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The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour: Episode #1.10 (1967)
A Great Episode
According to Tommy Smothers, Lana Turner was incredibly nervous to perform live in front of an audience, but she does so winningly and with great comic timing. She rebuffs Tommy's advances as Casanova (in a long wig) and saunters around doors denying having other men in the house, while Pat Paulsen hangs on a door in a bathrobe.
Robert Morse is magnetic in a routine where he quizzes the audience on how they should behave in an office setting. His speed, charm and dexterity make for a memorable show. He seemed to have had the energy to take on the full hour on his own and still have some left over.
The only dud are the Electric Prunes who perform a trippy song, the singers head inset onto the image of the whole band. It is a passable show but not up to the standards of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour which is known for having legendary bands on as guests.
Although season one has never been officially released, these episodes ran on E! And can be found with some digging.
Welcome Home (1935)
Con Artists in a Small Town
A group of con-artists (James Dunn, Raymond Walburn, William Fraley and Arlene Judge) find themselves in need of a new scheme and descend upon the hometown of Foster (Dunn) to pull a job. When they arrive, Foster is greeted by the pesky kid sister of an old friend, only now she is grown up and gorgeous (Rosina Lawrence). He decides to abandon his plans for her sake, but that doesn't stop Walburn from selling fake bonds to the locals, forcing Foster to find a way to give them their money back. The town is expecting a visit from a millionaire (Charles Sellon), so the group decides he is their next target.
This is a pleasant programmer full of laughs and great character actors. "Stars and Stripes Forever" becomes a running joke as the town literally strikes up the band for every train that comes through in case a millionaire is on it. There is a wonderful swimming hole scene with Dunn, Sellon and Walburn, a slice of Americana.
I saw this film screened at Cinevent in Columbus, Ohio in 2021.
I'll Wait for You (1941)
Charming Family Film
Lucky Wilson (Robert Sterling) may have a baby face, but he is a hard-boiled gangster. He muscles in on legitimate businesses to take a cut, and cuts them if they don't comply. He runs around with a bevy of beautiful women of varying intelligence, telling them all they sure know how to make a guy realize what he's been missing all his life. One night after a run-in with the cops, Lucky takes off on a high speed chase and winds up with a bullet in his wing. He lands on a farm owned by a nice family who takes him in to recover from what they believe is a wound received by a group of gangsters.
Lucky couldn't have picked a more wholesome family. Fay Holden and Henry Travers are Ma and Pa, Marsha Hunt is Pauline and Virginia Weidler is her little sister Lizzie. Pauline plays nursemaid and develops a crush on their visitor. Lizzie talks too much, shows off and does anything to keep his attention. Once he is well enough to get to the phone, Lucky calls his pals who advise him the heat is on and he better stay on at the farm as a boarder until it is safe to come back to the city.
The epitome of a wholesome feel-good film, I'll Wait For You is polished propaganda for small town America. The acting is solid, the story is believable enough without being very detailed; it is a charming film that could have used a better, more memorable title. I saw this on TCM.
The Shield of Honor (1927)
Action-Paced Police Drama
Ralph Lewis is an officer turning 65, and is aged-out of the force. His son Neil Hamilton is an air patrol officer. A recent string of jewel robberies has the police investigating corruption within the O'Day Jewelry Company.
The film feels like a serial; it is full of action and intrigue and convenient discoveries. There is a scene where fire fighters rush to a fire which reminded me of the sequence in The Fire Brigade that Kevin Brownlow used for the Hollywood documentary series to illustrate how impressive silent cinema could be.
The movie is dedicated to police officers, who are sometimes misunderstood. After the first introduction we get a second one saying basically the same thing, which is awkward.
I saw this movie screened at Capitolfest in 2021.
