What Classics Did You See Last Week? (Mar 27-Apr 2)

Most shorts, plus two feature films, some TV episodes, and an internet streamed video.

Things linked to are either public domain (the "What's My Line?" episodes) or are uploaded by the copyright holder (the Australian shorts).

FILM:

The Burlesque Suicide, No. 2 (1902, USA, 1 minute) - 6/10. Not very funny comedy.

The 'High Sign' (1921, USA, 20 minutes) - 8/10. Pleasant little comedy with Buster Keaton. One of the gags must have stayed with Keaton, as he repeated it in an early 1960s commercial for Simon Pure Beer (the gag involving a newspaper that folds out to absurd size). I also learned from this film that gang signs had been invented by then.

Christmas Under the Sun (1947, Australia, 17 minutes) - 7/10. Produced by Australia's department of immigration, one of a number of films designed to show British people what life is like in Australia. A propaganda film, I guess.


Power from the Snow (1955, Australia, 10 minutes) - 7.5/10. A documentary about the building and opening of a hydroelectric dam. Straight-forward, but interesting.


The Hangman Waits (1947, UK, 58 minutes) - 7/10. An extremely low-budget film, but with some interesting ideas. I think the film has a lot of atmosphere (something that seems to often be the case with zero-budget productions like this). Although produced in the 1940s (complete with a scene showing bombed-out buildings in London), it feels more like a 1930s film.

The Fatal Mallet (1914, USA, 14 minutes) - 7/10. Honestly, what more could you want than 14 minutes of people having bricks thrown at them and their head struck by a mallet? This is one of the most violent films I've ever seen, and it's a comedy!! Oh...I like this very much.

The Knockout (1914, USA, 30 minutes) - 5/10. Starts off promising but then became a mess.

Steady as she Goes (1949, Australia, 9 minutes) - 7.5/10. A documentary filmed at Sydney Harbour. Very nicely filmed. It was usually shown as part of a selection of documentary films (in what was known as a "theatrette"), but it does seem to have also had a theatrical release.


Mabel's Busy Day (1914, USA, 13 minutes) - 7/10. Geez, Charlie Chaplin's character is so unlikeable in this comedy short, I was kinda hoping to see him get beat up! A shame he didn't!

Our Policemen (1952, Australia, 10 minutes) - 7/10. A classroom film for children between the ages of 6 to 8, about the work of a policeman. It's no better and no worse than films of this kind from other countries.


Bread (1953, USA, 7 minutes) - 8/10. A short film with no plot, no message, just a lot of footage of bread. But the directing team of Charles Eames & Ray Eames are experts at taking a seemingly dull subject matter and making it fascinating. This was wonderful to watch. You'll never look at bread the same way again after watching this film.

Help Yourself (1950, UK, 12 minutes) - 7/10. Amusing little drama/comedy crime prevention film.

The Little Stranger (1936, USA, 8 minutes) - 7/10. Cute little cartoon loosely inspired by the ugly duckling story. The reviewers on IMDb hate this cartoon because it contains no jokes and has no "edge". Excuse me, but since when did all cartoons have to be comedies? Why can't anyone these days just enjoy a cute little cartoon?

New York Police Parade, June 1st, 1899 (1899, USA, 3 minutes) - 7.5/10. Basically just footage of a police parade. But it's fascinating to see real 19th century people. I love the uniforms of the cops from this period.


Two AM; or, The Husband's Return (1896, UK, 1 minute) - 7/10. Interesting little sketch. The basic idea (wife is upset when husband arrives late and is drunk) could still happen today. I love watching just about any short from the 19th century, just seeing 19th century people moving is quite amazing to me.


Mabel's Married Life (1914, USA, 15 minutes) - 7/10. Short silent comedy with Charlie Chaplin and Mabel Normand.

Probation Officer (1950, UK, 33 minutes) - 7.5/10. A drama about probation officers. It is interesting that the word "virgin" was used once.

Jack and the Beanstalk (1902, USA, 10 minutes) - 8/10. A simple but very charming version of the popular story.

The Interrupted Bathers (1902, USA, 1 minute) - 6/10. Not very good attempt at comedy. It must have seemed dated even in 1902.

