Cowboy Church #286

 Hello my friends and welcome back for another service of Cowboy Church. 

Today's musical selection begins with Roy Rogers and Dale Evans singing, It is No Secret. This song was written by cowboy singer and actor Stuart Hamblen. Before turning to God, this man's life could hardly be considered Godly. He often drank and fought, and this often landed him in jail. When in 1949 Hamblin went to a Billy Graham crusade, he turned his life over to God. The drinking and fighting were put behind him and his whole life changing. One day he was talking about this change to his good friend John Wayne (yes that John Wayne) and that it was no secret what God had done for him. John Wayne said, that he should write a song with those lyrics.  Stuart Hamblen had also had a brief movie career and appeared in the Roy Rogers movie, The Arizona Kid (1939).

This is followed by Jim and Jesse's 1960 recording of Destination in Heaven.  

Afterwards is The Chuck Wagon Gang with their 1948 recording of Echoes from the Burning Bush. The Chuck Wagon Gang which in their original incarnation consisted of D.P. Carter, his Son, Jim (Ernest) Carter and his daughters, Rose (Lola) Carter Karnes and Anna (Effie) Carter Gordon Davis. The group recorded mostly old gospel songs. Incredibly the group is still around today (though with completely new members). Because of another country music family with the same last name, they have been referred to as "the other Carter Family."   

Then comes Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard with Sing Me Back Home on a 1969 episode of TV's The Johnny Cash Show. This song was written by Merle and was based off a true story that happened while he was in San Quentin State Prison for attempted robbery. It was the title track of his 1968 album. 

Next is Ralph Stanley with Children Go Where I Send Thee. This comes from his 1975 gospel album, Let Me Rest On A Peaceful Mountain.

Next is The Sons of the Pioneers with their 1937 recording of The Touch of God's Hand. This song was written by one of the group's founding members (and one of my favorite songwriters), Bob Nolan. Bob also provides lead vocals on this song. This is also one of the earliest Sons of the Pioneers recordings with bass player Pat Brady, who replaced Roy Rogers, when Roy followed a movie career. Brady would later play Roy's sidekick on TV. 

Today's musical selection ends with Porter Wagoner with a live recording of I Thought of God. This comes from his 1964 live album, In Person. 

Now for a message from the Reverand Martin Luther King Jr. 

Now for the 27th episode of TV's The Lone Ranger. 

Psalm 72

Of Solomon.

1 Endow the king with your justice, O God,

    the royal son with your righteousness.

2 May he judge your people in righteousness,

    your afflicted ones with justice.

3 May the mountains bring prosperity to the people,

    the hills the fruit of righteousness.

4 May he defend the afflicted among the people

    and save the children of the needy;

    may he crush the oppressor.

5 May he endure as long as the sun,

    as long as the moon, through all generations.

6 May he be like rain falling on a mown field,

    like showers watering the earth.

7 In his days may the righteous flourish

    and prosperity abound till the moon is no more.

8 May he rule from sea to sea

    and from the River to the ends of the earth.

9 May the desert tribes bow before him

    and his enemies lick the dust.

10 May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores

    bring tribute to him.

May the kings of Sheba and Seba

    present him gifts.

11 May all kings bow down to him

    and all nations serve him.

12 For he will deliver the needy who cry out,

    the afflicted who have no one to help.

13 He will take pity on the weak and the needy

    and save the needy from death.

14 He will rescue them from oppression and violence,

    for precious is their blood in his sight.

15 Long may he live!

    May gold from Sheba be given him.

May people ever pray for him

    and bless him all day long.

16 May grain abound throughout the land;

    on the tops of the hills may it sway.

May the crops flourish like Lebanon

    and thrive like the grass of the field.

17 May his name endure forever;

    may it continue as long as the sun.

Then all nations will be blessed through him,

    and they will call him blessed.

18 Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel,

    who alone does marvelous deeds.

19 Praise be to his glorious name forever;

    may the whole earth be filled with his glory.

Amen and Amen.

20 This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.

Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for another service of Cowboy Church. Happy trails to you until we meet again. 

