I Just Watched...

[Intrepid37]

For some reason, I was completely underwhelmed by The Wicker Man '73. Especially since it seems so many find it scary/horrible.

Wonder what I had missed?

Did you get a built-up expectation of it from people before you saw it?

[Lomm]

Last Saturday, in my continuing exposure of my fiancée to classic film, we watched two Cary Grant gems.

Mr Blandings Builds his Dream House (1948) and The Awful Truth (1937). I must have good taste and a good read on what she will enjoy, because she liked both of them a lot. I think it was smart for me to start her off on all this with the Thin Man series. Myrna Loy is such a likable star. Then of course she's in Mr Blandings, so that was a natural segue into Cary Grant films.

[LawrenceA]

Today's lineup:

Alice in Wonderland (1915) - Early screen treatment of the Lewis Carroll tale from director W.W. Young, with Viola Savoy in the title role. The story is very scattered, but I liked the weird costume choices for the various creatures and characters.

Back to God's Country (1919) - One of the earliest surviving features made in Canada. Nell Shipman stars as a backwoods gal who marries a passing surveyor (Wheeler Oakman). They later encounter various dangers in the far north wilderness. This was a huge hit in its day, no doubt partially spurred by a brief bit of nudity on Shipman's part. Later remade at least two more times, once with Rock Hudson.

Different from the Others (1919) - German social drama directed by Richard Oswald and starring Conrad Veidt as a gay concert violinist who gets blackmailed for his sexuality, it being an imprisonable offense at the time. This subject matter is handled better than I thought it would be based on the place and time, although unfortunately quite a bit of the film seems to be lost and is reconstructed using stills and title cards.

The Doll (1919) - Oddball German comedy from writer-director Ernst Lubitsch. The goofy nephew (Hermann Thimig) of an heirless Baron is forced to get married in order to inherit the ailing nobleman's title and wealth. Having no interest in getting married, he instead fakes marriage using a sophisticated animatronic doll/robot (Ossi Oswalda). Oswalda was a big comedy star at the time, and she's cute and charming here.

The Dragon Painter (1919) - Sessue Hayakawa stars as a volatile, eccentric painter who falls for the daughter (Tsuru Aoki) of his new mentor. Hayakawa was at the height of his stardom here, and he shows great screen presence. My favorite of the day.

Haunted Spooks (1920) - A Harold Lloyd short, the second half of which takes place in a supposedly haunted house. There are some good gags here, but also a fair bit of racial "humor". It was during the making of this short that Lloyd blew part of his hand off.

Crack-Up (1946) - Pat O'Brien as an art lecturer (?!?) who "cracks up" and vandalizes the museum where he works, and maybe kills a guy. With Claire Trevor, Herbert Marshall, Ray Collins, Wally Ford, and Mary Ware. This was better than I expected.

The Argyle Secrets (1948) - William Gargan as a reporter rapped up in a murder plot involving some damning documents wanted by homicidal persons unknown. With Marjorie Lord, Ralph "Dick Tracy" Byrd, John Banner, and Barbara Billingsley. A passable "B" picture, although the copy on YouTube is atrocious.

[Detective Jim McLeod]

Haunted Spooks (1920) - A Harold Lloyd short, the second half of which takes place in a supposedly haunted house. There are some good gags here, but also a fair bit of racial "humor". It was during the making of this short that Lloyd blew part of his hand off.

I saw this one when I was a young schoolboy, a friend of mine had it on 16mm. I remember it being very funny. I heard that Lloyd lost two fingers in that explosion of the prop bomb. One of the funniest scenes was when the black kid falls into barrel of flour. He was played by Ernie "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison who later appeared in silent Our Gang films and when he got older joined the East Side Kids.

[LawrenceA]

One of the funniest scenes was when the black kid falls into barrel of flour. He was played by Ernie "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison who later appeared in silent Our Gang films and when he got older joined the East Side Kids.

I thought that might have been Sunshine Sammy, but wasn't sure.

[Allhallowsday]

THREE ON A MATCH (1932) - still WOW!

[Allhallowsday]

This evening at TCM: GOLD DIGGERS OF 1935

[LawrenceA]

Today's stuff:

The Grim Game (1919) - Another one with Harry Houdini, only a feature and not a serial. He plays a reporter falsely accused of murder. Of course he has several escape-artist scenes, and there's a pretty amazing airplane stunt near the end.

His Majesty, the American (1919) - Douglas Fairbanks as an American thrill seeker who gets wrapped up in the political machinations of a small (fictional) country. The film is notable for a couple of reasons: this was the first release from United Artists, and it also marks the earliest extant screen performance of Boris Karloff, as one of the villain's henchmen.

