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437,601 | 306,861 | 32,401 | 10 |
The Duck Comes Clean
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A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon . DONALD'S DOG LAUNDRY is ready for business and the plucky Duck has chosen poor Pluto as his first customer . This is a very lively & enjoyable little film and features humorous interplay between the two characters . Watching Donald fall foul to his rube goldberg kit-built contraption is great fun . Clarence Nash provides 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 will always pay off .
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437,455 | 306,861 | 37,303 | 10 |
The Female Of The Species Is More Deadly Than The Male
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Sherlock Holmes matches wits with THE SPIDER WOMAN , a fiendish femme fatale responsible for a series of ingenious London murders . Holmes & Watson face one of their most dangerous enemies in this highly enjoyable little crime mystery . Angry arachnids , toxic gas , Hitler's deadly heart and a very sinister little boy are only some of the elements Holmes must contend with in order to solve the latest crime spree to baffle the Metropolitan Police . Behind it all is the malice of a clever , cruel & cunning woman who gleefully challenges the great detective to do his best to stop her . The movie is not without its faults . The brief running time and abrupt conclusion are unfortunate , and the ultimate reason for all the murders is really not all that exciting , but the vivid characters and dangerous adventure more than compensate for the film's shortcomings . Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce remain perfect in their leading roles . Rathbone obviously relished playing the cerebral genius and he gets to spice out his characterization with a couple of dead-on disguises . Bumbling Bruce only grows more lovable with each passing film , playing his part with fierce loyalty as well as charming naiveté . Oscar winning actress Gale Sondergaard portrays the title role with deadly feline guile , teasing Holmes the way a cat plays with a mouse . Alec Craig & Arthur Hohl steal a few screen moments as eccentric entomologists . Back for their recurring roles are Dennis Hoey as dogged Inspector Lestrade and dear Mary Gordon as Mrs . Hudson . This film - - which was based on wisps of plot from Conan Doyle'sThe Final Problem , The Empty House , The Speckled Band , The Sign of Four , and The Devil's Foot - - followed SHERLOCK HOLMES FACES DEATH ( 1943 ) and preceded THE SCARLET CLAW ( 1944 ) . Miss Sondergaard reprised her villainous role two years later in THE SPIDER WOMAN STRIKES BACK ( 1946 ) .
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437,307 | 306,861 | 37,306 | 10 |
Pluto Splats Into Spring
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A Walt Disney PLUTO Cartoon . A new SPRINGTIME FOR PLUTO brings butterflies & birds to delight him - but also a fair share of vicious bees , poison ivy , pollen & hail . There are some good laughs in this amusing little film - the Pup's modern dance with the beehive ( a probable salute to Charlie Chaplin & the globe in THE GREAT DICTATOR from 1940 ) is hilarious . The Spirit of Spring looks like a Greek demigod escaped from FANTASIA ( 1940 ) . The inimitable Thurl Ravenscroft , who would add his voice to so many Disney projects over the coming decades , is the bass singer heard briefly vocalizing about caterpillars spinning cocoonsWalt 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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438,164 | 306,861 | 26,423 | 10 |
Disney Ventures Into The Land of Greek Mythology
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A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short . Jolly monarch King Midas is gold mad and nothing seems to satisfy his avarice . Then one day a strange little elf grants him THE GOLDEN TOUCH . . . An enjoyable retelling of the tale from Greek Mythology , competently animated . 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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437,653 | 306,861 | 30,214 | 10 |
Delightful Screwball Escapade
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A spoiled rich girl wants revenge on the gas station attendant who humiliated her - he wants to sell his idea for auto courts across America ; both are about to learn that some things in life are very HARD TO GET . This is a wonderful , hilarious screwball comedy , boasting good performances , genuine laughs & fine production values . Witty & winning , it is a shame it is so obscure today . Dick Powell appears to be having a terrific time as the young go-getter with the big ideas . As eager to please as a puppy dog , he enthusiastically hurls himself into the zany plot permutations . Whether impersonating Jolson singing ? Sonny Boy , ' or introducing the song hit ? You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby , ' Powell is never less than entertaining . Lovely Olivia de Havilland is a pure pleasure to watch as she slowly bends to Powell's winning ways . Considered more of a dramatic actress , her considerable comedic talents are on full display here . The scene where she attempts to serve a fancy dinner while impersonating her maid is a quiet riot . An unusually large cast of supporting players help move the fun right along : cuddly Charles Winninger as Olivia's physical fitness mad dad ; Isabel Jeans & Bonita Granville as his insufferably snooty wife & youngest daughter ; Melville Cooper as Winninger's long-suffering valet ; Allen Jenkins as Powell's dimwitted buddy ; Thurston Hall as a banker with a dangerous love of practical joking ; Grady Sutton as Olivia's flaccid suitor ; and Penny Singleton as a wonderfully unsophisticated servant . Movie mavens will recognize Arthur Housman as a polite inebriate , and Arthur Hoyt , Vera Lewis & Jimmy Conlin as attendees at a flower lovers ' banquet , all uncredited . Rear projection screening was the bane of the cinema for years , as its patently fake visuals tended to distract from the action . HARD TO GET , therefore , deserves some credit for its splendidly vertiginous high-rise construction segment , which really does grab hold of the viewer's spine .
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438,242 | 306,861 | 30,213 | 10 |
Miss Henie Skates - Miss Merman Sings
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After making a HAPPY LANDING in Norway , a flying bandleader and his manager both find themselves fascinated by a lovely young figure skater . Sonja Henie was Norway's ice queen when she won Olympic gold medals in 1928 , 1932 & 1936 . Quickly going professional , she began a celebrated movie career at 20th Century Fox in 1936 with ONE IN A MILLION , which was her American film debut . Beautiful & talented , as well as being a natural in front of the cameras , she carved out her niche during Hollywood's Golden Age . Although Henie's ice routines may look antiquated by comparison to modern champions , there was nothing antique about her dazzling smile or sparkling personality . In this regard , some of today's snowflake princesses could still learn a great deal from her . As her career progressed , it became increasingly difficult for Fox to find decent stories for Henie and the excuses for the lavish ice dancing numbers were often implausible . No matter . Audiences did not flock to her films to watch Sonja recite Shakespeare . The movies were meant to be pure escapist fantasy , plain & simple . HAPPY LANDING is no exception and its story is often quite silly - any film which relies on a striptease by comic Wally Vernon to supply a few chuckles seems a bit too eager to plunge into burlesque . However , the moments on the ice never bore and the co-stars are rather interesting . As the manager , Don Ameche is stolid & faintly dour throughout , as though he rather disapproved of the entire proceedings . More fun is raffish Cesar Romero as the zany bandleader , who gives his natural proclivity for frivolity full rein - especially when teamed with brassy singer Ethel Merman . And although her songs are rather lackluster , there is nothing shy or demure about the way Merman steamrollers her way through her scenes . Gentle Jean Hersholt usually provided an aura of quiet dignity to his films , but here , as Sonja's rather foolish papa , he does himself no favors . He must have been grateful to have been allowed to disappear from the film early on . Much funnier are Billy Gilbert as a diner owner desperate to serve pot roast , and dialect comedian El Brendel as an ice rink band conductor . In their single scenes each shows how to effortlessly steal the attention of the audience for a few moments . Movie mavens will recognize an uncredited Lon Chaney Jr . as a reporter near the end of the film . Ultimately , though , this is Sonja's show . She glides effortlessly into the viewer's heart , while balancing on a thin edge of silver suspended over frozen water .
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437,466 | 306,861 | 26,421 | 10 |
Berkeley Brings Home The Bacon
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The GOLD DIGGERS OF 1935 converge on a resort hotel and get involved in staging a lavish charity stage show . With this film , Busby Berkeley , Warner Bros . ' genius choreographer , produced another tuneful , eye-popping spectacle to beguile Depression audiences out of their spare change . With some gutsy performers unhampered by anything remotely resembling an intelligent plot , Berkeley provided plenty of laughs & glitz in this follow-up to his popular GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 . The large cast is all attuned to the nonsensical merriment . Preppy Dick Powell is in excellent good voice as the hotel employee wooing rich girl Gloria Stuart , who only has to look lovely for the cameras . Alice Brady is properly shrill & strident as a miserly millionaire insistent on getting her own way in all things . Hugh Herbert is delightful as a daffy fellow interested only in his collection of snuff boxes . Hilarious Adolphe Menjou steals his every scene as a penniless Russian impresario who is obviously slightly crazed . Bold & brassy , the marvelous Glenda Farrell gets to play the only true gold digger in the film . Frank McHugh is Brady's son , desperate to enjoy a forbidden romance . Grant Mitchell oozes unctuous charm as the somewhat smarmy hotel manager . Movie mavens will recognize Nora Cecil as the head hotel housekeeper & E . E . Clive as Herbert's chauffeur , both uncredited . While the cast is all shamelessly willing to entertain , it is the two production numbers near the film's climax which have given it its place in movie history . ? The Words Are In My Heart , ' with its gorgeous girls and hypnotically undulating white pianos , showcases Berkeley's love for regimented precision & choreography , engendered years before during his stint with the military . The seminal ? Lullaby Of Broadway ' is a perfect example of Berkeley's way of telling a story through music & dance - - in this instance the tale of a Big City girl's ultimately horrific night . These two completely different numbers are tied together by the skein of Berkeley's genius and counterpoint each other beautifully .
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437,984 | 306,861 | 23,778 | 10 |
Up The Nile & Across The Desert With Novarro & Loy
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Kidnapped in the Egyptian desert , a beautiful American finds herself alternately loving & loathing THE BARBARIAN who abducted her . Taken solely as romantic adventure , this lavish little MGM film has much to offer , including good acting & fine production values . Considered only from the standpoint of the plot , the story is ludicrous , what with a heroine suffering histrionics among the sand dunes & a hero who is a completely unprincipled cad . Ramon Novarro does well in the title role , a reprise of his silent film THE ARAB ( 1924 ) . MGM's Mexican star adds yet another ethnic stripe to his thespian escutcheon , this time portraying an Egyptian prince . Looking a little like a Valentino clone , he gets to sing & act in a variety of languages . Myrna Loy , who only gets billing below the title , is excellent as the Englishwoman caught-up in the allures & entrapments of the Nile Desert . After paying her dues in roles like this , she would very soon become a major Hollywood movie star . In the very able supporting cast Reginald Denny plays Loy's stuffy fiancé ; Edward Arnold is an unctuous pasha ; Hedda Hopper appears briefly as an American tourist very pleased with Novarro's attentions . Wonderful old Sir C . Aubrey Smith is well cast as Loy's eccentric uncle and elderly , tart-tongued Louise Closser Hale steals every scene she's in as Loy's peppery companion . This film is definitely pre-Production Code vintage , a fact made plainly obvious by Loy's lounge-in-the-tub scene . Considered rationally , many of THE BARBARIAN's implications are rather disturbing . That Loy could only be happy with the man who has humiliated , beaten , abused & raped her are decidedly unwholesome ideas to come from the pen of screenwriter - and liberated woman - Anita Loos . Novarro sings ' Love Songs of the Nile ' quite well , but interminably . If it sounds suspiciously like his previous ' Pagan Love Song ' hit , it may be because the two songs share the same composers , Nacio Herb Brown & Arthur Freed .
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437,849 | 306,861 | 17,739 | 10 |
Highly Enjoyable Silent Creeper
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Like the deadly game between THE CAT AND THE CANARY , so a young heiress feels trapped in a very peculiar haunted house , surrounded by lurking , unseen evils . . . This is a dandy old creeper of a silent horror film , with just the right mix of menace & mirth to please the uncritical viewer . Universal gave the movie very fine production values , which extend not only to the atmospheric sets , but also to the humorously spooky title cards scattered throughout . This film is really story driven , rather than dominated by the personalities of its stars . However , mention should be made of very entertaining performances by Tully Marshall as the scabrous old lawyer , Flora Finch as a terrified auntie , and Lucien Littlefield as an exceedingly strange doctor . Laura La Plante as the lovely , frightened heiress & Creighton Hale as her nervous , scatterbrained cousin give a light touch to the romantic subplot . THE CAT AND THE CANARY is a choice example from the Old Dark House genre of spook tales . All the elements are here : distressed young ladies , a crumbling mansion , a housekeeper of baleful aspect , a lawyer who knows too much , an escaped lunatic , stalking ghosts or monsters , missing wills , meetings at midnight , bony and / or hairy hands appearing from hidden bedroom panels , secret passageways , and sudden death . Unnerved characters are forever making silly choices which always lead them into the clutches of the ravening ghosts / monsters / lunatics . But the Old Dark House has for long years been a respected avenue in literature & movies to maximize suspense & tension . Indeed , it's only a short walk from West Mansion in this film to Wuthering Heights , Baskerville Hall , Manderley & the Bates House . . .
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438,207 | 306,861 | 30,232 | 10 |
Goulies & Ghosties & The Little Rascals
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An OUR GANG Comedy Short . ? Eegle Eye Detektive ' Alfalfa , with assistants Buckwheat & Porky , are hunting Darla's missing box of candy . But when they end up in the Haunted House on the Amusement Pier at Long Beach , they soon find themselves playing HIDE AND SHRIEK with the resident monsters . A funny little film , with Alfalfa's disguises especially humorous . Highlight : in the Haunted House . That's comic Billy Bletcher's voice on the recording .
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437,506 | 306,861 | 32,918 | 10 |
A Mouse Tale With Magic
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A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon . Mickey plans on building PLUTO'S DREAM HOUSE - with a big assist from a magic lamp . This is a wonderful little film and boasts a hilarious performance from the lamp itself . Things really get wild in the climax when it starts taking orders from Mickey's malfunctioning radio . There is no genii - the lamp is enchanted and speaks with a voice that will remind some viewers of Jack Benny's Rochester ( Eddie Anderson ) . Mickey gets his unique voice from 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 , 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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437,463 | 306,861 | 54,634 | 10 |
A Documented Case
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A Walt Disney GOOFY Cartoon . Although happily suffering from AQUAMANIA , ' Mr . X ' ( Goofy ) is about to enter the water for the scariest experience of his life . . . This little film is a friendly poke in the ribs of anyone who's ever been consumed with water sports . The quality of the animation is not up to the standard of the classics of earlier decades , but the story is whimsical & amusing . Both Goofy , Jr and the terrified Octopus add to the fun . 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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437,813 | 306,861 | 26,406 | 10 |
Charming Romantic Fantasy
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When a haunted Scottish castle is dismantled and removed to Florida THE GHOST GOES WEST , too . Made under the auspices of producer Sir Alexander Korda , acclaimed director René Clair & distinguished author Robert E . Sherwood , here is a fine little film - - very popular in its day - - for thoughtful intellects , about things which go bump in the night . Or , rather , one thing in particular : a kilted phantom doomed to stalk his ancestral castle until his family's honour is avenged - - irregardless of the actual physical location of his old stones , or whatever romantic complications may ensue . Handsome Robert Donat brings just the right amount of sophisticated humor to the dual roles of the ghost and his 20th century descendant . The lovely Jean Parker is splendid as an American rich girl very happy to take the Highlands real estate if Mr . Donat comes along with it . Playing her father , Eugene Palette exhibits both bluster & bemusement as the merchant grocer determined on buying old Glourie Castle , ghost and all . Morton Selten & Hay Petrie have amusing short roles as clan lairds who are fierce antagonists . The marvelous Elsa Lanchester appears far too briefly at the film's conclusion as a paranormal enthusiast . Acknowledgment should go to Vincent Korda for his atmospheric sets . And just what is the difference betwixt a thistle in the heather & a kiss in the dark ?
