It was another first-rate
Cinefest that started off with a bang and went by all too quickly. As usually happens, several recurring themes quickly surfaced and reappeared throughout the weekend. This year self-sacrifice was the pervading theme, whether parent for child (mother-daughter, mother-son, father-daughter, father-son), child for parent, sister for sister, or ex-fiancee for lover's new love. There were also more than one sick and/or dying child, long-time separations, a several movies about making movies, and a few other repeated plot devices -- besides,
of course, the same actors popping up in two or three or four films.
I wrote an overview
of the highlights Sunday night for the High Plains Reader that should be up on their website by this weekend (third link below my name, but I can also post it here if anyone's interested) Now I'm home again and have had time to put together brief comments on each film shown (yes, I sat through all
of them, even several I'd already seen before, although my eyes couldn't always stay open during a couple
of them). All the films were worth seeing at least once, and many would be welcome additions to a DVD collection (I got well over a dozen other titles, mostly from Kino, and managed to sell a few
of my own while in Syracuse).
--Christopher Jacobs
http://www.und.nodak.edu/instruct/cjacobs
http://fargofilmmaking.wikia.com/wiki/D ... rom_Within
http://hpr1.com/film
=======================================
Cinefest 2008 Comments (Ratings
of One to Four Stars)
=======================================
THURSDAY
========
BACK DOOR TO HEAVEN (1939) ***1/2
What a depressing, yet moving film! Wallace Ford is excellent in this downbeat drama, with Stu Erwin quite interesting to watch in the atypical role
of a criminal.
OF HIS BASE (1932) **
Moderately entertaining baseball 2-reeler with Jimmy Gleason, a teenage "Baby" Peggy, and Eugene Pallette
CLUB HAVANA (1945) ***
Great moody B-version blend
of WONDERBAR and GRAND HOTEL from Edgar G. Ulmer
Trailer Mania (1930s-40s) ***
Wonderful and rare trailers from the 1930s-40s, including ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, a stunning I.B. Tech print
of the STAR IS BORN trailer, and trailers from some
of the films shown over the weekend, including YOU'RE A SWEETHEART.
SHOOTING STARS (1928) ***1/2
While not quite the cinematic tour-de-force that Asquith achieved with A COTTAGE ON DARTMOOR, this dupey print couldn't hide the fact that SHOOTING STARS was a beautifully staged, photographed, and edited variation on the studio love triange-murder mystery, and that there were some outstanding British-made silent features by directors other than Hitchcock.
LET KATIE DO IT (1915) ***
Solid rural comedy-drama with Jane Gray in a Mae Marsh role and Tully Marshall (!) as the romantic lead, looking younger than usual but still a bit old for the part, although maybe that's the point in the setting
of this story. It has many obviously Griffith-influnced moments in the staging, characterizations, and story structure.
THE SINGING FOOL (1928) **1/2
The follow-up to THE JAZZ SINGER is a heavily sentimental early talkie with silent sequences that Jolson fans tend to love and those who don't like Jolson tend to hate passionately. Its silent opening reel is an amazingly shot and edited piece
of cinema with its fluid, often subjective point-
of-view camera. Although it slows down during most
of the talking segments, Jolson's singing is as energetic as ever, and the dying "sonny boy" scenes can still pack a tear-jerking punch.
THE ANONYMOUS LETTER (1931) *
Another one
of the poorly made true-life detective stories in the William J. Burns series that some viewers seem to find campy instead
of just bad.
VAGABONDING IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC (1920s) **
Although the double-perf print was projected backwards, this home movie
of John Barrymore and some sea elephants is pleasantly diverting.
SMOULDERING FIRES (1925) ****
A masterpiece
of silent drama, with strong performances, especially by Pauline Frederick, in a love triangle that is still ahead
of its time. Laura LaPlante also gets to do more than just look cute.
PASSING FANCY (1933) ***
Amazing and moving slice
of life, if a bit slow starting, depicting a poor working class father-son relationship. It comes off like a cross between Italian neo-realism and French new wave but done decades before as a silent film in Japan!
TOO MANY BLONDES (1941) **1/2
Light, fast-paced, entertaining Universal musical comedy with newly married Rudy Vallee always doing the wrong thing for his new bride until all can be set right in Mexico, thanks to the connections
of Shemp Howard!
FRIDAY
======
WAYWARD (1932) **
Standard class-conflict melodrama. Pauline Frederick is the villain this time, the rich mother trying to break up son Richard Arlen's marriage to chorus girl Nancy Carroll, yet she manages to endow her selfish character with some sympathy by the end. Carroll looks great as usual and luckily doesn't have to sing much.
PAMPERED YOUTH (1924) **
This 20-minute abridgement
of the first version
of THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS (blown up from 9.5mm) cuts out most
of the characterizations to concentrate on the film's impressively mounted fire sequence. We can only hope the complete film will eventually be discovered somewhere as this fragment shows some potential.
