph Schildkraut & the inspired direction of Jules Dassin . This is a prime example of what can be done in a very limited time frame - here , 20 minutes - when inspiration & bravado are used to interpret a great story . The original has been altered & expanded somewhat to explain more fully the reasons for the murder and to create sympathy for the killer . Schildkraut's depiction of growing guilt & Dassin's creation of an oppressive atmosphere do the story more than justice . Dassin would go on to become a celebrated features director . Schildkraut , already an Oscar winner , would enliven cinema & television roles with his talent for many years . Often overlooked or neglected today , the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents , both in front & behind the camera . The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film , something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel . Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material , short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios ' feature films .
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437,252 | 306,861 | 19,811 | 10 |
The End Of The Beginning For John Gilbert
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Kidnapped by jewel thieves , the manager of a British diamond mining operation in Africa spends long DESERT NIGHTS plotting his escape . . . John Gilbert is most enjoyable in this lively yarn , his last starring performance in a silent film ( he would appear in the William Haines ' picture A MAN'S MAN , which was released a few months after DESERT NIGHTS , but that was in a cameo role as himself ) . His verve & vitality propel the ( sometimes silly ) plot and make the movie into a very enjoyable action picture . Ernest Torrence - in a fine portrayal - makes a florid , hammy villain . Beautiful Mary Nolan enacts the sort of woman any red-blooded male viewer would gladly walk the Kalahari to gain . By 1929 silent films were truly an art form in their own right . ( Witness the piano sequence early in the picture , with Gilbert & Nolan waltzing on the porch , to see the kind of nuance possible in this not-so-silent medium . ) MGM was at the apex of the industry & Jack Gilbert was the Studio's greatest male star . Which is what makes DESERT NIGHTS so poignant . Before the year ended silent cinema , that most emotionally penetrating of all the photo dramas , would be dead & Gilbert's career would be dying . A new crop of stars would be on the rise & Noise would be king .
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437,688 | 306,861 | 26,524 | 10 |
Will Rogers ' Last Bow
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A feud has been simmering for years between two prominent families of horse breeders IN OLD KENTUCKY's Bluegrass Country . Eventually , it will take the cunning of a crafty old horse trainer to set matters right , while also promoting a little romance on the side . . . As always , it is immensely pleasurable to watch Will Rogers at work . Exuding folksy homespun charm , he made acting look so easy , and here he is obviously having a good time in a pleasant film which features some excellent sequences . ( Will's foray into a dress shop has to be one of the funniest scenes in any of his films . ) Essentially , Will is simply playing himself and he is perfectly cast . All of the co-stars do a very competent job , but three should be singled out . Elderly Charles Sellon is hilarious as a shotgun toting grandpa who is a menace to the entire community . Tiny Etienne Girardot is puckish as a screwball rainmaker . And the legendary Bill ' Bojangles ' Robinson is on hand , displaying some of his fanciest , most breathtaking footwork . At this point in his career , Robinson was simply beyond praise & without compare ; the scene where he teaches Rogers to tap-dance is delightful . It should be noted that there is more than just a little racism in the story . It should also be understood that this was not unusual in Hollywood films of that era . Released 3 months after his tragic & untimely death , this was Will Rogers ' final film . He loved adventure & travel & seeing what was around the next bend or over the horizon . In August of 1935 he left with 35-year old Wiley Post , the famed aviator who was first to solo around the world , on a trip to Alaska to check on chances of initiating an Arctic mail route to Russia . In what still remains something of a mystery , the plane crashed moments after taking off near Point Barrow , Alaska . Both men were killed instantly . ( Will had been in the back seat of the plane , his portable typewriter on his lap , working on his weekly newspaper column . The last word he typed was ' death ' . ) The entire nation went into mourning . What was it that made Americans adore Will Rogers , this plain speaking quarter-Cherokee cowboy from Oklahoma ? Two reasons stand out : first he was one of the people . Although he conquered vaudeville , Broadway , radio & the movies , ending his life as Hollywood's number one box office male and the highest salaried actor in films , he never let it go to his head . He always remained ' common ' and he genuinely liked every man he ever met . Second , Will was good , decent , & honorable , a true secular saint , the sort of fellow who comes along only too rarely and has the ability to lighten the mood of an entire nation . We have not seen his like since .
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438,295 | 306,861 | 93,488 | 10 |
Powerful & Profound
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In the days before World War One , a lonely traveler in a desolate part of the Alps encounters THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES - and his life is forever changed . . . This gentle & beautiful Canadian film , based on the story by Jean Giono , is a flawless combination of subject & style . Presented impressionistically , the animation revels just enough to engage the imagination . The story , about an uncomplicated shepherd whose soul is at peace with God & who stolidly accomplishes a remarkable task , is profound emotionally & spiritually . The narration by Christopher Plummer , in the English version , is perfection ; soft & seductive , it wraps around the viewer & entices him further into the story . The final gleam on this little jewel was the introduction & epilogue provided by James Earl Jones for its PBS presentation . This deeply satisfying drama was the winner of the 1987 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film .
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437,952 | 306,861 | 17,918 | 10 |
Swashbuckling Fun With Douglas Fairbanks
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He is feared by men and adored by women - but only one woman will tame him . He acknowledges no creed , but only One Faith will claim him . No jail shall hold him or treasure elude him . He is South America's greatest bandit and soon the fate of the Andes ' most venerated shrine will be in his hands . He is THE GAUCHO . Douglas Fairbanks was at the pinnacle of his fame when he made this wonderful adventure film . His buoyant on-screen charm is matched only by his superb & graceful athleticism . He is secure in his position as one of the very greatest of cinema legends . Lupe Velez makes a fiery & beautiful love interest as the Mountain Girl , flirting or fighting with Fairbanks at every twist of the plot ; Nigel De Brulier as The Padre & Eve Southern as the Girl of The Shrine are saintly in their supporting roles . That's Mary Pickford in a cameo as the Virgin Mary . And once seen , who can ever forget The Victim of the Black Doom ? The sets and the special effects shots - using glass mattes - are exceptional . The very long City of the Miracles set is one of the finest ever created for a silent film .