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437,385 | 306,861 | 128,314 | 10 |
Scenes & Views In Old London Town
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An MGM TRAVELTALK Short Subject . While LOOKING AT LONDON in this little film we are shown some of the major sights of this mighty capital : Buckingham Palace , the Bank of England , Trafalgar Square , Piccadilly Circus . After gazing at bomb damage left from the Blitz , we are left to contemplate majestic St . Paul's Cathedral . This is one of a large series of succinct travelogues turned out by MGM , beginning in the 1930's . They featured Technicolor views of beautiful & unusual sights around the globe , as well as vivid , concise commentary . These films were produced & narrated by James A . FitzPatrick .
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437,128 | 306,861 | 23,788 | 10 |
Catchin ' A Burglar With The Little Rascals
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An OUR GANG Comedy Short . Little Spanky has BEDTIME WORRIES . He has to sleep alone for the first time in his life and suddenly his bedroom is filled with spooky sights & sounds - to the great annoyance of his sleepy father . Then a real burglar gets into the house . . . A very funny little film , with Spanky at the top of his form . Highlight : the ' What's a shipping clerk ? ' sequence . Emerson Treacy & Gay Seabrook play Spanky's very peculiar parents .
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437,084 | 306,861 | 19,933 | 10 |
Early Backstage Musical
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While the Ziegfeld Follies is GLORIFYING THE American GIRL , one young lady sacrifices love for success . This antique musical , produced under the personal supervision of Florenz Ziegfeld for Paramount Studios , is another backstage melodrama ( a very popular genre at the time ) about finding happiness through fame and success on the stage . Like so many other pictures of the era , it revels in Talk & Music ; unfortunately , the sound quality is generally poor , making much of the dialogue & lyrics rather hard to decipher . The representation of Ziegfeld's lavish production numbers is interesting in a historical context , and would be more pleasing to the eye if the original Technicolor footage still survived . Celebrated dancer Ted Shawn was responsible for the ballet numbers , while Irving Berlin supplied some of the music . A careful attention to the soundtrack will disclose the use of old standard tunes in the soundtrack : " A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody , " " Bye , Bye , Blackbird , " " Side By Side " & " Blue Skies . " The regular cast is made up of long-forgotten performers who still give the material their best efforts : Mary Eaton plays the dancer looking for fame in the Follies ; Dan Healy is her rapacious but talented partner . Edward Crandall is Miss Eaton's doe-eyed department store boyfriend ; Olive Shea plays the salesgirl who loves him desperately . Sarah Edwards has a few good moments as Miss Eaton's crocodilian mother . Ziegfeld brought in three big stars to liven things up during the movie's final lap . Regrettably , Rudy Vallee's rendition of his hit " Vagabond Lover " is both wooden & unintelligible . Perched on a piano , Helen Morgan is equally difficult to understand , but her personality still comes through in her rendition of a torch song . Hyperactive Eddie Cantor comes off best of all during a boisterous sketch about a Jewish haberdasher .
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437,683 | 306,861 | 34,875 | 10 |
A Goofy Guide To Water Fun
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A Walt Disney GOOFY Cartoon . The Goof demonstrates HOW TO SWIM - and also how to sink and nearly drown . Here is another Sports Goofy film , enjoyable but routine . Diving & surf bathing are also briefly touched upon , with our hero equally inept at both . Some good safety tips are presented along the way . John McLeish narrates in his best documentarian manner . 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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437,603 | 306,861 | 34,873 | 10 |
Goofy Casts His Line
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A Walt Disney GOOFY Cartoon . The Goof illustrates HOW TO FISH in the worst possible way imaginable . This humorous little film was one of a large number of pseudo-educational cartoons produced by Disney between 1940 and 1953 to feature Goofy at his most bumbling & inarticulate . A few tidbits of actual knowledge may be gleaned amid the laughs , however , as the narration discusses when to fish , fishing fever , where to fish , the trout , how to approach the stream , fly fishing , casting the lure & lake fishing . 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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438,276 | 306,861 | 46,064 | 10 |
Let's All Sing Like The Birdies Sing
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A Walt Disney Cartoon . Professor Owl teaches the students in his avian schoolhouse the importance of Melody & the sources of Inspiration in their daily lives . ADVENTURES IN MUSIC - MELODY is a very enjoyable little film which gets its musical message across in a delightful manner . This was also the Studio's first foray into the field of 3-D animation . The wacky imagination of its co-director & animator , the irrepressible Ward Kimball ( 1914-2002 ) , is evident throughout . The film would be followed the same year by a sequel , TOOT , WHISTLE , PLUNK , AND BOOM , which won the Oscar for best animated short for 1953 . 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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438,003 | 306,861 | 13,025 | 10 |
Mr . Keaton Encounters The Local Constabulary
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A BUSTER KEATON Silent Short . A series of unfortunate misunderstandings leaves Buster being chased by seemingly all of the COPS in Los Angeles . This wonderful little film - one of the most hilarious shorts ever made - illustrates conclusively Keaton's mastery of the medium , most especially his ability to use very large spaces to his complete advantage . The running chase which climaxes the film is an absolute classic . Born into a family of Vaudevillian acrobats , Buster Keaton ( 1895-1966 ) mastered physical comedy at a very early age . An association with Fatty Arbuckle led to a series of highly imaginative short subjects and classic , silent feature-length films - all from 1920 to 1928 . Writer , director , star & stuntman - Buster could do it all and his intuitive genius gave him almost miraculous knowledge as to the intricacies of film making and of what it took to please an audience . More akin to Fairbanks than Chaplin , Buster's films were full of splendid adventure , exciting derring-do and the most dangerous physical stunts imaginable . His theme of a little man against the world , who triumphs through bravery & ingenuity , dominates his films . Through every calamity & disaster , Buster remained the Great Stone Face , a stoic survivor in a universe gone mad . In the late 1920's Buster was betrayed by his manager / brother-in-law and his contract was sold to MGM , which proceeded to nearly destroy his career . Teamed initially with Jimmy Durante and eventually allowed small roles in mediocre comedies , Buster was for 35 years consistently given work far beneath his talent . Finally , before lung cancer took him at age 70 , he had the satisfaction of knowing that his classic films were being rediscovered . Now , well past his centenary , Buster Keaton is routinely recognized & appreciated as one of cinema's true authentic geniuses . And he knew how to make people laugh . . .
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437,224 | 306,861 | 14,972 | 10 |
Another Master Class From Mr . Lon Chaney
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A celebrated circus clown , HE Who Gets Slapped , plots the punishment of two evil aristocrats . Lon Chaney , the Silent Screen's master chameleon , adds another portrait to his gallery of pathetic grotesques . This time he plays a scientist who becomes a clown after his former life is destroyed by his adulterous wife and a faithless friend . A young woman provides him with someone to secretly adore , until her wicked father threatens to ruin her happiness . Chaney's face is an absolute wonder to watch as it registers pain , anguish , distress and unrequited passion , underlining the modern reassessment of him as one of cinema's greatest actors . Uninhibited in his circus costume & makeup , he provides no doubt but that he , under different circumstances , could have become a marvelous big top clown . This was the first release of the new film company merger Metro-Goldwyn , thus making Chaney their first star , and was an important rung up the ladder for the two performers playing the young lovers . Norma Shearer & John Gilbert would soon be major movie celebrities - - here they give good account of themselves as the circus ' daredevil & bareback riders , and as Chaney's truest friends ( both unaware of his love for Miss Shearer ) . In a film full of circus excitement , the director has given the young couple a moment of unexpected beauty : whilst on a picnic their innocent affections are noticed by a passing peasant , who gives the call of the cuckoo as the perfect grace note to their bucolic joy . Marc McDermott as a brutal Baron and Tully Marshall as a dissolute Count make villains well worthy of the harshest retribution . Comic Ford Sterling plays one of Chaney's fellow clowns . The Studio gave this silent film fine production values , while director Victor Sjöström added little embellishments of cinematic flair , dealing with scenes of mysterious clown figures representing fate , which enhance the film .
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438,089 | 306,861 | 243,111 | 10 |
A CariCATure
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A Walt Disney Cartoon . When the Benny Goodman Orchestra swings out a tune , ALL THE CATS JOIN IN . Originally , along with AFTER YOU'VE GONE , part of TWO FOR THE RECORD , which was Goodman's contribution to Disney's MAKE MINE MUSIC ( 1946 ) , this fast moving five-minute cartoon charts the arrival of a jalopy full of bobbysoxers at the local malt shop for some real jumpin ' & jivin ' . The Goodman Orchestra never lets the pace sag and the Disney animators add just the right touch with their line drawings come to life . 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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437,377 | 306,861 | 23,775 | 10 |
Stanwyck Sizzles
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Arriving by boxcar in New York City , the shrewd young woman with the BABY FACE begins to methodically canoodle her way to the top floors of power in a great bank . Barbara Stanwyck is fascinating as the amoral heroine of this influential pre-Code drama . Without a shred of decency or regret , she coolly manipulates the removal or destruction of the men unlucky enough to find themselves in her way . A wonderful actress , Stanwyck has full opportunity here to display her ample talents . Appearing quite late in the story , George Brent is a welcome addition as the one fellow possibly able to handle Stanwyck ; his sophisticated style of acting makes a nice counterpoint to her icy demeanor . Douglas Dumbrille , Donald Cook & Henry Kolker portray a succession of her unfortunate victims . John Wayne appears for just a few scant seconds as an unsuccessful suitor for Stanwyck's affections . This would be the only time these two performers appeared together on screen . Movie mavens should recognize Nat Pendleton as a speakeasy customer , and Charles Sellon & Edward Van Sloan as bank executives - all unbilled . The music heard on the soundtrack throughout the film , perfectly punctuating the plot , is ? Baby Face ' ( 1926 ) by Benny Davis & Harry Akst and ? St . Louis Blues ' ( 1914 ) by W . C . Handy . BABY FACE is a prime example of pre-Code naughtiness . In its frank & unapologetic dealing with sex , it is precisely the kind of film which the implementation of the Production Code in 1934 was meant to eliminate .
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438,084 | 306,861 | 14,945 | 10 |
Chasing Romance With Mr . Lloyd
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Although painfully GIRL SHY , a tailor's assistant uses every ounce of strength to keep the young woman he adores from an unwise marriage . Harold Lloyd produces another winning entry in his series of silent screen comedy classics . This time there is a healthy dose of old-fashioned romanticism , as Harold and beautiful Jobyna Ralston yearn & commune alongside a bucolic stream . Such tenderness never cloys , however , as Lloyd makes sure to leaven it with healthy helpings of hilarity . His attempts to hide a small dog on a passenger train are uproarious , as are his demonstrations on how to make love to vamps & flappers . And when the viewer thinks Harold can't possibly top himself , he ends the film with one of his marvelous chase scenes , in which he uses every sort of conveyance ( train , jalopy , horse , fire truck , trolley , motorcycle & sand wagon ) to stop Jobyna's marriage to a cad . Throughout , Harold displays the remarkable athleticism for which he was celebrated , made even more astonishing when one remembers that he had lost half of his right hand a few years before in a freak studio accident , a disfigurement he disguised with a prosthetic glove . Movie mavens will recognize some OUR GANG kids in uncredited roles - - Fat Joe Cobb & Jackie Condon in the tailor's shop and Mickey Daniels as a newsboy on the street . Jim Parker has composed an excellent film score which perfectly complements Harold's antics on the screen .
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437,815 | 306,861 | 23,744 | 10 |
Forgotten Pre-Code Gem
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A brawling roughneck and a timid wimp are both whipped into shape by AGGIE APPLEBY MAKER OF MEN . This refreshingly forthright & honest look at a Depression-era New York City female and her two problem men is a delight from start to finish . Elements both comic and tender are blended together into a very satisfying package which , whatever the situation , rings true every time . Wynne Gibson gives a remarkably unaffected performance - - bold , brassy , bossy , but also unfailingly decent & loving . She doesn't waste time with either regrets or excuses , but gets on with her tough life , helping others whenever she can . Charles Farrell , a major box office star in the early 1930's , is excellent as the diffident young fellow who changes his entire persona , thanks to Miss Gibson's efforts . Farrell lets us see how vulnerable his character still is , even after assuming his new attitude . The short scene in which he is attacked by a bully is actually painful to watch . William Gargan epitomizes the kind of loudmouthed bruiser who's actually a softy when it comes to his girl . Wispy & almost ethereal , the enormously talented ZaSu Pitts plays the cleaning lady friend of Miss Gibson . Future consumer advocate Betty Furness portrays Farrell's surprisingly liberated hometown girlfriend , while Blanche Frederici appears as his rather frightful aunt . Movie mavens will recognize an unbilled Jane Darwell as Miss Gibson's practical landlady .