DAYDREAMS (1928) ***1/2
Hilarious British short starring Elsa Lanchester having bizarre fantasies about Charles Laughton, with an almost surreal approach to the filmmaking by director Ivor Montagu.
MARRIED? (1926) **1/2
Nicely mounted and generally entertaining if predictable romantic melodrama about lumbering heirs and water rights, starring a very young Constance Bennett with Owen Moore.
WOMAN TO WOMAN (1929) **1/2
Decently-made British early talkie made in the U.S. starring Betty Compson as a French entertainer during WWI whose lover is called back to duty just before they can get married, and then gets amnesia and marries someone else after the war.
Of course they reunite but there are lots
of tear-jerking complications in an often surprisingly adult drama.
WILD HORSE MESA (1925) ***
Very well mounted medium-budget Paramount western in the days when Native Americans were still the noble oppressed underdogs, and here actually come to the rescue
of Jack Holt when ueber-villain Noah Beery and his cronies attack! Billie Dove is in top form.
YOU'RE A SWEETHEART (1937) ***
Another fun Universal musical and one
of Alice Faye's best pictures, with George Murphy a delight as a bogus millionaire who supposedly buys out the house to her show as a publicity stunt set up by Ken Murray.
SHOWGIRL IN HOLLYWOOD (1930) **1/2
Wonderful behind-the-scenes look at the early talkie days in Hollywood is nothing new but still a lot
of fun, with Blanch Sweet quite powerful as a fading star, Ford Sterling as a pragmatic but unexpectedly sympathetic producer, John Miljan as a sleazy director, and Jack Mulhall trying to be the love interest. It's really Alice White's picture all the way.
FEED 'EM AND WEEP (1928) **
Hal Roach slapstick with Anita Garvin & Marion Byron quite funny as a female Laurel & Hardy who find themselves as waitresses in Max Davidson's railroad cafe during an impossible rush
of customers.
STELLA DALLAS (1926) ***1/2
Belle Bennett and Lois Moran are outstanding as mother and daughter in this powerful version
of the soapy melodrama, with Ronald Colman sort
of standing around whenever he's on, Alice Joyce getting in some strong scenes as his second wife, and Jean Hersholt great as Stella's lazy jerk
of a boyfriend.
I'LL TELL THE WORLD (1934) **1/2
Lee Tracy is a fast-talking reporter (what else?) always trying to beat Roger Pryor to a story. Eventually he gets mixed up in an attempted eastern European coup with the American-raised heir to the throne (Gloria Stuart) used as a pawn for another revolution Tracy first wants to publicize, but then has to figure out a way to stop.
SATURDAY
========
35mm PROGRAM at the Palace Theatre --
Three Vitaphone Shorts:
THE IDLE CHATTER (1929) **1/2
Lou Holtz has a few good lines in his ethnic running monologue.
A ROPE AND A STORY (1929) ***
Tex McLeod has some better lines in his version
of Will Rogers' rope tricks to audio commentary.
GUS ARNHEIM & HIS COCOANUT GROVE ORCHESTRA (1928) **1/2
Nice performance by the band, with some picture decomposition.
EASTMAN HOUSE KODACOLOR PARTY (1928) **
Interesting example
of 16mm Kodacolor shot and processed the same day so various celebrities (including Thomas Edison, George Eastman, and many others) could see themselves on screen in color.
KODACOLOR DEMONSTRATION (1928) ***
Fascinating selection
of scenes made to show off the 3-color capabilites
of the brand new Kodacolor home movie film that would never fade (since it was shot on black & white stock and projected through color filters). The process' only drawbacks were the low resolution and visible lines that went with its lenticular technology.
A PHILISTINE IN BOHEMIA (1920) **1/2
Moderately interesting two-reel romance
of immigrants getting along in New York City but the program notes unfortunately gave away the ending.
THE STOLEN VOICE (1915) ***
Slow starting but quite entertaining melodrama
of a generous opera star (Robert Warwick) who loses his voice and thus his income when a romantic rival, who happens to be a hypnotist, uses mind control over him. By a cleverly contrived stroke
of luck he winds up becoming a silent movie star and more enjoyable coincidences continue through the end.
THE
VIOLIN OF M'SIEUR (1914) **
Clara Kimball Young, directed by husband James Young, is still in her young and attractive stage in this rather slow-moving 2-reel costume melodrama. I think I stayed awake through most
of it, though.
QUEEN HIGH (1930) **1/2
Fun precode musical comedy with feuding business partners Frank Morgan and Charlie Ruggles talked into a bet where the loser (Ruggles) has to serve the winner for a year as his butler. A dark-haired Ginger Rogers adds lots
of pep but hadn't yet had much voice training at this point and doesn't do any dancing.
