11th Annual Watch That Movie Night is January 25!

[Little Caesar]

I went ahead and watched Wagon Tracks, and it can be neatly summarized as William S. Hart in a torrent of emotions managing to (1) avenge the death of his younger brother and (2) avert a massacre of his wagon train. This is a well-constructed western melodrama that never lags for even a moment. The photography is also quite striking at times. The image quality on the Olive blu-ray is excellent with the the print being sourced from elements at the Library of Congress. The film is ably accompanied by a piano score from Andrew Earle Simpson.

[Roseha]

Lon Chaney Before Thousand Faces:

A Mother’s Atonement; When My Country Should Call; The Place Beyond the Winds

I enjoyed watching all three of the 1915-6 films featuring Chaney in supporting roles even though all were incomplete and two had suffered damage. Jon Marsalis did a fine job in summarizing the missing sections with intertitles and as two of the three films had the final reels I felt I was able to understand the impact of the stories. I also found interest in two of the films - When My Country Should Call and The Place Beyond the Winds - having been discovered in the Dawson City find. I was able to adjust to those films’ physical damage without too much thought about it; credit for that should go also to Mr. Marsalis’s fine scores. I was also interested to see that all three films were written by Ida May Park and directed by her husband Joseph De Grasse. They were all well acted and fine visually I thought as well.

It was impressive so early on, if not surprising I imagine, that Chaney was completely different in each role - as both the bitter old husband (and younger version of the character) in the first film, the stern doctor in the second and the “half-breed” man who turns from threatening to sympathetic in The Place Beyond the Winds. As I believe Mr. Mirsalis noted on the Nitrateville Podcast, his casting as the character is not PC, but Chaney makes his transformation into a sympathetic person totally convincing at the end. All the films had an interesting complexity on some level:, A Mother’s Atonement having multiple flash-backs, and with a fine performance by Cleo Madison in both roles, and If My Country Should Call undoubtably reflecting the conflicts many must have felt about participating in World War I. The multiple characters in The Place Beyond the Winds started confusing me towards the end but they did come together finally in a way that was satisfying but not completely happy, which was interesting, I thought. You can certainly see moments that predict the future Chaney the star, certainly at the climax of When My Country Should Call, and when Dorothy Philips is threatened by him early on in The Place Beyond the Winds. It certainly makes me wish someone would locate a print of The Miracle Man!

[missdupont]

I watched Ida May Park's BREAD from the Women Film Pioneers set. While only part of two reels, it gives a great taste of the film, along the same line as Lois Weber's SHOES from two years before and also starring Mary McLaren. It's #metoo 1918 style, where McLaren deals with a handsy and leering theatrical producer who locks the door of his office and attempts to attack her. After getting back to her apartment, her sophisticated and flashy sellout roommate is upset that now her chance at stardom might be over. McLaren needs bread of all types to survive, but we don't get to see the conclusion to find out if she does, or if she succumbs because of hunger like she does in SHOES. Some very nice camerawork and you see people watching the filmmaking through one reflection in a window, with what looks like John George standing there.

[RuralReel]

The Vagabond Lover (1929). First, let me say that The Vagabond Lover is a film that could only be made in 1929. That doesn’t mean anything, but it is almost a screwball comedy, with Sally Blaine responding to mega super-star Rudy Vallee with one blank stare (I’m convinced Neilan never directed her or it really was character driven). But this only enhances the film’s farcical side with Rudy Vallee playing an innocent correspondence school graduate (who happens to croon) and social opportunist, Marie Dressler, having a ball as the Mrs. Ethel Whitehall, herself. The fact that Dressler takes the film away from Rudy in order to make Rudy’s story really about her success, or failure on the L.I. social scene, may or may not have been Marshall Neilen’s original vision, but who cares when you can hear a real crooner sing “I Love You, Believe Me, I Love You”, or “Nobody’s Sweetheart Now,” and, if you ever watch this, watch Dressler act on the telephone. Maybe Neilen meant it to be that way.<br/>
<br/>
A major hit when it played in 1929 and undervalued for decades, TVL is the star vehicle of its day and could only have been made then.

[tthacker]

I began watching Pharaoh(1966) Friday evening, but made a late start of it and only managed to make it to about the halfway point before getting too sleepy to continue. The remainder of it was finished off this afternoon.

