75groucho Reviews

Juno and the Paycock (1929)

There's no poor and miserable like Irish poor and miserable

[1/10 · 24 February 2009]

Gee, maybe that's not fair. Maybe it's just that the Irish have a better heritage of articulating hard times. "Juno and The Paycock" is the epitome of tales of woe and suffering from the Irish urban poor during The Troubles of the early 20th century. The family has all the stereotypical travails: Joblessness due to alcoholism, joblessness due to labor union strikes, involvement with the Republican Army, and all these problems fall across the shoulders of the long-suffering mother, Juno.

If such a thing can be imagined, it gets worse. The family believes they will fall into some money, so they (foolishly) run up debts. This begins the 'comic' part of the film's tragi-comedy structure. When hopes prove to be false the family is devastated.

A relentlessly downbeat story that sees an interlude of clearly false hopes followed by a tragic ending, is considered a chestnut of the Irish playwright Sean O'Casey. For viewers, anyone who can't understand the thick Irish brogues on the equipment used in an early talkie will have no chance to understand the dialogue.

Worst of all the nature of the story really doesn't suit the talents of even a young Alfred Hitchcock. Even by that point in his career, he had begun to make compelling suspense pictures and this film is not in his wheelhouse. Even taking exception for budget and circumstances that would have obligated him to take on this film as an early sound project, "Juno and The Paycock" does little to distinguish the work of Sean O'Casey and even less for Hitchcock. It should be avoided, even by Hitchcock completists.

Here We Go Again (1942)

Weaker than the first of the series

[6/10 · 8 February 2009]

The first movie with Fibber McGee & Molly, Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy, and The Great Gildersleeve was "Look Who's Laughing". It was a cute little outing set in the FM & M hometown of Wistful Vista. This one is one too many. The plot is a little too contrived and the scenes uninspired, even by the relaxed standards of a cheap movie inspired by a radio sitcom.

The early scene as Fibber McGee and Molly try to enjoy a second honeymoon at a shabby lakeside resort and the scenes as Bergen & McCarthy try to camp out in the country are good. Other than that, the rest is "strictly from hunger" as the saying used to go. It's a brisk tale about how the McGees want to take the rest of their second honeymoon at a nicer resort than they can afford, so they run up a bill they can't pay. Then Molly's ex-boyfriend offers a way out: help him sell an investment in a synthetic gasoline concoction to Edgar Bergen.

Above all, the pacing of the film is way too harsh. Beyond that, the musical sequences are lame and the closing chase is perfunctory. This is clearly a cheap cash-in sequel.

That said, some will enjoy it. It's wholesome entertainment and will be well-received by most of those who are into the original radio characters. But those who like "Look Who's Laughing" will probably find this to be a weak follow-up.

Stripper (1985)

I'm of two minds about this movie...

[6/10 · 2 April 2008]

Basically it's about several different strippers that are gearing up to participate in a competition at a stripper convention in Las Vegas. The documentary filmmakers follow the girls, get their back story, and watch how things turn out for them at the big show.

In many ways, it prefigures a lot of the "reality" TV stuff that would come out twenty years later. The hook is to develop rooting interests in each of the contestants and see how it all unfolds.

To that end, "Stripper" has both good points and bad points. The good is that the production values are high and it is moderately entertaining to get invested in the dancers' ambitions. It could have been much more exploitative but tries gamely to be, well, a documentary. To a point, it succeeds. The bad is that, like much reality-based drama, many of the scenes feel manufactured and staged for the cameras. The final competition might just as well have been assembled for the purpose of making this film.

A fair amount is superficial and can't be taken seriously. It's the softest of the soft core porn, so those looking for arousal should look elsewhere. But there's more than a glimmer of entertainment and human insight to be had, especially considering that this was done a generation before every empty-souled schnook looking for attention went on reality shows and both producer and viewer alike knew what to expect.

This film does it well back before people started doing it poorly.

Bits and Bytes (1983– )

Apparently underrated

[9/10 · 15 December 2007]

There was a time when people didn't fully understand the potential of computers, or the potential for everyday people (not electrical engineers) to get something out of them. I oughta know, I remember watching this show on PBS in Chicago in about 1984.

Parts of it were dumbed down, but I guess that could be considered 'user-friendly'. The animated sections of the shows spelled out some of the processes and how it all worked in greater detail, while the live-action sections were structured as "teacher" Luba Goy told middle-aged layman Billy Van what computers did and how to get the most out of them. Suffice it to say, Billy Van's initial diffidence always changed to wonderment and enthusiasm over the course of each show.