Video Link: How Disney's Reign of Dragons Started with This Oddball - West of Neverland

 

Video Link: The Legend Who Quietly Built Disney’s Golden Age - West of Neverland

 

Some Cartoons For Saturday Morning #296

 Hello my friends and happy Saturday morning. Once again it is time for some classic cartoons. 

Today's cartoon selection begins with a classic Frank Tashlin Porky Pig cartoon, Porky's Railroad (1937). This is one of the many cartoons of this time that used the formula of Porky being placed in a different job. In fact, earlier the same year Tashlin had directed a very similar Porky Pig cartoon, called Porky's Building (1937). That film like this one featured Porky up against a rival for his job. This cartoon opens up using of Tashlin's favorite types of gags that of words appearing on the screen to introduce the action. Often times he would do this in the form of a "disclaimer", but here he simply introduces the two trains. Also notice the ship that Porky picks up is the SS Leon named after the cartoon's producer Leon Schlesinger.

Now for a lesser-known cartoon from the Fleischer Studio, Zero the Hound (1941). This is part of the studio's Animated Antics series. This series lasted from 1940 to 1941 and included 11 cartoons. Some of these cartoons starred miscellaneous characters while others featured characters from the studio's feature film, Gulliver's Travels (1939).  

Next, we go out west with our friend Gandy Goose with Wide Open Spaces (1950). This was nearing the end of the Gandy series. He would only have three more theatrical cartoons after this.

Now for a true Mickey Mouse classic, Thru the Mirror (1936). Well before the Disney Studios feature length adaption of Alice in Wonderland (1951), this short film adapts Lewis Carrol's Alice Through the Looking Glass. It is a very loose adaption, but it captures the spirit better than most feature length versions of Carrol's Alice books do. I have always loved Disney cartoons that or not afraid to be silly. This is one of the perfect examples of that. One of the highlights is a sequence with Mickey do a Fred Astaire type dance which was animated by Dick Lundy, who specialized in dancing animation. Dick Lundy would later direct some great cartoons for Walter Lantz and MGM. Elements of this short would play a major role in the video game Epic Mickey.

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Next is Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in The Toy Shoppe (1934). Like many Oswald films of this era, the rabbit becomes a supporting character in his own cartoon. 

Next is the Terry Toons cartoon, Sage Struck (1951). This is the first of only two cartoons to star the forgotten character Half Pint. 

Up next comes an early example of Disney's Silly Symphonies cartoons with The Bird Store (1932). This short film is similar to many of the Silly Symphonies of the time period. The movie starts out with simply a bunch of cute little gags involving a bird store and then a villain enters and many of the characters team up to stop this villain. The cartoon is directed by Wilfred Jackson, who would later co-direct such Disney features as Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953) and Lady and the Tramp (1955). The movie also features an all-star cast of Disney animators. David Hand, who would later be the supervising director for such Disney features as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Bambi (1942), animates the opening scene. Future Donald Duck director, Jack King animated the lovebirds, the canaries being excited and the baby being returned to its parents. Frenchy de Tremaudan, who worked as an uncredited animator on many of Disney best short films, animates the bird sharpening its beak and the parrot with the cash register. Johnny Cannon animated the jalopy birds and the canaries pecking at the cat. Clyde Geronimi, who would be a co-director on Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953) and Lady and the Tramp (1955) and the supervising director for Sleeping Beauty (1959), animates the horn birds and the cat in the cage. Norm Ferguson, whose animation would later help define the character of Pluto, animates the parrot with both the mirror and the typewriter. Future Woody Woodpecker and Barney Bear director Dick Lundy animates the whooping birds and the cat stalking the canaries. Future Hanna-Barbera director, Rudy Zamora animates the Marx Birds. Future Looney Tunes and Van Beuren director, Tom Palmer animates the baby canary taking on a singing lesson. Albert Hunter animates the birds watching with excitement. Master Mickey Mouse animator, Les Clark animates the baby canary running from the cat and the scene with the dogs. Ben Sharpsteen, who would later be the supervising director for such Disney features as Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940) and Dumbo (1941), heads a whole crew of animators including Chuck Couch, Marvin Woodward, Hardie Gramatky, Harry Reeves and Dick Williams. 