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437,040 | 306,861 | 19,815 | 10 |
Early Talkie A Triumph For Mr . Ramon Novarro
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Fleeing for his life , a young Bonapartist with a DEVIL-MAY-CARE attitude discovers romantic complications after hiding in the boudoir of a lovely young lady . Ramon Novarro made his all-talking picture debut in this romantic comedy , one of Hollywood's very first musicals . MGM's Mexican star adds another role to his long list of ethnic portrayals , this time as a Frenchman . Knowing he had made the successful transition from silents to talkies , he seems to be having a great time with the swashbuckling antics of his character . Exhibiting a considerable amount of mischievous charm , he completely dominates the entire picture . It is important to remember that this was an extremely early talkie , yet director Sidney Franklin and sound artist Douglas Shearer prove more than capable of tackling the difficulties with the microphone . Indeed , there are times , particularly during the musical scenes , when one is beguiled into believing that sound production provided no impediments whatsoever , so smoothly do the scenes flow . Surely this was an indication of considerable talent behind the camera . Kudos should also go to cinematographer Merriitt B . Gerstad , who makes beautiful use of shadows , showing the power of black & white photography . This is even further highlighted by the inclusion of one scene filmed in early Technicolor , near the end of the picture . Novarro's singing voice had been a significant success earlier in 1929 in THE PAGAN . In DEVIL-MAY-CARE he seems to be crooning most of the time , doing full justice to a series of songs by Herbert Stothart & Clifford Grey . Dorothy Jordan & Marion Harris play the cousins who figure so prominently in Novarro's life . Both are comely and their non-Gaelic accents only occasionally intrude upon their performances . John Miljan is enjoyable as the comic Royalist who pursues Novarro . Movie mavens will recognize an uncredited Lionel Belmore as an inebriated Innkeeper . Historically speaking , our young hero's elation at the return of the Emperor Napoleon in March of 1815 , from 10-month's exile on the island of Elba , was doomed to be short-lived . Although thousands flocked to join him during his triumphal march to Paris , Napoleon's Hundred Days of glory came to an end on the battlefield of Waterloo , on June 18 , 1815 , with utter and irreversible defeat at the hands of the British & Prussians . On July 15 , 1815 , Napoleon's second exile began , this time on the tiny South Atlantic isle of St . Helena . There would be no further escape . Abandoned & alone , Napoleon Bonaparte died on May 5 , 1821 , very possibly as a result of arsenic poisoning .
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437,800 | 306,861 | 30,384 | 10 |
Mickey Rooney Steals The Show !
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A young & talented thief , masquerading as the obnoxious LORD JEFF , is captured and sent to a naval school to rehabilitate . There he meets an Irish lad , whose decent behavior has a profound effect upon him . Think CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS meets BOYS TOWN , and you have an idea of this good , but unremarkable , little picture . Freddie Bartholomew , coming to the end of his glory days as MGM's reigning child star , is hampered mightily by the fact that his character is so rotten , the audience has an overwhelming desire to loathe him for most of the film . Mickey Rooney , on the other hand , right on the cusp of his tremendous stardom , steals his every scene with his unique & infectious bravado . Notice that the boys get equal billing . That would not happen again . Rooney was the major star from here on out . The rest of the cast all do a fine job , especially Charles Colburn , Herbert Mundin & Emma Dunn , all memorable as supervisors at the naval school . That's Monty Woolley , soon to be an important character actor , as a London jeweler . Gale Sondergaard ( in good disguise ) & George Zucco have small roles as the adult thieves , while Terry Kilburn ( nicely effective ) & Peter Lawford play two of the young fellows . Movie mavens will recognize Rex Evans as the hotel doorman & Doris Lloyd as the hostess of a party the boys attend .
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437,145 | 306,861 | 21,718 | 10 |
On An Island With Mr . Mouse
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A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon . Mickey THE CASTAWAY makes merry music with the piano which is swept onto the beach of a lonely isle with him . This little film boasts some interesting animation in the first sequence where the Mouse battles the undulating waves . Once reaching the shore , however , it becomes a typical Mickey & Music story , with all the island creatures reacting rhythmically to the melodies . Walt Disney provides Mickey with his squeaky voice . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work will always pay off .
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438,169 | 306,861 | 21,725 | 10 |
Delightful Wheeler & Woolsey Comedy
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Two failed vaudevillians take on the task of helping a sweet old lady save her rundown drugstore from foreclosure . Reinvigorating the establishment with a lunch counter & live radio broadcast , they soon have the business thriving . However , when a crooked businessman attempts to smear the place as a speakeasy , will the boys be able to trace the bootleg liquor , or simply get CAUGHT PLASTERED ? Wheeler & Woolsey are in top form in this sadly neglected comedy . ( Bert Wheeler is the curly-headed fellow , Robert Woolsey is the skinny , bespectacled one . ) Always much fun to watch , they've got great dialogue here and they keep it coming rapid fire . Their gags at the expense of the drugstore patrons ( society lady , nasty kid , effeminate gentleman , demanding diners ) are often hilarious . Once very popular , it's a shame this delightful duo has been virtually forgotten . Frequent co-star Dorothy Lee is still kewpie-doll cute . Lucy Beaumont is darling as the little old lady . Jason Robards Sr . is effective as the suave crook .
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437,778 | 306,861 | 11,223 | 10 |
Traffic Troubles With Mr . Lloyd
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A Hal Roach HAROLD LLOYD 2-Reeler . A young man races across town in his beloved new Model T - occasionally having to GET OUT AND GET UNDER to repair it - to keep an appointment with his girlfriend . Harold Lloyd is simply hilarious as the single-minded fellow who will go to any length to protect his Ford car , even giving it a shot of heroin at one point to keep its motor running . Of course , every indignity & frustration is heaped upon him as he makes his determined way towards his destination , making for some wonderful sight gags . As always , his athletic prowess is remarkable , especially considering this film was produced after the accident which cost him half of his right hand . Mildred Davis , who would later marry Harold , plays his girlfriend . Sunshine Sammy Morrison , one of the earliest OUR GANG members , is very funny as the kid with the banana . Vince Giordano and His Nighthawk Orchestra have supplied an excellent antique film score which perfectly complements Harold's antics on the screen .