The Gentle Trap (1960, UK, 56 minutes) - 7/10. The reviews on IMDb are pretty negative for this crime drama film. But I thought this was a decent way to waste an hour. This is what I like to call a "UHF" type film, something that might be shown as filler on a TV station circa 1975. The perfect film to watch when you have absolutely nothing better to do and your brain doesn't want to do much thinking......I love films like that.

TV

"What's My Line" - Episode Telecast 27 May 1962 (USA, 24 minutes). 7.5/10. Entertaining episode of the very long running prime-time game show. Guest panelist is Johnny Carson, along with regular panelists Arlene Francis, Dorothy Kilgallen, and Bennett Cerf. Mystery guest is Shirley Booth. Regular contestants include a female safari guide, and two navy men who helped with the recovery of an astronaut.


"Mary Mungo & Midge" - Mungo Lost, telecast 11 November 1969 (UK, 14 minutes). 7.5/10. Cute children's cartoon series which aired on the BBC. As I've mentioned before, this series was somewhat more realistic than other children's series. Although it features fantasy elements such as a talking dog and a flute playing mouse, it is nevertheless set in the "real world". The characters live in a realistic town, and their house is a flat in one of those "modern" housing developments of the period.

"What's My Line?" - Episode telecast 3 June 1962 (USA, 25 minutes). 8/10. A fun episode, has some good laughs. Raymond Burr is the mystery guest, and Buddy Hackett is the guest panelist.


"Miss Jones and Son" - Will You Be My Wife?, telecast 23 January 1978 (UK, 25 minutes). 7/10. This was a sitcom about a single mother and her baby. This episode is a bit too silly for my taste, although the ending is good.

"What's My Line?" - Episode telecast 10 June 1962 (USA, 25 minutes). 8/10. With Rosemary Clooney as the mystery guest, and Martin Gabel as the guest panelist. Regular panelist Arlene Francis seems to be a little drunk....and it's live from New York!


"What's My Line?" - Episode telecast 17 June 1962 (USA, 25 minutes). 8/10. With guest panelists Faye Emerson and Merv Griffin, and mystery guest James Mason.


INTERNET:

"SES-10 Hosted Webcast" - 7/10. I watched the launch of a Falcon 9 Full Thrust rocket carring the SES-10 satelite. This was webcast on SpaceX's YouTube channel. An entertaining program, despite some technical issues (it was sometimes very hard to hear the hosts over the cheering audience), and less than great hosts (you can tell being a host isn't their regular career in life).

April Fool’s Day At The Movies. One of our local independently owned theaters screened a set of five sound comedy short films for April 1 under the title of “The Greatest Fools.”

“The Pest From The West” Buster Keaton (1939) 18 min. Disappointingly, Buster was the least funny of the five short films. He arrives at a port on his yacht and steps onto the deck in full Scottish regalia. His English butler informs him that he is in Mexico. Buster goes back inside only to emerge in a outlandish Mexican outfit topped by a huge sombrero. Maybe the best gag in this two-reeler is that all the locals in town are startled and stop to stare at the costume. The main plot is that a señorita wants to make one lover jealous so he will kill her supposedly new boyfriend leaving her free to go off with yet a third man. Buster walks into the middle of this scheme and a flaccid wackiness ensues. Not one of Buster’s best. On YouTube.

“The Jitters” Leon Errol (1938) 20 min. Not many people realize (I didn’t) that Leon Errol was probably the most popular comedy stage actor of the 1910s. He starred in and directed several years of the Ziegfeld Follies. One of his most popular routines from the Follies is recreated in this two-reel film made about 20 years after it was invented – and I thank the theatrical gods that it was because it is laugh till you die funny. The Jitters was an actual dance craze that led to the more famous Jitterbug. The film version begins with Errol at home arguing with his wife who is going out with another man – a Frenchman! – to compete in a Jitters contest. Errol gets drunk at a restaurant then wanders into a dance studio to try to learn the Jitters. This is the point where we soar into comedy heaven. Our presenter at the screening said that “The Jitters” is a very hard video to find. It was once on YouTube but has been taken down. He apologized for the bad print we were seeing, but it was all he could find. But bad print or not, I had tears streaming down my face. I can’t imagine laughing like this at any modern comedy.