That's not to say that I found this Polish epic, directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz, boring. Although dialogue-heavy and a bit slowly paced, the camera seems to be constantly moving, through the desert, down corridors, over reclining figures. Sets and costumes are low-key (except for the wigs!). The story, an adaptation of the 1897 novel by Boleslaw Prus, centers around the son of (fictional) pharaoh Ramses XII and a power struggle with the high priests. Once his father dies and he becomes Ramses XIII, the young pharaoh finds that his idealism is no match against the established priesthood.

The film underwent an extensive restoration in 2011 and it looks beautiful. The copy I watched was part of the 3 volume Masterpieces of Polish Cinema set.

[Dean Thompson]

I get the impression that nearly everyone on this forum has seen Only Angels Have Wings; it's certainly been written about here with such frequency and eloquence that I've little to add. Suffice it to say that when I watched the film (rather, our college library's DVD) for the first time Friday night, I was bowled over. Oh my gosh! Within fifteen minutes of the film's conclusion, I had ordered the new blu ray and likely will watch that tomorrow night.

[Harlett O'Dowd]

We took the cellophane off the Warners SOULS FOR SALE (1923) DVD and gave it a spin.

Eleanor Boardman has a funny feeling about her new husband (Lew Cody) while on the train to begin her honeymoon. She jumps off the train and wanders through the California desert until she is rescued by a film company making a Sheik film.

And thus an early (earliest) manifestation of the "STAR IS BORN" film begins.

This movie was made in the wake of the Olive Thomas/Arbuckle/Taylor/Reid scandals that rocked Hollywood in the early 1920s. Writer/director Rupert Holmes' story is a direct answer to Ed Roberts outre expose THE SINS OF HOLLYWOOD. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KPTsw8VxPc)

Without that background knowledge, the film doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

While Boardman goes from rescue to extra to star, we get a standard issue love triangle between Boardman, her director (Richard Dix) and initial sponsor and co-star (Frank Mayo.)

But it's what surround the basic conflict that makes the film.

Best of the lot is all the behind-the-scenes footage of early 1920s filmmaking. In addition to the celebrated bits of Von directing GREED and Chaplin at work on WOMAN OF PARIS, we also get tantalizing glimpses of Marshall Neilan on THE ETERNAL THREE and Fred Niblo working on THE FAMOUS MRS. FAIR.

We also get Snitz Edwards (!) pining over Barbara La Marr and William Haines in his first (brief) billed screen appearance.

And there's a genuinely exciting circus disaster finale (I wonder if Mr. DeMille thought of SOULS FOR SALE when concocting THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH)

Warning: Viewers are likely to get whiplash as the film veers from potent melodrama (Cody terrorizing spinster Dale Fuller) to out and out comedy.

All said, true nitratevillains will enjoy the hell out of this, but it may not be a good choice for newbies.

[Salty Dog]

Watched Forty Guns in the spiffy new Blu Ray disc from Criterion, which came out a couple of months ago, so clearly it has not been sitting on my shelf for very long.

The film looks great, with Cinemascope black and white photography by Joseph Biroc, and strikingly directed by the always-dynamic Sam Fuller. Especially noticeable are some impressive long tracking shots through the streets of the western town the film is set in, and some extreme tight widescreen closeups during an early gunfight that clearly show inspiration for Sergio Leone a decade later. The transfer is superb.

In her last major feature film starring role, Barbara Stanwyck is forceful as the ranch owner, leader of the 40 guns in the title. The rest of the cast is fine (Barry Sullivan, Dean Jagger, Gene Barry), but Stanwyck is the one you will remember. The pulpy script by Fuller included some funny sex/gun double entendres in a quick, to the point story with a somewhat crazy ending.

I am looking forward to completing the usual large package of Criterion extras included in the package.

[silentfilm]

It's not nearly as flashy and long as D.W. Griffith's Intolerance (1916), but Lois Weber's Shoes (1916) is still easily one of the best films of the year. Directed by Lois Weber, it is the story of a shop-girl (Mary McLaren) who lives in poverty with her parents and three sisters. Her father lays around reading dime-novels, drinking beer and smoking his pipe, rather than looking for a job. McLaren helps support the family by working as a sales-girl at a 5&10 cent shop. She's on her feet all day, and her shoes are falling apart. Appeals to her father do not work, and her situation gets more dire.