It would be hopelessly dated from a technological standpoint today but some parts illustrate basics that still haven't changed, and it was excellent viewing for the generation that shaped what computing is today.

Love Happy (1949)

A sad outing

[1/10 · 18 July 2007]

"Love Happy" is the last film to feature appearances from Groucho, Chico, and Harpo Marx, but it hardly stands as a Marx Brothers film. It was originally conceived as a vehicle for Harpo alone, and Groucho's contribution is basically tacked-on, a series of voice overs and a few isolated scenes. In earlier Marx Brothers films, the juvenile love interests had more going for them, but in "Love Happy" they come across as downbeat losers. The young lovers are trying to mount an off-Broadway play but don't have the money they need. But Harpo stumbles across the priceless diamond necklace that an exotic femme fatale has sought, and he gets caught up in the intrigue that follows.

The film was very cheaply made and it shows. There are a few signs of life but the brothers all look terribly over-the-hill and none of the other actors are suitable distractions. (Raymond Burr isn't bad as hired goon for the exotic broad) Except, of course, for the very young Marilyn Monroe who had little more than a cameo but lights up the screen for the little time she's involved. It's the only reason to really consider watching "Love Happy".

Murder on the Blackboard (1934)

A gem of a programmer

[7/10 · 20 May 2007]

This is a quintessential 'Late Show' movie, a low-key murder mystery with charming character actors in service to a mild plot. Edna May Oliver is the keystone of the picture, an elementary school teacher with a taste for adventure in murder mysteries. "Murder On The Blackboard" is a sequel to another Edna May Oliver-James Gleason picture so the characters are already well established. The pacing is brisk and the plot is well assembled, making for an enjoyable film.

One problem for viewers might be the C&C Movietime version of this film. That version has the first half-hour cut out, which saves time but butchers the narrative. Those who pick up the thread with Oliver's character searching for the body are missing about thirty minutes of important exposition.

Regardless of the editing, this is an amusing comic murder mystery deserving of your attention.

Free and Easy (1930)

Better as a historical curio rather than straight entertainment

[3/10 · 10 October 2006]

This was basically the beginning of the end for Keaton. The end of the silent era meant an end to Keaton's ability to make pictures with his own production company. He was more or less obligated to sign a contract with Hollywood's deep-pocketed assembly line, Metro Goldwyn Mayer.

They had little idea of how to handle his style of film-making and certainly weren't about give him wide latitude to do as he pleased. He got pressed into a facile, 'utility-infielder of comedy' series of roles. "Free and Easy" was the archetype for what would follow: Buster plays a naive and wimpy country bumpkin on the loose in the big city (in this case, Hollywood) with hilarity expected to ensue in slapstick mixups. The film is undistinguished solely as entertainment.

MGM's low regard for the project -- evinced by low production values -- makes a virtue of necessity. A not inconsiderable number of studio contract players and directors (Fred Niblo, Lionel Barrymore) are pressed into service, leaving several scenes to feel almost like a behind the scenes home movie. A toothless jape authorized by studio executives.

"Free & Easy" was successful enough to give MGM brass the excuse they wanted to believe they had found Keaton's wheelhouse as a talkie comedian. Keaton responded passive-aggressively with a level of effort befitting the quality of the productions. His personal problems, a bad marriage contributing to increasing alcoholism, only made things worse.

On the upside, 'Free and Easy' has some nice elements; Late-career appearances by Karl Dane and William Haines, Lionel Barrymore directing, a lovely Dorothy Sebastian, and Trixie Friganza as her evil stagemother.

Agony (1979–1981)

A truly underrated classic

[9/10 · 15 July 2006]

This is a show that I would have loved to see find a wider audience here in the U.S.. There's definitely an audience for it; it covers a lot of the same ground that 'Frasier' did. But 'Agony' has more drama to it, and emphasis on the kind of real-life heartache that doesn't come from grand, tragic events but from the slow drifting apart caused by a relationship that just isn't enough.

Jane Lucas, advice columnist, is supposed to have the answers. Then one day, her husband announces he's leaving. Now she's at a loss. Over the next few seasons, she grows and learns more about herself coping with the job of being the one people turn to for advice while proceeding the best way she knows how, with help from friends and family.

The final episode and the resolution between Jane and her on-again-off-again estranged husband Laurence is a true gem. Had it been a U.S. production it would have stood as one of the great finales of its decade. It had, in just a few seasons, much more wit, insight, and real understanding about adult relationships than you'd ever find in trash like 'Sex & The City'. Perhaps some clever executives at BBC or wherever will find this show a rightful home on DVD.