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437,974 | 306,861 | 30,265 | 10 |
Literate & Intelligent Entertainment
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A cunning king of France allows a rapscallion poet to become Lord High Chancellor - for the space of only one week . . . IF I WERE KING is a fascinating film based on the fictionalized lives of two very real personages , Louis XI and François Villon . The performances are impeccable , Preston Sturges ' script is literate and Paramount Studios provided excellent production values . As Villon , Ronald Colman makes full use of his most magnificent talent - his beautiful speaking voice . Like honey flowing over velvet , it caresses the dialogue & adds emotional heft to the lines of Villon's poetry used in the film . While perhaps a bit mature to swashbuckle altogether convincingly , he plays the lover very creditably in the romantic scenes . Obviously determined not to acquiesce the entire film to Colman , Basil Rathbone is hilarious as King Louis . Gaunt , wizened & cackling like a crone , he effortlessly steals his every scene . Eschewing the use of his own superb speaking voice , Rathbone plays a character that will remind some viewers of the disguises the actor would use shortly as Sherlock Holmes . The sequences between Rathbone & Colman are very enjoyable , especially since in their only other joint appearance , A TALE OF TWO CITIES ( 1935 ) , they had no scenes together . The two women involved in Villon's life are portrayed by Frances Dee & Ellen Drew , one an aristocrat , the other a wench - lovely ladies both . Smaller roles are filled by fine character actors Henry Wilcoxon , Walter Kingsford , Sidney Toler , John Miljan & Montague Love . Way down the cast list is the always reliable Ralph Forbes , playing the king's toady . Movie mavens will spot an uncredited Lionel Belmore playing the Chief Steward of the royal palace . Fat & ugly , Louis XI ( 1423-1483 ) was nicknamed ' the Spider ' as a grudging tribute to his remarkable skills at plotting & scheming . Although he showed talent in administration from an early age , he also was quite adept at angering his father , Charles VII , and ultimately had to take refuge at the Burgundian court until the time of his succession to the throne . Almost universally unpopular , he set up an elaborate spy network which kept him informed as to nearly all that went on in his kingdom . His overriding mission was to crush the power of the great nobles , especially Burgundy - now ruled by the successor to Louis ' former protector - and this he was largely able to do , thanks to his policy of encouraging the minor nobles and the middle class . The might of the French crown was significantly strengthened during his despotic reign . François Villon ( 1431-1463 ? ) was both France's greatest lyric poet and a complete scoundrel & ruffian . Raised by a chaplain , Villon absorbed none of the virtues of the Church , consorting with the basest of companions and involving himself in numerous scrapes , misdeeds & robberies . His murder of a priest during a street brawl was but one of several outrages . Imprisoned many times both in Paris and other French municipalities , Villon was almost preternaturally fortunate in being able to take advantage of various pardons & amnesties - all undeserved . After one final clemency , he was banished from Paris for life - whereupon he completely disappears from the historical record . Although stained by a most unsavory reputation , critics have long admired Villon's poetry and have extolled both the exquisite imagery of his tender verses and the unremitting detail in the poems describing his coarser experiences . The bulk of the tale told in IF I WERE KING is a complete fantasy . There is no indication that Louis XI & Villon ever even met .
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437,168 | 306,861 | 91,455 | 10 |
A Milestone For Computer Animation
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An indulgent & bemused parent - who just happens to be a desk lamp - watches its child , LUXO JR . , romp with a plastic ball . This tiny film , produced in 1986 , showed the computer animation world what results were possible , even on a small scale , when imagination is unloosed at the keyboard . The personality given to the two character objects is remarkable , especially considering the extremely short running time . Little Luxo would go on to become the corporate symbol for Pixar , who are ranked near the top of the tree in their field of expertise .
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437,446 | 306,861 | 37,248 | 10 |
Into The Marshes With Holmes & Watson
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A plea from a dead noblewoman propels Sherlock Holmes towards a confrontation with a phantom murderer known as THE SCARLET CLAW . Holmes & Watson are faced with a real thriller in this moody , atmospheric little film set in Québec . The villain is particularly nasty - - a glow-in-the-dark fiend who savagely rips out the throats of its victims . This just might be the case which changes Holmes'mind about the reality of the supernatural . . . As ever , Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce are perfect in their roles , like two favorite old uncles , eccentric and a bit crotchety , that one still welcomes to one's fireside . Rathbone is ever the cerebral gymnast , making deductions which sometimes lead him straight into danger . Bruce is a bit more lively this time , getting to indulge himself a bit with an extremely humorous inebriated scene . A sturdy cast of character actors make up the very frightened inhabitants of the bog-girded village of La Morte Rouge : Paul Cavanagh as the occult-studying peer ; Ian Wolfe as his alcoholic butler ; Arthur Hohl as the brutal innkeeper ; Kay Harding as his unfortunate young daughter ; Gerald Hamer as a nervous postman ; Miles Mander as a terrified old judge and Victoria Horne as his disquieted housekeeper . With the war against the Axis still continuing at the time of production , the film concludes with Holmes pithy patriotic paean to Canada . This film follows SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE SPIDER WOMAN ( 1944 ) and precedes THE PEARL OF DEATH ( 1944 ) .
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437,705 | 306,861 | 39,192 | 10 |
Lofty Passions
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Five nuns attempting to establish a working convent high in the Himalayas find their remote location as heady and disturbing as the scent of BLACK NARCISSUS . The celebrated cinematic team of Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger created this splendid film which casts almost a hypnotic spell with its rich visuals and stunning vistas . These are a mere decoration , however , to the real intent of the movie , which is to examine the minds and motivations of the Sisters who find themselves working in the exotic , isolated aerie , once the fortified zenana of a Hindu rajah . The madness which comes of so much introspection & loneliness is almost inevitable . A very fine cast brings the story to life : Deborah Kerr as Sister Clodagh , St Faith's young Sister Superior ; Dame Flora Robson as gentle Sister Phillippa , whose appreciation of beauty awakens troubling memories ; Judith Furse as sturdy Sister Briony , the convent's nurse ; Jenny Laird as joyful Sister Honey , whose moment of panic threatens the convent's future ; and Kathleen Byron as troubled Sister Ruth , whose physical frailty may signal emotional neuroses . As the agent of the munificent local ruler , David Farrar's casual virility troubles some of the Sisters . Indian actor Sabu had his last notable role as a charming young Prince with a fascination for Western knowledge . Young Jean Simmons appears as a wanton teen who is given a home by the nuns . Elderly Mary Hallatt steals her scenes as the convent's crotchety caretaker . Smaller roles are ably filled by Nancy Roberts as the Mother Superior of the Order of The Servants of Mary's convent in Calcutta , Esmond Knight as the Old General who gives the Palace of Mopu to the Order , and Shaun Noble as Kerr's Irish sweetheart . Movie mavens will recognize sweet Margaret Scudamore as Kerr's grandmother . The film makes magnificent use of Technicolour and thoroughly deserved the two Oscars it was awarded for cinematography & art direction The scenes showing Kerr's recollections of her former life in Ireland were originally excised by American censors , who considered them objectionable . They are not . Born Sabu Dastagir in 1924 , Sabu was employed in the Maharaja of Mysore's stables when he was discovered by Korda's company and set before the cameras . His first four films ( ELEPHANT BOY-1937 , THE DRUM-1938 , THE THIEF OF BAGDAD-1940 , JUNGLE BOOK-1942 ) were his best and he found himself working out of Hollywood when they were completed . After distinguished military service in World War II he resumed his film career , but he became endlessly confined for years playing ethnic roles in undistinguished minor films , the one great exception being BLACK NARCISSUS ( 1947 ) . His final movie , Walt Disney's A TIGER WALKS ( 1964 ) was an improvement , but it was too late . Sabu had died of a heart attack in late 1963 , only 39 years of age .
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437,803 | 306,861 | 21,595 | 10 |
Another Excellent Historical Portrayal By Mr . George Arliss
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ALEXANDER HAMILTON , the first Treasury Secretary of the new American Republic , strives mightily against tremendous odds , political & personal , to achieve his great goal : financial solidity & respect for the emerging nation . Just as his triumph seems assured , he is humiliated by a sex scandal engineered by his most powerful enemy in the Senate . . . Let it be stated immediately that George Arliss should have been the worst possible actor to portray the title figure in this film . First , he was much too old ( Hamilton was in his 30's at the time of the scandal ; Arliss turned 63 in 1931 ) . Also , the handsome Hamilton in no way resembled Arliss , who , quite frankly , looks like a death's-head . But this is not supposed to be a physical reconstruction of the historical Hamilton , but rather a look into the heart & character of the fellow . In this , Arliss succeeds admirably , using his tremendous acting talents to both inform & entertain us . Truly , he was one of the great cinematic artists of his generation and it is a shame that he is all but forgotten today . Although all centers around Arliss , the rest of the cast does well : Doris Kenyon & June Collyer as the very different women in Hamilton's life ; Dudley Digges & Ralf Harolde as his enemies ; Montague Love as Thomas Jefferson ; and old Lionel Belmore , stealing a few scenes as Hamilton's corpulent father-in-law . Special mention should be made of Alan Mowbray , very effective as George Washington . Non-political potential viewers who avoid this film risk missing a superb performance by one of the past masters .
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437,900 | 306,861 | 23,748 | 10 |
Service With A Smile For Misses Todd & Kelly
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A TODD & KELLY Comedy Short . The Girls experience extreme AIR FRIGHT when they are employed to be hostesses on the experimental airplane designed by an eccentric inventor . This is a funny entry in Hal Roach's almost forgotten series , featuring coolly elegant Thelma Todd & bumptious tomboy Patsy Kelly . Highlight : Slapstick at 5 , 000 feet . Movie mavens will recognize an uncredited Charlie Hall as the very worried pilot .
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437,639 | 306,861 | 213,815 | 10 |
Going Fishin ' With The Little Rascals
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An OUR GANG Comedy Short . Spanky has decided to skip Sunday School in favor of trying out his new fishing pole . Followed by Buckwheat & Porky , the LITTLE SINNER heads down to the river , where a few surprises await him . . . A very funny little film . Highlights : Buckwheat and the worms ; the baptismal service . Clarence Wilson plays the old grouch .
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438,004 | 306,861 | 13,055 | 10 |
Mr . Keaton On The Job
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A BUSTER KEATON Silent Short . An imaginative young lady DAYDREAMS about her boyfriend Buster making it big in New York City . This very funny little film , showing the dichotomy between Buster's menial jobs & his letters to his girl , illustrates yet again Keaton's superb physical prowess as he puts himself through seemingly impossible & palpably dangerous stunts . Highlight : Buster in another marathon run from legions of lawmen . Born into a family of Vaudevillian acrobats , Buster Keaton ( 1895-1966 ) mastered physical comedy at a very early age . An association with Fatty Arbuckle led to a series of highly imaginative short subjects and classic , silent feature-length films - all from 1920 to 1928 . Writer , director , star & stuntman - Buster could do it all and his intuitive genius gave him almost miraculous knowledge as to the intricacies of film making and of what it took to please an audience . More akin to Fairbanks than Chaplin , Buster's films were full of splendid adventure , exciting derring-do and the most dangerous physical stunts imaginable . His theme of a little man against the world , who triumphs through bravery & ingenuity , dominates his films . Through every calamity & disaster , Buster remained the Great Stone Face , a stoic survivor in a universe gone mad . In the late 1920's Buster was betrayed by his manager / brother-in-law and his contract was sold to MGM , which proceeded to nearly destroy his career . Teamed initially with Jimmy Durante and eventually allowed small roles in mediocre comedies , Buster was for 35 years consistently given work far beneath his talent . Finally , before lung cancer took him at age 70 , he had the satisfaction of knowing that his classic films were being rediscovered . Now , well past his centenary , Buster Keaton is routinely recognized & appreciated as one of cinema's true authentic geniuses . And he knew how to make people laugh . . .
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438,248 | 306,861 | 32,954 | 10 |
At The Lake With Mr . Duck & Dog
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A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon . Donald hopes for a quiet day in his motorboat with Pluto , but PUT-PUT TROUBLES will soon put an end to that aspiration . Fine animation and good gags highlight this little film , which was one of only a handful to team The Duck and The Pup . The exigencies of the plot , however , keeps them apart most of the time . Clarence " Ducky " Nash supplied Donald's unique 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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437,433 | 306,861 | 23,753 | 10 |
Lewis Carroll's Creation Comes Alive
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A young girl in Victorian England suddenly finds herself drawn into a kingdom where absurdity rules & illogic is the theme of the day . Bemused by the antics of the strange inhabitants of the place , ALICE IN WONDERLAND continues to keep her dignity & wits about her . This movie has received a great deal of criticism down through the decades , mainly because it was considered to be a travesty of Lewis Carroll's classic books . But this is to miss the point of the film . It was never meant to be Art . Pure & simple , it was the chance for Paramount to showcase as many of its stars as possible in a light , enjoyable 1933 Christmas release , giving each their moment to shine in front of the cameras . In this it succeeds quite nicely . The Carroll stories , with their colorful , bizarre characters , have always been a favorite for celebrity cameos : the short , vivid roles are real attention grabbers , but require only a minimum investment of time from the majority of the actors . Great care was taken to be faithful to Carroll's original works and a certain demarcation was respected between Wonderland & the Looking-Glass Country ( although the transition between the two , with the Gryphon metamorphosing into the Red Queen , is rather awkward . ) The elaborate make-up , costumes , masks , puppets & animation strives to resemble Sir John Tenniel's famous drawings . Paramount at least deserves high marks for their visual display . In a role difficult by any stretch of the imagination , young Charlotte Henry does very well as Alice , utilizing the character's spunk & determination in holding her own against a supporting cast of seasoned veterans and inveterate scene stealers . Spirited & charming , with few hints visible of Victorian decorum , she is never boring . ( Ida Lupino was first slated to play Alice , but upon arrival in Hollywood from England the nabobs at Paramount decided she was too mature for the role . Stardom would have to wait for Miss Lupino . ) W . C . Fields has received much acclaim for his performance as Humpty Dumpty , and , indeed , his raspy voice & personality fit the character perfectly , but Edward Everett Horton's Mad Hatter and May Robson's Queen of Hearts are equally enjoyable - perhaps more so , as we can see their facial expressions . ( Listen closely during the penultimate banquet scene to hear Fields ' voice again . ) Several of the stars - Leon Errol , Louise Fazenda , Ford Sterling for example - are all but forgotten now , while others ( Ned Sparks , Roscoe Ates , Roscoe Karns ) are in danger of obscurement , but that shouldn't diminish from their contribution to the overall fun . And where else will you find the likes of Cary Grant , Gary Cooper , Richard Arlen , Edna May Oliver , Polly Moran & Alison Skipworth all gathered for one grand romp ? This was a once-in-a-lifetime cast . Movie mavens will recognize the shamefully uncredited Ethel Griffies as Alice's governess and tiny Billy Barty as both the White Pawn and the Duchess's baby . And although he receives cast credit , Baby Le Roy's turn as the Joker lasts only a few scant seconds . For children of all ages & those with an uncritical appreciation of old films , ALICE IN WONDERLAND has much to offer .