Yes, it's a sad and simple story, but it is masterfully told. Weber uses closeups and closer shots whenever necessary. There is an amazing tracking shot of just McLaren's shoes as she walks in the rain. The Milestone BluRay was assembled from two partial prints at the Eye Film Museum and a re-cut parody called Unshod Maiden (1916/1932). Unshod Maiden is a one-reel condensation with wise-cracking narration that totally destroys the film, but isn't very funny. Historian Richard Kozarski has more on this version in a video essay. The original film was named to the National Film Registry a few years ago. Professor Shelly Stamp has a very good commentary track discussing the making of the film as well as sexual roles and poverty in the teens.

[greta de groat]

Though i've considered myself more of a Sherlockian by marriage (my husband is a BSI) than a true Sherlockian, i've always taken it upon myself to at least make Sherlockian films a specialty, though, as with films in general i'm far stronger in the pre 1960s era. Nevertheless, when a friend recently gave us a DVD set with an odd assortment of Sherlock Holmes films, i realized that i hadn't seen the two 1991 TV movies with Christopher Lee as Holmes and Patrick Macnee as Watson. These are Sherlock Holmes & the Leading Lady and Sherlock Holmes: Incident at Victoria Falls. They were produced in Europe--the credits noted "In association with Silvio Berlusconi Communications" which gave me a start.

Sherlock Holmes & the Leading Lady (directed by Peter Sasby) concerns some sort of explosive detonator which is stolen by Bosnian nationalists while it was supposedly being transferred to British control. Holmes goes to Vienna to get it back, only to encounter The Woman, Irene Adler. The outline of the plot is ok, but the details are not well carried out. Holmes and Watson are older (and continually remark about their age) but Irene Adler, played by Morgan Fairchild, is eternally young and is quite interested in wooing Holmes. The culprits access to and familiarity with the backstage of the opera house is improbable, and Holmes successes in tracking them seem due to magical insight instead of deduction from clues. As with many mediocre and self-indulgent pastiches, there are a bunch of cameos by historical or crossover characters. In the circumstances, an appearance by Emperor Franz Josef is not out of place, but we also get Siegmund Freud (long after Seven Percent Solution) and Elliot Ness playing active roles. Engelbert Humperdink plays one of the opera singers with no particular distinction. Nevertheless, despite it being pretty bad, it was engaging in an eye-rolling sort of way, and i wasn't bored despite the 3 hour running time. I did especially enjoy the excerpts from Die Fledermaus, even if they were atrociously lip-synched.

Sherlock Holmes: Incident at Victoria Falls (or as it is in the credits, Sherlock Holmes, the Golden Years : Incident at Victoria Falls, directed by Bill Corcoran) seems to have had a somewhat larger budget, being filmed on location in Africa and having lots of shots of scenery and wildlife. Here Holmes and Watson are tracking a missing diamond while at luxury resorts in South Africa and Rhodesia, where the large cast of red herrings include Lilly Langtry, Raffle the Amateur Cracksman, Guglielmo Marconi and Theodore Roosevelt. Though this one was less egregiously dumb than the other, it did drag a bit, especially trying to keep up with the various motives of the excessive number of characters and a fair number of unresolved loose ends. There is the general creepiness these days of watching something set in British colonial Africa. Of interest, perhaps, to this group, a movie camera becomes an object important to the plot.

They are an odd pair of films, having some impressive scenery and costumes but at the same time feeling constrained and a bit cheap--the annoying theme music which sounds uncomfortably like MIDI files doesn't help. Christopher Lee would seem to have all the characteristics to be an ideal Holmes, but somehow doesn't connect with the part. Perhaps because they seem to be aiming for a more human and vulnerable Holmes, aging and unsure of himself. Unfortunately, these are not the characteristics that for me make watching Sherlock Holmes fun, and Christopher Lee is a poor fit for that kind of characterization anyway. It's particularly painful in The Leading Lady, where Holmes' words often seem quite out of character. Macnee starts out in The Leading Lady seeming like he's going to be a bumbling Nigel Bruce type, but soon settles down to an appealing portrayal. His natural ease and humor are a welcome contrast to Lee's general bewilderment.

