Movie Review: Violent Ends

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B-

A well-made but very familiar thriller. 

This movie has a very familiar storyline about a man who comes from a family of criminals. He wants to break away from his family's criminal ways because he is going to get married and have kids. However, his fiancée is killed in a botched robbery that he believes his family is responsible for. He seeks revenge on those who he believes killed his fiancée. We have seen this type of story many times before and that can make it to where this film will blend in with similar ones in our minds. However, this does not mean it can't be well told. 

There is quite a bit to like here actually. Our main character is quite a good one. He is a character that we at first really like and root for. However, as his darker side comes out, our feelings towards him become more complicated. His moral decline is presented in a completely believable and gradual way. With this the movie does a great job of showing us how a seemingly good guy can have a monster living inside. This is all helped by an excellent lead performance by Billy Magnussen. The movie is also full of some really effective action scenes and some surprisingly good twists and turns.

I could have done without this film's opening scene where the main character hunts and kills a deer. He then very graphically cuts the deer up into meat. As a vegetarian and strong believer in animal rights I have always been very uncomfortable with these overly gory animal scenes. Beyond this though the scene is simply pointless in the context of the movie.   

This may be overly familiar, but it is quite good for what it is.  

 

100 Years of Brodies with Hal Roach: The Jaunty Journeys of a Hollywood Motion Picture and Television Pioneer (2014)

 

For those of us who love classic comedy, Hal Roach is a legendary name. He produced many classic films starring the likes of Laurel and Hardy, Harold Lloyd, the Our Gang kids (also known as The Little Rascals), Charley Chase and plenty more. All these years later these films stand as some of the greatest comedies of all time. So of course, for us any book about Hal Roach makes for essential reading. However, this book stands as one of the best books about the subject. This is because it not only gives us a historical overview of one of the best comedy studios of all time, but it also gives us the most vivid portrait of Hal Roach as a person available. 

Author Craig Calman is a comedy filmmaker himself who discovered the work of Hal Roach at a very young age becoming enamored with the films of Laurel and Hardy. Little did he dream as that young kid that one day he would meet the producer of those classic Laurel and Hardy films. At the age of twenty he went out on a limb and tried to contact Hal Roach, when working on a term paper. This resulted in a decades long friendship. This book is the result of that friendship. Much of the book is filled with quotes from Hal Roach. Because of this we not only get a view of how films were made at the Hal Roach Studio but also insights into Hal Roach viewed comedy and filmmaking. His views on comedy are quite revealing from him speaking about taking children into consideration but never making films only for them to him talking about how he believed that comedies should not exceed forty-five minutes (though he would make feature length comedies out of necessity). He even speaks about others in the comedy field from Mack Sennett to Benny Hill. While I may not agree on some of those comments, they do say a lot about his approach to comedy and how it differed from others. Even the times when Roach's memory proved to be faulty, what he remembers about his own work says a lot about the way he viewed his career and the various films he worked on. 

Though by design this book cannot go into as much detail about individual films as Randy Skretvedt's Laurel and Hardy books or Leonard Maltin and Richard W. Bann's book about Our Gang, it still gives a very nice historical overview of the work from this movie studio. Probably most valuable is that for each year of the studio's existence, Calman provides a list of how many films were made with each of the studio's comedy stars as well as how many dramatic features or special productions were made for each year. Calman as well as using his personal experience with Hal Roach also digs into studio documentation and old movie magazines to create an even greater dig into the history of these films. 

Also unlike many histories of the Hal Roach Studio, this book does not neglect the studio's later involvement in TV. This includes both TV shows made by the studio and those that used the studio's resources for filming (did you know The Abbott and Costello Show was filmed there?).

 This book is a must have for any fan of classic comedy. 

For any fan of classic comedy 

How Mack Sennett Picks His Bathing Beauties

Other than the Keystone Cops, Mack Sennett's Bathing Beauties are the most famous staple of the silent comedies produced by Mack Sennett. Sex sells is not a recent idea and more than 100 years ago, filmmakers knew that nothing would get audiences' (especially male audiences') attention as much as beautiful women. Mack Sennett took this idea even farther. When it came to his filmmaking style Mack Sennett certainly believed that more was more. This was not only true when it came to his unsubtle brand of slapstick humor but also to how many beautiful women, he would have onscreen. If one beautiful woman in a bathing suit would capture someone's attention, then multiple women in bathing suits would do so even further. Thus, was born Mack Sennett's bathing beauties. 

If you are wondering how Mack Sennett picked his bathing beauties than look no further. Such is explained in the following article from a 1923 issue of Screenland magazine. If you have any trouble reading the pages below click on them and use your touch screen to zoom in. 