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437,468 | 306,861 | 26,369 | 10 |
Compelling Little Mystery
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A young Italian , the last of the Borgias , fears he is cursed with the evil of his infamous family . And now the woman he loves may be guilty of a nasty murder . . . Based on a novel by Ben Hecht , THE FLORENTINE DAGGER is raised above the level of modest murder programmers on the strength of its unusual plot , moody atmospherics and very fine acting . Sir C . Aubrey Smith graces the proceedings as a kindly old doctor who helps a young playwright and a spirited actress ( Donald Woods & Margaret Lindsay ) find happiness together , despite homicide and a possible family curse . Robert Barrat is also much fun as an eccentric , flirtatious police inspector ; surprisingly , he becomes the story's true hero in the movie's closing moments . The supporting cast includes Henry O'Neill as a Viennese theatrical producer ; Florence Fair as his troubled housekeeper ; Frank Reicher as a harried stage manager ; Rafaela Ottiano & Charles Judels as worried Italian innkeepers ; Paul Porcasi as a timid policeman ; Eily Malyon as a lady who knows more about the murder than she's willing to say ; and wonderful Herman Bing as a flustered Austrian baker . The conclusion comes as a bit of a surprise , considering the Production Code's requirement for the punishment of all movie murderers . . . Much is said , in the film's first half , about Cesare Borgia . It might prove interesting to review the facts of his life . The illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI , Cesare ( 1475-1507 ) started his rise to power early , first in his ancestral Spain and later in Italy . At the age of seven he was created prothonotary & canon of the cathedral of Valencia - but it was in 1491 at the age of sixteen that his career really started to move . Over the course of the next two years Cesare was quickly created bishop , archbishop & cardinal . In 1498 he renounced his cardinalate to become Captain General of the Papal Army . Working hand in glove with the Pope , his father , they furthered their schemes towards wresting a northern Italian kingdom for Cesare . A marriage that same year with the sister of the King of Navarre and the acceptance of a French dukedom , gave Cesare & Alexander the French support they would need for their plots of conquest . By 1500 Cesare was fully immersed in his generally successful campaigns . ( One of his victims was Duke Alfonso of Bisceglie , the husband of Cesare's wicked sister Lucrezia ; that unlucky gentleman had been stabbed by a quartet of Cesare's assassins and subsequently strangled in his sickbed by Cesare's servant . ) Hated & despised by the rank and file of the citizenry of Italy , Alexander & Cesare had to constantly fight against the overwhelming tide of public opinion . Surviving one rebellion in his army - and treacherously murdering the ringleaders after feigning peace - Cesare's fortunes at last crumbled with the death of his father in 1503 . The new pope , Julius II , was an implacable enemy and demanded the release of Cesare's dominions . Cesare was eventually captured by the Spanish , imprisoned in Spain , and made a daring escape . He now offered his services to his brother-in-law , the King of Navarre . Cesare Borgia's short , violent , utterly fascinating life came to an end in 1507 when he was killed in a skirmish with rebels .
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437,279 | 306,861 | 9,150 | 10 |
The Brutality Of War - From D . W . Griffith
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Representative of all the innocent HEARTS OF THE WORLD , two American families living in a picturesque French village experience the horror & devastation of the Great War . This rarely seen film is the result of a somewhat surprising collaboration between the British government & genius American filmmaker D . W . Griffith . With the hideous World War still burning across Europe , the old men in Downing Street thought it would be well if filmed propaganda was produced which might help induce America into joining The Effort . After his tremendous achievements with THE BIRTH OF A NATION ( 1915 ) & INTOLERANCE ( 1916 ) , it was obvious that Griffith was the world's foremost cinematic director . A devout pacifist , he undertook the difficult challenge of turning battlefield horrors into a story suitable for the screen . That accomplished , Griffith actually took some of his cast & crew across the dangerous Atlantic to London ( and a meeting with Prime Minister David Lloyd George ) and then it was on to France for some quick filming at the front lines . All of which proved unnecessary . Infuriated by Berlin's unrestricted use of submarine warfare , America declared war on Germany in April of 1917 , months before HEARTS OF THE WORLD could be completed back in Hollywood . While not as innovative or groundbreaking as its two celebrated predecessors , HEARTS OF THE WORLD can stand on its own merits . Filled with Griffith's special touches , its principle value exists in its revelation of his contemporaneous feelings about the War , even as the conflict still raged . He bestowed on it sequences as poignant and harrowing as any in his oeuvre . Who can forget Lillian Gish on her wedding day , driven mad by the bombardment , preparing to spend her bridal night alongside the corpse of her betrothed ? Or the sight of three little boys secretly burying their dead mother in a cellar , so her body would not be disgraced by the enemy . Griffith assures scenes such as these are not easily banished from the viewer's memory . Besides the numinous Miss Gish , appreciation should be extended to Bobby Harron as the film's stalwart hero ; this fine young actor would die in 1920 of an accidental gunshot wound , not a suicide as is usually reported . Dorothy Gish plays a feisty , comedic role , giving the film a light touch at welcome intervals . Josephine Crowell & Kate Bruce are memorable as the two tragic mothers , both victims of the war . Also appearing are a couple of stars in embryo : a young Sir Noël Coward is the extra pushing the wheelbarrow containing Miss Lillian's luggage in her first scene . Technical Supervisor Erich von Stroheim is easily recognizable as a bald German officer ; he would eventually dominate Hollywood's silent films of the 1920's , using the full force of his own , rather bizarre , genius . Special appreciation should be paid to the splendid cinematography of Billy Bitzer , who performed yeoman service for Griffith in several of his epics .
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437,462 | 306,861 | 32,470 | 10 |
Playing With Fire
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A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon . Donald Duck , the FIRE CHIEF of Hook & Ladder Company 13 , manages to start a roaring conflagration in his own engine house . Donald gets himself into trouble yet again - with able assistance from Huey , Dewey & Louie - in this well-animated little film . There is a good chance that viewers who have suffered a devastating fire will not find this cartoon very amusing . The story was written by the legendary Carl Barks ; Clarence Nash provides the voices for the entire Duck clan . 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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437,507 | 306,861 | 43,583 | 10 |
Easy Come , Easy Go With Goofy
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A Walt Disney GOOFY Cartoon . Mr . Geef hopes to GET RICH QUICK - and gambling is the way he plans to do it . This rather odd little film has a tough time deciding where it stands in relation to Lady Luck . Goofy's two jackpot wins are hardly a warning against the dice vice for young viewers . Perhaps this ambiguity was a reflection of the animators ' own experiences . 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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437,656 | 306,861 | 21,549 | 10 |
Square One For Screen Legends
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An eccentric hypochondriac staying at an Arizona dude ranch finds the time - when not popping pills - to make a little WHOOPEE ! The emergence of two diverse talents make watching this film special . Banjo-eyed Eddie Cantor , already the darling of the Ziegfeld Follies , became a fully fledged movie star in this tale of utter lunacy , his own special brand of innocent insanity completely at home in these surroundings . Never still for long , legs & hands constantly flittering about , he punctuates every double entendre with eyes rolled up as if in mild shock at his own dialogue . His handful of songs , including his signature tune ? Making Whoopee , ' only further showcase his abundant talent . This was also the first significant assignment for choreographer Busby Berkeley . He displays his genius in embryo with his precision movements ( greatly influenced by his exposure to military drills ) and initial examples of his trademark overhead shots . The film's production entirely in early Technicolor gave Berkeley a rich palette with which to work and he acquits himself well , even if his Indian maiden costumes near the end of the picture exhibit rather dubious taste . Cantor dominates the cast , but Ethel Shutta has a few good moments as Eddie's stern nurse and elderly Spencer Charters , playing the ranch's owner , has a hilariously bizarre sequence in which he & Cantor examine each other's surgical scars . Movie mavens will recognize a young , uncredited Betty Grable as the chorus girl with the lasso in the first song . A glance down the credits shows a couple of names of note : Nacio Herb Brown was among the foremost movie songwriters of the era ; Greg Toland would later be hailed as one of Hollywood's finest cinematographers . The film makes a point of dealing with bias against Native Americans . Cantor's blackface comedy sequence will then perhaps be a bit of a surprise to some , but it should be remembered that this sort of racial insensitivity was not unusual in the movie industry of 1930 .
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437,178 | 306,861 | 19,843 | 10 |
De Mille's First Talkie
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An heiress plays with DYNAMITE when she marries a Death Row prisoner in order to inherit a large fortune . In 1929 Cecil B . De Mille , perhaps Hollywood's most flamboyant director , went to work for the biggest Studio in town - - giant MGM . During his brief sojourn there , De Mille would create three films - - MADAM Satan ( 1930 ) & THE SQUAW MAN ( 1931 ) were the others . None could be considered financial successes , but each would be fine pieces of entertainment , unblemished by the mawkish acting or unnatural staging which often marred other very early sound pictures . In DYNAMITE , De Mille mixes together the worlds of the indolent rich and the hard working poor , a combination capable of producing an explosion as powerful as any stick of nitroglycerin . Kay Johnson turns in a wonderful performance as a very conflicted young woman who must decide between the two very different men in her life - - with unavoidably tragic results . Her big scenes , as a sorrowful bride , a humiliated hostess , a ditsy cook , an accident witness and the victim of a natural calamity , are all played with great skill & complete command of the new , noisy medium . Charles Bickford is very effective as the plainspoken , rough mannered coal miner whom fate suddenly thrusts into Johnson's world . His anti-hero stance plays very nicely against Conrad Nagel's portrayal of a fun loving playboy who adores Johnson , and who is given , in the movie's final moments , the chance to give his life some meaning during the suspenseful underground cave-in with which De Mille traps his three protagonists . Julia Faye , a favorite actress of De Mille's who would have small roles in his films for decades , plays Nagel's extravagant , mercenary wife . A very young Joel McCrea appears as her boyish lover . Movie mavens will recognize Russ Columbo as the singing inmate during the wedding scene ; he would become one of America's favorite crooners before his tragic & mysterious death in 1934 . That's also dear Mary Gordon , also unbilled , as Bickford's mining town neighbor . De Mille turns his artistic wildness loose a bit during the party scenes of wealthy dissipation , showing how Johnson's idle friends spend their worthless lives .
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437,499 | 306,861 | 21,546 | 10 |
Gettin ' Locked Out With The Little Rascals
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An OUR GANG Comedy Short . Strange things happen WHEN THE WIND BLOWS . After getting locked out of his house on a stormy night , nightshirted Jackie seeks solace at the homes of Farina , Chubby & Mary Ann . When a neighborhood prowler shows up , things get really hectic . . . A funny little film , although the beating Jackie gets from his Dad seems a bit much . Farina's home life is shown in a stereotypical fashion , common for that era in Hollywood . Highlight : Mary Ann's flirtatious ways . That's Edgar Kennedy as the hapless cop on the beat .
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437,696 | 306,861 | 47,883 | 10 |
A Little Hoodoo
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An RKO-Pathe Screenliner Short Subject . The nervous have more things to fret about than just the BLACK CATS AND BROOMSTICKS of Halloween . This humorous little film takes a lighthearted look at fortune predictors ( Ouija boards , horoscopes , palmistry , etc . ) as well as various superstitions : spilling salt , walking under ladders , Friday the 13th , luck charms , chain letters and so forth . 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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438,113 | 306,861 | 39,268 | 10 |
A Duck Tale With Looney Bird
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A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon . While on a photographic expedition , Donald is driven crazy by the CLOWN OF THE JUNGLE , the zany Aracuan bird . This incredibly silly little film features the second of three animated appearances by the Aracuan bird . With his debut in THE THREE CABALLEROS ( 1945 ) , his mercifully brief film career would come to a culmination in MELODY TIME ( 1948 ) . Clarence " Ducky " Nash supplies Donald's unique 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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438,025 | 306,861 | 23,737 | 10 |
Potent Anti-War Polemic
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A mild-mannered sculptor who hates war becomes the ACE OF ACES in World War One . Although nearly forgotten for decades , this powerful little anti-war film packs a punch as it focuses on the young men of an American flying squadron stationed in France . Cynical & flippant , they know the odds are against them surviving the war and they each deal with that knowledge in their own way . Richard Dix , an excellent actor who has become undeservedly obscure , gives a powerful performance as a pilot embittered by war's savagery yet delighting in his ability to kill . His reaction at finally meeting one of the Germans he has mortally wounded is only one moment which gives the actor much scope to display his craft . Lovely Elizabeth Allan portrays the weary front-line nurse , once Dix's fiancée , who brings some humanity back into his life . Ralph Bellamy plays Dix's no-nonsense superior officer ; Theodore Newton does well as Dix's barracks mate . Movie mavens will recognize an uncredited Grady Sutton as an excited house guest . RKO has given the film fine production values , with the flying sequences especially well mounted . The movie is marred slightly by the ending , which is rather unbelievable considering the moments leading up to it . And whatever happened to the chimp & the lion ?
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438,144 | 306,861 | 30,302 | 10 |
Lighthearted Shirley Temple Musical
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A precocious little moppet mistakes a misanthropic tycoon for Uncle Sam . She believes that by helping the old fellow , Depression woes will cease for her father and the country JUST AROUND THE CORNER . This friendly , fanciful film was exactly what the nation needed to help it forget economic hard times . Shirley Temple is bright & cheerful , as always , and never fails to amuse . The talents which made her Hollywood's top box office draw for years are abundantly on display . Legendary Bill ' Bojangles ' Robinson is on hand with 3 of his celebrated dance routines . Watch , when he dances with Shirley , how she matches him step for step - a marvelous terpsichorean treat . Comedy is handled by Bert Lahr , Joan Davis ( why aren't they included in the climactic Benefit show ? ) & especially Franklin Pangborn , in his glory as the quintessential harried apartment manager . Charles Farrell , a big star himself a few years previous , does a fine job as Shirley's dad , while Claude Gillingwater once again has fun with the part of a crotchety , rich old man . Cora Witherspoon scores as a society snob . Movie mavens will recognize Charles Williams as a persistent photographer & Leonard Kibrick as Shirley's tough kid friend . Shirley , with help from Miss Davis , Lahr & Bojangles , sings & dances her way through ' This Is A Happy Little Ditty ' & ' Just Around The Corner ' .