Strangers All (1935)

Surprisingly compelling

[6/10 · 23 April 2006]

I had low expectations for this one -- It looked like another garden variety 'suffering mother' weeper. Indeed it was but it was a rather well done 'suffering mother' weeper. May Robson, who has a history of hit or miss projects, acquits herself well as the beleaguered mother in question, Anna. She's got four grown kids: Murray, the eldest, is hardworking and responsible. He and his fiancée Frances run a clothing store to support the family. Dick, the aspiring actor, is immature, selfish, and petulant. The third son Lewis is a socialist crank. And the daughter Lily was seeing a local lawyer, but is away at school and not responding to her boyfriend's letters.

This movie rises on the strength of good emotional performances from Robson as the eternally sacrificing mother and William Bakewell's turn as the frankly loathsome heel of a son, Dick. Robson can go from pathetic to raging in the blink of an eye, always authentic as the mother who loves and maybe loves too much. Bakewell's sniveling manipulator does a great job of making the audience hate him.

I won't spoil the story except to say that all three sons have lives that need attention from Anna and lead into conflict with one another. The writing that leaves the path to the outcome in doubt and taut pacing makes this one engaging. Final word: Dated, and with low production values, but worth seeking out.

Down to Their Last Yacht (1934)

Interesting but not so bizarre as other comments would indicate

[5/10 · 22 April 2006]

As noted in other comments for this film, this one starts out looking like a typical 1930s screwball comedy about high society but changes course quickly. The story takes several sharp left turns into becoming a musical farce set in a Polynesian island kingdom. Of particular delight is Mary Boland's shabby-glamorous queen and her manservant in tattered livery. The two romantic leads are undistinguished, particularly the male. But any film with Ned Sparks deserves some credit, and the musical numbers aren't as tedious as many others of the period were. It's a curious affair, made all the more startling by the film's rapid pacing, but I feel I must say that other comments make "Down To Their Last Yacht" sound like something from the avant-garde. In truth it's no more 'out there' than W.C. Fields' "Million Dollar Legs" or some of Wheeler & Woolsey's more absurdist work. Not a classic, but certainly worth watching if you come across it.

Gabriel Over the White House (1933)

A curiosity of film history

[5/10 · 6 April 2006]

"Gabriel Over the White House" is one of the most unique films you're likely to see. By turns it is a wild-eyed cinematic op-ed piece and an apologia for fascism. It's even more stunning when you realize that it was released to theaters just a few weeks into FDR's famous 'First Hundred' days of office.

The film opens with the inauguration of President Judd Hammond, followed by a get-together where he explains the aims of his presidency. Hammond's a party hack who dismisses any questions about runaway unemployment and organized crime as 'local problems' that are not his responsibility. He stonewalls the press, demanding questions submitted in advance and refusing to answer them for the record. He keeps a mistress and is more concerned with the new issue of his detective magazine than matters of state.

Change comes in the form of a car accident. Hammond insists on driving himself to Annapolis for a ceremony at the Naval Academy when he speeds his way into a wreck. His condition appears grave and the public is kept in the dark. In truth, he has undergone an epiphany. More empathetic, he now wants to be a man of action. He's willing to be quoted for the press. He starts making grand promises about helping the army of the unemployed marching on the Capitol. He catches his cabinet meeting in secret, plotting to defy him, and demands their collective resignation.

With that, Congress begins proceedings for an impeachment. Amazingly, Hammond appears before Congress and convinces them to adjourn, elevating the president to a dictatorship and declaring martial law. Then he REALLY goes to work, proposing sweeping new laws, suspending old ones, and declaring war on the gangsters. After a few skirmishes, he sends the military to rout them out of hiding and a court-martial gives them what's coming to them.

With peace declared in urban America, he takes on foreign policy. In a three-minute speech from the bridge of a battleship, Hammond eliminates the global debt problem and the arms race. At his triumphant moment, the president is crowned with a halo of martyrdom, collapsing, presumably, from the injuries of his car wreck that were delayed by divine intervention while he pursued his greater mission.

To call "Gabriel Over the White House" fuzzy thinking doesn't do justice to its childishly simplistic view of the world. The beliefs informing it are naive and solutions presented are irresponsible. As such, it's a remarkable document of its time. There was certainly an audience for such a fantasy in the crime and poverty ridden days of the early Depression. Hence, "Gabriel Over the White House" is poor in drama but rich in historical perspective. I can't think of an appropriate rating except to split the difference between its artistic and documentary values: 5

Grand Old Girl (1935)

May Robson was nominated for best actress just one year earlier...