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437,383 | 306,861 | 23,622 | 10 |
A Cinematic Soufflé
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Beat together three witty stars until stiff , add a small gaggle of top character actors , gently fold in a few romantic locations , sprinkle liberally with sophisticated dialogue and steam bake for 83 minutes . Result - TROUBLE IN PARADISE . This scintillating & rarely seen comedy - director Ernst Lubitsch's masterpiece - is the epitome of frothy pre-Code sophistication . An utter delight from start ( operatic-singing garbage gondolier ) to finish ( pocket picking in a taxi ) , the film should leave the viewer breathless in admiration . Lubitsch relied heavily on the intelligence of his audience . He knew that a delicate touch would be appreciated by those able to anticipate & understand the nuances of his humor . The fact that this worked so beautifully only two years after Hollywood fully embraced sound pictures shows the genius of the director's craft . This was to become his favorite film , and for very good reason . The plot , about a couple of adroit jewel thieves & the wealthy woman they attempt to fleece , is almost lighter-than-air , so effervescent is the quality of the writing . The performances add to this feeling of airy lightheadedness . Herbert Marshall is the very picture of moral ambiguity - the most larcenous situations cause not even the lift of an eyebrow ; as a ladies ' man , he positively oozes suavity from every pore . His partner in crime , Miriam Hopkins , is a comic study in barely controlled passion and the perfect match for Marshall ; their intimate tit-for-tat body burgling is a refreshing take on a romantic prelude . Kay Francis , the center of the filmic storm , is pure stylish glamour ; her sleek demeanor is entrancing as she deals with the other players , most of whom are interested in her millions . Rounding out the cast is a quartet of prime character actors : befuddled Edward Everett Horton & bemused Charlie Ruggles as Miss Francis ' suitors ; unctuous Robert Greig as her butler ; and old Sir C . Aubrey Smith , marvelously fierce as the chairman of her corporate board of directors . Each is superb in his role . Movie mavens will recognize Leonid Kinskey as an angry Russian radical . Interestingly , when Paramount tried to reissue TROUBLE IN PARADISE in 1935 , the rules of the newly enforced Production Code forbade it . The film's full cargo of innuendo kept it from entering any redistribution harbor for almost 30 years .
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438,278 | 306,861 | 23,612 | 10 |
Mickey Mouse - Gridiron Hero
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A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon . It's up to TOUCHDOWN MICKEY to win the important football game played against the brutish Alley Cats . Although virtually without plot ( and spoofing the silent pigskin films of Harold Lloyd , Buster Keaton & William Haines ) this is a very fine example of the sort of cartoon Mickey made in his early black & white days . Minnie , Goofy & Pluto all make prominent appearances , but the attentive viewer should also spot Horace Horsecollar & Clarabelle Cow among the enthusiastic supporters for Mickey's Manglers . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Bambi , Peter Pan and Mr . Toad . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off .
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438,052 | 306,861 | 23,613 | 10 |
Repairing A Boat With Mr . Laurel & Mr . Hardy
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A LAUREL & HARDY Comedy Short . Stan & Ollie buy an old derelict hulk so that they can catch the raw material needed for their fresh fish business . The repair job soon finds them TOWED IN A HOLE as nearly everything which can go wrong , does . . . A very funny little film , with lots of slapstick humor . That's Billy Gilbert as the boat seller .
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437,890 | 306,861 | 162,359 | 10 |
Return With Us To The Thrilling Days Of Yesteryear
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A Warner Brothers Short Subject . Leering villains . Damsels in distress . Frantic chases . Wacky slapstick humor . All this & more , as we fondly remember so many HAPPY TIMES AND JOLLY MOMENTS from the days of Silent Cinema . This nostalgic little film is a look at many crazy highlights from the Mack Sennett Studios ' heyday . Ben Turpin , James Finlayson , and other stars of the past are recollected in some of their funniest film clips . We get to watch a Mack Sennett Bathing Beauty talent contest . We're taken to a splendiferous custard pie throwing melee with Roscoe ' Fatty ' Arbuckle . Finally , after pratfalls , violence & assorted mayhem , we get to ride along with the Keystone Kops on a wild & wonderful road chase .
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437,877 | 306,861 | 39,393 | 10 |
Bagging Laughs
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A Walt Disney GOOFY Cartoon . Goofy & his mechanical duck Clementine do some FOUL HUNTING . This is a humorous little film which showcases the Goof at his most genially inept . His handling of a shotgun should bring a shudder to any viewer who practices good gun safety . The mallards are cute little guys and may remind viewers of Sonia the Duck in Disney's PETER AND THE WOLF ( 1946 ) . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a storm of naysayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off .
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437,115 | 306,861 | 15,002 | 10 |
A Fun Romp With Mr . Lloyd
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This is an unusual domestic comedy for Harold Lloyd . Instead of spending the movie trying to " get the girl , " he marries her in the first few minutes and spends the next hour dealing with the trials of wedded bliss . In a way , the feature can really be seen as a melding together of 3 shorts . In the first , Harold attempts to navigate his way home with multiple small packages & a very live turkey . In the second , Harold illustrates the pitfalls of taking the in-laws ( including a monstrous mother-in-law ) for a ride about town in the new family car . In the third segment , well - it's hilarious , but you'll need to see it for yourself . . . Harold Lloyd is wonderful throughout . But then you expected that , didn't you ?
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437,977 | 306,861 | 32,842 | 10 |
Excellent Early World War II Thriller
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An intrepid British spy boards the NIGHT TRAIN TO MUNICH in a desperate attempt to rescue a scientist & his beautiful daughter from the Nazis . Here is an excellent wartime thriller , with just the right amount of puckish humor to keep the film from becoming too heavy . Very fine acting & excellent production values add tremendously to the success of the film , with director Sir Carol Reed showing hints of the style which would distinguish his postwar crime classic , THE THIRD MAN , a decade hence . Margaret Lockwood is lovely , but she is given remarkably little to do outside of looking anxious or scared . Not to worry , the action is carried admirably by the male side of the cast , most notably Sir Rex Harrison as the British agent . Whether glibly singing silly songs or engaged in deadly gun battles in the Bavarian Alps , he carries off his role with his characteristic aplomb . Paul Henreid completes the quasi-romantic triangle . Menacing & sophisticated , he is an excellent example of Nazi determination & evil . Sir Felix Aylmer , very effectively playing against type , wraps his unique voice around the small part of a German spy master . Roland Culver , Torin Thatcher & Ian Fleming - the character actor , not the author - might be glimpsed in cameo roles . Fans of Sir Alfred Hitchcock's splendid THE LADY VANISHES ( 1938 ) will be heartened at seeing the return of the characters Charters & Caldicott , those criquet-mad twits , played by the original actors , Basil Radford & Naughton Wayne . Their initial performances had proved so successful that they were given the opportunity to reprise the roles several times , this being the most successful of their reappearances . Their inclusion here , about two-thirds into the story , gives the film a decided lift , making the whole procedure jolly good entertainment .