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438,022 | 306,861 | 23,716 | 10 |
Brown's Comedy Stays Afloat
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A penniless inventor is mistaken for a Canadian swimming champ and swept into competing in a swimming race from Santa Catalina Island to the California mainland . YOU SAID A MOUTHFUL gave rubber-faced comic Joe E . Brown a fine vehicle to show off his talents . Whether he's attempting to demonstrate his unsinkable bathing suit , trying to learn to swim in an ornate bathtub or encountering numerous difficulties on the 22-mile aquatic contest , Brown is never less than hilarious . Here , he is given fine support by perky , pretty Ginger Rogers , who lends her special magic to light up the screen . OUR GANG's Allen ? Farina ' Hoskins proves a good sidekick for Brown ; this would be one of his last significant film roles . Preston Foster plays Brown's romantic rival ; movie mavens will recognize an uncredited Guinn ? Big Boy ' Williams as the hapless real swim champ . Actual location filming at Avalon on beautiful Catalina Island greatly adds to the ambiance of the picture .
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438,332 | 306,861 | 217,696 | 10 |
History Mystery
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An MGM PROPHECIES OF NOSTRADAMUS Short Subject . The strange story of Michel de NOSTRADAMUS AND THE QUEEN of France is herein related . This short film tells the intriguing tale of the prophecies of the famous seer ( 1503-1566 ) and how they reinforced the ambitions of the rapacious Catherine de Medici ( 1519-1589 ) and the fates of her three sons , each of whom would rule France : Francis II ( 1559-1560 ) , Charles IX ( 1560-1574 ) and Henry III ( 1574-1589 ) . 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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438,081 | 306,861 | 28,659 | 10 |
Fun For All
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A New York playboy & a Texas rich girl enjoy BREAKFAST FOR TWO after a wild night on the town . Here is a screwball comedy which derives its humor more from the fine acting of its cast than from zany situations . When these situations do appear late in the film the characters are well established in the viewer's mind , adding extra zest to some very funny sequences . Barbara Stanwyck stars as the highly determined young woman who uses her considerable resources to save the man she loves from his improvident lifestyle . This was an actress equally adept at the grittiest drama or the lightest comedy . Her timing was impeccable and her delivery uniquely all her own . As the object of her affections , Herbert Marshall makes excellent use of his suave demeanor and marvelous speaking voice to add a soupçon of sophistication to his character's wastrel ways . An excellent supporting cast gets fully involved in the zany proceedings . Brassy Glenda Farrell plays the dumb blonde actress who adores Marshall ; good-hearted & jolly , the plot really does treat her unkindly . Eric Blore is wonderful as Marshall's faithful , scheming valet . Tiny chittering Etienne Girardot plays Marshall's elderly office manager . Donald Meek , as a flustered little Justice of the Peace , gets to preside over three of the funniest wedding ceremonies ever committed to film . RKO has given the film very fine production values , as epitomized by the mansion sets shown in the opening sequence . And what about those crazy window washers ? !
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437,206 | 306,861 | 32,449 | 10 |
A Look At The Navy's Wings
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A MGM Short Subject . After relentless , rigorous training , young men from around the USA become the EYES OF THE NAVY as pilots of the air arm of the Navy & Marines . Produced well before the entry of America into World War Two , this Short serves as both a plea for preparedness by having a strong air defense , as well as a promotional pitch for the flying fleet . It is interesting in that Uncle Sam's potential enemies ( Germany , Italy , Japan ) are never mentioned by name . 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 .
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438,060 | 306,861 | 21,556 | 10 |
Disney's Salute To The Seasons , Opus Four
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A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short . It is WINTER , and when not braving the icy winds the forest animals are gliding on the ice . They don't neglect their trip to Mr . Groundhog , though , to get a forecast of the coming weather . . . More action / reaction animation in this black & white cartoon . Also more posterior gags , in dubious taste , from the Disney animators . The bear cub having a face almost identical to Mickey Mouse was probably no accident . 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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437,325 | 306,861 | 76,047 | 10 |
Tale of courage worth seeing . . .
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Although it pales next to the 1939 classic version , as a made-for-television feature this film is well worth watching . It tells the story of a young Englishman driven to extreme lengths to prove to himself & his friends that he is not a coward . Surrounded by a fine British cast , Beau Bridges might seem wrongly cast in the main role , but he does a stalwart job throughout . Good action scenes set in Muslim Africa . Co-stars include Jane Seymour , Harry Andrews ( great as Bridges ' fierce old father ) , Robert Powell , Richard Johnson , Simon Ward , David Robb & Robin Bailey .
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437,478 | 306,861 | 39,282 | 10 |
Through The Desert With Duck & Dog
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A Walt Disney DONALD AND GOOFY Cartoon . While driving their jalopy through the Sahara , the two pals get lost , become very thirsty and go CRAZY WITH THE HEAT . This very funny little film features the inspired pairing of The Duck & The Goof , Donald's rising exasperation at Goofy's bumbling sparking much of the enjoyment . Clarence " Ducky " Nash gives voice to Donald ; Paul Frees does the honors for the proprietor of the Oasis Soda Fountain . 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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438,255 | 306,861 | 305,755 | 10 |
A Cautionary Tale From Prince Charles
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A cheery , blundering old Scots hermit disrupts the life of the wee magic folk who have responsibility for pushing the Spring flowers up out of the ground , according to THE LEGEND OF LOCHNAGAR . This humorous little film , produced in Wales for British & American television , effectively tells its tale with fairly decent animation and an often whimsical script . The cartoon's subtle plea for ecological sensitivity will not be missed by thoughtful viewers . The film is based on a 1980 story by Britain's Prince Charles - " The Old Man of Lochnagar " - and the original illustrations of Sir Hugh Casson . The Prince appears in live action segments which bookend the cartoon , relating the Legend with a serious royal demeanor which delightfully is smashed during the film's final moments . The voice talent of Robbie Coltrane as the hermit , obsessed with his bathtub & plumbing , adds greatly to the enjoyment of the film .
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437,573 | 306,861 | 23,696 | 10 |
More Music With The Mice
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A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon . THE WHOOPEE PARTY with Mickey & his friends has lots of good times & musical merriment for every creature in attendance . There's plenty of fun in this little black & white film . Music mavens will recognize ' Sweet Rosie O'Grady , ' ' The Maple Leaf Rag ' & ' Running Wild ' among the tunes performed . A nice touch is having the ladies ( Minnie & Clarabelle Cow ) perform the music , while the gentlemen ( Mickey , Horace Horsecollar & Dippy Dawg - Goofy's early incarnation ) provide the food . 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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437,250 | 306,861 | 19,886 | 10 |
Good Silent Action In Navy Flight Film
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Six young midshipmen about to graduate from Annapolis dream about the glory of joining the FLYING FLEET , unaware of the heartache & happiness the future has in store for them . . . While almost a commercial for the Navy's aviation wing , this late MGM silent film is still very enjoyable . The flying scenes are well produced and exciting and the slight plot of friendships , rivalries , a pretty girl & a tragic flight to Honolulu grab the viewer's attention . Ramon Novarro does a sturdy job as the foremost amongst the six comrades . Ralph Graves scores as Novarro's best buddy . Anita Page is lovely in a role that calls for her to do very little else except look lovely . ( Decades later she claimed Novarro proposed marriage to her ! ) Unbilled , Alfred Allen does a fine turn as a blustery , comic Admiral ; and Gardner James is excellent as Specs the navigator , who's heroism & self-sacrifice effortlessly steals the climax of the film .
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437,867 | 306,861 | 34,928 | 10 |
Kipling & Korda
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Reared in the Indian Jungle , a young man must learn to live amongst the most rapacious of Nature's creatures , Man . Sir Alexander Korda's splendid film uses Kipling's book as a launching pad to tell Mowgli's story after he left his animal friends . It is told with great verve and excitement and its evocative views of the great jungle and the Lost City , as locations for Mowgli's further adventures , revealed in vibrant Technicolor , are an indication of the excellent production values lavished to make the story come alive . As teen-aged Mowgli , Indian actor Sabu couldn't be more perfect . Whether as the Wild Boy who first enters the village , or , later , as the completely competent young man who ferrets out the secret of the Lost City's treasure , fights the tiger Shere Khan and communes with deadly snakes , elephants & wolves , he is completely believable . Kipling would have been proud . Rosemary DeCamp is a quiet delight as Mowgli's gentle mother , her scenes with Sabu are most effective and tender . John Qualen , Frank Puglia , and especially Joseph Calleia , all score as the members of the man-village who want to see Mowgli destroyed . Playing his character as an old man , Calleia also bookends the film as its storyteller , using his somber demeanor to add to the mystery of the plot . That's Silent star Noble Johnson as the Sikh whose female companion encourages the telling of the tale . Born Sabu Dastagir in 1924 , Sabu was employed in the Maharaja of Mysore's stables when he was discovered by Korda's company and set before the cameras . His first four films ( ELEPHANT BOY-1937 , THE DRUM-1938 , THE THIEF OF BAGDAD-1940 , JUNGLE BOOK-1942 ) were his best and he found himself working out of Hollywood when they were completed . After distinguished military service in World War II he resumed his film career , but he became endlessly confined for years playing ethnic roles in undistinguished minor films , BLACK NARCISSUS ( 1947 ) being the one great exception . His final movie , Walt Disney's A TIGER WALKS ( 1964 ) was an improvement , but it was too late . Sabu had died of a heart attack in late 1963 , only 39 years of age .
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438,306 | 306,861 | 23,684 | 10 |
Poses & Postures From Olivier
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A rich woman encounters her first husband during a WESTWARD PASSAGE across the Atlantic . RKO Studios joined the lovely Ann Harding and the dynamic young Laurence Olivier in this rather pedestrian little soap opera , which gains its main distinction from its casting . The emotions on display are a bit tawdry at times , but the performances are certainly always entertaining . Miss Harding , sadly rather obscure today , gives a fine portrayal of a woman slowly unfolding , like a rose , into becoming a successful , vibrant female . Even though she treats her second spouse rather shoddily , the viewer still cares about her and wishes her well . Olivier gives a marvelously hammy performance , full of stagy flourishes & fidgets . Always mindful of the camera , he makes himself a coquette to the viewers , so effortlessly stealing every scene that it's easy to forget just how petty , irresponsible & disreputable his character actually is . A fine cast of players offer able support : Irving Pichel as Harding's decent , dull second husband ; Juliette Compton & Irene Purcell as her wealthy , worldly girlfriends ; slow-burning Edgar Kennedy as a henpecked husband aboard ship ; Herman Bing as a comic factotum ; and little Bonita Granville as the precocious offspring of Harding & Olivier . Best of all is dear ZaSu Pitts , all fluttery gestures & rolling eyes , as the wonderfully vague proprietress of the quaint honeymoon inn where Olivier takes Harding , twice .
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437,956 | 306,861 | 23,681 | 10 |
Another Entrant In John Gilbert's Vanishing Talkie Career
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An alcoholic millionaire heads WEST OF BROADWAY to his Arizona ranch to shake off the paid date he married during a drunken binge . According to cinematic legend , all the talkie MGM films starring John Gilbert were dreadful - the result of a bitter hatred between Gilbert ( the highest paid star in Hollywood , with a $1 . 5 million contract ) & studio boss Louis B . Mayer . A determination on Gilbert's part to fulfill the contract , and a campaign instituted by Mayer to destroy Gilbert's career - including spreading the rumor that Gilbert's voice was ' high & feminine ' , culminated in several unwatchable movies . Not entirely true . The Studio had a huge financial investment in Jack Gilbert and was not going to completely cut its own throat by showcasing him in nothing but dreck . However , of the 8 MGM talkies in which he appeared as solo star ( 1929 - HIS GLORIOUS NIGHT ; 1930 - REDEMPTION ; WAY FOR A SAILOR ; 1931 - GENTLEMAN'S FATE ; THE PHANTOM OF PARIS ; WEST OF BROADWAY ; 1932 - DOWNSTAIRS ; 1933 - FAST WORKERS ) most were certainly rather ghastly . WEST OF BROADWAY , however , was quite decent , and , indeed , fully representative of the material the studio was producing in 1931 . Gilbert gives a dignified performance , with the occasional flash of talent that shows what he might have been capable of had MGM worked harder to give him better material . He is given excellent support by pert Lois Moran , who puts real honesty into her portrayal of a poor girl who grabs her only chance of happiness . El Brendel , popular dialect comedian of the period , gets some much needed laughs out of his pseudo-Swedish role , although his bizarre tickling sequence with house boy Willie Fung is sure to raise a few eyebrows . Lovely Madge Evans as the woman who jilts Gilbert , Ralph Bellamy as a noble cowboy , Hedda Hopper as a society snob & Gwen Lee as a floozy all do well with their supporting roles . Movie mavens will recognize an uncredited John Miljan as an obnoxious cad . The film is helped immensely by outdoor location filming during the ranch scenes . Finally , about The Voice . There was nothing at all strange or unnaturally high about Gilbert's voice . As a matter of fact , it was of medium range & rather cultured & refined . Which was the crux of the problem , of course . While it is possible that no voice could have ever matched the perfect one viewers heard in their minds while watching his strong , virile silent roles , the reality was very different from what they wanted to hear ( imagine Robert Montgomery's voice coming out of Clark Gable's mouth . ) Gilbert was doomed from his first scene in his debut talkie ; his war with Mayer only intensified the agony . He would die in 1936 , forgotten by most of his former fans , at the age of only 36 .
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437,314 | 306,861 | 21,531 | 10 |
War Wounds & Battle Scars
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A young WAR NURSE learns to serve the wounded servicemen , whatever the personal cost to herself . This fine film from MGM illustrates the horrors of World War One by celebrating the American military nurses in France . The horrendous conditions they work under , the very real dangers they face , and the lives they sacrifice for their devotion to service , both gives emphasis to their tremendous dedication , and provides some fine entertainment for the viewer . While the focus remains on the hospital drama the film is at its best ; it starts going soft when the romantic escapades of two of the nurses begin to absorb considerable screen time . Anita Page gives a commendable performance as a convent schoolgirl who quickly loses her innocence to war's terrible reality , and her heart to airman Robert Ames , who also scores as her conflicted lover . June Walker , on the other hand , provides rather colorless appeal when compared to flashy flyer Robert Montgomery , who shows some of the star power that was so soon to make him one of the top draws at MGM . It's great to see the marvelous ZaSu Pitts , playing a rather downbeat , plain-talking nurse , but the role does not give her enough to do . Actually taking the movie's top acting honors is supporting actress Helen Jerome Eddy , portraying a starchy Kansas schoolmarm who slowly reveals her beautiful heart after joining the medical services . Hedda Hopper is a tower of strength in her rather small role as the nurses ' matron . Marie Prevost is on hand as a brazen Brooklyn babe who also is one of the Ladies in White .