The Hoodlum (1919) - Mary Pickford as a spoiled rich girl who learns humility and humanity while forced to live in a slum neighborhood. Interesting look at what passed for "street life" at the time.

Opium (1919) - This German production is one of the earliest drug scare films. It also has a lot of "Yellow Peril" overtones, as a vengeful Chinese opium baron (Werner Krauss) seeks vengeance against the German(s) he holds responsible for a past wrong. Also featuring Conrad Veidt as a young medical student. The drug-induced fever-dreams are a sight to behold.

The Oyster Princess (1919) - Another German comedy from Ernst Lubitsch. Ossi Oswalda stars as the title gal, the heiress to an oyster merchant's wealth. He wants her to get married.

The Red Lantern (1919) - Alla Nazimova plays a dual role here as both a Eurasian serving girl and missionary worker, and her lookalike half-sister. Romantic complications ensue, amidst the backdrop of the Boxer Rebellion. With Noah Beery as the villain, and the film debut of 14-year-old Anna May Wong as an extra. While the film suffers from some of the usual "Yellow Peril" tropes, I still liked the look of the film, and would mark it my favorite of the day.

The Tong Man (1919) - Sessue Hayakawa again, this time as a "hatchet man" for a powerful Tong (a sort of Chinese mafia) in an unnamed city's Chinatown. There's a forbidden romance (of course) with Helen Jerome Eddy. There's some really solid action scenes in this.

Decoy (1946) - This seems to be a well-regarded "B" noir from Monogram, but I didn't like it. My main issue was with Jean Gillie, the femme fatale at the center of things. I never saw why all the male characters were so obsessed over her. Sheldon Leonard elicited a few chuckles as the tough-guy cop on the case.

[TikiSoo]

Last night was a biggie-my first time back in a public theater to see a movie.
MrTiki is a D&D player and we went to see the new Dungeons & Dragons movie with his group of maybe 5-7 players. There were two of us tagalongs who have no idea what the role playing game is about, so all perspectives covered.

Well, I can tell you the movie was a hit with our entire group. Afterwards the geek talk was about how much the movie got "right" like the monsters and even the incantations, "Wasn't it cool to see how they escaped from the Gelatinous Cube?" and "I loved the Displacer Beasts!"

Then they looked at us newbies & we agreed, we loved it too! It was basically an adventure type story, not unlike Indiana Jones movies.
One of the things D&D is about is mashing up Medieval/Goth/Fantasy worlds together and is reflected in all the costumes & sets, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
There are a core group of charactors and although they encounter several different adventures, I was never confused, lost or bored by the story. This movie works for anyone, even kids.

There were lots of little nods for D&D fans, like the quick shot of the charactors from the D&D animated movie in a cage, as well as few recognizable pop culture references even I noticed, like the Led Zeppelin album cover used as a background set.

Another aspect that works great for this movie is the blend of "real" and animation. A few times the animated monsters suffered by moving too fast to be seen well. (get the DVD) But the visual "effects" worked super well, as in the Reverse Gravity and the sort of shock wave thing that freezes all it touches. There were a few martial art type "fight" scenes-always involving the female lead & always accompanied by basically a drum solo which I found hilarious.

The best thing I noticed though, was hearing audience laughter throughout the movie - usually one person at a time in different areas of the theater. Obviously everyone "got" different jokes at different rates-many I'm sure are game related. I found some of the general lines & charactors funny too and it definitely helped lighten the mood just enough.

My only beef is the "evil" Sorceress has no reason to be evil or destroy the world or whatever she needs to be stopped doing. Motivation? It's important to a story.
Yeah, and we only see ONE dungeon and TWO dragons, one being an overweight "comical" dragon, meh. But the flying battle dragon spewing fire bombs on the enemy forces was cool enough to make up for it.

[Masha]

[...]

There were lots of little nods for D&D fans, like the quick shot of the charactors from the D&D animated movie in a cage, as well as few recognizable pop culture references even I noticed, like the Led Zeppelin album cover used as a background set.

[...]

Did it have a Gazebo?