“Plastered” Willie, West, & McGinty (1930) 10 min. These Australian acrobats are mainly known to historians who specialize in vaudeville and English music hall history but who should have a larger audience. This is another recreation of a stage act. The three men are working at some kind of construction site but they never get anything done because they are accidentally banging each other in the head, falling and tumbling off platforms, kicking pails across the space to knock one of their partners down and generally creating inadvertent mayhem with some amazing antics done without special effects. Rare footage. Not on YouTube.

“The Beau Brummels” Shaw and Lee (1928) 9 mins. In what was essentially a film made to demonstrate the new Vitaphone sound technology to film distributors and theater owners, Al Shaw and Sam Lee recreate their vaudeville act in front of an unmoving camera. Their crazy song parodies are a highlight. Like other videos in this set, this is a valuable historical document demonstrating vaudevillian entertainment and it is also nine minutes of very funny material. Can be found on YouTube.

“Brats” Laurel and Hardy (1930) 21 min. This early Stan and Ollie sound short starts out with a big laugh, a title card that reads: “Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy remained at home to take care of the children---their wives had gone out for target practice.” The concept – which some critics have found more disturbing than comedic – is that the children are Stan and Ollie themselves getting into mischief in an oversized set built to look like a larger version of the room in which the two dads are moving. All Stan and Ollie, the fathers, want is a quiet evening playing checkers and pool but the two brats keep getting into trouble, as if the grown-ups don’t get into plenty of trouble all by themselves. Deserves the title “classic.” Oddly, not all of the many postings of this short on YouTube have the hilarious “target practice” card at the start.

“Perry Mason” (TV series) “The Case Of The Floating Stones” (Season 7, Episode 8) November 21, 1963. This late episode (the show ran for 9 seasons) does not show any failing of quality in this story which was first broadcast the evening before Pres. Kennedy’s assassination. By this time, the producers had run out of Perry Mason novels to adapt but their writers were still coming up with some good plots. This one involves a complicated scheme to smuggle some diamonds from Hong Kong into the U.S., a clever ruse that is not revealed until Perry untangles it in the inevitable courtroom conclusion. Some familiar faces show up in character roles: a) Joyce Jameson who had a long movie and TV career playing dizzy blondes. She plays the wife of the murder victim, thus a suspect. She passed away in 1987; b) Ken Lynch, another regular on series TV, he had a tough expression along with a gravely voice to back it up. I always thought he could have been Lloyd Nolan’s brother. He plays a cop (as he frequently did) in this PM case. Lynch died in 1990; c) Guest starring as Mason’s client is Irene Tsu, yet another film and TV stalwart from the ‘50s thru the ‘70s. Tsu had her last credit in 2007. She is still alive; 4) Finally, my favorite, James Hong, American of Chinese descent. His part in this drama is Tsu’s lawyer back in Hong Kong. Hong, now 88 years old, registers 259 TV credits and 128 film credits including two in post-production and two in pre-production.

Ma Mère (My Mother) / Christophe Honoré (2004). A very boring movie about sex. 20-something Pierre (Louis Garrel), who had been raised by his grandparents, goes to Italy to meet his mother (Isabelle Huppert) and father who promptly dies in an auto accident. He learns from his mother, Hélène, that she and his father had always led active but independent love lives and that she still did. Under the guidance of Mom, the religious virgin Pierre gets a sexual education. When Hélène realizes that she is becoming attracted to her own son, if not falling in love with him, she tries to stay away. This 105 minute film spends a lot of its time with tracking shots through a street festival, along a beach, and through a house and with scenes that are, I guess, supposed to be shocking and naughty. Pierre is such an opaque character it is never certain whether he feels abused or confused about his sexuality or just having a good time. It is saying something when a director can’t even make sex interesting. Zero stars. All thumbs down.

Bakemono No Ko (The Boy And The Beast) / Mamoru Hosoda (2015). This is a charming anime for families with older (school age) children. A young homeless boy in a Japanese city finds his way by chance into a parallel universe inhabited by humanoid animals. In order to survive he agrees to be the pupil of a contentious martial artist with the appearance of a bear who aspires to be the next ruler but whose argumentative nature keeps him from getting along with anyone else. The bear-like martial arts master – if he had been made by a live actor in the 1950s – would have been played by Toshiro Mifune. I’m sure that the resemblance both physically and vocally was deliberate. Naturally, before the end of the movie both student and teacher have learned valuable life lessons, but in between times we have an interesting story about growth, adoptions, and parent/child relationships.