THE LADY (1925) **1/2
Norma Talmadge is good in this melodrama, the old familiar story
of forbidden mixed-class marriage, parent-child separation, and unwitting reunion, but this was the one that I soon wound up nodding off for a couple
of reels. The last half hour was good enough that I'd like to see it again, however, on more than four hours
of sleep.
---------
Back at the hotel --
HOME CURED (1926) **
Familiar but fairly funny hypochondriac comedy starring Johnny Arthur.
UNCLE TOM'S GAL (1925) **1/2
Quite enjoyable comedy starring Edna Marion in a farm girl who gets cast in a low-budget movie version
of UNCLE TOM'S CABIN as Little Eva, Topsy, and Liza!
RUNNING WILD (1921) **
Okay comedy with Eddie Boland running around a lot, trying to escape the police, until the payoff when he finally learns why they're after him.
Two Unidentified Billy Gilbert Sequences (1930?) *1/2
These were an odd curiosity and might have made more sense if they were excerpts from some longer film. As they stand, they're overly long gags, one with a poker game and the other with singing hobos.
ROBBER'S ROOST (1933) **1/2
This George O'Brien Fox western is not big-budget but better than a B, with Maureen O'Sullivan the cute love interest when O'Brien falls in with some cattle rustlers but changes his mind after he gets to know the English family who own the ranch (especially Sullivan).
GIFT
OF GAB (1934) **1/2
Edmund Lowe talks his way into and out
of a big-time radio job in this reasonably entertaining Universal musical that stops the plot periodically to let us see various singers and actors doing their bits on the air. Highlighs include Ethel Waters, Ruth Etting, and a couple
of comic skits (one featuring brief cameos
of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugois).
ONE ROMANTIC NIGHT (1930) **
This theatrical early talkie version
of THE SWAN seems a bit better than it did the first time I saw it, but still drags too much. Marie Dressler is okay, but Lillian Gish is not at her best, Rod LaRoque is often annoying, and Conrad Nagel has been better. It looks more like a film
of a decent community theatre production than the slick Hollywood romance it should have been.
LETTER FROM HOLLYWOOD (c. 1926) ***
This is a fun amateur film created by editing together silent trailers (many for now-lost films) to tell the story via title cards
of a man's trip to the movie capitol and all the stars he meets there.
LIFE IN HOLLYWOOD (1927) ***
This newsreel gives some great behind-the-scenes looks into many Hollywood studios and personalities.
IRENE (1926) ***
Colleen Moore is in top form in her typical poor-girl-makes-good story, always predictible but always fun to watch. Unfortuantely the Technicolor fashion show climax has all faded to red in this print (which had once belonged to Moore herself).
BOUGHT (1931) ***1/2
This Constance Bennett - Ben Lyon - Ray Milland romantic melodrama was one
of the highlights
of the convention, an extremely pre-code story
of an ambitious poor girl trying to break into society and dealing with various male admirers in different ways. (It's basically a gritty, dramatic variation
of IRENE!) It was fascinating to see her opposite her real-life father Richard Bennett as her mysterious benefactor. Milland was fine as the callous playboy and Lyon quite good as a struggling writer.
SUNDAY
======
THE JUNGLE PRINCESS (1936) ***
Ray Milland is the hero this time, as a hunter in Malaya playing opposite a sexy and delightful Dorothy Lamour as a female Tarzan who saves his life and sings "Moonlight and Shadows." For a 1936 production it verges surprisingly on precode shenanigans several times, and interestingly encourages interracial romance!
THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES
OF MR. WEST IN THE LAND
OF THE BOLSHEVIKS (1924) **1/2
This Soviet Russian propaganda comedy would have been much more effective as a short instead
of a feature, but has some amusing moments and typically Russian silent cinematic techniques blended with German expressionism and Mack Sennett weirdness.
DISAPPEARING ENEMIES (1931) **1/2
Rex Bell stars in a pleasant sitcom about young newlyweds whose feuding relatives decide to visit at the same time.
ONLY SAPS WORK (1930) **
Watchable Leon Errol comedy has him as a crook with Richard Arlen as a rich boy trying to work for a living but becoming Errol's unwitting accomplice in a bank heist, and later trying to impress rich girl Mary Brian who doesn't know he's merely an employee at the health farm she's staying at with her father.
JAILBREAK (1936) **1/2
Cliched but fast-moving Warner Brothers gangster film that turns into a prison picture that turns into a murder mystery, naturally with a fast-talking reporter to tell the by-the-book detective how to do his job.
GIFT
OF GAB (1934) **1/2
This was run twice because the print
of SOUTH TO KARANGA that had been scheduled for Saturday wasn't available.
Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:55 pm