Here is a MAck Sennett produced short featuring the Bathing Beauties, Heroic Ambrose (1919).

Video Link: Fats Waller & Ada Brown - That Ain't Right - Stormy Weather (1943)

Cowboy Church #240

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

Today's musical selection begins with Roy Rogers and Dale Evans singing Sweet Hour of Prayer. Prayer is one of the important parts of a Christians life but it also something that many Christians don't spend enough time doing. I admit myself to having been guilty of prayer far less than I should. Yet talking to the God of the universe is an incredible privilege we have and one of the greatest blessings in our lives. 

This is followed by Brenda Lee with This Little Light of Mine. This song is often credited to Harold Dixon Loes, but there is some debate as to whether or not he wrote the song. This hymn is said to date back to the 1920's. However the first known recording of the song comes from 1934, where it was sung by a man named Jim Boyd, who at the time was imprisoned in the Huntsville, Texas State Penitentiary. In 1939 a recording was made of a woman named Doris McMurray, who was serving time in a prison in Huntsville. She stated that she learned the sing from her grandmother in Waco. Since she was an African American woman this supports the belief that this song was originally an African American spiritual. In the 1950's and 60's this song would take on a whole new meaning as it would be used for the Civil Rights movement. Civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer would state, "Singing is one of the main things that can keep us going. When you're in a brick cell, locked up, and haven't done anything to anybody but still you're locked up there and sometimes words just begin to come to you and you begin to sing. Like one of my favorite songs, 'This Little Light of Mine, I'm Going to Let it Shine.' This same song goes back to the fifth chapter of Matthew, which is the Beatitudes of the Bible, when he says a city that sets on a hill cannot be hid. Let your light shine so that men would see your good works and glorify the father which is in heaven. I think singing is very important. It brings out the soul." 

Afterwards is Patty Loveless with Bramble and the Rose. This comes from her 2009 gospel album, Mountain Soul II. 

Next is Anne Wilson with Those People. Though the church should be some of the most welcoming people in the world, too often they are the opposite. Jesus died for everybody and because of this prejudice has no place in the heart of a Christian. 

Then comes The Sons of the Pioneers with their 1937 recording of Lord You Made the Cowboy Happy. This song should remind us of how blessed we truly are. It is the things we take for granted each day that are our greatest blessings. Sometimes we need to stop and simply thank God for these blessings. The narrator of this song is not thankful for any big event in his life, but rather for all the little blessing he receives every day.

This is followed by John Berry with I Surrender All.  This song was written by Judson Van de Venter in 1896. A schoolteacher, who was being called to become an evangelist it took him five years to surrender and leave his teaching job for what was his true calling. This song reflects this brave and faithful action. 

Today's musical selection ends with Loretta Lynn with When Thery Ring Those Golden Bells. This recording comes from Loretta's 1965 gospel album, Hymns.

Now for the exciting conclusion to the Buck Jones movie serial, The Red Rider (1934). 

Now for a message from the Reverand Billy Graham. 

Psalm 91

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High

    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,

    my God, in whom I trust.”

3 Surely he will save you

    from the fowler’s snare

    and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his feathers,

    and under his wings you will find refuge;

    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

5 You will not fear the terror of night,

    nor the arrow that flies by day,

6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,

    nor the plague that destroys at midday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,

    ten thousand at your right hand,

    but it will not come near you.

8 You will only observe with your eyes

    and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”

    and you make the Most High your dwelling,

10 no harm will overtake you,

    no disaster will come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you

    to guard you in all your ways;

12 they will lift you up in their hands,

    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;

    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;

    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;

    I will be with him in trouble,

    I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life I will satisfy him

    and show him my salvation.”

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

Some Cartoons for Saturday Morning #253

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

Today's cartoon selection begins with Sylvester and Tweety in The Jet Cage (1962). Though this film gives Milt Franklin credit for the music, much of the music was done by William Lava. This is because Milt Franklin died of a heart attack before finishing the musical score and had to be replaced by William Lava. About the Sylvester and Tweety cartoons, director Friz Freleng stated, "Tweety doesn't do anything. He can't even put a hat on because his arms are too short. And he's got such a bug head. The comedy comes out of Sylvester and his determination, his stubbornness to get the bird no matter what happens to him. Still, everybody says, 'Oh I love that Tweety.' Audiences are funny. They never love the characters that really get the laughs."

Next the Terry Toons cartoon, A Yokohama Yankee (1955).