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back / Edward Zwick (2016). I have enjoyed both of the Jack Reacher movies based on the novels of Lee Child. I have read a half-dozen of the books and mostly liked them for what they are. Reacher is a former Army major in the M.P.s who suddenly resigned one day and went on the road, living an day-to-day, hour-by-hour life with no permanent address. When his special skills in fighting, detecting, and killing are needed, especially if a military person needs help, he will show up. In this story, he understands right away that a woman major (Cobie Smulders) – who he has never met in person and who has Reacher’s former job – has been framed on an espionage charge and will be killed in jail. He has to break her out and go on the run to have time to find the Real Killers. Some good fights and action. Cruise gives a sincere performance but this franchise doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. It is a shame that the one Cruise action brand that is actually thriving is the terrible “Mission: Impossible” travesties. Here’s hoping that he will be allowed a third try at Jack Reacher that will be successful.

Wow, I hate to even leave a comment. The sheer volume of film that you've all been able to fit in along with a great critical analysis is amazing.

I work full time and go to night school so my viewing time is very restricted. That said I watched:

On the Beach (Gregory Peck) and Seven Men From Now (Randolph Scott, Lee Marvin). Both great films from the late 1950's.

On the Beach is a regular for me, I've seen it multiple times. I still shiver at the scene when morse code is heard originating from San Diego and then what the final resolution is to what/who is sending the garbled message. The utter hopelessness of the characters as the film goes on is pervasive while the final message of the film is quite obvious. "There is Still Time, Brother!" The movie is in pretty good condition, but it's obvious that the film didn't undergo very much restoration before transfer to blu ray.

Seven Men From Now is an excellent Western, an excellent collaboration between Scott, Marvin and the Director Budd Boetticher. While the dialog is sparse, the interaction between the characters is very powerful. Marvin and Scott both have some excellent lines. Scenery is quite spectacular, and the opening scene at the cave is quite suspenseful. The DVD is quite good, but a full restoration and blu ray release is highly recommended. Colors are faded unfortunately but I didn't notice much damage.

’Do You Remember Dolly Bell?’ (1981, Sjecas li se Dolly Bell? - Emir Kusturica)

In Sarajevo in the 1960s, 16 year-old Dino (Slavko Stimac) dreams of landing a beautiful dame and becoming a certified ‘G’, just like his heroes in Hollywood. When Dino is hired by criminals to hide prostitute Dolly Bell (Ljiljana Blagojevic), he enters into a relationship that spells danger.

Emir Kusturica’s debut feature ‘Do You Remember Dolly Bell?’ is an auto-biographical social fantasy parlayed into an unconventional crime film format. It’s crudely shot by camera co-conspirators Vilko Filac, Milenko Uherka and Kusturica, perhaps even a little clumsy in its execution, but the performers bring a lot to the table. Kusturica studied film in the Czech capital Prague and the influence of Vojtěch Jasný, Miloš Forman and Jiří Menzel is clear, especially during talent show segments. I think Kusturica’s made significantly better films than this one but there’s a charm to ‘Do You Remember Dolly Bell?’ that carries it through some awkward moments.

'Prisoners Of The Lost Universe' (1983 – Terry Marcel)

Television presenter Carrie Madison (Kay Lenz) and hardware handyman Dan Roebuck (Richard Hatch) are catapulted into the future where evil warlord (Kleel) John Saxon awaits them.

‘Prisoners Of The Lost Universe’ is a spotty British adventure shot in South Africa by fantasy specialist Terry Marcel. There are lots of strange creatures and aggressive beings chasing down easy-going hero Dan who engages sparring partner Carrie in a battle of the sexes. Kay Lenz is hilarious as the host of cable show ‘The Weird And The Wacky’ but a poor script and crummy special effects let her down. Marcel would iron out the creases with his next theatrical feature, the excellent ‘Jane And The Lost City’ (1987), which is a similarly romantic romp-a-long.