So, i can cross those two off my list. Now on to Alwin Neuss ...

greta

[Mike Gebert]

Ita Rina is the daughter of a stationmaster, she meets a sharply-dressed cad from the city who her father has allowed to sleep in the station until morning, she lays in bed, she thinks of him, she squirms in her sheets... the phone rings, she goes out to answer it and sees him again, he makes his move... more squirming and panting...

If Erotikon (1929) had gotten the attention that Gustav Machaty's Ecstasy got in 1933, it could have been Ita Rina who went to MGM and became a star, not Hedy Lamarr. Harvey Korman would have said "That's ITLA Rina!", and Lamarr would have contributed her scientific genius to the German war effort, and history would be all different.

I kid, I kid, but Erotikon, no relation to the 1920 Mauritz Stiller of the same name, is in some ways the test run for Ecstasy, in terms of its frank depiction of female desire and its clever, don't-quite-give-the-censors-anything depiction of hot and botheredness. Beyond that, though, it takes a while to get what it's up to—part Lubitsch, part Stefan Zweig, perhaps.

Rina and the traveling cad who looks like Wallace Reid (and leaves her a bottle of a perfume called Erotikon) have a passionate fling, though she knows it's a one-off. He goes back to the city and she pines for him. She vanishes to go have her baby alone and sends him a letter expressing her sadness...

Well, that's one movie. But by now he's kind of in another one, the Lubitsch one. He's having an affair with a blonde whose husband the Jean Hersholt lookalike is clueless until the two of them are getting suits measured at the same time and he sees that the cad has the blonde's picture.

More contrivance ends with Ita Rina now married to a new guy with mustache, sans baby, but cad who looks like Wallace Reid is a pal of his too, and mustache husband seems clueless about leaving Ita and cad alone (admittedly, he doesn't know of their dalliance in the stationmaster's house, in another life). Okay, it sounds like I'm making fun of all this Lubitsch plotting, but actually Machaty is very good at conveying subtle shifts of feeling, or escalating sexual tension or duplicity, without much dialogue, as well as at having the movie suddenly go into Pudovkinesuqe fits of montage to convey a character whose mind, or libido, is overloaded. This all eventually leads to a conclusion that is more Zweig-melancholy than Lubitsch-effervescent.

Ecstasy, even if illegal in the U.S., ought to have led to a career somewhere for Machaty, who besides a real feel for conveying sexuality in an erotic, non-tawdry way, seemed pretty sharp with a camera and with actors as well; both of his films I've seen rank highly among early 30s international cinema. It wasn't meant to be, he had just enough of a Hollywood career to be frustrating (the high point a low-budget remake of Joan Crawford and Norma Talmadge's Paid) and his postwar career back in Czechoslovakia went nowhere. But Erotikon, if not great, is a strong, consistently interesting film that, as noted, suggests Lubitsch or Zweig without being a mere imitation of either one. You can get the disc I got, from a 1994 restoration with a very good score (I can't figure out, on the Czech-language case, who did it), or you can just watch it on YouTube.

One interesting note: the set designer, Alexander Hackenschmied, eventually went to the US and, as Alexander Hammid, made movies with his wife Maya Deren which are not so very different, at times, from this one.

[FrankFay]

Sherlock Holmes: Incident at Victoria Falls (or as it is in the credits, Sherlock Holmes, the Golden Years : Incident at Victoria Falls, directed by Bill Corcoran) seems to have had a somewhat larger budget, being filmed on location in Africa and having lots of shots of scenery and wildlife. Here Holmes and Watson are tracking a missing diamond while at luxury resorts in South Africa and Rhodesia, where the large cast of red herrings include Lilly Langtry, Raffle the Amateur Cracksman, Guglielmo Marconi and Theodore Roosevelt. Though this one was less egregiously dumb than the other, it did drag a bit, especially trying to keep up with the various motives of the excessive number of characters and a fair number of unresolved loose ends. There is the general creepiness these days of watching something set in British colonial Africa. Of interest, perhaps, to this group, a movie camera becomes an object important to the plot.