The Tale of Eric and the Dread Gazebo
by Richard Aronson [[email protected]]

In the early seventies, Ed Whitchurch ran "his game", and one of the participants was Eric Sorenson. Eric plays something like a computer. When he games, he methodically considers each possibility before choosing his preferred option. If given time, he will invariably pick the optimal solution. It has been known to take weeks. He is otherwise, in all respects, a superior gamer. Eric was playing a Neutral Paladin in Ed's game. He was on some lord's lands when the following exchange occurred:

ED: You see a well groomed garden. In the middle, on a small hill, you see a gazebo.
ERIC: A gazebo? What color is it?
ED: [pause] It's white, Eric.
ERIC: How far away is it?
ED: About 50 yards.
ERIC: How big is it?
ED: [pause] It's about 30 ft across, 15 ft high, with a pointed top.
ERIC: I use my sword to detect good on it.
ED: It's not good, Eric. It's a gazebo.
ERIC: [pause] I call out to it.
ED: It won't answer. It's a gazebo.
ERIC: [pause] I sheathe my sword and draw my bow and arrows. Does it respond in any way?
ED: No, Eric, it's a gazebo!
ERIC: I shoot it with my bow. [roll to hit] What happened?
ED: There is now a gazebo with an arrow sticking out of it.
ERIC: [pause] Wasn't it wounded?
ED: OF COURSE NOT, ERIC! IT'S A GAZEBO!
ERIC: [whimper] But that was a +3 arrow!
ED: It's a gazebo, Eric, a GAZEBO! If you really want to try to destroy it, you could try to chop it with an axe, I suppose, or you could try to burn it, but I don't know why anybody would even try. It's a @#$%!! gazebo!
ERIC: [long pause. He has no axe or fire spells.] I run away.
ED: [thoroughly frustrated] It's too late. You've awakened the gazebo. It catches you and eats you.
ERIC: [reaching for his dice] Maybe I'll roll up a fire-using mage so I can avenge my Paladin.

At this point, the increasingly amused fellow party members restored a modicum of order by explaining to Eric what a gazebo is. Thus ends the tale of Eric and the Dread Gazebo. It could have been worse; at least the gazebo wasn't on a grassy gnoll. Thus ends the tale of Eric and the Dread Gazebo. A little vocabulary is a dangerous thing.

The above is Copyright © 1989 by Richard Aronson. Reprinted with permission. The author grants permission to reprint as long as all copyright notices remain with the text.

[LiamCasey]

Took a page out of Lawrence's recent playbook and dived into "The Georges Méliès Collection" on HBO Max's TCM Hub last night:

The Four Troublesome Heads (1898): As Lawrence previously indicated, Georges Méliès on stage removes his head, places it on a table, grows a new head, and repeats without rinsing (1 minute).

Excelsior! The Prince of Magicians (1901): Georges Méliès (now with an assistant) performs further illusions (2 minutes).

A Trip to the Moon (1902): Georges Méliès and others take a Jules Verne trip to the Moon and back again. Although their time on the Moon definitely has more of a hint of H.G. Wells to it. And, yes, I've seen this one before (16 minutes).

An Impossible Balancing Feat (1902): Georges Méliès balances three other Georges Mélièses; one on each hand and a third on his head (1 minute).

The Infernal Cauldron (1903): Demons throw helpless captives into a boiling cauldron and then try to summon forth their spirits. Reportedly there is a 3D version of this one (1 minute).

The Impossible Voyage (1904): Georges Méliès and others take a Jules Verne trip to the Sun and back again (21 minutes).

The Hilarious Posters (1906): Advertising posters come to life. Very reminiscent of some Merrie Melodies/Looney Tunes cartoons that are still 30+ years down the road (3 minutes).

The Old Hag (1906): A troubadour consults with and then tricks a witch who then pursues him seeking revenge while he seeks to rescue a damsel in distress (12 minutes).

Whimsical Illusions (1909): And, again, Georges Méliès (and, again, with an assistant) performs even further illusions (5 minutes).

Now, obviously, the special effects in these movies are very primitive. And most of these are too short to have any real narrative. But when one takes into account the fact that the newest of these is 114 years old, what Georges Méliès was able to accomplish visually was just flat out amazing. Worth watching just for that historical value alone.

[LawrenceA]

Yesterday:

Victory (1919) - Adaptation of the Joseph Conrad story from director Maurice Tourneur. A reclusive writer (Jack Holt) living alone on an island in the Dutch East Indies brings a female musician (Seena Owen) to stay while she sorts her situation out. A jealous scorned suitor (Wallace Beery) sends a trio of crooks (Ben Deeley, Bull Montana, and Lon Chaney) to terrorize them. This was the fourth film version of the story that I've seen, following the 1930 version with Richard Arlen, Nancy Carroll and Warner Oland; the 1940 version with Fredric March, Betty Field and Cedric Hardwicke; and the 1996 version with Willem Dafoe, Irene Jacob and Sam Neill. I think this one was my favorite of the lot, and my fave of the day.