’Blondie : One Way Or Another’ (2006, Documentary – Matt O’Casey)

Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Jimmy Destri, Gary Valentine, Clem Burke, Frank Infante and Nigel Harrison, members of the rock group Blondie, are reluctantly reunited on stage for their induction into the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame.

The fractious documentary ’Blondie : One Way Or Another’ details the band’s fraught efforts to overcome anarchy, addiction, destruction, mismanagement and bitter internal disputes. There are interviews with the band, clips taken from the seniors tour and random contributions from Iggy Pop, Tommy Ramone, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Shirley Manson. Also interviewed are independent filmmaker Amos Poe, fashion photographer Roberta Bayley, television presenter Glenn O’Brien, punk journalist John Holstrom, club owner Hilly Kristal, graffiti artist Fab 5 Freddy and record producer Mike Chapman.

’The Concert’ (2009, Le concert - Radu Mihaileanu)

Blacklisted conductor Andrey Simonovich Filipov (Aleksey Guskov) rallies a new-fangled Bolshoi Orchestra in Moscow, Russia to perform music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky at a special concert.

‘The Concert’ is a real crowd-pleaser. Aleksei Guskov turns on the charm as celebrated maestro Andrei Filipov who invites violin virtuoso Anne-Marie Jacquet (Mélanie Laurent), talent agent Guylène de La Rivière (Miou-Miou) and events organiser Olivier Morne Duplessis (François Berléand) to join him in Moscow. Warm relationships between Catholic, Jewish and Gypsy communities are broadly rendered for light comic effect under Radu Mihaileanu’s safe direction but it’s the music on show that remains the film’s biggest prize.

’Blondie's New York And The Making Of Parallel Lines’ (2014, Documentary - Alan Ravenscroft)

Charting the planning and construction of Blondie’s iconic rock album ‘Parallel Lines’.

This is a dry evaluation of the techniques used by Blondie to create the album seen by some critics as the apotheosis of their career, a notion I’d reject completely as ‘Eat To The Beat’ and ‘Autoamerican’ are stunning artistic achievements in their own right. It’s narrated by Rebecca Gethings and invites the punk legends to deconstruct their own working methods.

’Goya : Visions Of Flesh And Blood’ (2015, Documentary - David Bickerstaff)

A major exhibition of portraits painted by Francisco Goya is put on display by the National Gallery in London, England.

The work of progressive painter Francisco Goya is generally bold and striking. Personally, I prefer the blood and thunder of his unsettling illusions to his formal portraits and glancing self-portraits which make me laugh. Goya’s disturbing fantasies and militaristic visions have been a source of inspiration to many horror filmmakers. The highlight of this documentary, for me, is a look at an Italian sketchbook used by Goya to draw ideas and take notes.

’Valley Of Love’ (2015, Valley of Love: un lugar para decir adios – Guillaume Nicloux)

Gérard (Gérard Depardieu) and Isabelle (Isabelle Huppert) respond to a fateful letter from their late son Michael by attempting to reissue their explosive love rites.

‘Valley Of Love’ is an existential romance wrapped up in an old-fashioned mystery. It’s strangely compelling with parts that are funny, loving and affecting offsetting a propensity for short dramatic passages punctuated by abrupt bursts of melodrama. Gérard Depardieu makes for a callow and unlikely hero while Isabelle Huppert drifts positively as the story’s philosophical heroine. Huppert has expressed a strong belief in her director Guillaume Nicloux and it’s easy to see why. Nice music by Charles Ives.

’Don’t Breathe’ (2016 – Fede Alvarez)

Thieves Rocky (Jane Levy), Alex (Dylan Minnette) and Mo’ Money (Daniel Zovatto) decide upon one last score. If Rocky can raise the cash in Detroit, Michigan, she can leave the mean streets behind for sunny California.

‘Don’t Breathe’ is a tidy home invasion thriller with a neat premise. It’s committed, serious and reasonably spare. It displays a strong feel for cinema of the early 1990s, borrowing elements from Wes Craven’s subversive crime horror ‘The People Under The Stairs’ (1991) and home invasion thrillers like ‘Pacific Heights’ (1990), ‘The Hand That Rocks The Cradle’ (1992), ‘Single White Female’ (1992) and ‘Unlawful Entry’ (1992). Director Fede Alvarez manages to successfully carve out his own indie identity though, helped by a blistering turn from veteran stage star Stephen Lang who’s right at home when confined to a set of small interior stages. ‘Don’t Breathe’ does exactly what it says on the tin which is refreshing.

