Sunny Side Up: Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, Joe E. Brown Summary 'THOSE FUNNY, FURRY NORDICKS....!' Review SUNNY SIDE UP. 1929. Critic's Choice Video VHS 4069. Directed by David Butler. From the Killiam Collection. | |
Lottery Bride [VHS] Summary 'Joe E Brown: The mouth that roared!' Review HILITE of this rather short early pre-code talkie [with a song or two] Friml, I recall? IS THE SPECTACULAR arrival/departure and fate of the Zeppelin Airship, dynamite sets, and effects in this elegant little sleeper starring JEANETTE MACDONALD in an early role, looking spectacular - of course, and she does sing one or twice, and dances superbly ...... It's basically about thwarted love and a mix-up regarding the 'picture brides' of that time .... desperate girls looking for some Prince Valiant to rescue her [similar to e-mail chatrooms today I guess]. However, besides the ensuing tangle - her boyfriend's brother accidentally 'gets' her as a bride .... but do not despair - there are one or two reels left to unspool and resolve the mishap. A Young JOE E. BROWN [looking somewhat like a minature Jim Carrey] serves up the yuks along with befused Zazu Pitts. All in all - great fun and quite satisfying .... Miss MacDonald would go on to bigger and better things ... here she's just warming her toes! Nice. Neat postscript - Tech credits receive billing, Set Designer [spectacular] and Costume Designer too .... Anna O'Neil. | |
| Fit for a King [VHS] Summary 'He is not deeeeeeeeead but sleepeth!' Review I've loved Joe E Brown's films since I was a child. These days I enjoy them as much as ever. I feel he is a great and unique comic who's work is mostly overlooked today. I wish all of his great films were restored and made available on DVD. The few that are available serve as a good start. Let's hope more are on the way! Henry Gross | |
| Joe E. Brown Comedy Collector's Set Summary 'Brrrrr!' Review Comedy of Terrors is one of the funniest movies to come out of the 60s. My entire family just fell apart on the couch watching it. You've Vincent Price as the nasty undertaker. You have Peter Lorre as the picked on humble assistant, you've Boris Karloff as the sleepy and near deaf father in law. Oh and add Basil Rathbone as the Shakespeare loving landlord who won't stay dead and you've an incredible piece of black comedy. | |
| Brown, Joe E. Double Feature: Riding On Air / When's Your Birthday? Summary 'Classic Video Fun!' Review This movie is a great. Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris KArloff, and last but not least, BASIL RATHBONE star in this hilarious black comedy about two aspiring undertakers who are having trouble getting customers, so they kill people just so they can give them a funeral. This movie had me laughin so hard I was crying, especially the part where Basil Rathbone chases Peter Lorre out of his house, quoting lines from Macbeth all the while. And who could forget the utter disgust on Vincent Price's face as he cries in absolute horror "What did you STEP in?!?"Absolutely hilarious. | |
| Painted Faces Summary 'Drunk again, huh?' Review This is a great movie if you like to see the classic horror stars letting their hair down. There's nothing serious in this film but the fun. Vincent Price and Peter Lorre are the center of attention with Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone playing the comedy role you never expected to see. The sets are 1960's B movie stuff, but it just adds to the atmosphere. If you're looking for something entertaining to watch on movie night this is one to put in the lineup. I got this and "The Raven" at the same time. Both are funny! | |
| Earthworm Tractors Summary '"What Place Is This?"' Review I LOVE this film!! Vincent Price is just hysterical as the undertaker who needs to drum up some business, Peter Lorre is great as the assistant, Basil Rathbone is the landlord who wants his year's rent, and Boris Karloff just can't hear a thing. "What? Sugar?? There ya go!" Basil just keeps on coming back to life, quoting from "Hamlet" as he goes along, and Peter Lorre laments about his dear Annabel. Joyce Jamison is Annabel, who is Felix Gillie's love interest. Annabel is married to Waldo (Vincent Price) and Boris Karloff is her father. The funeral speech by Karloff is just priceless. Needless to say, as soon as Rathbone's character is buried we hear: "What place is this??" Great. If you haven't seen this movie yet, YOU HAVE TO!! And I agree with the comment: "Where is the DVD??" Get with it MGM, we still need this one and The Raven, and The Tomb of Ligeia....I have to finish my Vincent Price DVD collection! | |