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437,256 | 306,861 | 33,022 | 10 |
Mister Laurel & Mister Hardy Invite You On A Most Memorable Boat Ride
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Stan & Ollie become SAPS AT SEA when their wayward little boat is commandeered by a vicious murderer . The Boys are wonderful in this feature , which starts out with one of their most hilarious set pieces , the horn factory . Always a few steps out of sync with the rest of Creation , Laurel & Hardy inhabit a world where icy radios & bedded billy goats are the rule , not the exception . With its brief length , the film is more in style with their classic short subjects , which explains its episodic nature . Only the Boys get screen credit , but movie mavens will recognize other familiar faces : James Finlayson appears as a loony doctor , Richard Cramer does full justice to his bad guy role , sweet Mary Gordon plays the Boys ' perplexed neighbor . That's Charlie Hall as the apartment house desk clerk and silent screen comic Ben Turpin portrays a most peculiar plumber . One of the film's script writers was silent comedian Harry Langdon . Stan & Ollie are the main focus , however . Watching Hardy go berserk at the sound of a horn , or Laurel's antics with bananas , for instance , reminds the viewer why these fellows remain absolute cinematic giants .
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437,453 | 306,861 | 37,326 | 10 |
Heart Warmer
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A poor family living on a houseboat plans a very special Sunday DINNER FOR A SOLDIER . Here is an excellent example of the type of movie Hollywood produced during World War Two as morale boosting entertainment . It depicts the decency of the folks on the Home Front that the guys in the military were fighting to preserve and protect . Today , its unabashed nostalgia & romanticism greatly add to its appeal . Anne Baxter stars as the determined young woman who must hold her family together during difficult times ; the prospects of an affluent , but loveless , marriage only add to her strain . Appearing late in the film is John Hodiak as the gentle sergeant who comes wandering along Baxter's beach at exactly the right time . Together they epitomize the wistful longing which is forever associated with the warrior leaving for battle and the loved one left behind . Appropriately , Baxter & Hodiak were later to marry in real life . ( Tragically , John Hodiak would die of a heart attack in 1955 at the age of only 41 . ) Old Charles Winninger steals most of his scenes as Baxter's delightfully incorrigible ' Grandfeathers . ' Her younger siblings are very well played by Billy Cummings , Connie Marshall , with her beloved pet hen , and little Bobby Driscoll , standing on his head , in one of his earliest film roles . Two Oscar winning actresses enliven their smaller roles : Anne Revere as an outspoken chicken farmer who enjoys a playful feud with Winninger ; and Jane Darwell as the community's liaison with the local air base . Gravel-voiced Chill Wills plays a friendly bus driver . Near the end of the film movie mavens will recognize silent screen comic Chester Conklin as a photographer and Rory Calhoun as the sergeant who grabs Hodiak's strawberry cake , both uncredited . ' I'll See You In My Dreams ' is the lovely old tune which ties together the romantic elements throughout the film .
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437,795 | 306,861 | 43,527 | 10 |
Just Spank The Brat
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A Walt Disney GOOFY CartoonWith all the problems & perils of new parenthood raining down upon him , poor Goofy is about to discover that FATHERS ARE PEOPLE just like anyone else . The Goof manages to struggle through a preponderance of paternal pitfalls in this funny little film . Although the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune have set up residency in his home in the shape of little Junior , the big lug still manages to emerge semi-triumphantly in the end . This is one of the cartoons in which Goofy goes by the pseudonym George Geef , for reasons best known only to the Disney animators . 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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437,982 | 306,861 | 23,694 | 10 |
Voodoo & Zombies & Lugosi , Too
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A diabolical voodoo master plots to turn a beautiful young American into a WHITE ZOMBIE , a slave of his perverted passions . . . Here is one of the great unheralded horror classics of the 1930's . Almost forgotten today , it is an excellent example of what can be accomplished by an obscure film company ( in this case Halperin Productions ) working with a tiny budget , but using enormous flair & imagination . Some of the visuals - the opening scene of the burial on the road , the sugar mill worked by zombies - remain in the imagination for an uncomfortable amount of time , one sure sign of true success for a horror film . Certain of the settings - the hillside graveyard , the villain's towering fortress - are as good as you'll find anywhere . Additionally , the moody music of Xavier Cugat & the make-up wizardry of Jack Pierce help tremendously . But it's the performance of Bela Lugosi , looking utterly satanic , which is truly memorable . Released the year following his celebrated Dracula , WHITE ZOMBIE gives him another character which , in measures of pure menace , is easily the equal of the Count . With his mesmeric eyes , expressive , spider-like hands & wonderfully eerie voice , Lugosi radiates absolute evil . This talented Austro-Hungarian actor ( born Béla Ferenc Dezsõ Blaskó , 1882-1956 ) would fritter away much of his career in low-budget dregs , but here he must have realized he was in competent hands and he is obviously having a wonderful time . To see his imposing , cloaked figure stalk about the screen , closely followed by his Living Dead slaves , is to enjoy one of cinema's most deliciously spooky moments . Madge Bellamy & John Harron are both impressive as Lugosi's victims . Robert Frazer is very good indeed as the plantation owner whose obsession for Miss Bellamy throws him right into Lugosi's clutches . Elderly Joseph Cawthorn scores as the aged missionary who may be the only person wise enough to thwart the zombie master . Movie mavens will recognize an uncredited Clarence Muse as the frightened coach driver in the opening sequence .
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437,961 | 306,861 | 212,084 | 10 |
A Curious Short Subject
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A bemused & rather pixilated Robert Benchley offers up a screen valentine to DAVID O . SELZNICK : YOUR NEW PRODUCER , showing highlights from Selznick's years at Paramount , RKO & MGM . This enjoyable little short is actually a bit of interesting film history . Up until this point , movie producers were rather an anonymous lot , generally not receiving screen credit or much recognition for their contributions . ( Irving Thalberg , for instance , authentic genius & producing guru as No . 2 at MGM , did not receive screen credit until after his death . ) But Selznick was leaving MGM and becoming a very big Hollywood player on his own terms , with his private production company . Hence this little tribute . The recognition would not be misplaced - Selznick's company would eventually become powerful enough to pick the biggest apple on the tree - GONE WITH THE WIND . Benchley's dry wit is most amusing as he cuts the absent Selznick down a peg or two . While he mentions that Selznick was raised in the business - his father was a noted silent film director - he neglects to add that Selznick's marrying Louis B . Mayer's daughter didn't hurt his prospects any , either . Excerpts are shown from the following films : Forgotten Faces ( 1928 ) , The Four Feathers ( 1929 ) , Sarah and Son ( 1930 ) , Street of Chance ( 1930 ) , The Lost Squadron ( 1932 ) , A Bill of Divorcement ( 1932 ) , Bird of Paradise ( 1932 ) , The Animal Kingdom ( 1932 ) , Symphony of Six Million ( 1932 ) , What Price Hollywood ? ( 1932 ) , Dinner at Eight ( 1933 ) , Little Women ( 1933 ) , Dancing Lady ( 1933 ) , King Kong ( 1933 ) , Topaze ( 1933 ) , Manhattan Melodrama ( 1934 ) , Viva Villa ! ( 1934 ) , Anna Karenina ( 1935 ) , David Copperfield ( 1935 ) , A Tale of Two Cities , ( 1935 ) .
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437,425 | 306,861 | 34,913 | 10 |
Superman Versus Axis Villains
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A SUPERMAN Cartoon . When America unveils its colossal new bomber , the JAPOTEURS , an elite force of Japanese spies & saboteurs , strikes . Stealing the behemoth , with intrepid girl reporter Lois Lane aboard , and the destination either Tokyo or destruction , it's time for Superman to get involved . . . This was another in the series of excellent cartoons initially created by Max Fleischer 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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437,228 | 306,861 | 27,678 | 10 |
Salute To A Patriot
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A Vitaphone Technicolor Short Subject . John Henry's passionate ' GIVE ME LIBERTY ' speech in 1775 rouses the Virginia legislators into joining the American Revolution . This fine little film focuses in on Patrick Henry ( 1736-1799 ) and what finally led him to declare his beliefs regarding political separation from Great Britain . Actor John Litel does a magnificent job in performing the great speech which was delivered by Henry at St . John's Church in Richmond . The film errs in putting too much of a romantic twist into the plot , with Henry missing his wife so much that he can't get motivated to make his declaration until he sees her enter the church balcony unexpectedly . The real story is more interesting . Henry's first wife , Sarah Shelton , whom he married in 1754 , had gone completely insane . Mental illness was not understood in the 18th Century and was considered somewhat shameful . It is indeed ironic that Patrick Henry , that great champion of human liberty & freedom , kept his mad wife confined in the cellar . It was not until after her death that he wed Dorothea Dandridge . GIVE ME LIBERTY won the Academy Award for Best Color Short Subject for 1936 . 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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438,297 | 306,861 | 24,396 | 10 |
Accidents Wanted For Mr . Lee Tracy
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J . Phineas Stevens is THE NUISANCE , an ambulance-chasing , authority-defying , woman-ogling lawyer . Pushy & loud , he's the first at the scene of any accident , handing out his cards & demanding his clients ' rights . Both charming & crooked , Stevens usually wins his court cases with street smarts & trickery . But now his powerful legal adversaries have baited a trap , using a very pretty young woman as a spy , to catch Stevens while up to his old tricks . Lee Tracy was perfectly cast in the title role of this fun , forgotten film . With his energetic , go-get-'em , in-your-face acting style , always mixed with a hint of the shady character , Tracy was ideal as talent agents , reporters or shyster lawyers . With his new stardom cemented at Warners , Tracy arrived at MGM in 1933 and immediately appeared in 5 films . He was well on his way to becoming a major star , MGM's answer to Cagney , when he had a spectacular fall from grace in 1934 . He spent most of the rest of his career at minor studios , never reaching his full potential . Today he is all but forgotten , but those fortunate enough to see his films find him to be one of the most refreshing & enjoyable movie actors of the early 1930's . Here , Tracy receives good support from his co-stars : beautiful love interest Madge Evans , a girl with a secret ; Charles Butterworth , funny as an accident faker ; Samuel S . Hinds , John Miljan & David Landau as Tracy's enemies ; Greta Meyer & Herman Bing , hilarious as an amorous Teutonic twosome . Virginia Cherrill has a tiny part as one of Tracy's alluring clients . Movie mavens will spot Nat Pendleton as a street car guard . And Frank Morgan is nothing short of wonderful as the pathetic old alcoholic doctor who loves Tracy like a son and helps him with his schemes .
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437,225 | 306,861 | 32,043 | 10 |
Ghostly Encounters - - Act Two
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Cosmo TOPPER TAKES A TRIP - - with ghostly Marion Kerby and dead dog Atlas - - to the French Riviera in hopes of winning back the estranged Mrs . Topper . Hal Roach Studios presents more of the adventures of Topper in this follow-up to their previous comedy success . Many of the comic situations are highly reminiscent of the first film , but they are still funny and enough new material has been added to engage and hold the viewer's attention . Roland Young & Billie Burke return as the Toppers and they are still a delight - - Mr . Young owlish & serious in the silliest of situations and Miss Burke forever sweetly vague and befuddled . Gorgeous Constance Bennett , as ghostess Marion , remains free-spirited in her ( unwelcome ) attempts to help Cosmo out of his latest pickle . Somber Alan Mowbray is also back - - and in top form - - as the Toppers ' devout butler . Some new costars are on hand to help liven things up : Verree Teasdale plays Mrs . Topper's catty friend ; Franklin Pangborn is the oleaginous manager of the Hotel St . Pierre ; and suave Alexander D'Arcy provides some laughs as a gigolo baron intent on acquiring Miss Burke's money . Movie mavens will recognize George Davis as a temperamental porter and Paul Porcasi as a suspicious casino manager , both uncredited . Atlas is played by that remarkable canine thespian , Asta . Cary Grant appears only in footage lifted from the first film . A couple of scenes in particular are worth waiting for - - the first when Topper , with invisible ghostly help , breaks the bank at the French casino's roulette wheel ; the second comes when D'Arcy is subjected to humiliating indignities on the beach , courtesy of Miss Bennett and Asta . This was the second of a 3-film series , coming after TOPPER ( 1937 ) and followed by TOPPER RETURNS ( 1941 ) .
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437,498 | 306,861 | 53,090 | 10 |
An Excellent Disney Nature Documentary
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A Walt Disney TRUE-LIFE ADVENTURE . The MYSTERIES OF THE DEEP are many and strange . This excellent little film , which focuses on a patch of coral reef , showcases some of the more peculiar habits of its denizens . The constant drive to eat or be eaten is played out by creatures beautiful & bizarre . Highlight : the thieving antics of the jawfish . ' This is one of a series of TRUE-LIFE ADVENTURES presenting strange facts about the world we live in . These films are photographed in their natural settings and are completely authentic , unstaged and unrehearsed . ' Winston Hibler is the narrator .
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438,093 | 306,861 | 41,306 | 10 |
Another Dustup With The Ducks
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A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon . In order to ensure DONALD'S HAPPY BIRTHDAY , Huey , Dewey & Louie must first scheme a way to get the money to buy a gift . This is very much a routine Donald versus the Nephews cartoon , but it's pleasant enough . It is in this film that we learn that Donald's birthday is March 13th . Notice that Louie's name is misspelled ' Luey ' on the birthday card . Clarence Nash provided the voices for the entire Duck clan . 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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437,668 | 306,861 | 30,128 | 10 |
Disney Invites You to Sit Under The Most Famous Cork Tree In Literature
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A Walt Disney Cartoon Short . Young FERDINAND THE BULL wants nothing more than to sit under his favorite cork tree , just smelling the flowers . But he is chosen to fight in the great arena in Madrid , where only the bravest , fiercest bulls have a chance for glory . . . This splendid cartoon , based on Munro Leaf's 1936 classic paean to individualism , is one of Disney's finest . The original story has been left basically intact - no animated mice or ducks , no dancing and / or singing trees & flowers needed here . Robert Lawson's evocative black & white drawings come to life in beautiful color & motion . The animators did have a bit of sly fun : the banderilleros & picadors are caricatures of the artists ; the matador is a spoof of Walt himself ( he was not amused ) . Don Wilson , Jack Benny's decades-long announcer , is an inspired choice as narrator . The personality & character of Ferdinand has been a matter of speculation for years , but the truth of the matter is perhaps best left in the privacy of the bull field . . .