Having Raffles show up in a Holmes tale is a missed opportunity as E. W. Hornung was Doyle's brother in law (they were great friends but later fell out). John Kendrick Bangs did produce "R. Holmes & Co." an overly facetious work in which we meet Raffles Holmes , son of Sherlock & the sister of Raffles. He has a detective agency, but when short of cases he will steal things & then be paid to "find" them. (Bangs's concepts often exceed his execution)

[boblipton]

Ita Rina is the daughter of a stationmaster, she meets a sharply-dressed cad from the city who her father has allowed to sleep in the station until morning, she lays in bed, she thinks of him, she squirms in her sheets... the phone rings, she goes out to answer it and sees him again, he makes his move... more squirming and panting...

If Erotikon (1929) had gotten the attention that Gustav Machaty's Ecstasy got in 1933, it could have been Ita Rina who went to MGM and became a star, not Hedy Lamarr. Harvey Korman would have said "That's ITLA Rina!", and Lamarr would have contributed her scientific genius to the German war effort, and history would be all different.

I kid, I kid, but Erotikon, no relation to the 1920 Mauritz Stiller of the same name, is in some ways the test run for Ecstasy, in terms of its frank depiction of female desire and its clever, don't-quite-give-the-censors-anything depiction of hot and botheredness. Beyond that, though, it takes a while to get what it's up to—part Lubitsch, part Stefan Zweig, perhaps.

Rina and the traveling cad who looks like Wallace Reid (and leaves her a bottle of a perfume called Erotikon) have a passionate fling, though she knows it's a one-off. He goes back to the city and she pines for him. She vanishes to go have her baby alone and sends him a letter expressing her sadness...

Well, that's one movie. But by now he's kind of in another one, the Lubitsch one. He's having an affair with a blonde whose husband the Jean Hersholt lookalike is clueless until the two of them are getting suits measured at the same time and he sees that the cad has the blonde's picture.

More contrivance ends with Ita Rina now married to a new guy with mustache, sans baby, but cad who looks like Wallace Reid is a pal of his too, and mustache husband seems clueless about leaving Ita and cad alone (admittedly, he doesn't know of their dalliance in the stationmaster's house, in another life). Okay, it sounds like I'm making fun of all this Lubitsch plotting, but actually Machaty is very good at conveying subtle shifts of feeling, or escalating sexual tension or duplicity, without much dialogue, as well as at having the movie suddenly go into Pudovkinesuqe fits of montage to convey a character whose mind, or libido, is overloaded. This all eventually leads to a conclusion that is more Zweig-melancholy than Lubitsch-effervescent.

Ecstasy, even if illegal in the U.S., ought to have led to a career somewhere for Machaty, who besides a real feel for conveying sexuality in an erotic, non-tawdry way, seemed pretty sharp with a camera and with actors as well; both of his films I've seen rank highly among early 30s international cinema. It wasn't meant to be, he had just enough of a Hollywood career to be frustrating (the high point a low-budget remake of Joan Crawford and Norma Talmadge's Paid) and his postwar career back in Czechoslovakia went nowhere. But Erotikon, if not great, is a strong, consistently interesting film that, as noted, suggests Lubitsch or Zweig without being a mere imitation of either one. You can get the disc I got, from a 1994 restoration with a very good score (I can't figure out, on the Czech-language case, who did it), or you can just watch it on YouTube.

One interesting note: the set designer, Alexander Hackenschmied, eventually went to the US and, as Alexander Hammid, made movies with his wife Maya Deren which are not so very different, at times, from this one.

Machatý did wind up in the US, about the same time as Lamar — since he wound up at MGM, I imagine Mayer thought of it as another Stiller/Garbo deal. I think Machaty worked mostly putting shots together for montages. He made a few movies over the years, including one I recently reviewed here, then after the war, went back to Europe.

Bob

[Mike Gebert]

What Machaty film did you review? I can't find it.

[boblipton]

What Machaty film did you review? I can't find it.

Odd. Looks like I didn't post it here. It's one that's about to go up in "What's the Last Movie You Saw (2019)"

Bob

[boblipton]

Ahah. Apparently the search function didn't find it because I spelt the director's name "Machatý". I reviewed Jealousy (1945) on December 3, 2018.

To expand on Henry Kiku's admonition that sometimes you can be too efficient, sometimes you can be too accurate.

Bob

[Rick Lanham]

The Whispering Chorus (1918)

A man is short of money. It is Christmas and his wife desires a certain dress. At this point, and throughout the movie, he and sometimes others, are shown listening to the tempting voices in their heads. This is illustrated by having phantom, see-through heads off to the side.