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437,671 | 306,861 | 21,665 | 10 |
Disney's Visit To Bird Land In Early Animation
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A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short . It is a beautiful day , and the BIRDS OF A FEATHER of the forest & farmyard are romancing their mates and tending to their young . That is , until a rapacious raptor comes on the scene & carries off a baby chick . . . This black & white cartoon is another example of how important music ( often classical ) was to the Symphonies . The SILLY SYMPHONIES , which Walt Disney produced for a ten year period beginning in 1929 , are among the most interesting of series in the field of animation . Unlike the Mickey Mouse cartoons in which action was paramount , with the Symphonies the action was made to fit the music . There was little plot in the early Symphonies , which featured lively inanimate objects and anthropomorphic plants & animals , all moving frantically to the soundtrack . Gradually , however , the Symphonies became the school where Walt's animators learned to work with color and began to experiment with plot , characterization & photographic special effects . The pages of Fable & Fairy Tale , Myth & Mother Goose were all mined to provide story lines and even Hollywood's musicals & celebrities were effectively spoofed . It was from this rich soil that Disney's feature-length animation was to spring . In 1939 , with SNOW WHITE successfully behind him and PINOCCHIO & FANTASIA on the near horizon , Walt phased out the SILLY SYMPHONIES ; they had run their course & served their purpose .
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438,124 | 306,861 | 21,676 | 10 |
Mr . Mouse Plays The Blues
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A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon . Mickey's musicians swing a real BLUE RHYTHM as they perform a wacky version of " St . Louis Blues . " There's no dialogue in this black & white film . . . and hardly any plot . We do learn a bit more about the musical talents of the gang : Mickey plays clarinet ; Horace Horsecollar , the saxophone ; Clarabelle Cow , the bass ; and even Pluto plays a mean trombone . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off .
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437,356 | 306,861 | 35,014 | 10 |
Fighting Mad Science With Superman
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A mad scientist has developed a contraption capable of pulling celestial bodies out of the heavens . When he succeeds in bringing a highly destructive comet upon Metropolis , and with intrepid reporter Lois Lane in harm's way , only Superman can stop the chaos caused by THE MAGNETIC TELESCOPE . This was another in the series of excellent cartoons Max Fleischer produced for Paramount Studio . They feature great animation and taut , fast-moving plots . Meant to be shown in movie theaters , they are miles ahead of their Saturday Morning counterparts . Bud Collyer is the voice of Superman ; Joan Alexander does the honors for Lois Lane .
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438,329 | 306,861 | 277,192 | 10 |
Piercing The Veil
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An MGM PROPHECIES OF NOSTRADAMUS Short Subject . Why do so many people believe in these thousand curious verses ? Because NOSTRADAMUS SAYS SO ! This intriguing little film tells of the background of the famous seer Michel de Nostradamus ( 1503-1566 ) and of some of his prophecies concerning the 20th Century , including World War Two , the Atomic bomb , the United Nations , the Korean Conflict , and the Succession to the British Throne . Often overlooked or neglected today , the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents , both in front & behind the camera . The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film , something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel . Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material , short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios ' feature films .
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437,046 | 306,861 | 26,605 | 10 |
Pompeii , Pageantry & Pontius Pilate
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Conscious stricken after abandoning Christ on the way to Golgotha , a jaded slave trader witnesses THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII , and the city's horrific destruction . Although burdened with occasional wooden acting , this is generally a fine historical drama . RKO spent quite a bit of money on its production and it shows in the large crowd scenes and still noteworthy special effects . The film boasted a very fine team behind the camera , working together as they had on KING KONG ( 1933 ) . Directorial duties were shared by Ernest B . Schoedsack & Meriam C . Cooper . Special effects wizard Willis O'Brien worked his magic , while composer Max Steiner contributed a pounding score . Preston Foster had one of his finest roles as the stalwart blacksmith turned gladiator and slaver . His performance during the prolonged climax , while desperately trying to save the life of his doomed son , is especially effective . David Holt & John Wood , playing the youth at different ages , are also very good . Additional fine support is offered by Alan Hale as the rough mercenary who teams with Foster ; and by villainous Louis Calhern as Pompeii's last prefect . Acting honors , however , go to marvelous Basil Rathbone , who gives a most sophisticated performance as Pontius Pilate , by turns rogue , fate's victim & moral philosopher . Movie mavens should recognize Ward Bond as a boastful gladiator , elderly Zeffie Tilbury as a soothsayer , Edward Van Sloan as Pilate's clerk & Edwin Maxwell as a Pompeii official , all uncredited . The film makes rather a mishmash of historical chronology . Young Flavius appears to be about ten years old at the time of Christ's crucifixion , which occurred around AD 29 . It would be another fifty years - August 24 , AD 79 , to be precise - until Vesuvius ' eruption destroyed Pompeii , yet Flavius is still depicted as a youthful fellow , just reaching maturity . Early Christian tradition also holds that Pilate committed suicide in AD 39 - four decades before Pompeii's rendezvous with destiny . While using the same title & location , this film tells quite a different story from that of the classic 1834 novel by Baron Bulwer-Lytton .
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437,968 | 306,861 | 19,729 | 10 |
The Granddaddy Of Them All
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A song & dance sister act strives for happiness and fame on the Great White Way . Hailed as Hollywood's first true musical , THE Broadway MELODY shows its age , but ought to be judged by its own era , not ours . When it premiered in 1929 , the movie industry was still releasing its last silent films . To see a hundred-minute movie full of music & talk , with a storyline that made sense , some good acting and genuinely hummable tunes - this was all tremendously exciting . That the film won the Academy Award for Best Picture of the year is hardly surprising . From this source the mighty American Movie Musical would spring . Some of the acting is a bit awkward , illustrating the rough transition from silents to talkies - the Microphone was a Monster that would completely devour some actors - but most of the performances are adequate . Of special note is Miss Bessie Love . Pert & pretty , as well as a most engaging actress , she dominates the proceedings as the tough , realistic half of the sibling duo . Able to show joy or despair with equal conviction , she amply demonstrates her mastery of the new medium . Her Academy Award nomination was well earned . As her younger sister , Anita Page is lovely to look at . Her ease with the microphone would increase with her next few acting assignments . Broadway singing star Charles King plays the composer / performer loved by both young ladies and he is quite agreeable in this role . Mr . King had the distinction of being America's first male musical movie star , aside from Jolson , but his film career would be very short , covering only six pictures from 1928 to 1930 . The team of Arthur Freed & Nacio Herb Brown supplied the tunes , including the classics ' The Broadway Melody , ' ' You Were Meant For Me ' & ' The Wedding of the Painted Doll , ' which is unfortunately missing its original Technicolor hues . Mr . Brown can be spotted as a piano player in the film , while movie mavens should recognize James Gleason as a music publisher in the opening sequence and Jed Prouty as the girl's stuttering agent - both uncredited .