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437,622 | 306,861 | 22,495 | 10 |
Classic Film Of High Adventure
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TRADER HORN , the Great White Hunter , treks into Darkest Africa in search of the long-missing daughter of a lady Missionary . MGM produced one of the seminal adventure classics with this film , a benchmark against which all others would be measured for years to come . Although beset with production difficulties & traumas , including the near death of the leading actress , the film was an eventual triumph . Rarely seen today , it still packs a punch , if for no other reason than its splendid performances and the undeniable impact of its on-location filming . Harry Carey , giving one of the first great performances of the sound era , is perfect in the title role . So well does he inhabit the character like a second skin that it is nearly impossible to imagine anyone else playing the part . Having already starred in innumerable silent Westerns , he brings enormous physicality to a movie which made great demands on its actors . Carey looks & sounds like someone who's spent years in the veldt . The slouch of his hat , the grim set of his eyes , the rough growl of his voice are all just right . Handsome Duncan Renaldo , as Horn's earnest young Spanish companion , and exquisite Edwina Booth , as a white tribal queen , are both admirably suited to their roles . The sparks of their budding , hesitant romance lightens the end of the film . Olive Golden Carey , the star's wife , is radiant in her very small role as a tough , determined but saintly missionary ; the image of her seated in a sedan chair , being carried through the jungle on her endless quest , remains in the mind . Special mention should also be made of Mutia Omoolu , as Horn's gun bearer & friend , adding dignity and strength to his role ; he was rewarded with rare recognition alongside the other performers during the opening credits . Movie mavens will recognize wonderful old Sir C . Aubrey Smith , appearing uncredited for a few moments at the end of the film , in the role of an Irish trader . Director Woody Van Dyke liked working on location , if possible , and so MGM went to the greatly added expense of sending the entire company to Africa . ( Filming would take place in the Territory of Tanganyika , the Protectorate of Uganda , the Colony of Kenya , the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan & the Belgian Congo . ) This proved a great boon to the picture , giving it an authenticity not replicable in any studio back lot . The scenes of the actors beside a tremendous waterfall , floating down a swollen river infested with hippos , or interacting with native Africans are still sensational today . However , the cast and crew were forced to live and work under appalling conditions for many weeks . Miss Booth , one of the most beautiful actresses of the day , caught a ? jungle fever ' which left her deathly ill for years and effectively ended her film career . The attempts of the Studio to shut down the film after the company returned from Africa , and lawsuits & demands for more money on the part of ill-used performers , only added to the acrimony at the time . However , from a vantage point of more than seventy years distance , TRADER HORN has emerged as one of the great adventure movies and a prime example of the sort of film ? they just don't make anymore . '
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438,142 | 306,861 | 20,086 | 10 |
Layin ' Around With The Little Rascals
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An OUR GANG Comedy Short . It's LAZY DAYS for Farina , who is so tired laying in the shade that the least amount of effort is a bother to him . Only Fat Joe Cobb's plan to make money by entering the Gang's younger siblings in a baby contest can get Farina on his feet . An amusing little film , with some good laughs . Chubby makes a unique ' baby ' , to say the least . Highlight : Farina washing his little brother , with help from a bee , frog & monkey .
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437,264 | 306,861 | 47,353 | 10 |
Disney Animates A Little American Classic
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When station-master Flannery takes possession of a couple of guinea pigs , he decrees that PIGS IS PIGS and they will be charged the collection rate for livestock , 48¢ , instead of the pet rate of 44¢ . But McMorehouse the customer , a parsimonious old Scot , refuses to pay the extra four cents and abandons the animals to Flannery's care . And then the guinea piglets start to arrive . . . The Disney version of Ellias Parker Butler's humorous little story makes for an enjoyable cartoon . It is presented in the limited-animation style so popular in the 1950's .
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437,282 | 306,861 | 27,665 | 10 |
Fighting For The Lost Cause With Spanky & Buckwheat
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During the War for Southern Independence , GENERAL SPANKY mobilizes his forces to defend the local women & children against a Yankee invasion . In 1936 , Hal Roach decided it was time for his popular OUR GANG kids to branch out into occasional feature-length films . With the big success of Shirley Temple in two Civil War period movies in 1935 ( THE LITTLE COLONEL , THE LITTLEST REBEL ) , it was only natural that Roach would look in that same direction for his GANG . Although given a rather lavish production and distributed by MGM , GENERAL SPANKY was not a critical or box-office success . The little GANGsters would henceforth stick to short subjects . Although he's given top billing & the title role , George ? Spanky ' McFarland is rivaled throughout the film's first half by little Billie ? Buckwheat ' Thomas . Here were two of the finest young actors to ever appear in American movies . With all the experience of old , seasoned pros , these two gamin could steal scenes & hearts with equal bravado . A constant joy , without a false note between them , they provide the essential reason for watching the film today . Phillips Holmes gives a quiet , gentlemanly performance as Spanky's adult protector . Nearly forgotten now , Holmes was a fine actor who died much too soon , during World War Two . Genial Ralph Morgan is especially good as a sympathetic Union general - his scenes with Spanky are quite amusing . Other OUR GANGers appear midpoint into the movie , most notably Carl ? Alfalfa ' Switzer ; he gets to warble ? Just Before The Battle , Mother . ' Even pretty Rosina Lawrence ( the GANG's schoolmarm ) shows up to play Holmes ' beloved . Irving Pichel is particularly slimy as a cowardly cardsharp turned vindictive Yankee captain . Bumbling Willie Best & feisty Louise Beavers play Miss Lawrence's slaves . It should be noted that there is racism in the film , not unusual for Hollywood of that era - but almost completely missing in the original series of OUR GANG shorts . Fans of 19th Century music will enjoy paying attention to the soundtrack , which is a long succession of ancient tunes .
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437,192 | 306,861 | 30,119 | 10 |
Old MacDisney Had A Farm . . .
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A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short . The FARMYARD SYMPHONY signals the start of another day for the farm animals . Baby colts & calves frolic & scamper , the rooster plights his noisy troth to a svelte hen , and a young pig searches for more food . Set to an amalgam of classic music , this cartoon is short on plot & long on charm . The animals are all well rendered ; in fact , it's fascinating to compare this film to earlier entries in the Symphonies and see just how far the Disney animators had progressed in depicting lifelike farm fauna . It sounds like Clarence Nash & Florence Gill are vocalizing for the ducks & chickens . 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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438,040 | 306,861 | 565 | 10 |
A Christmas Jewel From Edwin S . Porter & Thomas Alva Edison
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' Twas THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS and all through the house not a creature was stirring , not even a mouse . . . The wonderful old poem by Clement C . Moore comes to life in this little silent film . Looking like a Victorian Christmas card , it has all the charm of a bygone era . The special effects , especially the scenic diorama used for St . Nicholas ' ride , are quite effective . Al Kryszak provided the score for the video compilation A Christmas Past , in which this film appears .
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437,821 | 306,861 | 25,748 | 10 |
Stalking The Elusive Pimpernel
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Hidden behind the nom de guerre of THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL , an English lord attempts to snatch a few victims away from Robespierre's insatiable guillotine . The Scarlet Pimpernel , the French Revolution's greatest enemy , first came to life in a 1903 play by the Baroness Orczy and in her subsequent , and almost unreadable , 1905 novel . He was an immediate favorite with both the British & American public and found his finest translation to screen in this lavish movie from Sir Alexander Korda's London Films . It's interesting that the film actually became so popular , because there is very little action in it . It begins with an exciting rescue & escape from dangerous Paris , but then it settles in for lengthy dialogues in English parlors and ballrooms . Even the conclusion , with its confrontation between hero and villain , is civilized and bloodless . The bulk of the story is actually a melodrama enacted principally by a trio of characters : an English husband who believes his Parisian wife has betrayed the Gallic nobility he so loves , she frets that he has lost every scintilla of masculinity , and the French serpent in their midst plots to destroy their entire Eden . The reason the film clicks is because it is so very well written ( celebrated American playwright Robert Sherwood worked on the script ) and acted . Sensitive Leslie Howard is perfectly cast as courageous Sir Percy Blakeney , who must wear a double disguise , that of the Pimpernel to fool the French , and as a complete aristocratic ass to dupe his wife , Marguerite . She is played by the exotic Merle Oberon ; the script allows her to do little more than look frightened or confused , but she does both very nicely . Raymond Massey is properly wicked as the sneering Chauvelin , Revolutionary ambassador and master spy , who desperately desires to capture the Pimpernel . In the large cast it's often a mite difficult to sort out who's who , but a few fine character actors particularly stand out : Nigel Bruce as a stout & pompous Prince of Wales , Bramwell Fletcher as a French priest aiding the Pimpernel , and Melville Cooper as George Romney , the celebrated portraitist , who has to endure a silly critique from Sir Percy . The Baroness Emmuska Magdalena Rosalia Marie Josepha Barbara Orczy ( 1865-1947 ) was a most prolific author with a list of books almost as lengthy as her name . Those wishing to follow the further clashes between Sir Percy and Chauvelin may do so in the many sequels , now mostly quite obscure , which she penned over the next several decades : I Will Repay ( 1906 ) , The Elusive Pimpernel ( 1908 ) , El Dorado ( 1913 ) , Lord Tony's Wife ( 1917 ) , The League Of The Scarlet Pimpernel ( 1919 ) , The Triumph Of The Scarlet Pimpernel ( 1922 ) , Sir Percy Hits Back ( 1927 ) , Adventures Of The Scarlet Pimpernel ( 1929 ) , The Way Of The Scarlet Pimpernel ( 1933 ) , The Scarlet Pimpernel Looks At The World ( 1933 ) , Child Of The Revolution ( 1933 ) , Sir Percy Leads The Band ( 1936 ) and Mam'zelle Guillotine ( 1940 ) . The scarlet pimpernel ( Anagallis arvensis ) is a low spreading herb with a 5-peteled blossom that grows as a weed throughout Northern Europe . The flower closes at rain's approach and opens again with returning sunshine , hence giving rise to its being called ' the poor-man's weatherglass ' or ' the shepherd's barometer . '
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438,189 | 306,861 | 25,746 | 10 |
Dietrich & Old Russia - A Fascinating Phantasmagoria on Film
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An innocent & obscure German princess is sent to Russia to become the wife of Grand Duke Peter , heir to the throne . Her romantic dreams are shattered when she finds her new husband to be a childish imbecile . Quickly growing wise , she soon begins taking lovers from among the military guard . So begins the legendary life of Catherine , Tsarina of Holy Russia , The Messalina of the North , THE SCARLET EMPRESS . A riotous feast for the eyes , this is one of the great , unheralded films of the 1930's - enthralling for its visual impact alone . Seldom has an American film been filled with such lush imagery - tactile , grotesque , fascinating . The Russian royal palace is a charnel house full of ghouls & gargoyles - human & artistic . The actors share the scenes with fantastic statuary , twisting & writhing in silent , unspeakable pain . ( Notice the tiny skeletons on the dining table . ) Everywhere is death , moral decay & barbarism , even in the most powerful court in Europe . At the center of this ossuary is the gorgeous Marlene Dietrich . Her beauty radiates , but never dominates , throughout the film . She is splendid as a young woman in a very dangerous place , who gains courage & great determination in her ordeal . Equally good is Sam Jaffe as Peter ; with his leering grin & demented eyes he is the very picture of a murderous madman . Louise Dresser , as the Empress Elizabeth , is very effective as a comic bully . John Lodge & Gavin Gordon , as Catherine's military lovers , are both stalwart . Wonderful old Sir C . Aubrey Smith has a small role as Catherine's princely father . Film mavens will spot an uncredited Jane Darwell as Catherine's nurse . The highly emotional soundtrack , an amalgam of themes by Tchaikovsky , Mendelssohn & Wagner , explodes in the film's final moments into musical pyrotechnics .
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438,105 | 306,861 | 286,490 | 10 |
Come Travel Under Northern Stars
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THE BEAR , huge and gentle - which makes its way from the London Zoo into the bedroom of a lonely little girl - takes her on a magical journey across the Wintertime landscape . Haunting & evocative , this lovely little animated film - told entirely without narration or dialogue , is a most fitting successor to author Raymond Briggs ' earlier triumph The Snowman , to which , at one point , it pays subtle homage . After enjoying the broad comedy of the Polar Visitor trying to hide in the proper English home , the viewer is swept into the Northern sojourn which fulfills the Bear's quest . Howard Blake's score propels the fanciful images onward ; the final song is sung by Charlotte Church .
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437,635 | 306,861 | 37,400 | 10 |
Sweet Revenge For Mr . Duck
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A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon . Pete's severe lack of musical ability is causing TROMBONE TROUBLE in heaven ( for Jupiter & Vulcan ) and on earth ( for neighbor Donald Duck ) . This humorous little film ( written by the legendary Carl Barks ) takes good advantage of the turning worm gambit , as the pair of Greek gods , whose nap is being ruined by Pete , bestow temporary supernatural powers upon the Duck . The tune Pete is attempting to perform is the Stephen Foster classic , ' Old Black Joe . ' Clarence Nash provides 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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438,155 | 306,861 | 12,642 | 10 |
Caught In A Souk With Mr . Lloyd
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A Hal Roach HAROLD LLOYD Film . A conceited young twerp joins the Navy to impress his girl and becomes A SAILOR-MADE MAN . Big changes were in store for popular silent comic Harold Lloyd with the production of this film . Up until this point he had specialized in short subjects and his distribution agreement with Pathé allowed him to make only two-reelers . But the gags in A SAILOR-MADE MAN grew to be so funny and complicated that Harold kept adding to the picture until the final cut ran a tad over 45 minutes - extremely unusual for comedies in 1921 . Pathé took the chance and released it ; audiences were delighted , which pleased everyone . Lloyd was to make only feature-length films from that point on . The film breaks neatly into three parts , with the insufferably insensitive Harold in the first segment infuriating nearly everyone until his comeuppance in a Naval recruiting station . In the middle segment Harold has a series of shipboard adventures mostly dealing with the big boat's bully . Finally , and rather unexpectedly , the plot throws Harold into a wonderful escapade straight out of the Arabian Nights , as he confronts the mad Maharajah of an Oriental kingdom who has kidnapped Harold's girl . There are plenty of fakirs and scimitars and hairbreadth escapes , all punctuated by Harold's splendid athletic exuberance . Mildred Davis plays Harold's distressed love . Noah Young , who appeared in many of Lloyd's films , is great fun as the thuggish seaman who becomes Harold's best buddy . Dick Sutherland is properly repulsive as the monkey-faced potentate . Harold loved filming on location and for this film he took his cameras to the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Port of Los Angeles . Robert Israel has composed an excellent film score which perfectly complements Harold's antics on the screen .
