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438,008 | 306,861 | 221,167 | 10 |
The Pooch Parade
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A COLOR PARADE Short Subject . A call goes out to cast two canines for a short scene in a feature film and FAMOUS MOVIE DOGS from around Hollywood arrive with their owners to audition . This very amusing little picture shows the care which goes into the selection & training of canis familiaris for the movies . Several veteran dogs appear , most notably Asta from the THIN MAN series . The film is dedicated to the memory of Rin-Tin-Tin ; John Deering is the commentator . Often overlooked or neglected today , the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents , both in front & behind the camera . The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film , something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel . Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material , short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios ' feature films .
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437,036 | 306,861 | 36,191 | 10 |
Fascist Fantasy
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The fabulous exploits of Baron MÜNCHHAUSEN include several wars , numerous plots and beautiful women without number . At the height of World War Two , as the tide was beginning to turn against the Third Reich , Hitler's Minister of Propaganda , Joseph Goebbels commissioned this lavish motion picture as a commemoration of the 25th anniversary of Ufa , the government-run German film association . More importantly , it was also to be a rival of the great fantasy films which had come from the Allied nations , such as THE WIZARD OF OZ ( 1939 ) and THE THIEF OF BAGDAD ( 1940 ) . In that it succeeds brilliantly and needs no comparison to any other film . The film is a great , lighthearted romp as it follows the adventures of the Baron from Prussia to St . Petersburg , Constantinople , Venice and even the Moon . It is fascinating to see the high quality which the Germans were still able to lavish on the picture , even as their Empire was beginning to crumble around them . The production values are of a very high order and the Technicolor photography is sumptuous to the eye . Remarkably , there is no National Socialist propaganda in the film and the War is never mentioned . In the title role , Hans Albers gives a surprisingly sensitive performance for such a robust production . He takes the legendary character and gives the viewer a portrait of a dashing , reflective , amorous , compassionate , resourceful man . Whether riding on a cannonball , ingratiating himself with the Ottoman Sultan , or examining the fantastic flora of the lunar planet , Albers always makes Münchhausen totally believable . All the acting is of a high order , but especially worthy of mention are Ferdinand Marian as the mysterious Count Cagliostro , Brigitte Horney as a flirtatious Catherine the Great , and Gustav Waldau as an aging Casanova . It should be mentioned that this is not a movie for children . Given its European origins it should come as no surprise that MÜNCHHAUSEN is a good deal more libidinous than the standard Hollywood fare of the time . There was a real Baron Karl Friedrich Hieronymus von Münchhausen ( 1720-1797 ) , a German adventurer and teller of tall tales , but he had nothing to do with the book of fictional exploits which borrowed his name , written by Rudolf Erich Raspe ( 1737-1794 ) , upon which this film was based .
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437,591 | 306,861 | 34,247 | 10 |
Superman's First Cartoon Adventure
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A SUPERMAN Cartoon . A mad scientist turns his death ray on Metropolis to begin destroying bridges & buildings . Intrepid reporter Lois Lane crashes her plane directly in the madman ? s front yard . With Lois a prisoner & the death ray once again in operation , it looks like a job for SUPERMAN ! This was the first in a series of excellent cartoons Max Fleischer produced for Paramount Studio . They feature great animation and taut , fast-moving plots . Meant to be shown in movie theaters , they are miles ahead of their Saturday Morning counterparts .
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438,251 | 306,861 | 243,792 | 10 |
Shades Of Blue
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A Walt Disney Cartoon . A pair of storks find tranquility in the moonlit sanctuary of the BLUE BAYOU . This tiny extract from Disney's MAKE MINE MUSIC ( 1946 ) hasn't any dialogue and only the merest whisper of a plot . What it does have is a remarkable feeling of deep , otherworldly peace - a chance for a few moments to find a little rest within the confines of a hectic multi-episode animated film . It also is an excellent example of what Walt's animators were able to achieve with just one primary color . 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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438,014 | 306,861 | 261,265 | 10 |
Much Joy From A Small Bear
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An inquisitive young bear wanders into the hills where he chances upon a splendid musical performance staged only once every couple of hundred years - by frogs . RUPERT AND THE FROG SONG is an utterly charming little film which should not fail to delight the most jaded viewer . Beginning subtly , it moves toward a dramatic climax during the Frog Song - exuberantly achieving its emotional apex with kaleidoscopic color & lilting sound . Rupert was created by artist Mary Tourtel in 1920 and he has won generations of fans who eagerly follow his continuing adventures in the Daily Express newspaper . Since his inception , Rupert has personified the gentle joys & sweet innocence of childhood . It is precisely these qualities which this film so perfectly grasps . Sir Paul McCartney took on the project of creating RUPERT AND THE FROG SONG as a true labor of love . Not only did he co-author the storyline and executive co-produce ( sharing both duties with wife Linda ) , Sir Paul also wrote & composed the very cheerful song ' We All Stand Together , ' performed several of the speaking voices and arranged the music with Sir George Martin . The result for this small gem was a much deserved British Academy Award . Singing voices for the frog chorus were supplied by The St . Paul's Choir & The King Singers .
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438,001 | 306,861 | 14,218 | 10 |
Mr . Keaton Is All At Sea
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A BUSTER KEATON Silent Short . Shanghaied at sea , Buster must keep clear of the skipper of THE LOVE NEST , a scurvy old ruffian who enjoys murder & mayhem . Keaton takes some very serious ideas and develops them into a hilarious little film full of wild sight gags . Sadly , this marked the final appearance by Joe Roberts , who died in October 1923 . Joe played memorable villains , huge & mustachioed , in many of Keaton's early films and was always great fun to watch . He was only 52 at the time of his death . 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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437,547 | 306,861 | 25,211 | 10 |
Mickey's Lilliputian Adventure
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A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon . GULLIVER MICKEY enthralls his young nephews with the story of his adventures among the tiny people of a faraway land . With a nod of acknowledgement to Jonathan Swift , this is a well-made little black & white film featuring very fine animation of the miniature world Mickey discovers . Sleepy Pluto makes a tiny cameo appearance . Walt Disney gave the Mouse his squeaky voice . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off .
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437,616 | 306,861 | 34,241 | 10 |
The Sultan of Swing Meets The Ice Queen
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A Norwegian refugee schemes to catch the man she loves - a swing band pianist . Maybe a little SUN VALLEY SERENADE will do the trick . . . Sonja Henie was Norway's ice queen when she won Olympic gold medals in 1928 , 1932 & 1936 . After going professional , she began a celebrated movie career at 20th Century Fox in 1936 with her American film debut , ONE IN A MILLION . Beautiful & talented , as well as being a natural in front of the cameras , she carved out her own special niche during Hollywood's Golden Age . Although Miss 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 Miss 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 . SUN VALLEY SERENADE is no exception and its story is often quite silly . Also , Sonja is not given nearly enough skating time to really satisfy her fans . However , Sonja's costars do offer some compensation . First among these should be the incomparable Glenn Miller , who appears with his band . Although his character is left pretty much a cipher , his marvelous music more than adequately speaks for itself . Gentle & soft-spoken , he nevertheless provides the strongest competition yet , in any of her films , to capturing the viewers ' attention away from Henie . The Miller Band performs ? In The Mood ' and the absolute definitive version of ? Chattanooga Choo Choo , ' which is further enhanced with performances by the fancy-jumping Nicholas Brothers ( Harold & Fayard ) and the beautiful Dorothy Dandridge . Fans of the Swing Era should recognize several of Glenn's band members , including saxophonist Tex Beneke , all of whom appear uncredited . John Payne plays Sonja's love interest , and she goes to great lengths to get him , including the willingness to compromise her moral character . Fortunately , the plot doesn't take her that far . Lovely Lynn Bari is the vocalist also interested in Payne , and the script does her something of a disservice , letting her appear sweet & charming until its time to clear the decks for Henie , at which point Miss Bari's character becomes a jealous virago . Perhaps in films such as this it isn't wise to delve too far into the nuances of characterization . . . Milton Berle plays the band's loudmouthed publicity agent . Comedienne Joan Davis , who had already enlivened a couple of Henie's films , makes three appearances so brief as to be little more than a cameo . 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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437,518 | 306,861 | 22,962 | 10 |
Mickey Delivers The Goods
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A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon . Mickey , THE GROCERY BOY , makes a delivery to Minnie - which is interrupted by Pluto's unfortunate interest in the baked turkey in Minnie's oven . . . This is an enjoyable little black & white film , with fine animation and a strong sense of fun . Walt Disney supplies Mickey's squeaky voice . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Bambi , Peter Pan and Mr . Toad . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off .
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437,546 | 306,861 | 206,919 | 10 |
Things That Go Bump In The Night
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A Walt Disney Short Subject . Through the millennia mankind has always been interested in - and afraid of - the unknown . His imagination has allowed him to invent colorful explanations for natural phenomena , but still some intriguing questions linger . MAN , MONSTERS AND MYSTERIES is an entertaining little film which briefly looks at the history of man's belief in fantastic creatures and then spends the bulk of the remaining time exploring one of the greatest mysteries of all - the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland . A good deal of information is given , both legendary & factual , eyewitnesses are heard from , scientific evidence is reviewed and the viewers are allowed to form their own conclusions . The film is helped tremendously by the talents of Sebastian Cabot as the friendly narrator and Sterling Holloway as the voice of the animated Nessie .
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437,222 | 306,861 | 34,303 | 10 |
Ghostly Encounters - - Act Three
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Cosmo TOPPER RETURNS and this time he's involved with murder ! Hal Roach Studios presents one more look at the continued supernatural adventures of Cosmo Topper . The Old Dark House routine is trotted out as our hero finds himself in a spooky cliff-top mansion replete with strange disappearances , hidden passageways and a fiendish knife-wielding killer . Roland Young & Billie Burke are back one final time as the Toppers and they remain a delight - - Mr . Young owl-like & serious in the scariest of situations and Miss Burke forever sweetly vague and befuddled . They are joined by vivacious Joan Blondell ( who actually snags top billing ) as a ghostess intent on forcing poor Topper into discovering who's just murdered her . More new costars are on hand to help liven things up : lovely Carole Landis as a rich girl in much need of protection ; Dennis O'Keefe as a taxi driver willing to provide that protection ; gaunt H . B . Warner as Miss Landis ' invalid father ; menacing George Zucco as his sinister doctor ; Rafaela Ottiano as a frightened housekeeper ; Donald MacBride as a moronic cop ; and the delightful Patsy Kelly , underused as the Toppers ' tough maid . Best of all is Eddie ' Rochester ' Anderson , ' more or less playing himself ( he even makes a gag about returning to ' Mr . Benny ' ) who rivals Miss Burke in getting the best lines in the picture . Contemporary references to Orson Welles ' radio plays and the Alfred Hitchcock movie REBECCA ( 1940 ) should amuse cognoscenti . The serious viewer must not expect to have all the mysteries solved by film's end ; indeed , most of the loose ends remain resolutely untied . Just sit back and enjoy the comedic chills served-up by this group of very fine performers . This was the third of a 3-film series , coming after TOPPER ( 1937 ) and TOPPER TAKES A TRIP ( 1939 ) .
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438,261 | 306,861 | 18,618 | 10 |
Come Sail The High Seas Of Adventure With Ramon Novarro
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Two brothers dream of their love for the same girl back home , while aboard ship sailing ACROSS TO SINGAPORE . Based on the famous adventure story ? All The Brothers Were Valiant ' by Ben Ames Williams , this is a rousing silent film which features strong action & good acting . The production values are first-rate , as is to be expected from MGM . Although the plot becomes somewhat ludicrous - the hero kidnaps the heroine off to the Orient where they confront a dastardly mutiny - the film is certainly never dull . Ramon Novarro stars as the youngest son in a sea-faring family of hardy men . ( The Studio kept their Mexican star constantly roaming from one ethnic identity to another ; here he plays Anglo-Saxon . ) Giving a typically robust performance , Novarro is not lacking in the heroics necessary to beguile his audience . It is unfortunate that Novarro's films , silent & sound , with the exception of BEN-HUR ( 1925 ) , are all but forgotten today . Big , blustering Ernest Torrence steals more than a scene or two as Novarro's sea captain brother ; gruff & gentle by turns , he is indeed valiant . Joan Crawford , early in her film career , is the object of both brothers ' affections . Just when she seems a mite too demure , Joan's fire begins to spark ; she also proves to be a surprisingly good pistol shot during the mutiny . Movie mavens will recognize an unbilled Anna May Wong as a Celestial temptress .
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437,835 | 306,861 | 20,754 | 10 |
Charlie Ruggles Shines In Comedic Caper
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Romantic complications abound when a zany young nobleman at Oxford is persuaded to impersonate his friend CHARLEY'S AUNT from Brazil - - where the nuts come from . . . Although quite an antique - with its faded print & missing moments - this ancient talkie version of the Brandon Thomas chestnut looks like what it is : a filmed version of the play , full of slapstick & mistaken identities . However , it is remarkable for containing one of the first great comedy performances of the sound cinema - Charlie Ruggles in the title role . Although at 44 he's too old to be playing a college boy , and his American accent initially seems a bit out of place , Ruggles soon dominates the proceedings with his shameless acting . Flouncing about in a granny dress , shawl & curls , flirting outrageously with two silly old men , taking pratfalls , mugging the camera , he is absolutely hilarious . Off to a good start , for the next 40 years Ruggles would be considered one of Hollywood's ablest character actors . Supporting him are some fine British stalwarts - Halliwell Hobbes , Doris Lloyd , Hugh Williams . Together with Charlie Ruggles , they make this seldom-seen film an entertaining treat for modern viewers .