[3/10 · 30 December 2005]

Set in a small town that may as well have sprung from the pages of Archie & Jughead comics, Mrs. Bayles is the venerable principal of the local high school. She's a kindly soul, dedicated above all to the education and welfare of her students. You can tell as she painstakingly tutors a cement-headed member of the football team in geometry.

There's one major bee in her bonnet, though; 'Click' Dade, who runs a gambling den out of the back room of his malt shop (yeah, you read that correctly...) Her own sleuthing turns up enough evidence for an indictment, but not a conviction. Outraged at her concern for the students, the school board issues her a stern warning. Still, she can't resist her urge to serve. When a shy, stuttering boy comes to her, Ms. Bayles tells him of another of her students, many years before. He, too, had been shy and teased by others, but he grew up to be *gasp* PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!

Still fighting, the foxy old gal connives to beat Dade at his own game. In a heartwarming scene of good old-fashioned racism, a black student teaches Ms. Bayles how to shoot craps with loaded dice. She wins enough money from Dade to open her own malt shop (with a jazz band, no less), but a fistfight erupts, leading the school board to close her storefront and fire her from the school. She's packing her bags and getting ready to move on, when who should come in to save the day? Yes, Ms. Bayles former pupil, the Chief Executive himself who just happens to be rolling through town in a motorcade. The Prez delivers a lecture on the holy calling that is the life of an educator, and the film ends with the town cheering their Ms. Bayles.

Oh, yeah, and there's some stuff about some rich man's party girl daughter who has eyes for a local delivery driver (a young Fred MacMurray), but it's all rather plodding and stagy. Final word on "Grand Old Girl": Not aggressively bad but still not unique enough to be a true curiosity piece. You needn't go out of your way for it.

Merrily We Live (1938)

Cute, charming, and very funny, but am I the only one to notice....

[7/10 · 30 August 2005]

...that it's basically a remake of "MY MAN GODFREY"? I can't be the only person to have noticed this. It's a screwball comedy about a hobo taken in as butler for a wealthy but eccentric family. There's the exasperated father, airhead mother, two daughters each with ulterior motives, wisecracking other servants, and the handsome young man who seems a little too polished to be a tramp. Even right down to the closing water-splashing payoff involving the leading man and the ingénue.

But to this film's credit, it's worthy of viewing in its own right. The gags are clever, the dialogue is sharp, and the plot is well-structured and fast paced. Solid screwball comedy with a great cast: Constance Bennett, Billie Burke, Alan Mowbray, Patsy Kelly, and young Bonita Granville. It's a forgotten classic only because people remember MY MAN GODFREY better.

Repent at Leisure (1941)

Trash, just trash

[2/10 · 28 August 2005]

Melodramatic dreck involving mistaken identities. The ambitious hero (employee of a department store) marries a shopgirl, not knowing she's the boss' daughter. The hero starts rising the corporate ladder but of course the deception will be found out. When it is, the sparks fly. The prodigal son joins the competitor out of spite. The plotting for this one exists at the level of a Warner Brothers cartoon (There's even a European prince, for cryin' out loud!); it's not just that the characters are broadly drawn but that their motivations are so one-dimensional and, well, corny. The whole boy-meets-girl setup has been done better. Try "Pop Always Pays" with Leon Errol for a better comic young romance.

Gildersleeve's Ghost (1944)

The weakest of the Gildersleeve movies

[3/10 · 4 June 2005]

I wanted to like it, I really did. As an old-time radio buff, I have a soft spot for movies like this one, and The Great Gildersleeve is one of my favorite characters. But there's no saving this turkey. It's a dreadful outing; the plot is a ridiculous farrago about the ghosts of Gildy's ancestors rising from the grave to help him thwart the machinations of a mad scientist with an invisibility potion. The movie starts out with a lame premise and flubs along to keep it afloat, making for very tedious viewing. A certain amount of contrivance is to be expected for any sitcom extended to feature length, but this movie takes it too far to be successful. All that needs to be said about 'Gildersleeve's Ghost' to get the idea of what viewers are in for is that much attempted hilarity is derived from confusion between a gorilla on the loose and various characters disguised in a gorilla costume. Final analysis: Almost unwatchable.