Four Days Wonder (1936)
A Tween Drama
A light murder mystery sanitized for the kids, Four Days Wonder starts with a young teen named Judy (Jeanne Dante) playing detective with her friend (Martha Sleeper). Judy is an orphan whose actress-aunt-caretaker (Margaret Irving) doesn't have her best interest at heart. When auntie comes home drunk one day, she slips on a rug and knocks her head on a pointy doorstop, and that's all she wrote. Judy feels guilty and runs off, leaving the incompetent police looking for a murderer/kidnapper that doesn't exist. The kids carry the show and they're very good. Dante didn't make many films which is too bad; she has the spunk and likeability of a young Deanna Durbin. Her sidekick Kenneth Howell is sweet as the boy trying to pretend he's a man. I wish Sleeper had a bigger role.
Week Ends Only (1932)
Post-Crash Jobs
Joan Bennett is a rich girl whose family loses everything in the stock market crash, nicely and succinctly animated. She runs into her butler, who is doing well operating a night club, and gets a job playing hostess there. Her role is purely above-board, though it is an unusual position and seems seedy to those unfamiliar with her. Bennett scrimps and saves, looking luxe and glamorous on the weekends and eating simple meals in her tiny garret during the week. Her neighbor is Ben Lyon, another former rich kid who is trying to eke out a living as an artist. Bennett poses for him and they fall in love, ("I like you very good.") but inevitably he finds out how she makes her living, and he doesn't like it.
Bennett is dazzlingly gorgeous in this film, and she wears several revealing costumes including a pantsuit topped by a handkerchief that leaves little to the imagination. The dialogue is witty. When a persistent rich man asks Bennett, "Why don't you move in?" she responds, "When are you moving out?" The before and after paintings reminded me of the shocking reveal in The Portrait of Dorian Grey. This is an entertaining film with a believable love story and characters your root for.
His Nibs (1921)
Only a Curiosity
Chic Sale is in one of my favorite movies: The Expert. He plays his old man character, which is the projectionist in this film. Here he also plays a stuffy censor, the dimwitted stage hand, the singer, the pianist, and the star of the movie. Something about him in these other roles really put me off. The story is set in a small town movie theater where the projectionist takes it upon himself to edit the film and remove all the title cards so he can holler them out over the crowd.
I have to say that the Colleen Moore films I've watched prior to about 1923 have been busts. In this she only plays the love interest in the movie-within-the-movie, and the burden of the quality of His Nibs falls on the shoulders of Sale. I suppose in a world where one person playing multiple parts in a film was unusual, the gimmick would have carried the show, but it isn't enough for these jaded eyes. The beginning of the movie has significant nitrate decomposition, so I'm glad this movie exists, but aside from a historical curiosity, it has nothing to recommend it.
I saw this at Capitolfest in 2021.
Dad's Choice (1928)
The Groom-to-Be
Edward Everett Horton wants to marry Sharon Lynn, but her father (Otis Harlan) wants to approve him first. Horton torments a traffic cop for a while, then a society lady in a dress shop, before heading over to meet Dad. This is a nicely-paced movie that resulted in a lot of laughs from the audience at Capitolfest in 2021. You can find this on disk from Undercrank Productions.
Artists and Models Abroad (1938)
Let's Go Slumming
Jack Benny leads a troupe of struggling musical performers (including the Yacht Club Boys) who are stuck abroad with no money. He mistakes rich Joan Bennett for another broke actress and recruits her to share in their poverty. She finds delight in slumming and plays along. Between escaping hotel rooms they can't pay for and opportunistically swiping meals, they weasel their way into an opulent designer fashion show (which would have been a honey in color). There is a sweet old horse that adopts Benny and keeps finding a way to show up. This is a fun movie that doesn't require much thinking.
I saw this screened at Capitolfest in 2021. They explained that this was a sequel to the variety show format film Artists and Models, but that since this one was more plot driven, it was a flop. Modern audiences tend to take more to this film.
Wandering Fires (1925)
WWI Drama
At a society party, Wallace MacDonald is bored until he spots Guerda (Constance Bennett). His aunt and party host (Effie Shannon) tells him he is likely to fall in love with her if he meets her, but he hesitates when he learns she was involved in a scandal. Flash back to WWI when Guerda is in love with Ray (George Hackathorne) who joins the army. She goes to visit him before he is shipped overseas and they spend the night together. Ray never returns to marry her, and Guerda is a fallen woman.