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437,470 | 306,861 | 23,581 | 10 |
Glossy Soaper
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A small-town Kansas girl encounters hard luck & happiness when she follows her true love to New York City . Aided by an excellent cast , THEY CALL IT SIN is a superior soap opera which delivers just enough sentiment & humor to keep the attention of most viewers . While the heroine's change of affection in the final scene is never really explained , this doesn't detract from the overall enjoyment of the film . Particularly commendable are the sequences set in the Merton park , with the softly playing ukulele setting a gentle romantic mood . Beautiful Loretta Young is radiant as the sweet young thing who follows her dreams to the Big City . Doe-eyed & innocent , her purity is nicely countered by brassy , sassy Una Merkel , cartwheeling through her role as a chorus girl who doesn't take nonsense from anyone . Suave doctor George Brent & earnest businessman David Manners are both very fine in their roles as the fellows who adore Miss Young . Helen Vinson plays Manners ' wealthy fiancée . Elizabeth Patterson scores in her small role as Miss Young's spiteful ? mother . ' Louis Calhern plays the proper scoundrel as a lecherous theatrical producer . Movie mavens will recognize an uncredited Roscoe Karns as a sarcastic dance rehearsal director . Marion Byron delivers some funny moments as the Merton soda jerk .
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437,031 | 306,861 | 156,602 | 10 |
Heart Facts
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A Frank Capra WONDERS OF LIFE film . Keeping the blood pumping through our veins is the responsibility of hardworking HEMO THE Magnificent . In the mid-1950's , AT & T and Bell Science teamed with famed Hollywood director Frank Capra to produce a series of CBS television science films to educate the public about the Universe around them . A far cry from the dreary black & white fodder so often foisted off on young scholars , the Capra films would both instruct and entertain with lively scripts and eye-catching visuals shown in Technicolor . The four films - OUR MR . SUN ( 1956 ) , THE STRANGE CASE OF THE COSMIC RAYS ( 1957 ) , HEMO THE MAGNIFICENT ( 1957 ) , THE UNCHAINED GODDESS ( 1958 ) - quickly became schoolhouse favorites , where they were endlessly shown in 16mm format . The star of the series was Dr . Frank C . Baxter ( 1896-1982 ) , an affable English professor at the University of Southern California . This avuncular pedagogue proved to be the perfect film instructor , genially imparting to his audience the sometimes complex facts in a manner which never made them seem dull or boring . Dr . Baxter , who won a Peabody Award for his achievements , continued making high quality instructional films after the Capra quartet were concluded . HEMO THE Magnificent , which was produced , written & directed by Capra , relates the story of the human heart and blood circulation system , using animation and gentle humor . Film star Richard Carlson appears as the Fiction Writer , energetically helping Dr . Baxter tell Hemo's tale . Movie mavens will recognize Sterling Holloway as part of the TV production crew , and the voices of Marvin Miller , Mel Blanc , June Foray & Pinto Colvig as various cartoon characters , all uncredited . The devotional Scripture which begins the film is completely in tune with the tenor & tone of the production .
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437,684 | 306,861 | 41,484 | 10 |
A Duck Tale With a Stinger
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A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon . HONEY HARVESTER Donald discovers where Buzz-Buzz the bee has stored his secret , sticky horde . . . This is an enjoyable little film , despite the fact that Disney used the same basic plot - Donald versus a tiny creature - many times . Buzz-Buzz appeared in seven Disney cartoons - much to Donald's intense discomfiture - from 1948 until 1952 . Clarence " Ducky " Nash supplies Donald's voice . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off .
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437,824 | 306,861 | 252,766 | 10 |
Return To Mull
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This short documentary takes a backward glance at one of the finest romantic films ever made : Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger's 1945 classic I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING ! Interesting details about the making of the film are related by actresses Dame Wendy Hiller & Petula Clark and cinematographer Erwin Hiller . Filmmaker Martin Scorsese discusses why the movie is important to him . Stitching the narrative together is New Yorker media critic Nancy Franklin , who explains why the film changed her life and takes the viewer for a fascinating look at the Isle of Mull in the Scottish Inner Hebrides to visit shooting locations and meet a couple of elderly islanders who were involved with the film's production .
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437,951 | 306,861 | 21,633 | 10 |
Great Performance by Sir C . Aubrey Smith
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A grumpy old baronet , happily unmarried , decides to send for his three grown-up illegitimate children and provide them a home at his manor . To his surprise , he finds himself bonding with his uninhibited American daughter . Can he find satisfaction in his new role as THE BACHELOR FATHER ? This 1931 film , in which he gives a robust performance , marked the arrival at MGM of elderly Sir C . Aubrey Smith , very soon to be one of Hollywood's most valuable character actors . With his great hooked nose & beetling brows , Sir Aubrey looked every inch the part of the duke or general or statesman he would play so often . The acknowledged leader of the British community in Hollywood , Sir Aubrey would also champion the game of criquet in Southern California . He would remain very much in demand in studios all over town , right up to his death in 1948 . The film's top-billed star is Marion Davies . Best remembered today as the mistress of media mogul William Randolph Hearst & the chatelaine of Hearst Castle , the most fabulous residence on the West Coast , she was actually a very talented & pretty comedienne . For a few years , Hearst attempted to make her the queen of MGM ( with her own production company & a huge bungalow-dressing room ) but the studio already had several other queens - Dressler , Garbo , Shearer , Crawford - and he eventually moved her to Warner Bros . Here Miss Davies gets a chance to joke & clown and her scenes with Sir Aubrey are entertaining . Her love interest is played by Ralph Forbes , a handsome young British actor who was just starting to find good films ( THE TRAIL OF ? 98 ) as the silent days ended . He had all the qualities for major stardom , but sadly it was not to be . Celebrity would come to Ray Milland , here making one of his first screen appearances . Halliwell Hobbes & Doris Lloyd also appear to advantage .