| The Lottery Bride (Full B&W) Summary 'Joan's first movie for Warners' Review This is a hilarious movie! I love it. Vincent Price plays an undertaker, as he has taken over his father-in-law's business. Peter Lorre plays his assistant, Boris Karloff plays the hard of hearing father-in-law, & Basil Rathbone wants the rent money. And of course there is Rhubarb (the cat) playing the role of Cleopatra! Oh, & you may want to wear ear plugs during the singing! Yikes! And just when you think everyone is dead, well you thought wrong! You have to see it to know what I'm getting at. | |
| The Comedy of Terrors [VHS] Summary 'A PIECE OF AMERICANA' Review Remember when Hollywood used to care about our boys fighting overseas? Remember when a Star would gladly pose for a picture with a fan? Remember when a Star would sign as many autographs as possible? Remember the good' ole days. That's what "Hollywood Canteen" is about. "Hollywood Canteen" is a star-studded blockbuster from the 1940's. It revolves around two fictional characters that are on leave in Hollywood. What's there to do in the meantime? Well, go to the "Hollywood Canteen," of course! Many of Hollywood's biggest starts of the 40's work at the "Hollywood Canteen." They entertain and serve the service boys. This was Joan Crawford's first picture with Warners after her 18 year tenure with MGM abruptly ended. But, Joanie doesn't have a big part in this picture. In fact, none of the other big names have a huge part. The biggest part, would probably be Ms. Bette Davis'. Bette (the founder of the original "Hollywood Canteen",) was the biggest silver screen star at the time and she wanted everyone to know it (especially Ms. Crawford.) Love this movie for what it is: PURE ENTERTAINMENT. And, maybe after you enter the "Hollywood Canteen" you'll forget about all your troubles and you'll be taken back to a time when people cared more... | |
| The Raven [VHS] Summary 'HOLLYWOOD CANTEEN' Review SOME HERE MISS THE POINT OF THIS FILM. THIS WAS GREAT IN THAT THIS MOVIE PROJECTED THE AMERICA MOST WANTED TO BELIEVE THEY WERE FIGHTING FOR AT THE TIME. AN AMERICA OF EQUALS WHERE THE STARS WERE ALL REALLY JUST TRUE BLUE AMERICANS JUST LIKE US, AND IN THIS NATION THE PRETTY MOVIE STAR WILL FALL IN LOVE WITH THE MODEST G.I.! I HOPE THIS FILM WILL COME OUT IN DVD! FRANK (A HISTORY TEACHER) | |
| The Abominable Dr. Phibes/Dr. Phibes Rises Again! Summary 'HOLLYWOOD CANTEEN' Review Having been fortunate to have been SERVED at "THE" canteen I have found this to be a true story of the canteen. True Robert Hutton's romance with Joan Leslie was not a fact, however, it gave us guys a sense of enjoying our many fantasies. This film was very entertaining, in my eyes, and I'm certain many of us who were fortunate the have visited the Hollywood canteen feel much the same. I was in Hollywood recently and went to the site. It doesn't look the same but I imagined I was standing in line to enter. | |
| Witchfinder General Summary 'Lame, Lame, Lame' Review Not the greatest film ever made by far BUT it does have an all star(mostly cameos)cast headed by BETTE DAVIS which makes it more than worth seeing. | |
| The Fall of the House of Usher /The Pit and the Pendulum Summary 'Great Look Back at WW II Entertainers' Review Lame is the first word that came to mind as I was watching this all-star World War II morale booster. I really wanted to like it a lot more than I did, but the plot's framing device killed it for me. Robert Hutton plays a soldier on leave who visits the Hollywood Canteen with one hope ... to get a kiss from Joan Leslie, that All-American girl next door. He does, and a phony romance develops between them that pretty much ruins the film. It's oh-so-sweet and innocent and trite. Fortunately, there are some good moments that don't feature the wholesome couple. The film is populated by the best talent at Warner Brothers, mostly playing themselves. Dane Clark doesn't play Dane Clark, but instead Hutton's army buddy, and he supplies the film's humour as he tries to win over Ida Lupino, Alexis Smith, Joan Crawford, and Janis Paige. Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre have a short but terrific scene together where they use their sinister screen personas to great effect. There are some good musical numbers performed, along with other appearances by such classic stars as Jane Wyman, Barbara Stanwyck, Jack Carson, Dennis Morgan, Joe E. Brown, and the Hollywood Canteen's founders, Bette Davis and John Garfield. So although I did enjoy seeing so many great actors from yesteryear out of character for a change, I just wish that screenwriter and director Delmer Daves had come up with a better framing device to move the film along. Sixty years later it doesn't stand up very well, and I can't imagine that audiences back then really bought into it either. | |
| The Tomb of Ligeia / An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe Summary 'Thanks For the Memories' Review This media is more comprehensive than others I have seen and really enjoyed it. I really liked looking at the old stars. Worth the price and viewing. | |
| Hollywood Canteen [VHS] Summary 'Great Look Back at WW II Entertainers' Review This documentary of how Hollywood mobilized to support our troops at home and abroad during WWII is unequaled. It is by far the finest of its kind ever made and everyone needs to own this warm and affectionate tribute to both the troops and those who did all they could to keep morale up when the outcome was in doubt. There are wonderful still photos and film footage supplemented by modern day interviews with no less than Dorothy Lamour, Maxene Andrews, Frances Langford, Bob Hope, Patty Thomas and Tony Romano. The latter four were all part of Bob's troupe, who sit around a patio table and remember what those tours were really like. It shows shots of Clark Gable, Alan Ladd, Jimmy Stewart and Glenn Miller, who served during the war. Miller would not come home. But it mostly deals with how Hollywood went all out to do everything possible for the country and the troops. The documentary moves very swiftly and is entertaining and mesmerizing. It shows the importance of radio shows like Mail Call going out to the troops by request and the Andrew Sisters and others making V-Discs for them. The Andrew Sisters would bring a little of home to G.I.'s in camps everywhere and Maxene shares her memories of their tours in the modern day. There is footage of Bing and Bob and Bogie, and Abbot and Costello, and rare footage of G.I. Jill. Dinah Shore is shown giving a tour of The Hollywood Canteen. On that particular night, a laughing Hedy Lamarr would sign autographs for the boys, who were greeted at the door by no less than a smiling Deanna Durbin and Lana Turner. Red Skelton would make the soldiers laugh for awhile. As Dorothy Lamour points out in a modern day interview, there was a happy atmosphere in Hollywood as everyone came together to hold up morale so we could win the war. Irene Dunne, Ronald Colman, Greer Garson and Hedy Lamarr are shown boarding the war bond train with 50 other major and minor Hollywood stars to tour the country raising funds for the war effort. It was Dorothy Lamour who led the way in this effort. She recounts how she had been inspired by Mary Pickford's efforts during WWI selling war stamps. It was Lamour who got in touch with the Secretary of Treasury and volunteered to sell bonds. She sold an incredible 300 million in cash going all over the country while Paramont supported her and worked around her war bond schedule. Footage of Carole Lombard giving a speech selling bonds becomes all the more poignant as we hear Lamour relate how it was she who had recommended Lombard as someone who would unselfishly help out the effort. Lombard would become a casualty of war when her plane crashed coming home to her husband Clark Gable from an Indiana war bond rally and she was lost forever. There is a heavy dose of USO camp tours with some priceless film footage. Jack Benny and Carole Landis are shown hamming it up for the boys. But it is the incredible footage of Bob Hope and his troupe that anchor this portion. They share their memories as those still remaining at the time this documentary was filmed set down and reminisce. Bob recalls a dangerous