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438,131 | 306,861 | 20,752 | 10 |
Breakin ' Rocks With Mr . Mouse
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A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon . Mickey Mouse attempts a daring escape from THE CHAIN GANG which holds him captive . This enjoyable little black & white cartoon is notable as the film debut for Pluto , who does double duty by playing both of the bloodhounds which chase Mickey into the swamp . Clarabelle Cow is one of the inmates on the chain & Pegleg Pete portrays one of the scurvy guards . That's the classic ' Prisoner Song ' which the Mouse and his buddies perform shortly before the escape attempt . Walt Disney provides Mickey with his squeaky voice . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a 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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438,162 | 306,861 | 25,153 | 10 |
Disney Ventures Into Bunny Land
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A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short . The FUNNY LITTLE BUNNIES are energetically getting ready for Easter by making & decorating chocolate eggs , and , with the help of some friendly hens , hard-boiled Easter eggs . A lively and extremely visual cartoon , with lots of bright colors ( wonder if the animators got their paints from the rainbow , too , like the bunnies ? ) . What the film lacks in plot it makes up in the imaginative way in which the treats are produced . It sounds as though Florence Gill supplied the voice for the hens . Major complaint is the unnecessary use of blind , cross-eyed & elderly gags - Walt should have known better . 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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438,254 | 306,861 | 230,318 | 10 |
Disney's Safety Tips
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A Walt Disney I'M NO FOOL Cartoon . It's easy to prove that I'M NO FOOL WITH ELECTRICITY if I pay attention to Jiminy Cricket's admonitions . This is one of a short series of little television films in which Disney helped to inform viewers about basic safety concerns and the foolish ways in which lackadaisical folks can hurt themselves . The story of man's involvement with electricity since caveman days is also discussed . Jiminy Cricket , as voiced by the inimitable Cliff Edwards , is the perfect teacher . 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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437,513 | 306,861 | 230,319 | 10 |
Safety Tips From Disney
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A Walt Disney I'M NO FOOL Cartoon . I'M NO FOOL WITH FIRE , this strange & wonderful thing which can be my best friend or my worst enemy . This is one of a short series of little television films in which Disney helped to inform viewers about basic safety concerns and the foolish ways in which lackadaisical folks can hurt themselves . The story of man's use of fire since caveman days is discussed - as well as the consequences for not respecting its dangerous power . Jiminy Cricket , as voiced by the inimitable Cliff Edwards , is the perfect pedagogue . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work will always pay off .
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437,124 | 306,861 | 22,916 | 10 |
Hilarity As Our Gang Hits The Highway
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An OUR GANG Comedy Short . Rich kid Dickie has a stiff neck and his mother insists on treating him like an invalid . After his pal Stymie hears the doctor say that Dickie needs to get out & have some excitement in his life , Stymie takes him for a ride in the Gang's new taxi , which is operated by mule power . But the ornery critter breaks loose - leaving the vehicle without breaks . With a steep hill & dangerous curves ahead , it looks like little Dickie is in for plenty of excitement - now that they're FREE WHEELING . This is a funny little film with a couple of very cute moments : Dickie & his nurse tricking each other into taking castor oil and Spanky's encounter with a monkey . The taxi itself is quite ingenious and should delight gadget-minded viewers .
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437,549 | 306,861 | 34,295 | 10 |
Tall Trouble For A Hungry Duck
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A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon . Caught stealing food , hobo Donald is forced to work in Pete's TIMBER camp . Donald gives another robust performance in this funny little film . For the sake of the plot , Pete goes by the name of ' Pierre ' and assumes a phony French accent . The legendary Carl Barks was one of the writers of the script ; Clarence Nash gives Donald his unique voice . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off .
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437,297 | 306,861 | 22,915 | 10 |
Catching Crooks With The Little Rascals
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An OUR GANG Comedy ShortA wealthy matron is giving FREE EATS to the poor kiddies of the town at her mansion . A ' family ' of crooks thinks this would be an excellent opportunity for the ' babies ' - actually two midgets - to steal pocketbooks & jewelry . Fortunately Stymie and the Rascals are on hand . . . A funny film , with good performances from all the little people . Film mavens will recognize Billy Gilbert & Paul Fix as ' Papa ' & " Mama " crook ; that's Major Mite & Tiny Lawrence as the two ' fidgets ' . Incidentally , this was Spanky McFarland's film debut with the Gang . It was evident immediately that he had natural charm & enormous talent . Eventually he would be the most famous Rascal of them all .
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437,937 | 306,861 | 25,161 | 10 |
Stanwyck Shines In Slick Soap
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A high-minded GAMBLING LADY runs into trouble when she becomes connected with a society family . Breezy & entertaining , this was the sort of film which Warner Brothers created with such ease . Blessed with good acting & fine production values , these pictures were generally guaranteed to be crowd pleasers . As always , Barbara Stanwyck is utterly fascinating to watch . Not only talented & lovely , Stanwyck's great forte was her utter believability in any role she undertook . Here , she looks perfectly natural with a deck of cards in her hand , playing & dealing . Her authenticity is matched by the passion which she displayed with every performance . Her leading men are two of the best : rich boy Joel McCrea & genial crook Pat O'Brien - both do well by their roles . Given equal billing , the viewer is left guessing for quite a while which one will finish the film in Stanwyck's arms . Excellent support is given by marvelous old Sir C . Aubrey Smith as a kindly gentleman who befriends Stanwyck , Arthur Vinton as the head of a notorious Gambling Syndicate & eccentric little Ferdinand Gottschalk as Sir Aubrey's lawyer . Movie mavens will recognize Willie Fung as a member of the Syndicate , and Arthur Treacher & Louise Beavers as Sir Aubrey's butler & cook - all uncredited .
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437,353 | 306,861 | 22,913 | 10 |
Visit This Sideshow at Your Peril
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A forest glade somewhere in Europe . A warm , sunny day with children playing on the grass . But the camera moves closer and reveals that something is terribly wrong . For these are not children , but tragically misshapen human beings . Pinheads . Dwarfs . A young man with only half a body . A man without arms or legs . These are the Freaks . In 1932 , director Tod Browning , fresh from his success with DRACULA , was instructed by Irving Thalberg to top FRANKENSTEIN . He succeeded . The resulting film was considered so ghastly that it was banned in Britain for 30 years . It is the strangest film MGM ever released . Browning wanted to tell a tale of love , greed & revenge set in a circus , most particularly in the sideshow of human anomalies . He scoured Europe & America for the perfect cast . He got them : Violet & Daisy Hilton , the celebrated Siamese twins ; dwarf brother & sister Harry & Daisy Earles ; Johnny Eck the Half Boy ( a good actor , he will remain in your mind a long time ) ; the tragic Josephine Joseph , a hermaphrodite ; as well as a human skeleton , armless girls and the female pinheads , among others . While the plot is exploitive & the title tasteless , these people show us glimpses of their hearts , some of the agony of their condition and make us wonder , ' What if I'd been born as one of them ? ' The rest of the cast is made up of MGM stock players Leila Hyams , Wallace Ford , Edward Brophy , Olga Baclanova and the screen's champion stutterer Roscoe Ates . The plot is simple . A beautiful trapeze artist marries a dwarf for his money , then plots his murder with her lover , the circus strong man . The subsequent action is both horrifying & strangely satisfying . Various scenes - the Freaks ' Banquet , the chase through the storm - are among the most bizarre ever filmed . You won't soon forget the time you spend with the FREAKS .
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437,018 | 306,861 | 44,821 | 10 |
Disney's Wild & Wooly Tale
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Raised by sheep , LAMBERT THE SHEEPISH LION wants to live a life of gentle peace & quiet . Then one night , a wicked wolf carries off his foster mother . . . Winner of the 1952 Oscar for Best Animation , this is a very enjoyable little film . Bill Peet , eventually a popular children's author in his own right , was one of the writers here . The title tune is infectious , and Sterling Holloway is perfect as the Narrator .
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438,299 | 306,861 | 25,173 | 10 |
Classic Harlow Performance Is Still A Dazzler
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THE GIRL FROM MISSOURI arrives in New York City knowing exactly what she wants : to amount to something solid by marrying a millionaire - without losing her virginity . With her knockout good looks she quickly catches the eye of the playboy son of a tycoon , but by staying true to her virtue will she also discover true love ? Jean Harlow sizzles in this excellent little comedy . With her platinum hair & gorgeous accouterments , she is a dazzler . But her beauty should not obscure the fact that she was also a very good actress . She has rightfully earned her spot at the very top of the Hollywood pantheon . An excellent cast gives Harlow fine support : Lionel Barrymore as the wily old tycoon , wise to Harlow's ways ; handsome Franchot Tone as his son , smitten with love ; raucous Patsy Kelly , stealing her scenes as Harlow's sidekick ; debonair Alan Mowbray , as a well-mannered English Lord ; elderly Clara Blandick as Barrymore's feisty secretary ; hearty Hale Hamilton as a rich man with an eye for the ladies ; muscular Nat Pendleton as a lifeguard who catches Kelly's flirtatious eye ; and Lewis Stone , unforgettable in a small role as a bankrupted businessman . It should be noted that this film was produced soon after Hollywood's Production Code was instituted . A comparison with RED-HEADED WOMAN , made two years earlier , would be fascinating - in which Harlow's character goes after the same ends , but uses very different means .
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437,889 | 306,861 | 22,938 | 10 |
Fun With Wheeler & Woolsey And The Gershwin Brothers
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A rich , GIRL CRAZY young playboy decides to transform an old family ranch in Arizona into a fancy entertainment hot spot . He turns to a gambler buddy to come West & operate the games of chance . Together , they trick a witless cabby into running for sheriff in nearby Custerville , a town notorious for the low life expectancy of its lawmen . . . Wheeler & Woolsey ( Bert Wheeler is the little fellow with the curly hair ; Robert Woolsey has the glasses & cigar ) have fun in this transmogrified Gershwin musical . With their one-liners & physical comedy , they were always able to transcend their material , even in an excessively silly story such as this . It is a shame that the Boys are all but forgotten today . . . Eddie Quillan , as the playboy , provides his usual peppy puppy support ; Dorothy Lee , Wheeler's perpetual flame , appears but is given little to do , probably as she must share plot time with 3 other young ladies : Kitty Kelly , Mitzi Green & Arline Judge . Stanley Fields makes a fine buffonish bad guy . That's Nat Pendleton , unbilled , as the motorcycle cop . With songs by the Gershwin Brothers , the Boys are in very fine musical company . Kelly sings a rousing ' I Got Rhythm ' - while Quillan & Judge deliver ' But Not For Me ' . Wheeler & Lee get to warble ' You've Got What Gets Me ' . Movie mavens will want to pay attention to the very end of this song ; the female who gets throttled by Wheeler is none other than the monumental Margaret Dumont , apparently escaped from the Marx Bros . , appearing here in an uncredited cameo .
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438,135 | 306,861 | 9,887 | 10 |
Never Say Die
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A Hal Roach HAROLD LLOYD Comedy Short Subject . Infatuated with the daughter of a bullying millionaire , Harold must first ASK FATHER for permission to marry the girl . The main attraction in this very short & funny little film is watching Harold attempt to sneak into the fierce old man's office . Movie mavens will notice that this film was made shortly before the studio accident which blew off half of Harold's right hand . Bebe Daniels plays a sympathetic switchboard operator ; Snub Pollard appears as an eccentric private secretary . Robert Israel has composed an excellent film score which perfectly complements Harold's antics on the screen .
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437,706 | 306,861 | 243,827 | 10 |
A Snow Bird Tale
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A Walt Disney CartoonPablo , THE COLD-BLOODED PENGUIN , yearns to escape from Antarctica's frigid climes to bask in the tropic zones of South America . This little extract from the feature film THE THREE CABALLEROS ( 1945 ) is humorous , with unhappy Pablo a slightly winsome character . Sterling Holloway is the perfect narrator for this material . 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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438,147 | 306,861 | 368,189 | 10 |
Tall Tale Well Told
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Here's the true , unvarnished tale of how old PECOS BILL became the greatest cowboy of them all . The folks at Rabbit Ears have brought us this boisterous version of the seminal American legend from the Wild West . Its high spirits and sense of good natured fun are practically infectious . This Tale Tale is sure to tickle the funny bone of any ornery polecat willing to sit through half an hour of homespun hilarity . Robin Williams ' Texas cowpoke drawl narration is the perfect partner to Ry Cooder's tuneful Western guitar and Tim Raglin's colorful drawings , all adding up to a whole chili pot full of fun .