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437,878 | 306,861 | 11,144 | 10 |
A Few Minutes Out West With Mr . Lloyd
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A Hal Roach HAROLD LLOYD Short Subject . Harold becomes AN EASTERN WESTERNER when his wealthy father banishes him from Broadway to Piute Patch . Harold displays his remarkable athletic ability in this funny little film made shortly after he lost half of his right hand in a freak accident . Although his special glove ( made by Sam Goldwyn's family ) is visible at times , you would never know he was handicapped in any way . Whether trying to sneak into a New York nightclub , or escape from the dangerous Masked Angels out West , Harold is never less than hilarious . Mildred Davis , Harold's future wife , plays the sweet Girl of the West ; Noah Young is the nasty outlaw . Robert Israel has composed an excellent film score which perfectly complements Harold's antics on the screen .
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438,011 | 306,861 | 280,050 | 10 |
A Close Look At The American Alligator
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A Walt Disney TRUE-LIFE ADVENTURE Short Subject . Florida's great water lands may look placid , but an implacable menace lurks just below the surface . The PROWLERS OF THE EVERGLADES - the alligator - is revealed in this fascinating little film as the dominate life-force in its ecosystem . Highlight : the exhilarating escapades of the otters . ' This is one of a series of TRUE-LIFE ADVENTURES presenting strange facts about the world we live in . In the making of these films , nature is the dramatist . There are no fictitious situations or characters . ' Winston Hibler is the narrator .
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437,514 | 306,861 | 243,043 | 10 |
More Biology From Disney
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A Walt Disney THE HUMAN ANIMAL Cartoon . Jiminy Cricket gives us just the facts concerning YOU AND YOUR EARS and how they are vital for our being able to hear & keep our balance . This is one of a short series of little films in which Disney educated his young viewers about the workings of their remarkable bodies , with comparisons & examples drawn from the world of nature . The film illustrates the fascinating journey of a tune from the outer ear , through the wonderful mechanisms of the middle & inner ears , all the way to the brain . Jiminy , as voiced by the inimitable Cliff Edwards , is the perfect pedagogue . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work will always pay off .
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437,123 | 306,861 | 21,644 | 10 |
Slapstick Fun With Stan & Ollie
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A LAUREL & HARDY Comedy Short . The Boys are all set to take their wives for a weekend in Atlantic City when Ollie discovers that the gang at the club are going to hold a stag party in their honor that very night . Feigning a terrific nervous headache , he gets Stanley to agree to send the wives on ahead by themselves . Now Ollie & Stanley can dress for the party - except for the little matter of Stanley's boots on Ollie's feet . If the wives find out they've been tricked , the Boys had better face their wrath like grownups and BE BIG ! This is a very funny film , relying almost entirely on slapstick humor - one has to wonder how Ollie could take those falls without seriously hurting himself . Watching him strain to get Stanley's boot off his right leg is genuinely exhausting and will make all fat men ache in sympathy .
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438,032 | 306,861 | 21,645 | 10 |
Into The Waves With Mister Mouse
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A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon . Mickey , Minnie & friends are enjoying THE BEACH PARTY they've arranged ( with swimming & a picnic ) , until Pluto inadvertently disturbs a wrathful octopus . . . This very enjoyable little black & white film includes lots of humor and action - the mood is established right from the start with the playing of ' By The Sea ' on the soundtrack . The cartoon also provides supporting actors Horace Horsecollar & Clarabelle Cow with unusually good rolls . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off .
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437,763 | 306,861 | 32,871 | 10 |
Caveman Canon
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Prehistoric man strives to elevate himself above the bestial in ONE MILLION B . C . Hal Roach Studios produced this vivid and exciting film which ambitiously takes on nothing less than presenting the Birth of Civilization and the Beginning of Civility . That it does so without seeming pedantic or foolish is due in large measure to fine performances and special effects which still look good many decades later . The viewer knows the exploding volcano is a fraud and the dinosaurs are actually magnified lizards , but somehow it does not matter . The entertainment value is real and the sentiments presented by the actors still ring true . Victor Mature & Carole Landis do quite well in roles which demanded speaking little more than nonsense words and grunts and using a significant amount of pantomime . They have no difficulty in conveying their thoughts and emotions to the audience . Their characters ' efforts just to survive in an exceedingly harsh environment elicit the viewer's interest and respect . Lon Chaney Jr , in a role his father would have relished , plays the brutal chief of the Rock People . Silent film actor Nigel De Brulier portrays the Shell People's gentle patriarch . Another star from silent days , Conrad Nagel , appears in the movie's opening sequence as the slightly obsessed scientist who interprets the cave paintings which tell the film's tale .
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437,913 | 306,861 | 21,646 | 10 |
Joining The Foreign Legion With Mr . Laurel & Mr . Hardy
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A LAUREL & HARDY Comedy Short . Suffering from a failed love affair , Ollie drags Stan off to join the French Foreign Legion . Once in the desert , their merry mix ups cause much mayhem . The BEAU HUNKS are soon sent to relieve an isolated fort , but arrive just in time to endure a fierce Arab attack . . . A bit longer & more elaborate than most of the Boys ' short subjects . Stan & Ollie were excellent at this kind of farce ; they provide lots of laughs as they try to act like competent Legionaries . As an added treat , Ollie gets to sing ' I Love You ' in that wonderfully nostalgic high tenor voice of his .
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438,342 | 306,861 | 30,447 | 10 |
A Mouse Tale For The Birds
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A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon . Bumped out of a moving van , a hot-tempered parrot takes refuge in Mickey's home . MICKEY'S PARROT is an excellent little film , with very fine animation and some good gags . The plot follows Pluto more closely than Mickey , but that is not unusual . Despite a strong debut , the Parrot would make no further appearances in any Disney animated films . Mickey's voice is supplied by Walt Disney . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Bambi , Peter Pan and Mr . Toad . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off .