Mickey's Amateurs (1937) is a rare directorial effort by Pinto Colvig, who my fellow Disney fans will know best as the voice of Goofy (who appears in this film). He co-directed this cartoon with Erdman Penner and Walt Pfeiffer. Penner spent most of his time at Disney working in the story department. He even worked on such Disney feature films as Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), The Reluctant Dragon (1941), Victory Through Air Power (1943), Make Mine Music (1946), Melody Time (1948), The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949), Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953), Lady and the Tramp (1955) and Sleeping Beauty (1959). Walt Pfeiffer was a childhood friend of Walt Disney and would become manager of Disney's Penthouse Club. None of these men were typically directors of cartoons and to see them in the director's chair is a rare treat. The three also wrote the short, which was a more typical job for them.  In their book Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: The Ultimate History, J.B. Kaufman and David Gerstein describe this film as "...an extremely offbeat cartoon, with wild, freewheeling gags and animation that suggest other studios as much as Disney." Animator Al Eugster remembered working on this cartoon with a real fondness stating, "I felt I had more freedom during my assignment on this film." This short would be the last Mickey Mouse cartoon released for United Artists. The following is a review from The Motion Picture Herald. "Making sport of the current amateur hour craze, the Disney penmen have devised some of the craziest and comic cartoon moments yet to hit the screen. With Mickey Mouse as the master of ceremonies, the talent parade their specific specialties. Donald Duck recites "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," which is a very coy act for Donald and a good laugh for his audience. The female aspirants are represented by Clara Cluck and Carabelle Cow who offer a song and a piano treat. The highlight of the progamme and the one that would receive this reviewer's vote is 'Bandmaster Goofy and his Fifty Piece Band.' Goofy and his 'Rube Goldberg' invention play 'In The Good Old Summertime' and then going modern, the pace proves too much for the maestro and his machine. The subject must be seen to be appreciated and enjoyed and enjoyed. The fun it offers defies description. Running time, one reel."  

Now for the Aesop's Sound Fables cartoon, Stone Age Stunts (1930). This cartoon features two mice who look a lot like Mickey and Minnie. In 1931 Walt Disney would actually file a lawsuit against the Van Buren studio over the use of two mice that looked too much like Mickey and Minnie. The result was the Van Buren studio was no longer allowed to use these two mice characters. 



 

Time for a commercial break. 

Now for some silent era fun with Ko-Ko in Toyland (1925). 

Next is The Blue Racer in Snake Preview (1973). This short film is directed by Cullen Blaine, who had previously worked on the DePatie-Freleng TV series Super President and The Barkleys as a layout and storyboard artist.  He would later direct the Pink Panther cartoon, Pink Piper (1976) and various episodes of shows like The Get Along Gang, Garfield and Friends and Hey Arnold. He would also work as a timing director on such shows as Timon and Pumba, 101 Dalmatians: The Series, Static Shock and What's New Scooby-Doo. Snake Preview also features Crazy Legs Crane who would star in his own series of short cartoons. 

 

 

Next comes a Friz Freleng directed classic, Daffy the Commando (1943). This is a very topical cartoon for the era, throwing in many World War Two gags and old radio show reference. However, a fast pace and some solid gags help it stand up very well today.  The following is an exhibitor's review from the Motion Picture Herald, "Daffy the Commando: Looney Tunes Cartoon - This is Daffy's best. By the way where has Vitaphone being keeping Daffy Duck? This is the first I played in a long while. -Ralph Raspa, State Theatre, Rivesville, W. Va."



 

Now for The Simpsons in Burping Contest (1987). This is one of the Simpson shorts for the Tracey Ullman show before the family got their own TV series. 

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

Resources Used

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

 I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat: Fifty Years of Sylvester and Tweety by Jerry Beck.

https://lantern.mediahist.org/

 

Silent Film of the Month: Too Many Kisses (1925)

 

Run Time:  60 minutes. Studio: Famous Players-Lasky Corporation. Director: Paul Sloane. Writer: Gerald C. Duffy. Based on a story by John Monk Saunders. Producers: Jesse L. Lasky, Adolph Zukor. Main Cast: Richard Dix, Frank Currier, Albert Tavernier, Frances Howard, William Powell, Paul Panzer, Arthur Ludwig, Joseph Burke, Harpo Marx. Cinematographer: Harold Rosson. 

One of the few good things to come out of 2020 was the resurfacing of the delightful silent movie, Too Many Kisses. 

In this movie, Richard Gaylord, Jr. is the son of a successful businessman, but his playboy ways make his father doubt his ability to take over the family business. The son is sent on a trip to Basquea region of France, where it is believed that woman would never be seen with a man outside of their own culture to rid him of his playboy ways. However, there he meets a local girl who falls for him, but he is afraid that starting a relationship with her would cause him to lose the opportunity to take over the company in the future. 