I'm a sucker for a story about the effects of WWI. There is a twist that I won't reveal, but I found this to be an entertaining film, in spite of the fact that other than the uniform, the filmmakers made zero attempt to make it look like 1917.
This was screened at Capitolfest in 2021.
Duck Soup (1927)
Rags to Riches to Rags
Stan and Ollie are bums who don't want to have to join the volunteer fire department; they run away into a mansion whose owner is going on a hunting expedition and pretend to own the place.
Who doesn't like Laurel and Hardy? I know cross-dressing has become a taboo comedy plot, but it still makes me laugh. Some Laurel and Hardy scholars identify this as the first identifiable film where they were a team.
Her Wedding Night (1930)
Ridiculous Story, Fantastic Cast
Clara Bow was a tremendous personality who Paramount relied upon to make money with their bad scripts. This is another example of that trend. Luckily the rest of the cast is very good too, so the film is fun, but if you begin to examine the plot, it all crumbles.
Clara is a movie star who misses her train at a stop, along with Skeets Gallagher, who is masquerading as his friend, a famous composer (Ralph Forbes). The two wind up married because they don't speak the language, and rather than immediately remedy the situation, Clara goes with it, and her new husband does too, even though he has only just met her, and has a harem of women waiting in the wings. Charlie Ruggles is a friend who wants to take a nap. The grand finale is a well-timed bedroom farce with slamming doors and hidden guests.
I saw this very rare film screened at Capitolfest in 2021.
So This is Eden (1925)
A Commercial Love Story
A young married couple let money struggles create tension in their marriage. The wife starts stepping out with a well-to-do former suitor. A vacuum cleaner brings them back together again.
This is an oversimplification of the short which begins as a movie and ends as a commercial. I enjoyed seeing the 1920s kitchen and the antique Hoover. I love to imagine what housewifery would have looked like back in the day; it makes me appreciate the life I have now.
I saw this screened at Capitolfest in 2021.
The Last Card (1921)
Beautiful Winter Scenes
The Kirkwood family lives happily in a small town, although rumors begin when Mrs. Kirkwood (May Allison) lets her furnace man (Dana Todd) take her home one day. Her neighbor's wife is the one having an affair with him, and when her husband (Frank Elliott) discovers them, he murders him and frames Mr. Kirkwood (Alan Roscoe). Stanley Goethals plays the precocious son with an unfortunate haircut.
This is a well-crafted drama featuring lots of people I was unfamiliar with; these are just the sort of movies I love seeing at Capitolfest (which screened it in 2021). The silent era was rich with hidden gems like this but because they don't feature the big names, they rarely get revived. Kudos to the staff for consistently presenting a few each year. Allison reminded me a lot of my grandma. The photography by Jackson Rose is gorgeous, especially the outdoor scenes in the snow.
The Pursuit of Happiness (1934)
Don't Let Him Catch You Bundling!
Have you ever heard of the courting ritual of bundling? You won't forget it after seeing this movie.
Francis Lederer is a lively beacon in what could have been a stuffy historical drama. It is the time of the American Revolution and Max (Lederer) has been forced to become a Hessian mercenary, though he quickly deserts the army. The colonists hold him captive, and he slowly wins his way into their confidence, though some like him less than others, like Adrian Morris who doesn't like the way he looks at Prudence (Joan Bennett). Charlie Ruggles gets a lot of chuckles as her church-skipping father. Lederer is exuberant and charming, and he and Bennett make a beautiful couple.