He gives in to temptation to gamble for the money, and loses. His life continues to spiral out of control.

This is a Cecil B. DeMille picture starring Raymond Hatton and Kathlyn Williams with support by Edythe Chapman, Elliott Dexter. Noah Beery, and Tully Marshall have small roles.

The emotions and situations are florid, very complicated; but that’s what keeps our interest in this morality tale. Can a man be convicted of killing himself?? Worth watching.

The soundtrack is by the always welcome Mont Alto Theatre Orchestra. There are a couple of titles which I could not read, because of the color of the background or foreground, however they were made. Apparently something which couldn’t be easily fixed.


Much more fun is Old Wives for New (1918). Charles Murdock (Elliott Dexter) has grown tired of his wife Sophy (Sylvia Ashton), who has “let herself go.” He “meets cute” with Juliet Raeburn (Florence Vidor). Sophy learns of this and refuses to divorce Charles. Sophy is shown in flashback to have been very attractive when young (played by Wanda Hawley).

There are misunderstandings, a murder, etc. The principals keep running into each other as though they all live close by. It’s a game of musical chairs with everyone switching or finding spouses; or somewhere to sit, I suppose.

The music is by Eric Beheim and is very effective.

/////
Those interested in the ladies fashions of the time, or Hollywood’s presentation of them, should enjoy both films. Each film could get repeat viewings here.

Rick

[Daveismyhero]

I tried to watch Adam's Rib, but my plans took a right turn when my 13 year old daughter decided to watch a movie with me. That doesn't happen often enough, so we ended up watching a scary movie of her choosing: The Last Exorcism from waaaaaaaaay back in 2010.

The movie was filmed documentary style, and the premise is that a preacher (Patrick Fabian) allows a documentary crew to film his last exorcism. The preacher doesn't actually believe in demons or in possessions, but he reconsiders once things start getting sideways about halfway through the movie.

The movie wasn't terribly gory, and it did have some nice jump scares (bonus point from my daughter for those!) and the story had a couple of nice twists and turns that led to a satisfying conclusion from me. My daughter is looking forward to watching it again with her friends the next time they have a sleepover, so The Last Exorcism earned her seal of approval. Take that as you will.

Next up, I'll find the time to actually watch Adam's Rib.

Edit - No worries if I disqualified myself from the contest. I had fun either way!

[Mike Gebert]

You didn't, but in any case, watching movies with your kids is its own reward... sometimes.

[fredhedges]

Hope I'm in under the wire.
The House of Mystery (1923), dir. Alexander Volkoff and Ivan Mosjoukine. There isn't much mystery in this 6 1/2 hour long serial from Flicker Alley, either the house or otherwise. It's basically a "miscarriage-of-justice" melodrama, directed, produced and largely starring Russian emigres living in Paris. The cast is uniformly wonderful, camera work is quite imaginative, and settings are often spectacularly beautiful. Although there are several exciting sequences, even a literal cliff-hanger, there are places where the pacing drags, and even Mosjoukine's emotional expressiveness seems a bit overdone. But in all a pleasure, especially if viewed one episode at a time.

[Brock Davis]

We watched Holiday, as we have been on a Cary Grant kick lately. Enjoyed him and Kathryn Hepburn, but liked The Awful Truth and Arsenic and Old Lace better. Holiday seemed a bit slight compared to the other 2.

[Mike Gebert]

Okay, lots of great posts so far. Keep 'em coming and I'll pick winners in the morning!

[rudyfan]

I was pressed for time this weekend, so I watched Suspense (1913) from the Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers set. I was familiar with some of the clips, but, I had never seen the film in its entirety. The plot is more than a little creaky. It likely was in 1913, too. Nevertheless, the imaginative camerawork, the angles, the triptychs, all build to, well, suspense.

I was pleased and surprised at how naturalistic Weber was before the camera. Sam Kauffman was a little hammier as the tramp. All this being said, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the film. The transfer of the BFI print was very nice. Likely the best we will ever see.

**** stars from me!

[Agnes]

I viewed "The Rose & The Shamrock"(1927) which I believe was the start of the Cohen and Kelly series.
I bought this at a film festival. The Alpha Video disc had a needle drop score, but that had nothing to do with the film itself, just the rendition of it.