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437,737 | 306,861 | 113,692 | 10 |
A Cinema Pioneer Remembered
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Neglected for a century , the aged woman's cinema treasures , like THE LOST GARDEN in a fairy tale , await rediscovery by a new generation . This poignant & thoughtful documentary introduces the viewer to Alice Guy-Blaché ( 1873-1968 ) , finally being acknowledged as the world's first - and for many years , only - female film director . Through the narration of her granddaughter , Adrienne Blaché-Channing , the viewer is introduced to a charming old lady with a remarkable past . Present at the very birth of the cinema in Europe , Guy-Blaché , through a series of fortunate circumstances , went on to direct hundreds of two-reelers in France & America from 1896 to 1920 . Long before talkies arrived in 1927 , she was pioneering the synchronization of motion pictures & sound . Today , tragically , she is virtually forgotten . Artistic flair is used in seemingly integrating interviewees directly into the ancient films . Using tantalizing selections from her surviving films - and a TV interview she granted before her death - the documentary gives a very good summary of Guy-Blaché's importance to the history of the moving picture .
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438,336 | 306,861 | 36,098 | 10 |
For Dog Lovers Everywhere
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A magnificent British collie struggles to cover the hundreds of miles that separate her from the family she loves . LASSIE COME HOME is one of the truly great family films . Crafted with care by MGM and based on the classic novel by Eric Knight , it will strike a warm response in the heart of anyone who has ever loved a dog . The production values are first rate and the color photography is spectacular . While the scenery & filming locations are strictly Western North America , they nevertheless make evocative stand-ins for the settings in the book . It might be worth the viewer's time to check the relationship of the Yorkshire Moors with the Scottish Highlands on a map , so as to better appreciate the phenomenal journey which the dog undertakes . The casting is excellent throughout : Donald Crisp , Elsa Lanchester & Roddy McDowall as the poor , proud family which must sell their only treasure , Lassie ; Nigel Bruce as the gruffly tenderhearted Duke which buys the dog ; a young Dame Elizabeth Taylor plays his lively granddaughter . J . Pat O'Malley portrays the brutal dog handler employed by the Duke . Along her journey Lassie encounters old folks who need her companionship ( Dame May Whitty & real-life husband Ben Webster , in his last film role ) , a traveling tinker who values her protection ( Edmund Gwenn ) , and suspicious sheepmen on the watch for killer dogs ( Alan Napier & Arthur Shields ) . Lassie is played by Pal , a male dog trained by the celebrated Rudd Weatherwax ( 1907-1985 ) , who was responsible for generations of Lassies which appeared in movies & television . Pal gives a remarkable performance , providing the very heart & soul of the film . Eric Mowbray Knight was born in Yorkshire , England , on April 10 , 1897 . Moving to America in 1912 , he became a student in New York , but left to join the Canadian Armed Forces with the outbreak of World War One . In 1932 he published a collection of his wartime letters - Portrait Of A Flying Yorkshireman . Later came two novels which made good use of authentic Yorkshire dialect : Invitation To Life ( 1934 ) and Song On Your Bugles ( 1937 ) . He didn't think much of his 1940 children's book , Lassie Come-Home and was very surprised at its great success . His next novel , This Above All ( 1941 ) , a World War Two romance , was also popular . Knight joined the United States Army and rose to the rank of Major . Working with an Army film unit under the direction of Frank Capra , Eric Knight was tragically killed in a plane crash off the coast of Suriname on January 15 , 1943 . MGM dedicated LASSIE COME HOME , which was released later that year , to his memory . The snatch of ballad Edmund Gwenn is singing while shaving in his first scene is " I Dreamt That I Dwelt In Marble Halls " from the 1843 operetta The Bohemian Girl by Michael William Balfe ( 1808-1870 ) .
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437,127 | 306,861 | 25,121 | 10 |
Take A Laugh-Packed Camp Out With The Little Rascals
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An OUR GANG Comedy Short . When the older Rascals go on a camping trip , inspired by their Western heroes , they refuse to allow the little Kids to come along . Arriving footsore at their destination , Cherry Creek , they find they've brought no food . The big jar of jelly brought by the little Kids - who beat them there by hitchhiking - is the cause of a mad scramble . Strange noises , wild critters , glowing eyes , fleas & a terrific lightning storm ensure all the Rascals won't forget THE FIRST ROUND-UP . A typically hilarious entry in the Hal Roach series . Spanky & Stymie , as always , are first rate . This was one of the early films in which Buckwheat was played by a little girl , although Billie Thomas does make an appearance as an unnamed toddler .
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437,439 | 306,861 | 39,990 | 10 |
A Sleepy Duck Tale
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A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon . Forced to sleep in the WIDE OPEN SPACES , the last thing a desperately tired Donald needs is trouble with his air mattress . . . This little film is routine in respect to animation & story , but it's always enjoyable to watch the Duck deal with inanimate objects . Clarence " Ducky " Nash supplies Donald's squeaky voice . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off .
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437,409 | 306,861 | 25,126 | 10 |
Early Disney Milestone In Character Development
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A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short . An adventurous little mouse daydreams of being able to fly like a bird . After saving a fairy from a nasty spider , he is given his wish . Soon , however , THE FLYING MOUSE discovers that sometimes dreams can become nightmares . This is considered to be a significant cartoon for the Disney Studios , in that it marked a big step forward in creating a real personality for an animated 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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437,655 | 306,861 | 29,467 | 10 |
A Last Look At Ross Alexander
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Mistaken for a famous British singing star , an American college girl decides she's READY , WILLING AND ABLE to conquer Broadway - especially after meeting the young scriptwriter who's producing the play . . . A fine example of the musical comedies which Warner Brothers seemed to produce so effortlessly during the 1930's , it's a shame this film has become so obscure . With good production values & a snappy storyline , it's still a pleasant entertainment . The major missing component is Busby Berkeley ; the final production number , with Ruby Keeler & dancer Lee Dixon hoofing it upon the keys of a giant typewriter , fairly cries for the Master to send it over the top . Pert & pretty , Miss Keeler is , as always , much fun to watch . Many of her scenes are given the added attractions of the lovely Carol Hughes , playing her best friend . Wini Shaw , as a singer with too much past & tart-tongued secretary Jane Wyman also contribute to the fun . The comedy relief is largely handled by Allen Jenkins as a loudmouthed agent , Louise Fazenda as a faded Shakespearean actress & Hugh O'Connell as a society fuddy-duddy . Comic cameos by E . E . Clive & Lillian Kemble-Cooper as an English knight & lady , and Barnett Parker as a helpful British butler , are also welcome . Movie mavens will spot an unbilled Carlyle Moore Jr . as a dockside reporter . Ultimately , though , there is sadness attached to this film . The leading man , Ross Alexander , shot himself before the film could be released . This was his final film ; he was only 29 . Born Ross Smith in Brooklyn in 1907 , Alexander had the personality , talent & good looks which should have spelled significant stardom . But Hollywood is notoriously unpredictable , and Alexander , unhappy with the way his career was going & obviously still troubled by the gunshot suicide of his first wife in December of 1935 , placed a pistol to his own head on January 2 , 1937 . Once dead , it was Warner Brothers that paid him the final indignity . Having a completed film with a star who was not only deceased , but a suicide as well , was a bit more than the Studio wanted to deal with . So , cutting their losses , they gave Ross Alexander fifth place billing on the lineup of performers for READY , WILLING AND ABLE , where he should have received first or second . Outside of his appearance in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM ( 1935 ) , he is almost forgotten now . Ross Alexander was a victim of the Hollywood system and his own private anguish , each of which fed on the other . He should be remembered as a fine young actor , who , in a very few years , brought lots of enjoyment to movie audiences . This is typified by his best scene in READY , WILLING AND ABLE , where he introduces the Johnny Mercer lyrics for ' Too Marvelous For Words , ' by gently reciting them to Ruby Keeler . It is a tremendously poignant few moments .
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437,969 | 306,861 | 216,719 | 10 |
This Show's A Howl
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An MGM DOGVILLE Comedy Short Subject . A couple of song & dance mutts try to make a hit on Dogway . One in a series of Dogville shorts , THE DOGWAY MELODY is a hilarious spoof of MGM's Academy Award winning hit THE BROADWAY MELODY ( 1929 ) , with costumed canines performing all the parts . The characters played by Charles King & Anita Page in the original film are given a doggie interpretation , as are two of Arthur Freed & Nacio Herb Brown's best tunes ( ? The Broadway Melody ' & ? ' You Were Meant For Me . ' ) Highlight : A Ziegfeld-style revue complete with tableau , leggy chorines and a Jolson impersonator . 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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438,208 | 306,861 | 228,828 | 10 |
Brightenin ' An Old Lady's Life With The Little Rascals
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An OUR GANG Comedy Short . A rich & lonely lady begins her SECOND CHILDHOOD on her 65th birthday when Spanky , Alfalfa & the Gang show her how to loosen-up & enjoy life . A funny little film , with a spry & humorous performance by English actress Zeffie Tilbury as Grandma , who actually turned 73 the year this was produced . Highlight : Alfalfa , Spanky & Grandma singing ? Oh ! Susanna ' .
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437,906 | 306,861 | 27,305 | 10 |
Celebrating Arbor Day With The Little Rascals
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An OUR GANG Comedy Short . It's ARBOR DAY and Spanky's school is putting on a pageant - which he is determined to have nothing to do with . Eventually he agrees , but the real surprise of the proceedings is the short performance put on by a couple of midgets disguised as children . Not much plot in this one , but it's enjoyable . That's George & Olive Brasno as the little people . Film mavens will spot Hattie McDaniel as Buckwheat's mother . Alfalfa warbles ' Trees ' , badly .
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437,081 | 306,861 | 9,968 | 10 |
Yet Another Griffith / Gish Masterpiece
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Like the BROKEN BLOSSOMS of a trampled rose , the pure affection between two unutterably lonely people is destroyed by evil & hatred . Turning his back temporarily on the Silent epics of his past , movie master David Wark Griffith turned the laser beam of his talent on the tragic story of three pathetic individuals living in the slums of London's Limehouse : a fragile waif , her vicious father , and the gentle Chinese shopkeeper living nearby . No huge casts rampaging through innumerable subplots , no tremendous production values spent to illustrate the sweep & flow of a historical period . Just three people living increasingly desperate lives , brought together by a tidal wave of pure emotion . Lillian Gish was right thinking she was too old to play the young girl , and she did so only at Griffith's insistence , but it is impossible to contemplate anyone else in the role . She is utterly luminous as the abused child who finds a few moments of glorious affection with the young foreigner from the East . Miss Gish's magically expressive face creates a classic cinema moment when she attempts to smile to save herself from a beating , pushing up the corners of her mouth with two fingers , while her tormented eyes reveal to the viewer her deep pain and fear . Later , in her celebrated closet scene , like a trapped animal she releases an explosion of frenzy which is still difficult to watch , as her attacker uses a hatchet to smash the barrier between them . Miss Lillian had started rehearsals while weakened from the Spanish Flu ; she created a movie portrait which caught her genius forever . Matching her in almost every particular is her costar Richard Barthelmess , who gives a most sensitive portrayal as the Chinese missionary who comes to England to proselytize for Buddha , but instead finds himself alone & friendless in the squalor of the great city . Barthelmess uses his eyes almost exclusively to express what's in his heart , bringing enormous dignity & repose to his role . It is too easy today to criticize a performer for playing an ethnic role , but once , to be able to do so convincingly , was considered the hallmark of a capable actor . Barthelmess does so with both conviction & distinction , bringing the film to a heartbreaking conclusion . Rounding out the threesome is Englishman Donald Crisp . Although in reality the most gentle and affable of men , he nonetheless made a career during the Silent Era of playing violent brutes , never more despicable than here . His character glories in the terrors he inflicts on Miss Lillian , the viewer loathes him , and his eventual fate is most welcome & well deserved . The film almost didn't get released . Paramount Pictures boss Adolph Zukor hated it ; he thought it too morbid . Griffith raised the operating costs of $91 , 000 and purchased the film , releasing it through United Artists . Receptive audiences helped it make millions . As Miss Lillian said decades later , " Griffith put tragic poetry on the screen for the first time . "
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437,907 | 306,861 | 29,442 | 10 |
Colman & Fairbanks Jr . Shine in Classic Adventure Film
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Traveling in a Middle European kingdom , an Englishman on a fishing vacation discovers to his astonishment that he is an identical look-alike for the country's king . When the dissipated monarch is unable to attend his own coronation , the Englishman is pressured to impersonate him temporarily . But when he falls in love with the new queen and the real king is kidnapped by an evil half-brother , the Englishman is swept into a world of intrigue & danger he scarcely knew existed . Can he rescue THE PRISONER OF ZENDA without losing his own life ? This is one of the great adventure films of the 1930's . Given lavish treatment by Selznick Studios , it is escapist cinema at its most enjoyable . Silky-voiced Ronald Colman is perfectly cast as both the Englishman & the King . He was one of those rare , fortunate actors with great screen charisma - his every moment , every word , is interesting to the viewer . He almost meets his match , though , in Douglas Fairbanks Jr . , here playing a charming & completely ruthless young villain . Their rapier fight stands out in a decade full of terrific swordplay . The rest of the cast is equally impressive : lovely Madeleine Carroll , wicked Raymond Massey , frantic Mary Astor , stalwart David Niven and especially wonderful old Sir C . Aubrey Smith , a model of elderly devotion & courage .