Rich People (1929)
The Jewel of Capitolfest
Rich People begins with Constance Bennett getting her car stuck in the mud during a storm. A man drives up, offering to drive her to a local gin joint, clearly with sinister intentions. Luckily Regis Toomey arrives, pretends to be an old friend of hers, and scares off the other guy. He offers to let her dry off and wait out the storm at his home, which is just ahead. She hesitantly agrees, and he spends the evening showing her his passion for statistics. After she returns home to her mansion and fiancée, he finds she forgot her undies and brings them to her. She is attracted, but he doesn't see a way to make their two worlds meet.
For a silent film, this is dialogue-heavy and looks very much like an early 30s drama; it was made as both a talkie and a silent to accommodate more theaters, and now only the silent film survives. Toomey always seemed to play the sidekick, but he is standout here in the lead and he and Bennett have incredible chemistry. Their first kiss was one you could just FEEL when it happened.
This may have been my favorite movie of the 2021 Capitolfest weekend.
Face the Camera (1922)
Big Bulky Cameras
This silly short barely has a plot and exists instead as gag after gag. A photographer doesn't have a permit to work the beauty parade, but that doesn't stop him from doing it anyway. The volatility of nitrate film is made into a joke. These days someone with imperfect teeth like Jobyna Ralston would never be eligible to play a beauty pageant girl; our standards have changed tremendously.
I saw this at Capitolfest in 2021.
She Wanted a Millionaire (1932)
Money Isn't Everything
Joan Bennett plays a good girl who wants to marry a millionaire to help her poor family. Spencer Tracy is a good-intentioned railroad man by the name of Kelley (that's E-Y, the right way!) who would like to take care of her, but he doesn't own a gold mine. Bennett enters a beauty contest, with Una Merkel as her wisecracking chaperone, and wins the attention of a millionaire (James Kirkwood). That crazy girl doesn't even bother to confirm he actually has the millions before marrying him, and finds out he's been married several times before, and that he doesn't want children. The union is miserable, and Kirkwood is extremely jealous, and keeps her away from everyone she loves. Bennett is gorgeous and gives a smart performance playing a less savvy character. Tracy's charisma easily makes us root for him despite the odds. It might have been nice if director John Blystone let Bennett's appearance suffer as her character became more isolated and depressed.
Show Girl (1928)
She's Got It! (And Plenty of it Brother)
Alice White is full of pep. She lives with her parents (James Finlayson, Kate Price) and her sister (Gwen Lee), dates lots of boys (Lee Moran, Charles Delaney), and dreams of becoming a star. She tricks her way into seeing a Broadway producer who advises her to get some experience performing in a night club, which she does, and she becomes a hit. What could have been a routine showbiz story became a notch better by the casting. Price and Finlayson have a reoccurring gag playing the hen and the pecked.
Madame Spy (1942)
Be Careful Who You Marry
During WWII, a war correspondent (Don Porter) gets married, but his wife Joan (Constance Bennett) is up to something. She pretends not to already know his friend, slips out on mysterious errands and hangs around with a group he doesn't approve of. She also seems to have a large supply of ex-boyfriends. This breezy spy film is entertaining enough, and features some unexpected comedy at the end supplied by Jimmy Conlin and a saxophone. It blows my mind that someone would marry another person without really knowing them, but I guess that happened a lot during the war.
The Trial of Vivienne Ware (1932)
Fast-Paced Courtroom Pre-Code
The Trial of Vivienne Ware is an unexpected delight. I saw it screened at Cinevent and Capitolfest, and I enjoyed this just as much the second time.
Vivienne Ware (Joan Bennett) is a gorgeous socialite in love with an older playboy (Jameson Thomas). When he is found murdered, Vivienne is accused, and her attorney friend (Donald Cook) agrees to take her case. The facts of the case are depicted in flashback during the trial with creative cuts. Skeets Gallagher and Zasu Pitts provide comic narration as radio reporters. This film is a feast for the eyes; the gorgeous cast wears beautiful clothes representative of the early 30s. Never a dull moment.