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437,768 | 306,861 | 27,657 | 10 |
Love & Destiny in the Sahara
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North Africa in the 1930's . To a small Arab town on the edge of the Sahara comes a beautiful woman looking for meaning to her life & a handsome Trappist monk fleeing from his crisis of faith . They will meet and passions will be stirred , but not even the Sand Diviner knows if they will find happiness or sorrow , here , in THE GARDEN OF ALLAH . The plot is pure hokum , but the film is still great fun & beautiful to look at . Marlene Dietrich & Charles Boyer are a superb screen couple . She is , to put it simply , gorgeous , and Boyer gives a most effective , understated performance , letting his sensitive face do much of the acting for him . ( Dietrich had wanted her lover , John Gilbert , to have the leading male role , and he had gone so far as to have color tests made , but he died unexpectedly before shooting could begin . ) The supporting cast is excellent : Basil Rathbone , in a sympathetic role as a Count who loves the desert ; Joseph Schildkraut as a friendly , talkative guide ( all the " Arabic " he & others speak in the film is pure gibberish ) ; Lucile Watson as a gentle Mother Superior ; Alan Marshal as an honorable young French officer ; Tilly Losch as a dangerous dancer ; Henry Brandon as a comic porter ; John Carradine as the mysterious Sand Diviner ; and magnificent Sir C . Aubrey Smith as a wise old priest . Movie mavens will recognize Helen Jerome Eddy as a nun ; Marcia Mae Jones & Bonita Granville ( peeking over the nun's shoulder ) as convent girls ; gaunt Nigel De Brulier as a monastery lector ; and Ferdinand Gottschalk as a hotel clerk , all uncredited . Color films of the 1930's are both rare & lovely to look at , and this movie is no exception - the cinematography is as colorful as the desert itself . THE GARDEN OF ALLAH was the first Technicolor film to be shot on location . Yuma , Arizona gave the film makers all the sand dunes they could desire , but contaminated drinking water & 135 degree heat soon had the company in revolt . When the daily rushes showed Boyer's face had burned a bright tomato red , producer David O . Selznick finally gave in . The remainder of the film was shot on a Hollywood sound stage .
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437,174 | 306,861 | 215,100 | 10 |
Quality Retelling Of Classic Tale
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Two small creatures have separate , but equally exciting , adventures - one on a lily pond , the other in a farmer's vegetable garden . Paired together on one video , Beatrix Potter's classic stories THE TALE OF MR . JEREMY FISHER & THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT make for excellent viewing . The quiet , faithful retelling by the folks at Rabbit Ears is sure to delight children of all ages . Meryl Streep's calm , elegant narration , along with David Jorgensen's pastel drawings & Lyle Mays friendly music , do much to enhance the success of this little film .
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437,175 | 306,861 | 215,101 | 10 |
Excellent Retelling Of Classic Tale
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Two small creatures have separate , but equally exciting , adventures - one on a lily pond , the other in a farmer's vegetable garden . Paired together on one video , Beatrix Potter's classic stories THE TALE OF MR . JEREMY FISHER & THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT make for excellent viewing . The quiet , faithful retelling by the folks at Rabbit Ears is sure to delight children of all ages . Meryl Streep's calm , elegant narration , along with David Jorgensen's pastel drawings & Lyle Mays friendly music , do much to enhance the success of this little film .
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438,292 | 306,861 | 67,731 | 10 |
Oscar Wilde Fairy Tale Comes To Animated Life
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THE SELFISH GIANT who owns a beautiful garden surrounds it with a wall so the local children cannot play there . He is to be taught lessons of humility & kindness in a most poignant fashion . Oscar Wilde's lovely fable is given an excellent animated interpretation in this little film . The story comes through clearly , while the rendering of the drawings resembles medieval artwork . Notice how even the choice of background music gives the opening credits a monastic feel . To their credit , the producers do not shy away from the Christian symbolism of the original story's ending . Christianity was in high favor as a romantic ideal in the late Victorian era . Even such a notorious cynic as Wilde admired the ideals of Christian purity & holiness , even as he seemed incapable of incorporating these same values into his private life . With a fine narration by Paul Hecht & vocals from The King Singers , this is a video gem of high quality .
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438,287 | 306,861 | 215,102 | 10 |
Peaceful Retelling Of Lovely Old Story
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THE VELVETEEN RABBIT , the beloved plaything of a little boy , wants nothing more than for the child's love to help him become a real rabbit . From the folks at Rabbit Ears comes this gentle version of the classic Margery Williams story . Its dreamy atmosphere should be appreciated by viewers young & old . Meryl Streep gives an excellent narration , quietly telling the tale with her soothing voice . George Winston's tinkling music & David Jorgensen's beautiful drawings complement the production perfectly .
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438,196 | 306,861 | 43,486 | 10 |
A Flustered Duck Tale
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A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon . Visiting the old Bar-None Ranch , Donald the DUDE DUCK has his hands full in just getting his assigned horse , Rover Boy # 6 , to give him a ride . The main enjoyment in this little film comes from watching Donald's growing impatience at not getting the horseback riding he's obviously paid for . The Disney artists used the rotoscope technique in portraying the human young ladies as they arrive at the Ranch . Although he gave a frisky performance , this would be Rover Boy's only appearance in a Disney cartoon . Clarence " Ducky " Nash supplied Donald with his unique 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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438,286 | 306,861 | 215,103 | 10 |
Delightful Fairy Tale Retold
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Through a series of adventures with various creatures , tiny THUMBELINA continues to search for true love & happiness . This is a fine entry in the series of classic tales from the folks at Rabbit Ears . Hans Christian Andersen's diminutive heroine comes alive in a thoughtful , sometimes humorous production . The narration by Kelly McGillis , drawings by David Johnson , and Mark Isham's music are all first-rate . This little film should please all those who love fairy stories .
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437,370 | 306,861 | 33,568 | 10 |
Fiddledeedee
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A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon . It's EARLY TO BED for a very tired Donald - too bad his alarm clock & fold-up bed are determined to keep him awake . Here is a very funny little film which should have any insomniac viewer sympathizing with the Duck . The legendary Carl Barks was one of the writers on this project . Donald's muttered asides , as voiced by the inimitable Clarence Nash , are hilarious . 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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437,197 | 306,861 | 24,403 | 10 |
Disney Meets Mother Goose
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A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short . An invitation is sent by OLD KING COLE to a party at his royal castle . The storybooks open and soon the denizens from many a Nursery Rhyme & Fairy Tale are hurrying to attend . The Three Little Kittens , Humpty Dumpty , & Goosey Gander are among those that entertain the crowd , but when the Ten Little Indian Boys start to dance things really get raucous . Joined first by the King , and then by the audience , wild reveling extends right up to midnight , when all of the guests scurry home . This is a pleasant little film , which allows the quick-eyed viewer the chance to play ' Name That Character ' . 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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437,171 | 306,861 | 215,097 | 10 |
A Rambunctious Retelling Of Tall Tale
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It was the Winter of the Blue Snow when mighty PAUL BUNYAN first showed up at the logging camp . In next to no time , this giant of a man had set about revolutionizing the whole timber business . This old American tall tale has been given a lively presentation by the Rabbit Ears folks . A somewhat surprising , but not inappropriate , environmental deference has been added to the conclusion . Teaming Jonathan Winters ' rollicking narration with the lyrical guitar of Leo Kottke was nothing short of inspired . The cartoon-like illustrations of Rick Meyerowitz add to the good humor .
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437,744 | 306,861 | 154,431 | 10 |
A Lively Two-Reeler
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A Vitaphone Broadway Brevity . When her American husband neglects her , a French wife remembers that DU BARRY DID ALL RIGHT financially after acquiring a powerful lover . . . Corsican stage star Irene Boldoni ( 1895-1953 ) , in a rare film appearance , is pert & spunky in the leading role in this fast-moving short subject . Novelty dancers Eddie Noll & Marian Nolan prove they are limber to an amazing degree . Waiter Charles Carrer does some eye-popping juggling tricks with wine glasses & bottles . Movie mavens should spot an uncredited Percy Helton as a hotel desk clerk . After appearing in a handful of silent films - he's best remembered as Abraham Lincoln in D . W . Griffith's THE BIRTH OF A NATION ( 1915 ) - Joseph Henabery ( 1888-1976 ) moved behind the camera . During the next 25 years he would direct 83 films , of which this was one . Operettas were idea subject matter for early talky two-reelers . They were swiftly paced , colorful ( even in black & white ) and rather cheap to produce , utilizing as they did the sets & costumes of feature films . Their brief length negated any need for character exposition and the stories were easy to follow , even when sung by heavily accented voices . Best of all , they were full of Sound , and that was still enough of a novelty to keep most audiences from becoming overly critical or expectant of anything smacking of real art .
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437,177 | 306,861 | 215,098 | 10 |
Fine Film Of Brothers Grimm Folk Tale
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THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE who are given magical wishes from an enchanted flounder learn a valuable lesson about pride & greed . This wonderful old tale from the Brothers Grimm is given a spirited interpretation by the folks at Rabbit Ears . Their faithful retellings of many classic stories has been a real gift to lovers of children's literature . Jodie Foster's narration , the music by Van Dyke Parks , and Diana Bryan's humorous silhouette drawings all add to the success of this little film .
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438,288 | 306,861 | 215,099 | 10 |
Gentle , Evocative Telling Of Classic Tale
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THE STEADFAST TIN SOLDIER - with only one leg - adores the beautiful papier-mâché ballerina . And through all the trials & tribulations about to beset him , he remains true to his duty & to his love . From the splendid Rabbit Ears series of videos , this is a very lovely adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen classic which is sure to charm any thoughtful or romantic viewer . The story , which like all truly great children's literature is best understood by adults , can be enjoyed on more than one level . David Jorgensen's misty drawings & Mark Isham's martial music complement the narrative exactly . Jeremy Irons is the perfect choice for narrator . His calm , rich voice tells the tale in all its beautiful simplicity , from beginning to heartbreaking end .
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437,530 | 306,861 | 32,049 | 10 |
Vivid Acting Brings Royal Drama To Life
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From the confines of the gloomy TOWER OF London , Richard , the treacherous Duke of Gloucester , murders his way to the throne of England . This lively & enjoyable pseudo-historical drama presents some surprisingly good performances which do much to elevate the film and make it quite enjoyable . Basil Rathbone is excellent as Richard , leering & smirking , dangerous as a poisonous serpent , he takes what could be a rather hammy part and gives it a certain malevolent stature . Here was a villain able to charm , coddle or kill his own brothers with equal skill . Rathbone makes him quite believable . ( Oddly , while carrying Richard's humpback , Rathbone ignores the King's withered left arm . ) Although this is not a horror film , Boris Karloff's Mord the Executioner is a very horrific character . Bald headed & club-footed , he stalks about the Tower carrying out Richard's foul orders . Karloff makes an indelible mark in his very first scene , inflicting more torments on the denizens of the torture chamber . With such a striking performance , as well as his status as one of Universal's most celebrated actors , it is strange that Karloff doesn't receive equal billing with Rathbone here . Vincent Price does very well in the role of the nervous , jealous , doomed Duke of Clarence , holding up nicely to the over-the-top performances of Rathbone & Karloff . ( It is fascinating to see this early teaming of the three frightmeisters ; the next time they would all appear in the same film would be in 1963's THE COMEDY OF TERRORS . ) Special mention should be made of Ian Hunter as Edward IV . While acquiescing to all of Rathbone's bloody schemes , Hunter nonetheless injects an element of sardonic humor into the role , making it very entertaining . Barbara O'Neil as stately Queen Elizabeth , Nan Grey as spunky Lady Alice & Rose Hobart as lovely Anne Neville each do good work in roles which demand little from any of the actresses . The supporting cast is sprinkled with familiar faces - Leo G . Carroll , Miles Mander , Lionel Belmore , Ernest Cossart - each excellent in small roles . Far down the cast list is Ralph Forbes as Henry Tudor . This splendid actor was on the very cusp of becoming a major star at the end of the silent era ; although gifted with a fine speaking voice , he was never able to achieve his full potential in talking films . Movie mavens will recognize uncredited appearances by both Robert Greig as a friendly priest & Nigel de Brulier as the archbishop who marries little Edward V . Universal gives the film a fine gloss , with good atmospherics . The exterior London scenes look impressive on the screen . The film presupposes a certain amount of intelligent knowledge to already be in the hands of the audience . Indeed , a working acquaintance with the facts surrounding the Wars of the Roses & the English Line of Succession could only be of help to the viewer in unraveling the intricate plot . TOWER OF London should be enjoyed as entertainment , not accepted as historical fact . Modern research is slowly overturning many of the old beliefs concerning Richard of Gloucester . As a result , he is emerging as a far less bloody individual and one who may have been pilloried for centuries by an unfriendly press . Shakespeare , it should be remembered , was writing for the Tudors - who may have had their own dark ancestral deeds to hide . Indeed , there is much creditable speculation that it was actually Henry Tudor who had the young Tower Princes murdered .
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436,998 | 306,861 | 20,053 | 10 |
Mr . Mouse & His Performing Frankfurters
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A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon . Mickey , THE KARNIVAL KID , woos Minnie the Shimmy Dancer . Full of the quirky humor of artist Ub Iwerks , this very enjoyable black & white film is a delight . Despite its age , the animation has an unexpected panache , with Mickey's hot dogs stealing the show . Look for an early cameo by Clarabelle Cow as the bovine attached to the balloon . Mickey's voice does not sound like Walt Disney this time . 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 always pay off .
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437,321 | 306,861 | 27,700 | 10 |
Don't Miss It ! !
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Old-time movie buffs - and anyone interested in the Bible - should not miss this film if they have the chance to see it . It tells the stories of the Old Testament , with an all African American cast , with the gloss typical of 1930's Warner Brothers . Highlights include the first scenes in Heaven and just about anything with Rex Ingram . He gives The Almighty great weight & serenity ; he also plays Adam . Acting is good throughout and some of the special effects are still fun to watch .
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438,148 | 306,861 | 120,020 | 10 |
Kipling Tale Well Told
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Just listen , oh best beloved , and learn HOW THE LEOPARD GOT HIS SPOTS . Another tale from the Just So Stories , Rudyard Kipling's sly spoof of evolutionary theory , is brought to vibrant life by the folks at Rabbit Ears . Danny Glover's performance as the narrator is the essential companion to Lori Lohstoeter's colorful drawings and the elemental music of Ladysmith Black Mambazo .
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