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437,837 | 306,861 | 9,973 | 10 |
Seeking Love & Fortune With Mr . Lloyd
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A Hal Roach HAROLD LLOYD Comedy Short . An impoverished young fellow finds himself BUMPING INTO BROADWAY when he falls in love with a pretty showgirl . This fast-moving romp gave Harold Lloyd an early success for his Glasses Character . Antic chases and sight gags abound , and Harold gets to showoff his buoyant physical dexterity in this film made before a freak accident so badly damaged his right hand . Swiftly moving from boardinghouse to street , on to the theater , and finally to an elaborate speakeasy , the plot gives Harold plenty of opportunity to amuse . Bebe Daniels is his love interest . Helen Gilmore is the fierce landlady ; tough guy Noah Young is the boardinghouse bouncer . In a brief role , Gus Leonard , in drag , is hilarious as the man-crazy spinster who lives one floor below Harold . Robert Israel has composed an excellent film score which perfectly complements Harold's antics on the screen .
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437,664 | 306,861 | 27,311 | 10 |
Come Dally In Arden's Forest
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Dressed as a boy , a banished noblewoman meets her equally unfortunate suitor in a forest and teases with his affections . In AS YOU LIKE IT , a young , virile Sir Laurence Olivier leaps & cavorts his way through his first appearance in a Shakespearean feature film , his magnificent voice cajoling every line . To those viewers only aware of his late career before his 1989 death , an elderly lion enfeebled by terrible long-standing diseases , his athletic performance here will be a wonderful revelation . Although the plot requires him to behave blindly inane at times , fancifully wooing the boy who is actually his disguised ladylove , the future Lord Olivier is never anything less than compelling . Still nearly a decade away from the first of his own filmed Shakespearean productions - HENRY V ( 1945 ) - Sir Laurence here shows he is already a complete master of the Bard's verse . As Rosalind , and earning top billing , Austrian actress Elisabeth Bergner more than holds her own against Olivier . Her strong Teutonic accent is at variance with everyone else in the cast and she probably would not have received the role had she not been married to the director / producer , but this in no way should disparage her skills as an actress . Fetching & lovely and with a thorough grasp of her lines , Miss Bergner is a constant delight to watch . The comedy keeps her in male costume most of the time and it is important to remember that she is not really supposed to be a convincing boy . Bowing to the plot's absurdities , she is to provide some laughs and moments of reflection at the expense of the other characters and this Miss Bergner accomplishes most handily . A very fine collection of British character actors supply their ample talents to the proceedings . Sir Felix Aylmer is wonderfully wicked as the usurping Duke . John Laurie oozes evil as Olivier's murderous elder brother . Lovely Sophie Stewart provides playful fun as Miss Bergner's faithful cousin . Beefy Lionel Braham scores as a braggadocio wrestler . Mackenzie Ward is properly impertinent as Touchstone the Fool . Peter Bull is hilarious in his only scene as an idiotic youth . As in the play , the sardonic Jacques ( well played by Leon Quartermaine ) is given one of Shakespeare's loveliest soliloquies , the famous Seven Ages of Man speech . The entire film is given a sumptuous production which is most pleasing to the eye . A glance down its credits reveals something of its fine pedigree : Sir James M . Barrie , author of Peter Pan , suggested the treatment - which meant he helped in the adaptation of Shakespeare's play to the screen ; Sir David Lean , later to be a director of great importance , was responsible for the film's editing .
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437,047 | 306,861 | 16,473 | 10 |
Another Chaney Chiller
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Vowing revenge on the world of ? normal ' people , a sideshow ventriloquist , strong man & dwarf band together as THE UNHOLY THREE . Following Lon Chaney's great film successes at Universal Studios , Irving Thalberg managed to entice the actor to come to MGM . Anxious to repeat the box office bonanzas of Chaney's recent past , Thalberg signed a one-picture deal with Chaney's favorite director , Tod Browning . The resulting film , THE UNHOLY THREE , was such a hit that Thalberg quickly signed Browning for a long-term contract . Based on a story by Tod Robbins ( who would also pen the inspiration for FREAKS ) , Browning would give the film an appropriately menacing atmosphere , with flashes of comedic wit at just the right intervals . A crime caper rather than a horror film , the chills are saved for right near the end with the rampages of a ferocious ape ( actually a chimpanzee , photographed out of proportion ) which no one seems surprised to find in a bird store . While ventriloquism may seem an odd pastime to depict in a silent movie , Chaney made it all seem so sensible . A consummate artist who only now is starting to receive the proper accolades , Chaney did not need to contort limb or face to portray a little old lady . All he needed was a wig & a dress . So well was he received in this role that it was chosen to be remade five years later as Chaney's talking debut . Muscular Victor McLaglen ( a British Army champion athlete ) and tiny Harry Earles ( one of the few adult actors who could disguise himself as a baby ) give very solid support as Chaney's wicked cronies ; much of the favorable outcome of the film is due to them . Pensive Mae Busch scores as the waifish pickpocket allied with Chaney ; this very talented actress would get to shine a few years later in a series of appearances with Laurel & Hardy . In his one scene as a stern judge , Edward Connelly lends his saturnine presence to the proceedings .
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437,357 | 306,861 | 23,026 | 10 |
Fightin ' Fires With The Little Rascals
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To help out their city during a shortage of fire fighters , the Rascals have developed their own HOOK AND LADDER company . Converting an old barn into a firehouse , and using a motley assortment of wagons & vehicles , they are vigilant and alert to respond instantly to an alarm - if ' Cheef ' Dickie can get the pants on little brother Spanky . But when a warehouse full of dynamite begins to burn , and the Gang are the first on the scene , things really begin to heat up . . . A very funny little film . The Rascals ' fire fighting amenities , in the best tradition of Rube Goldberg , are a delight - as is Spanky & his medicine oil tribulations .
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438,043 | 306,861 | 228,815 | 10 |
An Ancient Christmas Short
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It becomes SANTA CLAUS VS . CUPID when a rich girl's Christmas party is attended by two love-smitten young men , each costumed as the jolly old elf . . . This is an entertaining little film , containing elements of humor ( the jolly corpulent cook revels in the kitchen with her boyfriends ) and drama ( the wretched coachman forced to steal to provide medicine for his ill wife ) . These plot strands , plus the romantic dual Santas , are woven into a compact storyline . Al Kryszak provided the score for the video compilation A Christmas Past , in which this film appears .
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438,045 | 306,861 | 214,588 | 10 |
A Holiday Gift From Thomas Alva Edison
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When A CHRISTMAS ACCIDENT causes a mean old man to enter the wrong home , he is taught the true meaning of the Yuletide Spirit . . . This very old film , from the Edison Studios , is a charming surprise . Short and to the point , it is competently produced & effectively acted . Best of all , the Holiday sentiment is both tender & affecting . The awakening power of the movies is seen in embryo here . Al Kryszak provided the score for the video compilation A Christmas Past , in which this film appears .
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437,240 | 306,861 | 22,990 | 10 |
Forgotten Crime Classic
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The leader of a chain gang work force struggling to build the Liberty Road ( HELL'S HIGHWAY ) finds his escape plans thwarted when his younger brother becomes a prisoner , too . Hard hitting & gritty , this neglected little drama is fascinating in its detailed portrayal of a tough subject . Road gang prisoners were still being systematically abused in 1932 and this film helped to shine a light into some very dirty corners , while at the same time delivering a compelling human interest story . Richard Dix gives a typically fine performance as Duke Ellis , a bad guy with a good heart . He's able to dominate the other prisoners until his kid brother ( very well played by Tom Brown ) reveals his soft spot . Dix was a strong , virile actor who survived the transition from Silents to Talkies in good form and easily projected a persona of raw intensity . It is a shame that he is nearly forgotten today . Although she receives third place billing , lovely Rochelle Hudson , as young Brown's girlfriend , has very little to do in her only scene . Of much more interest is elderly Louise Carter , as the distraught mother of Dix & Brown . In her few moments of screen time she delivers a terrific performance of a good woman barely holding on to her emotional balance . Her participation in the film alone would make it worth watching . A handful of character actors also add to the movie's distinction : beefy Stanley Fields as a sympathetic prison officer ; Charles Middleton as a mystic , other-worldly prisoner ; C . Henry Gordon as the sadistic violin playing warden ; Sandy Roth as a violent , nearly blind , prisoner ; and Warner Richmond as a guard who fears he may also be a cuckold . Clarence Muse & Fuzzy Knight have small roles as prisoners . Movie mavens will spot an uncredited Louise Beavers as Muse's visiting sweetheart . An intriguing aspect of the film is how the black prisoners are used as a kind of Greek Chorus , their songs making ironic comment upon the action . Their ' Frankie and Johnny ' parody sequence in particular is a quietly brilliant moment of film-making in how it encapsulates , in a very short time , a key plot twist .
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438,289 | 306,861 | 71,596 | 10 |
Excellent Adaptation Of Oscar Wilde Fairy Tale
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Standing on his column high above the great city , the statue of THE HAPPY PRINCE can see the misery & despair of the people below him . He persuades a friendly Swallow to become his messenger in valiant efforts to alleviate the suffering of the poor . This is a very fine animated version of Oscar Wilde's classic tale . The drawing is often imaginative , but never gets in the way of the story . Much of the credit for the success of this film must go to Christopher Plummer , who both narrates & gives voice to the Happy Prince ; and to Glynis Johns , who supplies exuberant life to the Swallow . Both performers are excellent . The producers , thankfully , do not shy away from the religious sentiment at the end of the story . To have done so would have robbed the film of much of its charm & authenticity . Wilde himself never shied away from piety in his writings when it could be used to good effect . Indeed , he had a great respect for Christian virtues , as long as they did not affect his private life .
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437,295 | 306,861 | 20,827 | 10 |
Romantic Soap Opera
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A vivacious and happily married young woman discovers that her husband has been unfaithful . Embittered , she embarks on a brief affair of her own . Her marriage soon over , THE DIVORCEE quickly enters a downward spiral of escalating sexual promiscuity . How can she ever regain her husband & the happiness they once knew ? Norma Shearer won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in this well-acted soap opera . Running the range of emotions , she is ably backed up by Chester Morris , Conrad Nagel & Robert Montgomery as the three very different men in her life . ( Montgomery exhibits the sophisticated charm which quite shortly would make him one of the biggest stars at MGM . ) Zelda Sears , a top writer at the Studio , has the role of Hannah the maid - and she gets some of the best lines . The very elastic morality of the plot shows the pre-Production Code status of the film , while , oddly , the twin beds in the bedroom of Shearer & Morris point out that not all the restrictions of the initial Hays period had completely died away . In 1930 , talkies were still in their infancy in Hollywood & audio awkwardness was common in many studio's output . At MGM , Norma Shearer's brother Douglas was Recording Director and his department learned their new lessons quickly . Look at the opening scene in THE DIVORCEE , set in the large living room of a mountain lodge . Notice the action & dialogue going on at various levels - with the radio playing ' Singing In The Rain ' in the background - and it's easy to see that MGM had mastered the mysteries of the microphone .
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437,575 | 306,861 | 18,675 | 10 |
Mister Mouse Should Have Stayed In His House
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A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon . Mickey & Pete both vie for fickle Minnie's attentions at THE BARN DANCE . This humorous little black & white film is propelled largely by the soundtrack ; music mavens will recognize ' The Old Grey Mare , ' ' Mendelssohn's Spring Song ' & ' Pop ! Goes The Weasel ' among the tunes played . This very early Mouse cartoon shows one of the rare instances in which Mickey loses to Pete in the game of romance . 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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437,233 | 306,861 | 27,281 | 10 |
Mickey & Donald's Very Swiss Adventure
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A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon . ALPINE CLIMBERS Mickey & Donald get themselves into trouble by picking edelweiss & swiping eagle's eggs . This is a very funny little film , which provides fine scope for Donald to vent his famous temper . Incongruously , Pluto is also brought along , but has a humorous inebriated scene with a friendly St . Bernard . Mickey has some good moments , but plays definite second fiddle to Donald . They are voiced by Walt Disney & Clarence Nash , respectively . The snowy-white edelweiss , which cheers Donald's heart , is a woolly-leafed herb ( Leontopodium alpinum ) which grows in the higher regions of Europe & Asia . It is much beloved by the peoples of the Alps and is the floral emblem of Switzerland . During World War Two , it served as the secret symbol of the Austrian Underground which fought against the Nazis . Walt Disney ( 1901-1966 ) was always intrigued by drawings . As a lad in Marceline , Missouri , he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper ; later , as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War , he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle . Back in Kansas City , along with artist Ub Iwerks , Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters . Always the innovator , his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe . Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923 , where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor . When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor , the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination , ensuring Disney's immortality . The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut , STEAMBOAT WILLIE ( 1928 ) , a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music . The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared , and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color , illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development , an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable . Mickey's feisty , naughty behavior had captured millions of fans , but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions : temperamental Donald Duck , intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto . All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films . Against a blizzard of doomsayers , Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White , Pinocchio , Dumbo , Bambi & Peter Pan . Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse , or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work will always pay off .