'Blue Blazes' Rawden (1918)
Histrionic Acting from Hart
William S. Hart plays the foreman of a group of lumberjacks. They've just been paid for their last job and intend to have some fun in town. The owner of the local saloon is known as Ladyfingers (Robert McKim) and doesn't like the look of Rawden (Hart), nor does he like it when his girl (Maude George) defects to him. Rawden kills his rival in a duel, and not long afterward has to hide the circumstances of Ladyfingers' death when his mother and brother come to town.
Hart is playing to the rafters here in his fir cap. He treats George like a dog, patting her on the head, but she must like it because she goes to extremes to retain him. The mother's perceptions are wildly skewed when she compares her son's manliness to Hart's who was significantly larger then McKim. Jack Hoxie plays the bartender and resembles Lyle Talbot with bad teeth and a beard. The melodramatic story and histrionic acting conjure several unintentional laughs, but the outdoor photography is beautiful.
Flying Fool (1926)
Wonderful Titles and Stunts
The Flying Fool has many title cards, but the more the merrier because famous and talented title writer Ralph Spence is to blame for half the fun of the movie. Not only are the cards beautifully illustrated, they're laugh out loud funny. He calls one character a hard-boiled egg that was yellow in the middle. The other draw is stuntman Dick Grace who walks atop moving vehicles as he races to get to the church on time and performs aerial stunts including leaping from an airplane and walking on the wings. These were the days when these things could not be faked. He was lucky and lived into his senior years.
Wanda Hawley wears a beautiful drop waisted wedding gown and an unfortunate veil with huge poufs on either side of her head, making her look like an opera singer who slept off a hangover in her costume. Gaston Glass plays the opportunistic best man who leaps at the chance to marry Hawley even though she repeatedly tells him it would only be to spite Grace.
The Grapevine release is just shy of 40 minutes. I imagine it is missing footage but it plays nicely anyway. It has a beautiful organ score that really takes you back to the era.
Headlines (1925)
Flappers and Scandals
Headlines is a misleading title for this film, which is more about social scandal than a newspaper office. It begins there, where a writer (Alice Joyce) receives a telegram at work telling her that her flapper daughter (Virginia Lee Corbin) has been expelled from school. She comes home to her fiancée (Malcolm McGregor) who believes the girl is her sister, not her daughter. The young girl becomes involved with a wealthy man working on his second divorce, but her family tries to keep her from him to avoid soiling her reputation, which she is determined to destroy.
This is a fun movie with an appealing cast, big names in their day but forgotten now except to devoted silent film fans. One such person, Tim Lussier, biographer of Corbin, helped get this film released. Headlines is available from Grapevine Video in a restored print from the Library of Congress.
The Fourth Commandment (1927)
Rare Drama
The Fourth Commandment is "honor thy father and thy mother." This film is based on that concept. A man and a woman meet and fall in love, winding up getting married and starting a family. Virginia (Belle Bennett) decides she is fed up with being a homemaker and wants to go back to work. The couple invites his mother (Mary Carr) to come live with and keep house for them. She cares deeply for Sonny (Wendell Phillips Franklin) and the two form a strong bond. Virginia gets jealous and starts acting out, even though her mother-in-law cares for her and means no harm. Virginia gives her husband an ultimatum: either his mother goes or she does. In a desperate and dramatic scene, Virginia leaves.
Years later, Sonny is grown up (Robert Agnew) and finds a wife of his own (June Marlowe) but they bicker often because both of them want more out of life. It seems his past may be influencing his future.
The story is predictably melodramatic, but the characters are compelling and we feel invested in their happiness. Although the cast listing on IMDB would have you believe otherwise, Bennett is undoubtedly the star of this film. She ages through it, carrying the bulk of the action. She is a capable dramatic actress who is best remembered today for her role in Stella Dallas.
The cinematography is lovely. Outdoor scenes show off the splendor of nature with the decorous touch of the 1920s. Effective use of dissolves illustrate when items are out of place in the home, and represent the passage of time.
This film ran streaming online as part of Cinecon's 2020 online edition. It is quite rare, the only complete print known to exist. It was transferred to digital by the Library of Congress.