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437,414 | 306,861 | 30,440 | 10 |
Disney Goes Beneath The Sea
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A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short . The MERBABIES are frolicking beneath the salt waves - swimming & playing with various sea creatures . An elaborate underwater circus parade & performances fill much of their day , culminating in a rise to the surface in the expelled breath of a whale at sunset . While the plot is virtually invisible in this little film , there's much to fill the eye as the colorful images cavort about the screen . The real significance of this cartoon is that it gave the folks in Disney Animation some excellent experience in working with the particular aspects of underwater scenes ( bubble movement , light & shadow ) which would be so important in the under seas sequence in PINOCCHIO . The SILLY SYMPHONIES , which Walt Disney produced for a ten year period beginning in 1929 , are among the most interesting of series in the field of animation . Unlike the Mickey Mouse cartoons in which action was paramount , with the Symphonies the action was made to fit the music . There was little plot in the early Symphonies , which featured lively inanimate objects and anthropomorphic plants & animals , all moving frantically to the soundtrack . Gradually , however , the Symphonies became the school where Walt's animators learned to work with color and began to experiment with plot , characterization & photographic special effects . The pages of Fable & Fairy Tale , Myth & Mother Goose were all mined to provide story lines and even Hollywood's musicals & celebrities were effectively spoofed . It was from this rich soil that Disney's feature-length animation was to spring . In 1939 , with SNOW WHITE successfully behind him and PINOCCHIO & FANTASIA on the near horizon , Walt phased out the SILLY SYMPHONIES ; they had run their course & served their purpose .
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438,176 | 306,861 | 30,442 | 10 |
A Very Merry Movie
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A highly intelligent ? tramp ' is hired to become chauffeur for an eccentric , wealthy family . MERRILY WE LIVE is a prime example of a tremendously funny screwball comedy which has become undeservedly obscure with the passage of time . Bright & breezy , with snappy dialogue and some wonderful performances , it is a complete delight . The production values are excellent and the film's free spirit is perfectly encapsulated by the opening shot in which the principal cast marches arm-in-arm along the estate's long driveway while the credits and title song role . Suave , sophisticated and just a wee bit naughty , British Brian Aherne is the perfect match for crisply cool blonde Constance Bennett . Their growing attraction to each other , hidden behind a rivalry for intellectual dominance , is great fun to watch . This ? hobo ' has much to teach the rich girl about life & love . A very fine supporting cast offers much to the film's enjoyment . In one of her best roles , dithering Billie Burke , as Miss Bennett's utterly out-of-touch mother , is a complete joy . Alan Mowbray plays the proper English butler who experiences frequent bouts of emotional distress . Ensconced in the kitchen , tough-talking Patsy Kelly is the family's cook with a strong yen to stir-up some romance with handsome Aherne . Impressively agile Clarence Kolb is Miss Burke's grumpy husband . Tom Brown & Bonita Granville are their two younger , spoiled children . Philip Reed plays a bullying society Lothario interested in Miss Bennett . Ann Dvorak is a senator's headstrong daughter who usually gets what she wants and what she wants now is Aherne . Even the smaller character roles can be fun : watch for Sidney Bracey as a sour-faced temporary butler & Willie Best as a very frightened country store janitor .
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437,007 | 306,861 | 35,064 | 10 |
A Big Party For A Little Mouse
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A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon . Minnie gets help from Donald Duck , Goofy , Clarabelle Cow , Horace Horsecollar & Clara Cluck to make MICKEY'S BIRTHDAY PARTY a big success . Lots of fun in this little film , with much amusement derived from watching Madame Cluck nearly dance the feathers off Donald and seeing hapless Goofy turned loose in Minnie's kitchen . Also of interest is enjoying Horace , Clarabelle & the formidable Clara in their virtual swan song performances . Subsequently , Clara would make only the most fleeting of curtain calls 41 years later in MICKEY'S CHRISTMAS CAROL ( 1983 ) , while it would be another 48 years until Clarabelle & Horace had substantial roles again , in THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER ( 1990 ) . Blame must regrettably be laid at Disney's door for allowing these talented thespians to be forcibly retired from the screen . Clarence Nash & Florence Gill provide the unique voices for the Duck & the Cluck . For the record , Mickey turned 14 in November of 1942 , the year this cartoon was released . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work will always pay off .
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437,751 | 306,861 | 21,642 | 10 |
Mickey On The Radio
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A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon . THE BARNYARD BROADCAST from Mickey's Station ICU is disrupted by the persistent depredations of a stray cat & her incorrigible kittens . This enjoyable black & white film shows a little more about the euterpian versatility of Mickey's friends : Clarabelle Cow tickles the ivories , while Horace Horsecollar is proficient on both the violin and the musical saw & Minnie delights with the saxophone and harp . The scene showing the kittens attempting to nurse off of the electrical equipment dials is a bit of an eye-opener . Walt Disney supplies Mickey's squeaky voice . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Bambi , Peter Pan and Mr . Toad . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off .
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437,248 | 306,861 | 15,016 | 10 |
John Ford's First Epic Look At American West
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A young boy grows to fulfill his murdered father's vision of seeing THE IRON HORSE , the mighty transcontinental railway , stitch the country together , binding East to West . Bursting with excitement & patriotic fervor , THE IRON HORSE is the film which put young director John Ford on the cinematic map . He brought together all he had learned from years of making shorter , smaller films and he produced a product which heralded his enormous contributions to sound films in the years to come . This is a ' director's picture ' in that the stars , as good as they are , are almost negligible ; what was important here was Ford's vision & his ability to place it before the audience . Indeed , he does not even bring his leading man ( George O'Brien ) on screen until 45 minutes into the story - a shortcut to disaster almost anywhere else . ( In all fairness it should be noted that O'Brien , handsome & strong-limbed , does very well as the gentle hero . He would find similar roles in other epic films of the decade . J . Farrell MacDonald , as Irish Corporal Casey , is the prototype for many comically eccentric fellows who would appear in other Ford westerns . ) The film often takes on the aspects of an ancient newsreel . Cattle drives , Indian attacks & endless track laying all look utterly real . Particularly fascinating is the depiction of the dismantlement of the end-of-the-track town , so that not even a dog is left , as it is moved many miles further on to the west . This type of arcane information is what makes watching very old films so enjoyable . THE IRON HORSE represented the largest migration out of Hollywood for location shooting up to that time . Nothing like this had been attempted before , so Ford & his lieutenants were forced to make up the rules as they went along . Hiring a circus train , the small army of extras arrived at the subzero Nevada location in January of 1924 . The conditions which greeted them were authentically primitive . It was so cold , the extras quickly began sleeping in their costumes . Finding the train to be flea ridden , they moved into the sets and began living exactly as the characters they were portraying . The female extras especially suffered from the rugged conditions . A frontier mindset seemed to take over many of the cast & crew ; the circus tent , which doubled as both the movie saloon and the crew's commissary , eventually had to have the catsup bottles removed from the tables to discourage the many fights which kept breaking out . Authenticity found its way into the movie in other , more positive , ways . Several of the elderly Chinese extras , representing laborers on the Central Pacific , had actually worked on the real McCoy sixty years previous . They came out of retirement to appear in the film & enjoyed themselves immensely . Ford also managed to locate the two original locomotives which met at Promontory Point , Utah , in 1869 and reunited them for the film's climax . Composer John Lanchbery has contributed a splendid soundtrack to the restored video version , incorporating several contemporaneous tunes of the period . It would be intriguing to double bill THE IRON HORSE with Cecil B . DeMille's UNION PACIFIC ( 1939 ) , which tells the same historical story , but with a completely different tack & set of fictional characters .