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437,703 | 306,861 | 29,497 | 10 |
Medical Milestone
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An MGM Pete Smith Specialty . This unusually sober Pete Smith Short , directed by Jacques Tourneur , gives the history behind the discovery of the marvelous substance , radium , and discusses a few of its potential applications , as understood in the 1930's . Often overlooked or neglected today , the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents , both in front & behind the camera . The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film , something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel . Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material , short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios ' feature films .
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437,846 | 306,861 | 20,828 | 10 |
Mr . Wheeler & Mr . Woolsey Enliven Movie Musical Of Yesteryear
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New Orleans songbird DIXIANA attracts both the noble son of a Dutch planter and the murderous owner of a music hall casino . Here is an interesting antique from 1930 , the first year Hollywood was all-Talkie . William Haines comedies were the box-office winners & musicals - like this one - were also extremely popular . Given a lavish production , especially during the Technicolor finale , a close examination of the film revels that the mysteries of the microphone were quickly being deciphered . Bebe Daniels & Everett Marshall provide the romance & music . They certainly try their best , although the dialogue is not overly kind to them , and her fake Southern accent coupled with his wooden acting skills are two high hurdles for them to jump . The film is punctuated by burlesque interludes provided by one of the finest comedic teams of the 1930's - Wheeler & Woolsey . Bert Wheeler ( the short , curly-headed one ) and Robert Woolsey ( the skinny fellow with glasses ) were always great fun and their jokes still hit home today , even if they themselves are virtually forgotten . Here they are given great assistance by dialect comedian Joseph Cawthorn , playing their Dutch host at a sumptuous Louisiana plantation ; he fits in so well , especially when pulling the Three Cigar Joke , that he practically becomes a third member of the team . Also on hand , as she was in so many of the Boys ' films , is pert Dorothy Lee , as kewpie doll cute as ever . The massive Jobyna Howland , playing Cawthorn's temperamental wife , proves once again that she could handle the slapstick as well as the histrionics . Both ladies supply the extra oomph lacking in Miss Daniels ' performance . Ralf Harolde makes a mean villain and unbilled George Herman appears as the impressively limber contortionist . It should be noted that there are some racist elements in the story ; this was not unusual in American movies of that era . The early Technicolor sequence - featuring the Mardi Gras in full swing - is very pleasing to the eye , benefiting from a recent film restoration . However , scenes still seem to be missing , evidenced by Wheeler suddenly appearing in drag ( or is that his Carnival costume ? ) without explanation . Best of all , the legendary Bill Robinson finally arrives , for a total of 3 minutes , to dance for our delight .
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438,133 | 306,861 | 9,932 | 10 |
A Rootin ' Tootin ' Time
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A HAROLD LLOYD Comedy One-Reeler . When the local outlaws in Peaceful Vale become too rambunctious , it's up to BILLY BLAZES , ESQ . to gallop into town and restore law & order . Harold gets to spoof William S . Hart in this very short & funny film . The various ways in which he subdues the bad guys & makes his getaway is the focus of attention here . The very tall Chinese waiter is also quite humorous . Bebe Daniels plays the Girl in the tavern ; Snub Pollard portrays the cowardly Sheriff . Movie mavens will note that this short film was produced shortly before Harold lost half of his right hand in a freak studio accident . Robert Israel has composed an excellent film score which perfectly complements Harold's antics on the screen .
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437,013 | 306,861 | 25,101 | 10 |
Crooks & Feathers
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A genial racketeer and his assorted companions hope to become very rich by stealing the FASHIONS OF 1934 . Here is another example of the Pre-Code comedy crime caper film which Warner Bros . seemed to produce so effortlessly in the early 1930's . Featuring good production values , witty dialogue , slick acting & utterly inconsequential in actual value , these movies were sure to be crowd pleasers and theater fillers . Affably sophisticated , William Powell is a fine crook , a rogue the movie audience can feel comfortable rooting for . He makes his life of larceny seem almost casual . Playing his artistic associate , Bette Davis not only scores in the acting department ( admittedly not very demanding ) , but she also looks fabulous , an instant refutation to anyone who ever thought she never looked glamorous on the screen . Through all the fluff & feathers she drops a few hints to the talent she would eventually unleash . The supporting cast is very commendable . Whimsical Hugh Herbert , as the California Ostrich King , gets to showcase his quirky humor . Frank McHugh scores as Powell's haplessly lecherous gofer . Lovely Verree Teasdale stirs up the plot as a Russian noblewoman who is not all she seems . Blustery Reginald Owen is a French couturier who runs afoul of Powell ; Henry O'Neill and chittering little Etienne Girardot are New York fashion designers who also are confronted by the gang's duplicitous dealings . Handsome Philip Reed is the talented musician who is Powell's romantic rival for Bette's affections . Movie mavens will spot Arthur Treacher as Miss Teasdale's butler , Jane Darwell as an enthusiastic Parisian customer & Hobart Cavanaugh , hilarious in the film's final moments as a desperate worm breeder ; all appear uncredited . One of the film's greatest assets is a musical production number created by the legendary Busby Berkeley . Meant to showcase ostrich feathers , ' Spin A Little Web Of Dreams ' is a dazzler with Busby's trademark identical blonde showgirls whirling through complicated circular movements & patterns . It is one of his most charming successes . Mention should be made of Orry-Kelly's fashions , which really are quite special .
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437,254 | 306,861 | 84,701 | 10 |
Come Walking In The Air With This Christmas Fantasy
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THE SNOWMAN built by a lonely young boy comes to life at Midnight on Christmas Eve , propelling them both on a fanciful , unforgettable adventure . . . Raymond Briggs ' charming picture book comes to life in this delightful British cartoon . Here is a perfect excursion into realms of Imagination & Wonder . The Snowman's guided tour of the human child's home is a comic treat . Their flight over the frozen North Country & Polar Seas is exhilarating and full of white mystery . The serious themes of friendship's responsibility , and the inevitability of ultimate loss , are also hinted at . The ending is both beautiful & heartbreaking .
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437,636 | 306,861 | 29,478 | 10 |
Entertainin ' The Alumni With The Little Rascals
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An OUR GANG Comedy Short . ' The Adams Street Elementary School is having a REUNION IN RHYTHM and you are invited . Many Rascals , old & young , will be on hand for the banquet . After eating , the current crop of Rascals , led by Spanky , will entertain us with a little show . ' A fun little film , with lots of music . Darla sings ' Baby Face ' to Porky . Spanky performs ' Broadway Rhythm ' . Alfalfa croons ' I'm Through With Love ' & the entire group sings ' Auld Lang Syne ' . Highlight : Buckwheat's recitation of ? Little Jack Horner ' . Rosina Lawrence plays the teacher ; among the alumni can be spotted Mickey Daniels , Mary Kornman , Fat Joe Cobb & the inimitable Stymie .
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438,232 | 306,861 | 31,666 | 10 |
A Brief Peek At American History
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A Warner Brothers Short Subject . THE MONROE DOCTRINE asserts the rights of the Americas to be left alone from all European entanglements . This little film gives a good look at the reasons behind the Monroe Doctrine and how it was defined by succeeding American governments . It moves briskly and is well acted , especially by Grant Mitchell as John Quincey Adams and Sidney Blackmer as Teddy Roosevelt . Nanette Fabray & George Reeves very briefly portray young lovers caught up in history's flow . Often overlooked or neglected today , the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents , both in front & behind the camera . The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film , something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel . Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material , short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios ' feature films .
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437,923 | 306,861 | 22,994 | 10 |
Cleanin ' Up The House With Mr . Laurel & Mr . Hardy
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Stan & Ollie are HELPMATES , always ready to assist the other out of a jam . So , with his house a wreck after a wild party and his shrew-of-a-wife returning from her Chicago trip in a few hours , Ollie asks Stan to help him clean-up . Perhaps that wasn't the wisest choice . . . A funny little film , with lots of slapstick humor . Once again , one can't help wondering how Ollie could take so many bonks on the head without it damaging him .
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437,139 | 306,861 | 46,835 | 10 |
One More Whack At The Old Apple
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A Walt Disney Cartoon . CASEY BATS AGAIN when it looks as though the Casyettes , his all-daughter team , may lose the big game . This lively & colorful little film was a sequel to CASEY AT THE BAT , one of the sequences in MAKE MINE MUSIC ( 1946 ) , which itself was a spoof of the famous poem by Ernest Lawrence Thayer . What it's missing is the tremendous contribution the musical recitation by Jerry Colonna made to its predecessor . However , the good humor , fine animation and gentle nudge for women's rights more than compensate for any lack in presentation . 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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437,180 | 306,861 | 11,841 | 10 |
A Simple Story Of Plain People
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A young woman , after being lured into a false marriage , finds the chance for happiness on a friendly farm WAY DOWN EAST . David Wark Griffith , the Father of American Cinema , had his last great financial blockbuster with this highly sentimentalized silent melodrama . Always anxious to promote decency & morality with his epic films , Griffith here exposes & castigates male brutality against the weaker female , making this a stark portrayal of Good versus Evil as he follows the fortunes and misfortunes of his long-suffering heroine . Bird-like & fragile , Lillian Gish takes the brunt of the plot upon her young shoulders . To say that she performs magnificently is only to state the expected . The wealth of emotions stealing across her lovely face give expression to her every thought , as her character struggles to maintain her equilibrium against the onslaughts hurled against her . Richard Barthelmess portrays the quietly heroic farm lad who becomes paladin for Miss Gish during her tribulations while abiding in his home . His stalwart decency is in strong contrast to the villainy of Lowell Sherman , the rich roué whose misdeeds nearly destroy Lillian . Griffith's broad canvas allows for detailed portraits by a fine supporting cast : a pharisaical squire ( Burr McIntosh ) , his saintly wife ( Kate Bruce ) , a butterfly-chasing professor ( Creighton Hale ) , a dour landlady ( Emily Fitzroy ) , a lazy , good-natured constable ( George Neville ) , a jolly , oafish farmhand ( Edgar Nelson ) , and a gossiping spinster ( Vivia Ogden ) . The film climaxes with one of the most famous sequences in all of Silent Cinema : Barthelmess ' rescue of Miss Gish as she lies unconscious on an ice floe , speeding towards a tremendous waterfall . Filmed on Long Island in the dead of Winter , the performers were in real peril . These scenes still pack a punch and are worthy testimony to Griffith's genius . Special mention should be made of the cinematography of G . W . Bitzer , Griffith's invaluable cameraman . His beautiful photography softly illumines both the tender scenes and the bucolic vistas , giving them the quality of aged snapshots in a cherished family album .
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437,134 | 306,861 | 36,060 | 10 |
It's A Bird , It's A Plane , It's Superman !
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A SUPERMAN Cartoon . Intrepid girl reporter Lois Lane uncovers a dastardly Nazi plot in Darkest Africa . But when she falls into the clutches of the villains & JUNGLE DRUMS pound out the revelry attending her imminent immolation , it begins to look like a job for Superman . . . 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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436,996 | 306,861 | 31,314 | 10 |
Suspense In The Jungle
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A small plane , flying over the untracked reaches of the Amazon , crash lands into the jungle . Twelve people are on board - eleven survive . Even if the plane can take-off again , which is far from certain , there is only fuel enough to carry five to safety . Who will leave and who will stay to face certain death from the watching headhunters ? Who would you choose ? Thus the premise of this fine little adventure thriller , in which we get to know the eleven very well . Some will rise to nobility & self-sacrifice , others will sink to cruel cowardice . In the cast : Lucille Ball , Chester Morris , Wendy Barrie , Patric Knowles , John Carradine , Allen Jenkins , Joseph Calleia & Sir C . Aubrey Smith . Time grows short . The tension mounts . Who will survive ?
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437,783 | 306,861 | 29,385 | 10 |
From Disaster To Delight
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An MGM PETE SMITH SPECIALITY Short Subject . When her cook walks out , an incompetent housewife receives PENNY WISDOM in the kitchen only minutes before her hubby's boss comes to dinner . Pete Smith serves up his special brand of narrative lunacy in this very enjoyable short film which features Prudence Penny , Culinary Columnist for the Los Angeles Examiner . She demonstrates her cooking expertise by producing a delicious ham meal , with baked Alaska for dessert , in a short time . The food looks great in Technicolor . This little movie , which won the Oscar for Best Short Film of 1937 , was a reworking of an earlier Pete Smith short subject , MENU ( 1933 ) . Often overlooked or neglected today , the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents , both in front & behind the camera . The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film , something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel . Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material , short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios ' feature films .