The movie starts out introducing us to the the two families involved. Both families have a twenty-something and each have an adolescent son.The Cohens have a ice cream stand next door to the Kelly hot dog stand. As for the 20-somethings, Tom Kelley who is portrayed as an Irish Catholic is crazy about Rose Cohen who is Jewish .The two adolescent boys are pals and seem to be up to a lot of high hijinx and teenage goofiness. Knowing that the parents would not be happy finding out about the romance of the two older kids, the younger brothers blackmail their older siblings to keep the secret.

After Tom & Rose ( the twenty-somethings) tries to convert to each others faiths to make the partnership easier, the respective clergy tell them to accept the other as is and not try to change each other. I don't know how realistic that is because back in those days the faiths would try to make one partner convert (as in my aunt & uncle's marriage) but of course this is a comedy and it's warm and loving so they might be pushing it a little but it was a nice warm spot.

Eventually we find Tom and Rose have eloped, and when the letter comes saying that Tom was hurt Rose goes to him. The families find out about the elopement. In this the Irish Catholics are better treated in that they welcome their new daughter-in-law, whereas the Cohen throw Rose out for marrying what they call an "Irisher".

Later the young boys talk and say that they're going to see the new baby and the Cohen mistakenly think it's their new grandchild that Rose is in the hospital. It turns out Rose is not getting a baby but a new infant brother-in-law as her mother is the mrs. Kelly having the baby. Both families go to the hospital and when the mistake is revealed they realize that they are going to be family going forth and decide to try to make a go of it.

The basic stories sounds serious, and in many cases could be. This is actually comedy and it's handled with a lot of silliness and probably more religious/ ethnic humor than would be allowed in a movie today. I personally like well-done religious and ethnic humor so I got a kick out of it. It is a very warm and fun movie. A lot of jokes a lot of hijinx and in the end love conquers all and without much explanation they find a way to make it work. It's an adorable way to spend an hour and I recommend the film.

Agnes

[CoffeeDan]

Finally got to watch Charlie Chaplin in THE CIRCUS (1928) yesterday, and as Jim Roots said, it was indeed a treat. Laugh-out-loud funny in a lot of places, THE CIRCUS gives Chaplin many opportunities to amuse -- getting lost in a hall of mirrors, fleeing from an angry mule, walking the tightrope while a bunch of monkeys tear his clothes off, and never passing up a chance to cavort like a demented sprite for his lady love, this time bareback rider Merna Kennedy, who goes the way of most Chaplin heroines, off with another man.

It's a wistful little film, too, especially in the final scene as Chaplin begs the manager to let him stay with the circus as it leaves town, but decides to stay behind at the last minute, as the wagons depart all around him and he finally shuffles off toward the horizon. It reminded me that the circus as it used to be has departed from the American scene, too. But at least we still have Chaplin's wonderful film, and in the end, that may be enough.

[Daveismyhero]

Oh, I love The Circus! That needs to circle back on TCM so I can catch it again.

[Agnes]

I agree. I first saw the circus at a library showing. This was before it was out on DVD. It's definitely a highly underrated Chaplin. Bruce Lawton ran it at the Princeton Library & my daughter & I gained such respect for it.

And as for the review of Shoes, I got that one for Christmas. What an amazing film( though once I heard it was a Lois Weber film I knew I had to see it.) It draws you in so naturally. You just feel for this girl who has no choices. I agree somewhat with the commentary that says because of the time they blamed it all on the fathers laziness to not provide for his family versus the fact that women couldn't get a decent wage, but I tend to think both contributed equally.

And yes, the 10 minute cut down with the snarky commentary was horrible- absolutely painful. But according to Richard Kozarski it was useful because the restored could mine some missing footage. which was taken from that for the restoration so that's probably it's only saving grace. As a unit unto itself - it was painful and it spit on that beautiful movie.

Love both of these!

Agnes

[Mike Gebert]

And the winners are, just warming up the Random Number Generator...



For Old Ironsides... Coffee Dan!



For You Never Know Women... Miss Dupont!

Congrats to the winners (check your inboxes shortly), thanks to all participants, and thanks as always to our sponsor, Kino Lorber for this way to liven up the winter doldrums with great movies!

[rudyfan]

Congrats to the winners!

Also, thanks for the great reads! I've got a few more films on my want to see list now!

[Jim Roots]

More rampant anti-Canadian discrimination!

Jim