The Big Night (1951) - Decent "B" drama with John Barrymore, Jr. as the nerdy son of bartender Preston Foster. When his father is publicly humiliated, the boy takes a pistol and sets out to seek revenge. With Joan Lorring, Dorothy Comingore, Howard St. John, and Myron Healey. Barrymore Jr seems a bit ahead of his time, as he comes across more like one of the many post-James Dean "conflicted young men" performers of the late 50s/early 60s.

Bloodmatch (1991) - Incredible, terrible martial arts "thriller" from schlockmeister Albert Pyun. A mysterious fighter (Thom Mathews from Return of the Living Dead) and an accomplice kidnap several people associated with the professional martial arts industry. He then interrogates them about their involvement in a past misdeed before fighting them to the death one-by-one. Featuring real-life martial arts champs like Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, as well as Playboy model Hope Marie Carlton. I can't believe this thing played on TCM.

I also watched some more short films from the early days:

Grandma's Reading Glass (1900) - A little boy and his grandmother take turns looking at things through a magnifying glass. Notable for the editing innovations on display, I appreciated the appearance of a cat. From the UK, and director George Albert Smith.

Birth of the Pearl (1901) - From Biograph and director Frederick S. Armitage. A woman emerges from a sea shell on a stage setting. A landmark in perverted filmmaking.

Terrible Teddy, the Grizzly King (1901) - Primordial political satire from Edwin S. Porter. The president shoots a cat/raccoon out of a tree. The end. Meant to mock Teddy Roosevelt's outdoorsman reputation, this one proves that they made bottom-of-the-barrel garbage films even in 1901.

Alcohol and Its Victims (1902) - This French short from director Ferdinand Zecca is like later drug-scare films, as in its hysterical and dumb. A family man has some wine at a café and ends up in a straitjacket at an asylum, all in 6 minutes. Based on a work by Emile Zola!

Jack and the Beanstalk (1902) - Edwin S. Porter & George S. Fleming rip-off George Méliès to surprisingly decent effect.

The Enchanted Well (1903) - Speaking of ole George Méliès, here's another of his patented absurdities. I liked it, as usual.

Uncle Tom's Cabin (1903) - Nearly-20-minute adaptation of the Harriet Beecher Stowe novel, from director Edwin S. Porter. It's still stagey and clunky and goofy, but impressive for the time for trying to do something bigger than the typical one-joke shorts.

Dog Factory (1904) - Edwin S. Porter with a one-joke short about a machine that turns links of sausages into various dog breeds and vice-versa. Like a bad vaudeville bit.

Dream of the Moon (1905) - French short from directors Ferdinand Zecca & Gaston Velle. A drunk stumbles around a while, then has crazy dreams about flying to the moon. Méliès-lite.

Aladdin and His Wonder Lamp (1906) - French short from director Albert Capellani adapts the old fantasy tale of Aladdin and his magical encounters with the genie in the lamp. The film looks like Méliès, but with a bit more storytelling at play. The copy I watched had sloppy hand-painted coloring, which only added to the charm.

Dream of a Rarebit Fiend (1906) - Edwin S. Porter & Wallace McCutcheon direct this bit of hallucinatory lunacy reminiscent of, you guessed it, Méliès.

The last bunch of the evening were 5 Austrian shorts from director Johan Schwarzer, all from 1907: Bathing Forbidden, Games of Youth, The Sand Bath, The Sculptor's Dream, and Veil Dance. They run anywhere from 40 seconds to 4 minutes in length. Schwarzer's company, Saturn-Film, was a pioneer in "adult entertainment". That's right, these are among the earliest "nudie movies", and feature one or more fully nude women frolicking about. Shocking! Scandalous! On YouTube!

[Sepiatone]

Wow. I hope you eventually ventured outdoors to get some air. Or at least some sunshine, if it didn't blind you.


Sepiatone

[LawrenceA]

Okay, I'm done.

[EP Millstone]

Yesterday:

Victory (1919) - Adaptation of the Joseph Conrad story from director Maurice Tourneur. A reclusive writer (Jack Holt) living alone on an island in the Dutch East Indies brings a female musician (Seena Owen) to stay while she sorts her situation out. A jealous scorned suitor (Wallace Beery) sends a trio of crooks (Ben Deeley, Bull Montana, and Lon Chaney) to terrorize them . . .

Victory has two memorably violent scenes, both involving brutish, bestial Bull Montana. A third gruesome scene, around a campfire, is mitigated by the use of an obvious mannequin. There are various exhibitions of Victory on YouTube; the highest quality offering, IMO, unfortunately is marred by added sound effects. The accompanying Dailymotion presentation is, I think, quite good.