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437,079 | 306,861 | 38,259 | 10 |
Holmes Versus Moriarty , Round Three
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Sherlock Holmes matches wits with THE WOMAN IN GREEN , a nefarious female who may possibly be involved in a string of ghastly London murders . Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce return once again to the roles for which they were most famous - - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's celebrated detective Sherlock Holmes and his trusty companion Dr . Watson . Although the film is short on excitement and could definitely use a more satisfying climax , Rathbone & Bruce are never boring , perfectly portraying Holmes ' superior intelligence and Watson's amiable bumbling . One of the most enjoyable aspect of the Holmes films is the occasional vivid characterization provided by very fine supporting players . One of the very best was Henry Daniell , whose silky voice and air of sinister sophistication could be so valuable in a mystery drama . He had previously appeared in the series twice , but this was the first time he would play the Napoleon of Crime - - Professor Moriarty . Daniell's scenes with Rathbone approach something very special ; unfortunately the script does not let them go quite over the top . In the title role , lovely Hillary Brooke never loses her icy cool . Her best moment comes as she calmly utilizes her hypnotic prowess over Holmes . Also adding to the fun are Paul Cavanagh as a desperate knight , Sally Shepherd playing a baleful maid & Frederick Worlock portraying a mesmeric expert . Dear Mary Gordon returns as Mrs . Hudson . Matthew Boulton plays a sturdy but uninteresting Inspector Gregson . And that's an unbilled Percival Vivian enlivening his brief unbilled role as Moriarty's mad little doctor . This film , which included elements of Conan Doyle's ' The Final Problem ' and ' The Empty House , ' followed THE HOUSE OF FEAR ( 1945 ) and preceded PURSUIT TO ALGIERS ( 1945 ) .
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437,673 | 306,861 | 10,040 | 10 |
Classic Mary Pickford Heart Warmer
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An irrepressible orphan girl , living in the appalling conditions of a large asylum , is rescued by a mysterious benefactor and sent to college . Affectionately referring to him as DADDY-LONG-LEGS , she strives to make him proud of her . But when unexpected love comes her way , will she follow her heart or the wishes of her patron ? Mary Pickford was the greatest movie star of the 20th Century . No one else even came close to inspiring the love & devotion of the millions of fans who flocked to see her silent films . In our jaded age it is difficult to understand why a diminutive little lady could engender such ardor right around the world . For answers , one need look no further than DADDY-LONG-LEGS . Expertly blending joy & pathos , Mary makes us instantly feel the emotions her character is living through . Whether it's stealing a doll for a dying child , dunking a bully in a well , listening to her dead mother being insulted in the worst way , or feeling the pangs & delights of a first love , Pickford tugs at our heart strings , our tear ducts , our funny bones . To watch this film is to get a glimpse as to why America's Sweetheart stands absolutely unique in her legendary status . Although this is Mary's show all the way , in the supporting cast Milla Davenport should be noted for her vivid portrayal of the vile asylum warden . The film's director , Marshall A . Neilan , appears as a hapless young Lothario . It was the success of this film at the box office which inspired Pickford to form a studio & become her own distributor . So it was that United Artists was born , with partners Douglas Fairbanks , Charlie Chaplin & D . W . Griffith . The film has been beautifully restored , with a fine musical score . Notice the original ' art titles , ' the evocative paintings which enrich the captions .
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437,976 | 306,861 | 25,590 | 10 |
The Essential Fields
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The Great McGonigle , ham actor extraordinaire , cares for his troupe of performers in THE OLD FASHIONED WAY , thorough chicanery , larceny & skullduggery . . . Here is W . C . Fields in all of his pompous , vulgar glory : evasive , duplicitous , sneaky - utterly wonderful . Delivering dialogue in his unique buzz saw rasp , he gives out so many familiar lines that at times he almost seems to be performing a self-parody . This film brilliantly shows why Fields needed the sound cinema to let him be fully appreciated , and with Paramount giving him free rein to develop his material as he wished , it is not surprising that the film is a classic . Fans need look no further to find the essential Fields . The romance between Judith Allen & Joe Morrison is a rather dull affair , although the young man sings well . Tammany Young plays Fields ' loyal amanuensis . Movie mavens will recognize comedian Billy Bletcher as the tomato thrower & sour-visaged sheriff Clarence Wilson , both uncredited . Legend has it that Hollywood's first movie star , Florence Lawrence , derelict & forgotten , made one of her last unbilled appearances here before her 1938 suicide . Fields found it useful to populate his films with at least one she-dragon , a female of frightful aspect against whom he could bounce off some of his best humor . This film has two : rail-thin , Nora Cecil - prim & dour as the troupe's suspicious landlady ; and most especially silly Jan Duggan , horridly bejeweled & curled , as Field's wealthy target . Here was an actress , now nearly forgotten , who could easily equal in hilarity even Fields himself . It is generally overlooked how important her contribution is to the celebrated supper table scene with Fields & Baby LeRoy - one of the funniest sequences ever to appear in an American film . And her rendition of ' Gathering Up The Shells On The Seashore ' is a wonderful spoof of such sentimental songs as ' When You And I Were Young , Maggie , ' which were so popular in that era . Miss Duggan would return to briefly plague Fields in three additional films , including THE BANK DICK ( 1940 ) . ( She died in 1977 at the age of 95 . ) Fields has included the old melodrama The Drunkard into the plot and to his credit he plays it ? straight , ' letting its honest antique sentiment speak for itself . In his own private olio , Fields makes a curtain call to show off his astonishing talent of legerdemain . It is wonderful to have his routine captured on film as he really is quite amazing - it is easy to see how at one time he was considered the world's greatest juggler . Now he is remembered as one of cinema's supreme comics .
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437,122 | 306,861 | 25,591 | 10 |
A Little Attempted Murder With Mr . Laurel & Mr . Hardy
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A LAUREL & HARDY Comedy Short . Ollie agrees to marry a wealthy widow - not realizing she's a homicidal maniac . She has a curious habit of finding men named " Oliver " and then slitting their throats the night before the wedding . She's killed seven times already ; now she plans on making OLIVER THE EIGHTH victim . Locked in her mansion of death , the Boys are in for a night of comic terror . . . This little film is somewhat of a change of pace for the Boys , but it's very funny and they lampoon its Gothic mood quite nicely . Mae Busch is lots of fun as the widow .
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437,848 | 306,861 | 16,029 | 10 |
Shirley Temple Marches Away With Movie
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Having earned her nickname due to her stubborn temper , THE LITTLE COLONEL courageously tries to reunite her splintered family . Shirley Temple smiles , pouts , tosses her curly locks and completely runs away with the movie . One of her early family classics , this is an excellent showcase for her tremendous charm & abundant talents . As box-office queen , the mighty moppet would dominate Hollywood during the second half of the 1930's . Never was a despot so welcomed or a tyrant so loved . As one of the industry's finest character actors , crusty Lionel Barrymore gives the little lady a run for her money . Always entertaining , he knows when to purr or when to roar to maximum effect , even if he doesn't quite eclipse Little Miss Personality . Hattie McDaniel adds her own unique gifts to the role of Shirley's faithful servant , never allowing her dignity to be demeaned . As always , she is a joy . The legendary Bill Robinson is also on hand , mostly , one suspects , so as to partner Shirley in a couple of dances and they are wonderful , especially in Robinson's signature Staircase Dance . They are perfectly matched - one ramrod straight & ebony , the other tiny & blonde - and their minutes together on the screen is the stuff of which movie magic is made . Evelyn Venable & John Lodge , as Shirley's parents ( it's rare for her to have both all the way through a film ) do nicely with the romantic angle , but it's kept to a minimum , as is usual in a Temple film , where the spotlight is kept firmly focused on her . Sidney Blackmer appears as a smooth swindler who makes the serious mistake of angering THE LITTLE COLONEL . Although the film is given good production values by 20th Century Fox , it is the interaction between little Shirley and the other performers which far and away is the most important aspect of the picture . It should be noted that there are elements of racism in the story line , a not uncommon occurrence in Hollywood films of the 1930's . The final scene segues into early Technicolor - a pleasant way to end the story .
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437,605 | 306,861 | 44,726 | 10 |
The Goof Is On The Case
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A Walt Disney GOOFY Cartoon . Hired by a veiled female , the Goof illustrates the finer points of HOW TO BE A DETECTIVE while searching for the mysterious Al . While at first blush this may seem to be another in the long series of Goofy's ' educational ' shorts , this cartoon is actually a lively spoof of detective films and the happy nonsense with which they are filled . Goofy plays Johnny Eyeball , a Sam Spade wannabe ; Pete appears as Muldoon the cop . 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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437,324 | 306,861 | 16,028 | 10 |
An enjoyable silent movie . . .
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Although it might seem a bit bizarre to see a 32-year-old woman play the part of a 12-year-old , Mary Pickford soon makes you forget the incongruities and simply enjoy the fun . Mary is a street kid in New York City , with her own lovable gang of mischief makers , whose attentions are engaged by the older William Haines ( he was 25 at the time & just on the cusp of his own screen stardom . ) To give away too much of the plot would not be fair . Suffice it that Mary is great fun to watch & amply displays why she was Hollywood's first and most beloved super star . Production values are very good , with lots of extras making the NYC street scenes quite believable .
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438,305 | 306,861 | 31,322 | 10 |
Mr . Laurel & Mr . Hardy Invite You To Join Them On A Little Adventure
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Hoping to forget Ollie's blighted love life , the Boys join the French Foreign Legion . Quickly spreading chaos , they soon find themselves sentenced to be shot . Making their escape , they unwittingly become THE FLYING DEUCES when they find themselves in a runaway airplane . . . While not one of their classics , in their typical slapstick fashion Stan & Ollie make this a very enjoyable film to watch . By this point in their partnership , the Boys worked so well together that it was almost impossible to imagine one without the other . Highlights : Stan's Bedsprings Serenade , and a delightful little soft-shoe to ' Shine On , Harvest Moon ' ( Ollie does the vocalizing ) . Jean Parker & Reginald Gardiner supply the romantics , although they're given little to do . Old pros Charles Middleton as the Commandant , and James Finlayson as the Jailor are given a few moments to shine .
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437,865 | 306,861 | 20,643 | 10 |
Hiding From The Law With Mr . Laurel & Mr . Hardy
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A LAUREL & HARDY Comedy Short . On the run from the police , Stan & Ollie hide in a deserted mansion . But when an English nobleman appears , wanting to rent the place & meet the owner and servants , the Boys find themselves in ANOTHER FINE MESS . A funny early talkie . Highlight : Stan's hilarious impersonation of Agnes the Maid . That's James Finlayson as Colonel Buckshot , Charles K . Gerard & Thelma Todd as Lord and Lady Plumtree .
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437,039 | 306,861 | 33,866 | 10 |
A Little Film Of Great Significance
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Roused from somnambulistic lethargy to defend herself against unspeakable evil , a mighty nation would make foreign tyrants fear the sound of MAIN STREET ON THE MARCH ! Here is a tremendous example of the power of film when expertly crafted . It is also an invaluable video document of the situation in America at one of the supremely pivotal moments of her history . Blending documentary footage with Studio shots , the film quickly paints a snapshot portrait of the country and its moods in the months leading up to active participation in World War Two . Conceived by MGM as a stern warning against American neutrality in response to the threats of Axis aggression , the film was virtually ready for release when the Japanese Empire made its sneak attack against Hawaii on December 7 , 1941 . Producer John Nesbitt hastily rewrote & recorded the new narration , without altering the existing music or sound effects . The emotionally stirring result was considered so forceful that MAIN STREET ON THE MARCH ! was awarded the Academy Award for best two-reel short subject of 1941 . A sequel , MAIN STREET TODAY , was produced in 1944 . 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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437,866 | 306,861 | 33,867 | 10 |
Sothern Sizzles
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Our MAISIE WAS A LADY , or at least took care of one after going to work for two very wealthy siblings . In this , the fourth entry in the Maisie series ( 1939-1947 ) , lovable Ann Sothern continues to shine as the brassy showgirl who uses her innate decency and good old common sense to see her - and those around her - through life's rough patches . Although the film can boast of good production values and a fine supporting cast , Sothern remains the primary reason to watch . Lovelorn Maureen O'Sullivan and alcoholic Lew Ayres are the sister & brother in need of Maisie's not-so-gentle ministrations . Paul Cavanagh , as their too-often-absent father , does well with his few scenes . Ushering in some unexpectedly serious sequences , Edward Ashley as O'Sullivan's caddish boyfriend , and pretty Joan Perry as his jilted lover , give the film a raw edge often missing in most comedies . Best of all is wonderful Sir C . Aubrey Smith as the family's elderly , kindhearted butler . In a role which could have been rather insignificant in lesser hands , the old gentleman works a gentle magic with his lines and turns his part into one of the film's highlights . Movie mavens will recognize Billy Curtis & Jerry Maren as two of the carnival's Little People , and Hans Conried as one of the silly house guests .
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437,333 | 306,861 | 20,671 | 10 |
Goin ' Camping With The Little Rascals
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An OUR GANG Comedy Short . Wanting to become BEAR SHOOTERS , the Gang goes camping . Unfortunately , they settle on a spot occupied by a criminal hideout . . . A very funny little film . Highlights : the ' gorilla ' ; Chubby's limburger cheese . How would you like to grease Wheezer ?