With only an hour-long runtime, this movie is fun from start to finish. The whole film moves at a fast pace and even if it isn't laugh out loud funny, it keeps a delightful comic momentum going throughout. The story itself may be slight and silly, but the movie never takes itself seriously enough for that to bother us. In fact, it just adds to the unpretentious charm. Also helping is Richard Dix in the main role. Dix multiple times has proven himself to be very adept at this type of light comedy. He adds such an effortless charm to this role that makes even the corniest moments a lot of fun. 

Those who know this movie mostly know it for being the film debut for Harpo Marx. In his autobiography Harpo would remember only appearing extremely briefly in this movie claiming that if you blinked you missed him. While this is still a supporting role, it is still more substantial than he gave it credit for. He even receives his only cinematic line of dialogue in this movie, though because it is a silent film, we only see it via intertitle and don't hear his voice.  

Another actor who had an early film role here was Willaim Powell. In contrast to his later movie roles, in the silent era he often played villains. Yet he adds so much to role as he clearly enjoys playing this villainous role very much. 

Paul Salone is a rather unknown director and most of his films are those that even the staunchest film buffs may not have heard of. Some of his "best known" movies include two movies starring the comedy team of Wheeler and Woosley: The Cuckoos (1930) and Half Shot at Sunrise (1930). He would direct Richard Dix again in The Shock Punch (1925). 

This film's writer Gerald C. Duffy was better known as a short story writer with many popular short stories that appeared in various magazines. IMDB states that he wrote more than 200 short stories by the time he was 23. However, he did do quite a bit of film work during the silent era, starting as a title writer and working his way up to a story writer. He would suddenly die at the age of 32, in the middle of dictating a script. Some notable screenplays include the Mabel Normand features, The Slim Princess (1920) and What Happened to Rosa (1920) as well as the Mary Pickford vehicle Through the Back Door (1921). 

Exhibitor's World, 1925

The following is a review from a 1925 issue of Exhibitor's Trade Review (there are spoilers in this review but since this is such a lighthearted romp, this should not matter much). 

"A crackerjack comedy drama that should pack them in wherever it is shown! Richard Dix more than makes good in 'Too Many Kisses,' a great attraction to the needs of all classes of theatres.

"The feature is a laugh getter from beginning to end and mingled with its crisp, brisk humorous situations, a generous measure of romance and spirited melodrama. Director Paul Salone has balanced his story values neatly, the action buzzes along at a merry clip and there isn't a slack moment in the entire six reels.

"We are all familiar with the handsome young American screen hero who does to a foreign country, performs wonderous deeds of valor and winds up carrying off the prettiest girl in sight. Such is the principal theme of 'Too Many Kisses,' but it's treated in an altogether new fashion, with such excellent comedy effects, unlimited dash and vim that it never lands in a conventional rut or ceases to grip and hold the spectator's attention. 

"Hero Richard Gaylord is such a confirmed lady's man that his anxious papa ships him to Spain in order to dodge any more breach of promise cases on the part of his fair country women. But the first thing Dick does is to fall head over heels in love with a Spanish beauty and then the fireworks start. For the said beauty, Yvonne, is much desired by the captain of the guards. Julio who is framed for his skill as a knife thrower and general ferocity and naturally objects strenuously to Richard's intrusion.

"The thrill's pile up in lively style from the moment Julio steps into the picture. Richard is handicapped because he promises Yvonne not to fight, but when she releases him from that promise what he does to the pugnacious Julio is plenty. He whips the latter in as dynamic a scrap as has even been filmed, and a happy climax is attained when Gaylord Senior arrives and gives Yvonne his OK. 

"Richard Dix has gone ahead with giant strides lately but has never done anything quite as good as his portrayal of the vivacious young Gaylord. By refraining from overstraining the 'heroics' he gets all the fun possible out of the role, without neglecting the romantic angle, an exceedingly fine performance. Frances Howard shows up as well as the heroine Yvonne, is attractive and wins universal flavor. The support is excellent." 

I highly recommend you get the Blu-ray from the Film Preservation Society. This Blu-ray has musical accompaniment for the feature by Bill Marx, Harpo's son. As well as the main movie the Blu-ray also features the Paramount publicity film, The House That Shadows Built (1931), which features a Marx Brother skit that was only performed on film for this one film. It also features the silent short, A Child's Impulse directed by D.W. Griffith and starring Mary Pickford. 



 

REsources Used

https://www.jbkaufman.com/movie-of-the-month/too-many-kisses-1925

https://lantern.mediahist.org/