Let us close with a song. 

Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for more animated treasures. Until then may all your tunes be looney and your melodies merry. 

Resources Used

Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series by Russell Merritt and J.B. Kaufman 

Of Mice and Magic: A History of the American Animated Cartoon by Leonard Maltin.

Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: The Ultimate History by J.B. Kaufman and David Gerstein

Movie Review: The Uprising

 

Michael's Movie Grade: C+

An okay historical epic. 

This film involves a band of peasants standing up against a corrupt system and a child king who are overtaxing them. That is really all there is to the story. 

This film is incredibly light on both story and characterization. However, it is filled with action and spectacle. On these two levels this film works very well. The action scenes are very well handled and can feel larger than life in scale. They look truly epic on the big screen. Meanwhile the visual landscape is amazing here. This is as handsome of a movie as you could hope for from a historical epic. While the characters are undeveloped, the performances from Andrew Garfeild and Woody Norman are fantastic and somewhat make up for this flaw. 

However, with the lack of characterization and story and the overreliance on action and spectacle, this film can feel overly repetitive at times. There are moments when it struggles to maintain interest for the whole 2-hour runtime. 

This may not be the great film, it is obviously yearning to be but it still makes for a decent trip to the movies. 

Movie Review: Onslaught

 

Michael's Movie Grade: C+

An enjoyable but instantly forgettable action/horror flick. 

In this movie the American government is creating genetically modified super soldiers. When these soldiers get loose, they wreak havoc on a trailer park trying to kill everyone there. A former solider mom must protect her young daughter from these dangerous super soldiers.   

There is quite a bit to enjoy about this film. Adria Arjona is very strong in the lead role. She gives a lot of action star charisma that is perfect for a movie like this. Though the storyline is simplistic, the character's relationship with her daughter does bring some heart into it. There are some actually sweet moments between them tossed in there with all the gore. The action scenes themselves are a lot of fun. They are over the top and gory in the best way possible. The over-the-top gore is taken to such an extreme at times, that is just simply fun to watch. This is just simple gory fun. 

Unfortunately, the film does have its problems. The pacing is pretty flawed. The set-up definitely takes too long for what is a simple story with no real depth. Despite being an action/horror flick, it is definitely lacking in the horror department. There is not a single moment that is actually scary at all, even for the biggest fraidy cats. The soldiers themselves, while threatening are bland and forgettable. This especially hurts because villains are probably the most important element in any horror film.

The main problem with the movie though is that the story simply too similar to so many other films. This can make it easy to forget. 

The end result is an enjoyable trip to the movies but hardly a great film. 

Movie Review: Tom and Jerry: Forbidden Compass

 

Michael's Movie Grade: D

A rather lame Tom and Jerry movie from China. 

 It starts out promising enough with Tom and Jerry chasing each other around a museum. There are some decent gags here and Tom and Jerry are the characters we all love. Even this though is not perfect with some obnoxious sound effects and vocal acting for Tom and Jerry (they don't talk only make vocal sounds). After this an ancient artifact transports them to a fantasy world inspired by Chinese mythology. This is where the film really goes downhill. There are some promising ideas here like Tom being hailed as a god and that going to his head. 

However, for much of the rest of the movie Tom and Jerry sadly feel like afterthoughts. Instead, we focus on a new group of characters. Unfortunately, these new characters are as bland and forgettable as can be, as well as being obnoxious and annoying. It is impossible to relate to or care about these new characters. Even the design work for these characters is quite ugly. Yet as the film goes on, they continue to get more screen time while Tom and Jerry get less. As the film focuses more on these characters, the story gets messier too. Even for a movie based off a cartoon, this story makes no sense. The whole climax is especially a mess of half-baked plot ideas. 

Being a fan of Tom and Jerry, I really wanted to like this movie. Instead, this is a disappointment on every level.