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437,510 | 306,861 | 20,667 | 10 |
At The Podium With Maestro Mouse
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A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon . Mickey attempts to lead THE BARNYARD CONCERT of the ever popular ' Poet & Peasant Overture . ' The musical soundtrack drives nearly all the action in this virtually plotless little black & white film . Clarabelle Cow & Horace Horsecollar get to showoff their instrumental virtuosity : she plays the flute while he attacks a drum . Mickey rather cruelly extracts music from almost anything , including a litter of nursing piglets . 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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437,378 | 306,861 | 27,518 | 10 |
Three Young Stars Make Film A Success
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Three little tough guys learn the value of friendship & loyalty , during family crises and troubles with the law . While overlong & predictable , THE DEVIL IS A SISSY is the only chance to see all three of MGM's little 1930's princes in one film . Freddie Bartholomew , Jackie Cooper & Mickey Rooney ( 12 , 14 and 15 respectively when the film was released ) are a great deal of fun to watch & make a terrific cinematic trio . At this point , they were all at different stages in their careers . Jackie's heyday as a child star - including a stint with Hal Roach's celebrated OUR GANG - was in the past . Freddie was in the very midst of his intense , brief major stardom . And Mickey was exhibiting glimpses of the talent that in a few years would make him the biggest star in Hollywood . Although a ? youth picture ' in every way , there are several good performances from a small crowd of adults , most notably Englishman Ian Hunter , as Freddie's sincere , honest father . Also appearing to advantage in smaller parts are Kathleen Alexander as Freddie's emotional mother ; Gene & Kathleen Lockhart as Jackie's stern parents ; and Peggy Conklin as Mickey's free-spirited aunt . Little Etienne Girardot appears as a fierce school principal , as does Jonathan Hale playing a sympathetic judge and Grant Mitchell as a serious suitor to Mickey's mom . Harold Huber , Stanley Fields & Frank Puglia are a gang of brutal thugs who run afoul of the three youngsters , while Hattie McDaniel's older sister , Etta , makes the most of her one scene as Miss Conklin's maid . That's an unbilled Dorothy Peterson doing a fine job as Mickey's mother . Movie mavens should recognize Christian Rub as a funerary stone mason ; Ian Wolfe as a pawnbroker ; and George Davis as a French diner owner - all uncredited . The good production values bestowed by MGM are also a great asset to the film , particularly in the neighborhood scenes .
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437,975 | 306,861 | 49,304 | 10 |
A Salute To The American Nurse
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An RKO-Pathe Screenliner Short Subject . Throughout the history of medicine , in wartime & peace , it has been HER HONOR , THE NURSE who has been the indispensable backbone of the healing arts . This very interesting little film follows young Betty Hess , a very competent nurse trainee , as she studies the courses & procedures necessary to graduate and join the staff of a large hospital . Often overlooked or neglected today , the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents , both in front & behind the camera . The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film , something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel . Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material , short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios ' feature films .
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437,157 | 306,861 | 27,515 | 10 |
The Lubitsch Touch Is Felt Again
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The DESIRE for a fabulous string of pearls has unexpected results for the beautiful thief . Bearing the unmistakable impress of its legendary producer , Ernst Lubitsch , here is a stylish concoction of witty dialogue & sophisticated romance sure to please the most discriminating palate . It is a shame that the film is so badly neglected , as it is a joy from start to finish . With impeccable production values , the film is also a study in handsome sets & costumes . Gorgeous Marlene Dietrich ravishes the eye with her sheer physical presence , but her beauty should not detract from her acting ability , which is considerable . She presents us with a woman of mystery & slowly , deliberately , allows us to acquaint ourselves with her character . She imbues it all with a real sense of humor , which makes her first scenes , in which she pulls off a classic jewel robbery , all that more delightful . Rawboned & enthusiastic , there is very little mystery swirling about Gary Cooper , playing an American auto engineer working in Paris . Embracing all life might bring him in his first trip to Spain , he is wide open and ready for passionate romance when Dietrich blows into his life . Their screen time together is charged with sensual electricity which no Production Code could disguise . Deftly underplaying the menace of his role , John Halliday is dangerously suave as a thieving ? prince ' who manages to keep one step ahead of the law . Ernest Cossart & Alan Mowbray are wonderful as Parisian gentlemen who fall victim to Dietrich's schemes ( one has his pearls purloined , the other gets his dignity damaged ) . Elderly English actress Zeffie Tilbury is given an unusually choice role , playing the matriarch of the gang of thieves . Arriving late in the proceedings , with only a few scenes she is able to make us wish we knew a lot more about her character . In much smaller roles , William Frawley as Cooper's boss & Akim Tamiroff , as a Spanish police official blinded by Dietrich's beauty , do well with their few minutes on the screen .
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438,059 | 306,861 | 20,658 | 10 |
Disney's Salute To The Seasons , Opus Three
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A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short . AUTUMN has arrived and the leaves are falling furiously . The beavers are patching their dams & lodges , while skunks and porcupines , and especially the squirrels , are working feverishly to store food for the coming cold months . . . More action / reaction animation in this black & white cartoon . Also more posterior gags , in dubious taste , from the Disney animators . 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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437,590 | 306,861 | 33,888 | 10 |
Superman To The Rescue !
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A SUPERMAN Cartoon . Another mad scientist has sent his creations to terrorize Metropolis . Giant flying robots are pulling off daring bank robberies & jewel heists . When intrepid reporter Lois Lane is carried off by one of the robots , it's Superman to the rescue . But can even he stand up to the pounding he's about to receive from THE MECHANICAL MONSTERS ? This was another in the series of excellent cartoons Max Fleischer produced for Paramount Studio . They feature great animation and taut , fast-moving plots . Meant to be shown in movie theaters , they are miles ahead of their Saturday Morning counterparts .
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437,898 | 306,861 | 27,459 | 10 |
Topnotch Acting Enlivens Lumber Tale
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An aging lumber tycoon tries to relive his youth after meeting the hauntingly beautiful daughter of an old friend . Based on the sprawling novel by Edna Ferber , COME AND GET IT is a fascinating love story , filled with action & tenderness and some very good acting . The production values are on a high order , with the authentic logging sequence especially exciting . Boisterous , brash & bold , Edward Arnold portrays the brawling two-fisted lumberjack who pushes himself to the top of the heap , trampling on his one great love in the process . Although completely unbelievable as a young man during the first three-quarters of an hour , this is not a problem as he is never anything less than enjoyable in the role . Miss Frances Farmer , playing a tenderhearted floozy and her own ambitious daughter , has the best film of her career . She is nothing less than radiant and her obvious talent makes her bizarre personal history all that much more tragic . Wonderful Walter Brennan plays Arnold's jovial Swedish pal , in a performance that would catapult him out of cinematic anonymity and earn him the first of his three Oscars for Best Supporting Actor . Seemingly able to play any kind of part - as long as the character was middle-aged or elderly - during his 46 years in movies & television Mr . Brennan would become one of America's most beloved character actors . He died in 1974 at the age of 80 . Almost obscured by the oversized talents around him , Joel McCrea wisely turns in an understated performance as Arnold's quiet , intelligent son ( he invents the disposable paper cup ! ) . His years of solid successes in front of the cameras were adding up and he would soon become a major Hollywood star . A quartet of fine actresses fill smaller roles : Mary Nash as Arnold's neglected wife ; Andrea Leeds as his adored daughter ; Mady Christians as Brennan's sturdy , sensible niece ; and Cecil Cunningham as Arnold's intuitive , sharp-tongued secretary . That's porcine Edwin Maxwell once again playing a bad guy , this time the crooked owner of a lumber camp saloon . The song which is used as the theme for Miss Farmer's characters is ? Aura Lee , ' ( written in 1861 by W . W . Fosdick & George R . Poulton ) a very popular strain on both sides during the War Between The States . Decades later , in the 1950's , Elvis Presley would use the tune for one of his biggest hits , ? Love Me Tender . '
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437,026 | 306,861 | 27,468 | 10 |
Disney Meets Aesop
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A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short . Mouse Abner , THE COUNTRY COUSIN from Podunk , arrives in the big city to taste some of the high life enjoyed by his sophisticated cousin , Monty . Enjoying the viands of a banquet table - most especially the champagne - Abner is soon to encounter his first big city cat . . . With the delightful Abner the center of attention , this fun , fast-paced cartoon spoof of Aesop's Fable easily became the 1936 Academy Award recipient . The SILLY SYMPHONIES , which Walt Disney produced for a ten year period beginning in 1929 , are among the most fascinating of all animated series . Unlike the Mickey Mouse cartoons in which action was paramount , with the Symphonies the action was made to fit the music . There was little plot in the early Symphonies , which featured lively inanimate objects and anthropomorphic plants & animals , all moving frantically to the soundtrack . Gradually , however , the Symphonies became the school where Walt's animators learned to work with color and began to experiment with plot , characterization & photographic special effects . The pages of Fable & Fairy Tale , Myth & Mother Goose were all mined to provide story lines and even Hollywood's musicals & celebrities were effectively spoofed . It was from this rich soil that Disney's feature-length animation was to spring . In 1939 , with SNOW WHITE successfully behind him and PINOCCHIO & FANTASIA on the near horizon , Walt phased out the SILLY SYMPHONIES ; they had run their course & served their purpose .
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438,116 | 306,861 | 29,413 | 10 |
Too Many Puppies For Pluto
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A Walt Disney PLUTO THE PUP Cartoon . With Mama Fifi gone looking for food , PLUTO'S QUIN-PUPLETS get into all sorts of mischief . This is a very fine cartoon , with excellent animation and a funny storyline . Although a success , Pluto's young family was not to appear in any subsequent film ; at least they were spared the indignities heaped upon the real life Dionne Quintuplets of Ontario , Canada ( born in 1934 ) , who are being somewhat spoofed here . 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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437,330 | 306,861 | 29,415 | 10 |
Popeye Saves The Day !
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A POPEYE Cartoon . After crashing his plane in the Sahara , POPEYE THE SAILOR MEETS ALI BABA'S FORTY THIEVES when brigand Abu Hassan loots the desert village where the old spinach muncher has found respite . With Olive Oyl captured as a slave for the Thieves , it's time for our hero to come to the rescue . . . This was the second in a series of 3 excellent two-reel cartoons , created by Max Fleischer , in which Popeye & his friends are interpolated into the classic stories of The Arabian Nights . They feature great animation - notice the fascinating 3-D backgrounds - and taut , fast-moving plots . Meant to be shown in movie theaters , they are miles ahead of their Saturday Morning counterparts . Jack Mercer is the voice of Popeye ; Mae Questel does the honors for Olive Oyl .
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438,000 | 306,861 | 13,858 | 10 |
Mr . Keaton Flies High
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A BUSTER KEATON Silent Short . Intrepid Buster faces danger on land , on water & in the air - generally because of his disastrous attempts to impress lovely young women . THE BALLOONATIC - which actually gives very little screen time to the hot air balloon - is rather a jumble of disjointed ( but funny ) scenes which bare scant relation to each other . With any other star it would be easy to dismiss , but Keaton holds it all together ( barely ) by the sheer force of his undeniable talent and some very amusing moments . Highlight : the trajectory of a large lady sliding precipitately out of an amusement park's horror house causes some impact problems for Buster . 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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437,352 | 306,861 | 31,334 | 10 |
Rousing Adventure Epic
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A young English army officer resigns his commission just as war in Africa breaks out . His 3 best friends , officers all , and his fiancée each give him a white feather - the sign of the coward . Shunned & ostracized , he undertakes a mission to clear his honour & prove his courage . This is a wonderful British adventure film , equally on a par with anything Hollywood was to produce in that golden year of 1939 . Shot in color , with spare-no-expense filming in the Sudan , THE FOUR FEATHERS is a paean to the glory days of Victoria's Empire & the men who fought to build it . Sir John Clements is excellent as the young hero . Although virtually unknown to American audiences his entire career , Sir John was a very fine actor with a warmly distinctive voice which he uses here to advantage . Sir Ralph Richardson appears , terrific as always , as one of the friends ; so does John Laurie , very good as the troublesome Khalifa . Sir C . Aubrey Smith , magnificent as a curmudgeonly old general , provides the final hurdle Sir John must jump to regain his reputation .