landing in which they almost lost their lives, and Frances Langford recalls her "Purple Hearts Diary" column for the Hearst papers, which was born out of their visits to the hospitals. Bob and Jerry Colonna would act crazy and do anything to brighten the spirits of the injured young men. A young and drop dead beautiful Patty Thomas would remind the boys what they were fighting for. Frances Langford let her emotions show too much at first, but after Bob took her aside she learned not to cry every time she saw the wounded. Her columns were poignant and showed those back home just what kind of sacrifice their sons and husbands were making for their country. There is some great footage of that gang giving shows to the troops. Hope and Colonna would horse around, Patty would look pretty in skimpy outfits and dance up a storm, and Frances would sing wonderful songs like "I'll Be Seeing You" and "I'm In the Mood For Love." The boys were starved for "back home" and Frances gave it to them. Hope and the gang all agree that it was their privilege to entertain the troops, no matter how bad or dangerous it got. He recalls one particular show they were talked into doing when they were all sick. He only found out later that 60 percent of that group was lost a few days later in battle. He was glad they'd done the show and so were the others. There is so much that is great here it can't be described. It's all crammed into a breezy 90 minutes that goes by faster than a fighter jet. You'll find yourself watching this multiple times over the years just as I have. This may never have a DVD release so you may as well resign yourself to picking this one up whatever you have to do. A documentary everyone needs to own. | |
| Stage Door Canteen (1943) Summary 'Thanks For the Memories' Review This media is more comprehensive than others I have seen and really enjoyed it. I really liked looking at the old stars. Worth the price and viewing. | |
| Thank Your Lucky Stars [VHS] Summary 'THOSE FUNNY, FURRY NORDICKS....!' Review This documentary of how Hollywood mobilized to support our troops at home and abroad during WWII is unequaled. It is by far the finest of its kind ever made and everyone needs to own this warm and affectionate tribute to both the troops and those who did all they could to keep morale up when the outcome was in doubt. There are wonderful still photos and film footage supplemented by modern day interviews with no less than Dorothy Lamour, Maxene Andrews, Frances Langford, Bob Hope, Patty Thomas and Tony Romano. The latter four were all part of Bob's troupe, who sit around a patio table and remember what those tours were really like. It shows shots of Clark Gable, Alan Ladd, Jimmy Stewart and Glenn Miller, who served during the war. Miller would not come home. But it mostly deals with how Hollywood went all out to do everything possible for the country and the troops. The documentary moves very swiftly and is entertaining and mesmerizing. It shows the importance of radio shows like Mail Call going out to the troops by request and the Andrew Sisters and others making V-Discs for them. The Andrew Sisters would bring a little of home to G.I.'s in camps everywhere and Maxene shares her memories of their tours in the modern day. There is footage of Bing and Bob and Bogie, and Abbot and Costello, and rare footage of G.I. Jill. Dinah Shore is shown giving a tour of The Hollywood Canteen. On that particular night, a laughing Hedy Lamarr would sign autographs for the boys, who were greeted at the door by no less than a smiling Deanna Durbin and Lana Turner. Red Skelton would make the soldiers laugh for awhile. As Dorothy Lamour points out in a modern day interview, there was a happy atmosphere in Hollywood as everyone came together to hold up morale so we could win the war. Irene Dunne, Ronald Colman, Greer Garson and Hedy Lamarr are shown boarding the war bond train with 50 other major and minor Hollywood stars to tour the country raising funds for the war effort. It was Dorothy Lamour who led the way in this effort. She recounts how she had been inspired by Mary Pickford's efforts during WWI selling war stamps. It was Lamour who got in touch with the Secretary of Treasury and volunteered to sell bonds. She sold an incredible 300 million in cash going all over