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437,345 | 306,861 | 23,560 | 10 |
Mr . Brown Comes To Town
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A Texas cowboy with funds to invest arrives in New York City . Just how long will it take for THE TENDERFOOT and his money to be parted ? Comic Joe E . Brown has a wonderful time , striding about Manhattan in a ten-gallon hat & boots , packing a pair of six-shooters and carrying a lasso . No hick he , shysters of both sexes find he's not an easy mark - - until he's taken in by a couple of desperate play producers who want to unload 49 % of their latest flop . Brown is a constant wide-mouthed delight , whether roping his luggage at Grand Central Terminal , trying to be neighborly to a bunch of chorus boy cowboys , or galloping after a group of taxi-driven gangsters on a busy New York street , he makes this rather naughty Pre-Code comedy boil . Perky Ginger Rogers scores as a secretary honest enough to want to protect Joe and his money . Lew Cody & Robert Greig ooze false charm as the producers ( Greig even looks a little like the great Mostel ) and brassy Vivien Oakland stirs things up a bit as the play's spoiled star . Movie mavens will recognize Herman Bing as an opinionated chef , Nat Pendleton as a jealous husband and Richard Cramer as a gangster , all three uncredited . The last few seconds of the film , involving some very peculiar triplets , is hilarious .
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437,236 | 306,861 | 30,448 | 10 |
Mickey & Friends Take The High Road To Adventure
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A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon . With Goofy at the wheel , a vacation spent in MICKEY'S TRAILER soon turns into a road trip to terror for The Mouse & Donald Duck . Here is one of the classic Disney cartoons , full of good humor , keen inventiveness & some genuine hair-raising thrills . The animation is excellent , giving each member of the trio a chance to shine . The animators took obvious delight in showing the trailer's various gizmos & gadgets , all compacted into a very small space . The opening sequence is very clever , with a tiny cottage and its bucolic setting being transmogrified by Mickey into a jalopy , trailer and stinking city dump . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work will always pay off .
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437,457 | 306,861 | 39,378 | 10 |
Fuss ' n ' Feathers
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A Walt Disney FIGARO Cartoon . The battle rages in Minnie's living room between the kitten FIGARO AND FRANKIE the canary bird , but the sudden arrival of Butch the bulldog is going to completely upset the balance of power . Here is another in the short series of cartoons to feature the feline from PINOCCHIO ( 1940 ) . Fast & funny , it was the only Disney film to include an appearance by little Frankie . Minnie Mouse has a small , rather thankless , part - but she does get to wield a mean broom . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off .
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437,147 | 306,861 | 43,649 | 10 |
Fun With Hammer & Brush
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A Walt Disney GOOFY Movie . The Goof's HOME MADE HOME is a model of construction chaos . This late entry in Goofy's How To series of cartoons has its humorous moments as he battles with blueprints , glazing & painting . This is one fellow you definitely don't want to hire to build your new bungalow . John McLeish narrates in his best documentarian manner . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work will always pay off .
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438,111 | 306,861 | 32,886 | 10 |
A Pup Tale With Pork
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A Walt Disney PLUTO Cartoon . Pluto becomes a PANTRY PIRATE as he attempts to filch the beautiful ham just baked by Mammy Twoshoes . This enjoyable little film allows Pluto to act almost completely unrestricted by involvement with any other character ( Mammy only appears for a few seconds ) and he does quite nicely as a solo performer . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off .
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437,193 | 306,861 | 30,463 | 10 |
Burning Desire Fuels Disney Cartoon
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A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short . A curvaceous young insect attracts the attentions of a boy MOTH AND THE FLAME of a candle , both of whom want to possess her for different reasons . The flame proving practically inextinguishable , the resulting fiery melee is not settled until further night fliers swarm to the rescue . Without any great technical innovations or underlying social themes , this pleasant , perky little cartoon seemingly exists purely for entertainment . The SILLY SYMPHONIES , which Walt Disney produced for a ten year period beginning in 1929 , are among the most interesting of series in the field of animation . Unlike the Mickey Mouse cartoons in which action was paramount , with the Symphonies the action was made to fit the music . There was little plot in the early Symphonies , which featured lively inanimate objects and anthropomorphic plants & animals , all moving frantically to the soundtrack . Gradually , however , the Symphonies became the school where Walt's animators learned to work with color and began to experiment with plot , characterization & photographic special effects . The pages of Fable & Fairy Tale , Myth & Mother Goose were all mined to provide story lines and even Hollywood's musicals & celebrities were effectively spoofed . It was from this rich soil that Disney's feature-length animation was to spring . In 1939 , with SNOW WHITE successfully behind him and PINOCCHIO & FANTASIA on the near horizon , Walt phased out the SILLY SYMPHONIES ; they had run their course & served their purpose .
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437,519 | 306,861 | 32,402 | 10 |
A Fine Duck Tale
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A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon . DONALD'S VACATION alongside a mountain river is immediately upset by a voracious swarm of chipmunks & a ferocious bear . This is a very enjoyable little film , with first-rate animation . The opening sequence , with Donald canoeing along the river , dodging waterfalls & making music with his guitar , is especially fine . Clarence " Ducky " Nash shows what an integral component he was in Donald's cinematic success - his vocalizations here are excellent . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Bambi , Peter Pan and Mr . Toad . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off .
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