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437,095 | 306,861 | 49,328 | 10 |
A Bear Tale
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A Walt Disney HUMPHREY BEAR Cartoon . Humphrey becomes a HOOKED BEAR by stealing as many tasty fish as possible , always trying to keep one step ahead of the Little Ranger . . . This short film has some very funny moments , centered around the personalities of dimwitted Humphrey & fusspot J . Audubon Woodlore - voiced by Jim Macdonald & Bill Thompson respectively . 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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437,868 | 306,861 | 12,190 | 10 |
More Than A Tango
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THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE bring the devastation of the Great War to two Argentine sisters , one married to a Frenchman , the other to a German . It is a shame that this wonderful film is remembered now almost solely for Rudolph Valentino's first scene , in which he dances a sensual tango . This sequence , which appears in the opening half hour , was enough to put Valentino on the movie map as an important young actor and paved the way for more libidinous roles in the future , but the film is about so much more than just a tango . World War One had only ended in 1918 , barely three years before FOUR HORSEMEN was released . The effects of the War - maimed men and fatherless children - were everywhere , and much devastation still remained in Europe . Director Rex Ingram took Vicente Blasco Ibáñez ' novel and turned it into a powerful & disturbing anti-war polemic . The imagery of the Four Horsemen , riding across the screen , becomes a compelling symbol of man's inhumanity . Although Valentino gets the attention now - and his performance is very fine , showing his character's maturity after encountering the War's harsh realities - he's not the actual star of the film . Equal kudos should also extend to Josef Swickard playing his French father , who dominates lengthy stretches of the story as he frantically reacts to his castle's desecration by the invading Germans , including his own brutal nephew . Alice White , Ingram's wife , is wonderful as Valentino's conflicted lover , torn between passion for him and duty to her honorable husband . She adds a very real touch of class and believability , just as she would in future films directed by Ingram . Standouts in the cast include Pomeroy Cannon as the old ' Centaur , ' Valentino's hot-blooded Spanish grandfather ; Alan Hale as Valentino's stern German uncle ; John St . Polis as Miss Terry's affronted spouse ; and bullying Wallace Beery as a crude German officer . Gaunt Nigel de Brulier is mesmerizing in his Epiphanic role as the mysterious lodger who explains to Valentino the significance of the Four Horsemen . Movie mavens will recognize an unbilled Jean Hersholt as Hale's bearded son . Silent star Noble Johnson portrays the first Horseman , Conquest . ( Supposedly Ramon Novarro is one of the extras in the Ball scene , probably as a dancer . This is very possible , as he would become a star in Ingram's film release of the following year , THE PRISONER OF ZENDA . ) Although nearly forgotten today , Rex Ingram was an excellent director who knew how to present epic photo dramas on a large scale which did not neglect the small , telling details , such as when the sweeping vistas of the Argentinean pampas gives way to the antics of a tiny pet monkey . His impish affection for the grotesque close-up is also in evidence . Ingram worked closely with his photographer Fred Seitz to achieve the play of light & shadow which enhanced the composition . But it's the authenticity of the performances which he consistently drew from his players that never fails to impress . It should be remembered that it was only six short years since the rather stagy acting of Griffith's THE BIRTH OF A NATION . Ingram had built on the Master's foundation and built well . THE FOUR HORSEMEN is splendid to simply look at , with its restored tints & artistic title cards . Carl Davis has graced the restoration with a splendid new score which carries the viewer along , emotionally underpinning the dramatics on screen with lilting melodies and robust orchestrations . The original references to the Four Horsemen can be found in The Book of Revelations ( sometimes called The Apocalypse of St . John ) at the end of The New Testament , Chapter 6 , verses 1-8 ( KJV ) : And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals , and I heard , as it were the noise of thunder , one of the four beasts saying , Come and see . And I saw , and behold a white horse : and he that sat on him had a bow ; and a crown was given unto him ; and he went forth conquering , and to conquer . And when he had opened the second seal , I heard the second beast say , Come and see . And there went out another horse that was red : and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth , and that they should kill one another : and there was given unto him a great sword . And when he had opened the third seal , I heard the third beast say , Come and see . And I beheld , and lo a black horse ; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand . And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say , A measure of wheat for a penny , and three measures of barley for a penny ; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine . And when he had opened the fourth seal , I heard the voice of the fourth beast say , Come and see . And I looked , and behold a pale horse : and his name that sat on him was Death , and Hell followed with him . And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth , to kill with sword , and with hunger , and with death , and with the beasts of the earth .
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437,553 | 306,861 | 49,341 | 10 |
Oops !
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A Walt Disney Cartoon with DONALD DUCKDonald demonstrates HOW TO HAVE AN ACCIDENT IN THE HOME . This informative little film warns against the improper uses of electricity & gas , the danger of littered floors & crowded stairways and other safety hazards about the home . Followed by HOW TO HAVE AN ACCIDENT AT WORK ( 1959 ) . 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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437,915 | 306,861 | 25,538 | 10 |
A Musical Murder Mystery
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An MGM Colortone Musical . Murder has been committed in the old manor at Phwitterby-on-Thames , where elderly Barrister Butts was shot before the public reading of a will . Send Dr . Watkins to find the celebrated detective Philo Holmes ! Search the Piccadilly Club and bring the chorus girls & orchestra back with you ! Will Holmes make the right deduction ? And what does the homicide have to do with MY GRANDFATHER'S CLOCK ? This silly little film is a good example of the type of fluff popular with young audiences in the 1930's . Nearly all the spoken dialogue is in rhyme & the tunes from many familiar musical compositions are interpolated . The color production is very pleasing to the eye . Holmes & Watkins are played by Charles Judles & Franklin Pangborn ( who nearly steals the show with his prissy behavior . ) Film mavens will recognize Mischa Auer as one of the manor servants .
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437,857 | 306,861 | 42,592 | 10 |
Splendid Disney Nature Documentary
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A Walt Disney TRUE-LIFE ADVENTURE . Far up in the remote regions of the Rocky Mountains , IN BEAVER VALLEY , we examine the marvelous creations of Nature's Engineer , the beaver . We see how these animals transform the landscape , providing habitats for many other creatures . The dramatic story of the salmon is also shown , as are the antics of the irrepressible otters & the wily coyote . Highlight : The Soulful Serenade of the Lovelorn Frog . ' 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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438,234 | 306,861 | 350,725 | 10 |
A Bit Of A Bow-Wow
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An MGM ALL BARKIE Short Subject . A couple of COLLEGE HOUNDS find that gamblers , bookies & a wanton woman cause complications the day of the big game between Airedale College and Spitz University . This zany little film in the Dogville Series , with its look at varsity dorm life , a pool hall and a football game , is great fun . . . if one overlooks the sometimes obviously distressed canines being manipulated by guide wires . 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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438,318 | 306,861 | 46,932 | 10 |
Chipmunk Knights
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A Walt Disney DONALD DUCK Cartoon . Chip ' n ' Dale mistake Donald's steam shovel for a fearsome medieval monster - and fight back accordingly . DRAGON AROUND is an enjoyable little film , but both the plot and the animation are quite routine . 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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438,185 | 306,861 | 194,553 | 10 |
Great Moments With Mr . Lloyd
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Some of Silent Cinema's funniest moments may be found in HAROLD LLOYD'S WORLD OF COMEDY ( 1962 ) . Although he had not appeared on screen for many years , comic genius Harold Lloyd had kept ownership of his films , storing them in special vaults at his Beverly Hills mansion . He loved sharing the gift of laughter from his old movies whenever he could . Student audiences were a favorite , as were the young patients in Shriner hospitals for children . It was here that he had experimented showing compilations of his favorite cinematic moments culled from his old classics . It is important to remember that Harold's original films were unavailable for viewing by the general public for decades . He did not want them to be shown on commercial television where they were likely to be broken up for advertisements and shown at incorrect projection speeds . He was wise , especially when one considers what TV perpetrated upon the feature films and shorts of Laurel & Hardy and the Our Gang kids . In the early 1960's , 35 years after his Silent Glory Days , he produced and released this look back . Generous selections from both silent and talkie films are shown ( including , oddly , a couple of snippets from sound pictures shown ' silent ' ) . We get to see Harold dealing with the obstreperous turkey & taking a most adventurous drive in his new car from HOT WATER ( 1924 ) . A Latin American revolution causes him problems in WHY WORRY ? ( 1923 ) . The dog on a train and the race to the church sequences from GIRL SHY ( 1924 ) are up next . After segments from THE MILKY WAY ( 1936 ) and PROFESSOR BEWARE ( 1938 ) , we are treated to the hilarious dance with Louise Closser Hale in MOVIE CRAZY ( 1932 ) and Harold's dangling from the side of the skyscraper in FEET FIRST ( 1930 ) . While this compilation film is terrific fun , nothing takes the place of enjoying the movies in their full-length versions , now newly restored & freshly scored . The great success of this film internationally , as well as a special award at the Cannes Film Festival , meant Harold would certainly have to come up with a sequel of more greatest moments , which he did the following year with HAROLD LLOYD'S FUNNY SIDE OF LIFE ( 1963 ) .
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437,091 | 306,861 | 49,100 | 10 |
Modern Child Tames The West
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A Walt Disney Cartoon . A little boy living in an affluent penthouse apartment dreams of being a sheriff during the days of the Old West . A COWBOY NEEDS A HORSE , an agreeable little film produced in the flat , limited animation style so popular in the 1950's , is fun to watch as the brave tot heroically fights outlaws & rescues fair young maidens in distress . 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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438,069 | 306,861 | 22,647 | 10 |
Disney Tells A Grimm Tale
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A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short . A malignant old witch tricks the BABES IN THE WOODS into entering her house of horrors . Only their new friends , the little woodland dwarfs , can save them now . . . A lot of colorful action is packed into this cartoon , which includes elements of stories from the Brothers Grimm . Charming opening , in which the story begins as a sung lullaby . The wicked witch , though now all but forgotten , is the first of Disney's great villainesses . The SILLY SYMPHONIES , which Walt Disney produced for a ten year period beginning in 1929 , are among the most fascinating of all animated series . Unlike the Mickey Mouse cartoons in which action was paramount , with the Symphonies the action was made to fit the music . There was little plot in the early Symphonies , which featured lively inanimate objects and anthropomorphic plants & animals , all moving frantically to the soundtrack . Gradually , however , the Symphonies became the school where Walt's animators learned to work with color and began to experiment with plot , characterization & photographic special effects . The pages of Fable & Fairy Tale , Myth & Mother Goose were all mined to provide story lines and even Hollywood's musicals & celebrities were effectively spoofed . It was from this rich soil that Disney's feature-length animation was to spring . In 1939 , with SNOW WHITE successfully behind him and PINOCCHIO & FANTASIA on the near horizon , Walt phased out the SILLY SYMPHONIES ; they had run their course & served their purpose .
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437,401 | 306,861 | 25,532 | 10 |
Edna May Oliver - Super Sleuth
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This was the second of 3 films Edna May Oliver made at RKO starring as that indomitable school teacher / sleuth , Miss Hildegarde Withers . As always , Miss Oliver steals the show , sticks it in her handbag and walks off with it . This time she attempts to track down a murderer right in her own New York City school . With her gimlet eye & no-nonsense manner , the killer never really stands a chance . Miss Oliver , as always , is a joy to watch . James Gleason returns as the harried police detective Oscar Piper , now Hildegarde's boyfriend . Also on hand are Edgar Kennedy , Bruce Cabot & Tully Marshall . But , as in the other Withers films , Edna May is the real reason to watch .
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437,850 | 306,861 | 25,523 | 10 |
Heart Warming Tale Of Mother's Courage
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With her husband in the Klondike searching for gold , MRS . WIGGS OF THE CABBAGE PATCH ( the poor part of town ) valiantly strives against heavy odds to care for her five children . Based on the book by Helen Hegan Rice , this is a wonderfully sentimental look at a bygone era of Americana . While it is easy and perhaps even fashionable to scoff at films which touch the emotions , there is absolutely nothing wrong with sentimentality if the sentiment expressed rings honest & true . There are no false notes here . Noted stage actress Pauline Lord ( 1890-1950 ) , in the first of only three film appearances , is heartrending in the title role . Gentle & patient , she is the very epitome of loving motherhood . ZaSu Pitts ( 1898-1963 ) , with vague voice & fluttering fingers , gives a noteworthy performance as the Wiggs ' spinster neighbor . Had events proceeded differently and her contributions to von Stroheim's GREED justly appreciated , Miss Pitts would have been recognized as one of the screen's greatest tragediennes . Instead , she orbited into comedic roles , constantly portraying a nervous , scatterbrained female , a sort of living , breathing , Olive Oyl . Following the film's most sorrowful sequence , director Norman Taurog wanted to introduce a light touch to the succeeding scenes . The inimitable W . C . Fields was brought in for one week's work to play Miss Pitts ' gustatorial suitor . Although in much pain from a torn ligament , he is splendid , delivering what is almost a dress rehearsal for his subsequent characterization of the marvelous Micawber . His scenes with Miss Pitts are a special delight , mixing blustery braggadocio with humor & pathos . The romantic angle is nicely underplayed by Evelyn Venable & Kent Taylor , portraying upper echelon protectors of the Wiggs family . Charles Middleton does well as the obligatory villainous landlord . Young George P . Breakston is especially good as the ethereal Jimmy ; and Donald Meek scores in his tiny role as Mrs . Wiggs ineffectual husband . Movie mavens will recognize Arthur Housman in his typical role of an inebriate & Dell Henderson as the theater manager , both unbilled . Tender & charming , here is a film which the receptive viewer should cherish .
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438,096 | 306,861 | 22,654 | 10 |
Mouse Games
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A Walt Disney MICKEY MOUSE Cartoon . Mickey & Pete compete in the Cross Country event at the BARNYARD OLYMPICS , each hoping to capture Miss Minnie's attentions . This enjoyable little black & white film was Disney's salute to the 1932 Summer Games , which were held in Los Angeles . Clarabelle Cow is a spectator along with Minnie , while Horace Horsecollar performs as Mickey's masseur . Among the sports depicted are boxing , diving & wrestling . The hilarious fast walkers get an unexpected reaction from a gynandroid poodle up in the stands . 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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