Man Hunt (1933)

Painfully dated

[3/10 · 14 April 2005]

Junior Scott is a teenager whose passion for detective stories has gotten him fired from every job in town. Luck is with him when a real-life detective story falls into his lap. A new neighbor, who happens to have a pretty daughter about his age, is murdered under mysterious circumstances. The dead man's secret is that he was a fugitive, framed for a jewel heist he didn't commit. The grown-up detective who comes to investigate agrees to let Junior help out, but the detective has sinister motives....

In the end, everything works out, but it's a hard one to watch. Maybe this movie was passable for it's day, but it's difficult to imagine now. The writers (including journeyman screenwriter Leonard Praskins) had some curious ideas about how detectives actually go about their job and the characters suffer from baffling lapses in judgment.

The film's main appear is historical. Junior Scott is played by Junior Durkin, whose eventual claim to fame was that two years later he was killed in a car wreck along with the father of Jackie 'Uncle Fester' Coogan. Junior's mother is a rare screen appearance from Dorothy Davenport, who was Wallace Reid's widow and star of the legendary lost silent film "Human Wreckage". Charlotte Henry, who plays the murdered man's daughter, would land on her feet after this turkey. Her next job was the title role in the 1933 version of 'Alice in Wonderland' with an all-star cast, including W.C. Fields, Cary Grant, and Gary Cooper.

Louisiana Territory (1953)

Dreadfully cheap looking, but not on purpose

[3/10 · 6 February 2005]

Perhaps this film cost a small fortune, but the print I saw was not in color and certainly not in 3D. Consequently it was altogether shabby looking. Several of the scenes were clearly meant to be viewed in 3D and hence the footage appears blurry in black-and-white.

The movie's content amounts to an hour-long travelogue for Louisiana, with lots of historical information to make a more 'scholarly' product. I'm not about to run down the fine state of Louisiana or the city of New Orleans, but as drama it's a non-starter. Much of the film is stock footage with narration; other sequences include recreations of state historical figures. As such, it would be better included with educational films for grade-school students rather than as any sort of a dramatic fare.

The only reason I can suppose it was broadcast on my local station was that the scenes of mid-20th Century Mardi Gras parades was appropriate for the first week of February. Unless you can get it in color AND three-dimensions and intend for it to be shown in an elementary school classroom, then read a fine book about the history of the state of Louisiana and rent a copy of "Girls Gone Wild" to see Mardi Gras.

Sing and Like It (1934)

Cute stuff

[6/10 · 31 January 2005]

Sorta like "Bullets Over Broadway" -- A gangster forces a stage producer to use a star who can't sing for a damn. The gangster (Nat Pendleton, as a kidnapping-for-ransom specialist) gets weepy whenever he hears ZaSu Pitts warble "Mother". Everyone else cringes but whatever he says goes. So producer Edward Everett Horton is stuck putting together a show around the spectacularly off-key Pitts. But how can the gang make sure it's a hit? Sour-faced Ned Sparks will twist as many arms as necessary....

The plot's nothing special, but it's got a roll call of great character actors, like Sparks, Horton, Pendleton, John Qualen, and at the top of the cast, ZaSu Pitts. Pleasant escapism.

Smokey and the Bandit II (1980)

A massive insult masquerading as entertainment

[1/10 · 27 April 2004]

Quite possibly the worst picture ever made, but has stiff competition from 'Cannonball Run II'. Like the 'Cannonball' movies, it has a roll call of notables (for its time) but plays like a fraternity house home movie that's amusing only to the people who appeared in it. Former pro football player Terry Bradshaw is featured prominently and is a perfect fit for this film. A harum-scarum comic chase, but without any thrills or laughs, the entire movie falls in lockstep with Bradshaw's hootin' and hollerin' country-fried yahoo persona. You have much better things to do with your time than this. This movie is two hours out of your life that you will never have back again. This movie will leave skidmarks on your TV screen and I don't mean from car tires.

Hollywood (1980)

One of the greatest documentaries of all time...

[10/10 · 27 February 2004]

This is a remarkable document of the silent film era. Many of the participants make their last appearances to describe their film history. Agnes De Mille, Colleen Moore, King Vidor, Harold Lloyd, and Viola Dana are just a handful of names that participated in this documentary. They are but a few historical film names that participated before they passed away soon after (or before) this production was completed. Multiple Oscar winner Frank Capra, Oscar Honoree Hal Roach, and Hollywood legend Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. also participated in this series. This is essential viewing for anyone who calls themselves a film historian and anyone who values the history of film. It's great viewing for even casual fans of movie history and is not to be ignored by those who enjoy a good miniseries.