’Renoir : Revered And Reviled’ (2016, Documentary – Phil Grabsky)

The Barnes Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania houses a collection of 181 paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, largely taken from his late period leading up to his death.

Like so many great 19th century French painters, Pierre-Auguste Renoir chose to project the luminous sheen of females with tangible detail and textural brushwork. He was a skilled technician and a profound innovator, inspiring future artists like Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, as well as generations of French filmmakers, animators and comic book artists to come. ’Renoir : Revered And Reviled’ sheds light on Renoir’s controversial work by quoting from the book ‘Renoir, My Father’ which was written by his son, film director Jean Renoir. I think it’s fair to say nobody mixed paint like the Renoirs.

’Turning The Worm’ (2016, Documentary – Doctor D-Cloud)

A profile of political commentator and Fox News contributor Jesse ‘Wildman’ Watters.

News stud Jesse Watters is being groomed by veteran broadcaster Bill O’Reilly to dominate the roster at the Fox corporation for when he and Sean Hannity finally make way. This David Schwimmer lookalike from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania says he's going to make American news great again.

’Inside The White House 2’ (2017, Documentary – Charles Iverson)

A look at the important role played by Washington Examiner journalist Sarah Westwood in obtaining the latest news from the White House.

Sarah Westwood is a graduate of George Washington University. She worked for the Marietta Daily Journal in Georgia and is now employed by the Washington Examiner. She’s a supremely talented journalist whose probing style of inquisitive journalism leaves no stone unturned.

’The State Of Things To Come 2’ (2017, Documentary – Charles Iverson)

CNN reporter Kate Bolduan tackles more news action on daytime.

Kate Bolduan co-presents a CNN show called ‘New Day’ with Chris Cuomo; this is in addition to her sterling work hosting the evening programme ‘State Of America’. ‘The State Of Things To Come 2’ analyses the rapid development of one of America’s most exciting young journalists whose blossomed under the assured guidance of the Wolfman.




“I’ve never been nervous in front of a TV camera. Because I’m super awesome!”

- Kate Bolduan, The Washington Post

Mostly newer films this week -

Snatch (2000) Enjoyable British gangster film full of flawed characters going off in all directions. 7/10

The Big Short (2015) 9th viewing in 15 months, so I guess it's my favourite film of this decade. 9.5/10

The Accountant (2016) 1st view. Decent action thriller requires a bit more "suspension of disbelief" than most movies. 7/10

Nocturnal Animals (2016) 1st view. Multiple intercut stories but the director never loses control. Good performances and some extremely intense moments in one section of the film. 7.5/10

The Girl on the Train (2016) 1st view. Starts promisingly - kind of "Rear Window" from a train. But somewhere along the tracks it goes downhill until by the end I just didn't care. A real pity because women seem neglected in most Hollywood films (other than rom-coms) and this has a predominately female cast. The performers are actually good, it was the material which left me disinterested. 3/10

The Formula (1980) Brando and George C. Scott should ensure fireworks. Plus a thriller about corporate conspiracies which is still relevent. But it's all a bit low key and predictable. 6/10

Been watching these since the last time
Rewatched The Lord of the Rings-trilogy
The Bad News Bears (1976)
Office Christmas Party (2016)
People Will Talk (1951)
Love Crazy (1941) (another enjoyable William Powell and Myrna Loy film)
Song of the Thin Man (1947)
A Night at the Opera (1935)
Monkey Business (1931)
Duck Soup (1933) - Brilliant! Laughed out loud a few times and the silliness and comedic timing were for the most part excellent fun. I now know where Coppola got his idea from.

 Hi there vegalyra... great rave on Seven Men From Now, I agree with you an excellent western and that opening scene I rank up there with the greatest openers,  no matter how many times you've seen and heard, it never fails for gripping suspense and sets the tone for the rest of the great film...

I've not seen this movie. It sounds great. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

A sultry, moody, downbeat noir; thanks for the review.