the country while Paramont supported her and worked around her war bond schedule. Footage of Carole Lombard giving a speech selling bonds becomes all the more poignant as we hear Lamour relate how it was she who had recommended Lombard as someone who would unselfishly help out the effort. Lombard would become a casualty of war when her plane crashed coming home to her husband Clark Gable from an Indiana war bond rally and she was lost forever. There is a heavy dose of USO camp tours with some priceless film footage. Jack Benny and Carole Landis are shown hamming it up for the boys. But it is the incredible footage of Bob Hope and his troupe that anchor this portion. They share their memories as those still remaining at the time this documentary was filmed set down and reminisce. Bob recalls a dangerous landing in which they almost lost their lives, and Frances Langford recalls her "Purple Hearts Diary" column for the Hearst papers, which was born out of their visits to the hospitals. Bob and Jerry Colonna would act crazy and do anything to brighten the spirits of the injured young men. A young and drop dead beautiful Patty Thomas would remind the boys what they were fighting for. Frances Langford let her emotions show too much at first, but after Bob took her aside she learned not to cry every time she saw the wounded. Her columns were poignant and showed those back home just what kind of sacrifice their sons and husbands were making for their country. There is some great footage of that gang giving shows to the troops. Hope and Colonna would horse around, Patty would look pretty in skimpy outfits and dance up a storm, and Frances would sing wonderful songs like "I'll Be Seeing You" and "I'm In the Mood For Love." The boys were starved for "back home" and Frances gave it to them. Hope and the gang all agree that it was their privilege to entertain the troops, no matter how bad or dangerous it got. He recalls one particular show they were talked into doing when they were all sick. He only found out later that 60 percent of that group was lost a few days later in battle. He was glad they'd done the show and so were the others. There is so much that is great here it can't be described. It's all crammed into a breezy 90 minutes that goes by faster than a fighter jet. You'll find yourself watching this multiple times over the years just as I have. This may never have a DVD release so you may as well resign yourself to picking this one up whatever you have to do. A documentary everyone needs to own. | |
| Random Harvest Summary 'Joe E Brown: The mouth that roared!' Review SUNNY SIDE UP. 1929. Critic's Choice Video VHS 4069. Directed by David Butler. From the Killiam Collection. | |
| The Best Years of Our Lives Summary 'He is not deeeeeeeeead but sleepeth!' Review HILITE of this rather short early pre-code talkie [with a song or two] Friml, I recall? IS THE SPECTACULAR arrival/departure and fate of the Zeppelin Airship, dynamite sets, and effects in this elegant little sleeper starring JEANETTE MACDONALD in an early role, looking spectacular - of course, and she does sing one or twice, and dances superbly ...... It's basically about thwarted love and a mix-up regarding the 'picture brides' of that time .... desperate girls looking for some Prince Valiant to rescue her [similar to e-mail chatrooms today I guess]. However, besides the ensuing tangle - her boyfriend's brother accidentally 'gets' her as a bride .... but do not despair - there are one or two reels left to unspool and resolve the mishap. A Young JOE E. BROWN [looking somewhat like a minature Jim Carrey] serves up the yuks along with befused Zazu Pitts. All in all - great fun and quite satisfying .... Miss MacDonald would go on to bigger and better things ... here she's just warming her toes! Nice. Neat postscript - Tech credits receive billing, Set Designer [spectacular] and Costume Designer too .... Anna O'Neil. | |
| Since You Went Away Summary 'Brrrrr!' Review I've loved Joe E Brown's films since I was a child. These days I enjoy them as much as ever. I feel he is a great and unique comic who's work is mostly overlooked today. I wish all of his great films were restored and made available on DVD. The few that are available serve as a good start. Let's hope more are on the way! Henry Gross | |