Cowboy Church #157

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

Today's musical selection begins with The Sons of the San Joaquin singing It is Well. Though this is a hymn of hope and peace it was written in a time of great sadness. The song was written by Horatio G. Spafford in 1873. He had planned a European trip for himself, his wife and four daughters, however because of his work he was unable to go, and he let his family go without him and after he finished his work, he would meet them there. However, the ship was hit and quickly sank. Though his wife was saved all four of his daughters had gone down with the ship. Amazingly he wrote this hymn when approaching an area near where his daughters had sunk. This recording of the song comes from the band's 2017 album, One More Ride. This is followed by Johnny Cash with The Junkie's Prayer. This song reminds us that no drugs or anything else this world can offer can ever offer us true peace. Like many sinful behaviors that people use to try and fill the void left in us from a life without God, drugs can only offer us very temporary pleasure and ultimately lead to pain, misery and emptiness.  Only God can fill that void if we let him into our lives as our lord and savior. Though sin is addictive and can easily take over our lives, God is more powerful than any temptation we may come across and he can help us overcome anything. So, whether the sin you struggle with is drugs or something else, with God all things are possible, and he can help pull you through if you are willing to fight. This is followed by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans with Jesus Loves the Little Children. This comes from a 1955 Little Golden Record that also included them singing The Good Lord is Going to Take Care of You.   This song was written by C. Herbert Woolston and is said to have been inspired by Matthew 19:14 ( “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.”) The song is to the tune of the 1864 Civil War song, Tramp Tramp Tramp (written by George Fredrick Root). Roy and Dale only sing the refrain of this song as that is all that was commonly used in Sunday schools. However these are not the only lyrics to this song. To see the full lyrics click here. Up next is Red Stegall with The Narrow Trail. This song comes from his 1995 gospel album, Faith and Values. Now Kris Kristofferson sings Burden of Freedom. This version of the song comes from Kris' 1972 album, Burden of Freedom. He would later make another version for his 2006 album, This Old Road. A year before Kris wrote this song he had responded to an alter call and this song and Why Me Lord were responses to what that spiritual experience, one that Kris himself admitted he didn't fully understand yet. Around this time a resurgence was happening with Christian music. A lot had happened in recent years and as many young people had turned to God, they brought along their own types of music, that meant something to them personally. Therefore much Christian music was no longer hymns but mire contemporary sounding music that paid tribute to God while reflecting the world these young Christians had grown up in. Johnny Cash would often play before these audiences as part of concerts mostly made up of the younger artists. Feeling it would be good for Kris to be in such an environment, John invited Kris and his wife Rita Coolidge to perform as well. Kris would play his own songs like Burden of Freedom or Why Me Lord. Yet Kris felt decidedly uncomfortable at these concerts. He would say about the experience, "I was singing songs, I thought were spiritual but people wanted to hear more songs specifically about Jesus. Eventually I had to tell John that I couldn't do these type of shows anymore I felt like a hypocrite." Next is Elvis Presley singing Joshua Fit the Battle. It is unknown who wrote this song but it is believed to date back to the 19th century and to be from Africain American descent. Elvis' very lively version of this song comes from his 1960 gospel album, His Hand in Mine. Afterwards is Gene Autry with There'll Be Jubilation Bye and Bye. This recording comes from an episode of Gene's radio show dated July 4, 1943. At this time Gene was a member of the United States Army Air Forces and his radio show had been renamed Sgt. Gene Autry. Today's musical selection ends with The Sons of the Pioneers with their 1937 recording of Lord You Made the Cowboy Happy.  

Now is Charley Pride talking about traditional country music. 

Up next is C.S. Lewis' essay, Dangers of National Repentance.

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. Acts 3:19

From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Matthew 4:17

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29

Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them. Romans 4:8

These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:6-9

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

 

Movie Review: Flee (Flugt)

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A- 

An absorbing and completely unique animated documentary. 

This film tells the story of a man who has spent his life running away, hiding and lying just to live his life. The movie traces his life from being a young child in Afghanistan to escaping to Denmark. While it may seem strange to make a documentary as an animated movie, it really enhances this movie. This is because as well as the interview scenes there are also dramatized moments from his life. In live action documentaries, these type of reenactment scenes come off as fake and take one out of the movie. However, when used in an animated film they feel completely natural and make the film feel more real and relatable. These scenes are easily the highlight of the movie and many of them are completely and utterly moving. While the animation was used in many ways to keep our main subject anonymous, there is little doubt that it also made the filmmaking flow much better. Despite the obvious political content of this film, the movie never stops to preach to us or has any sermonizing dialogue. Instead, it simply tells its story and lets us become emotionally involved in how this political content affects our main character. This is done extremely well and there are moments here which are very emotionally moving from his childhood memories of being on the run at a young age to him coming to terms with his own sexuality. 

All in all this is a great film and a unique cinematic experience.  

Some Cartoons For Saturday Morning #159

Good morning my friends. It is once again time for some classic cartoons. 

Today's cartoon selection begins with an often-overlooked Looney Tunes short, Gopher Goofy (1942). Despite the title this cartoon does not feature the Looney Tunes characters, The Goofy Gophers. In fact, it predates them as their film debut wouldn't be until 1947. This film is directed by Norman McCabe. He is one of the least talked about Looney Tunes directors, but he is one, I am especially fond of. One reason his Looney Tunes are less talked about is because many of us did not grow up watching them. These cartoons are all in black and white and many of them are very topical of World War 2 era America. Despite only directing Looney Tunes for a short time, he would return to the Looney Tunes universe well after the golden age as a timing director on such TV shows as Tiny Toons Adventures, Taz-Mania and The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries. 

Up next comes a very action-packed Mickey Mouse short, Shanghaied (1934). The spirit of this cartoon is perfectly described in the first sentence of a review from The Motion Picture Daily, "This is a Mickey Mouse 'thriller' which will keep youngsters on the edge of their seats and monopolize the attention of their elders." This action-adventure type of plot is more in keeping with Floyd Gottfredson's Mickey Mouse comic strip than most of the other animated cartoons around this time. Norm Ferguson (with help from two assistants) animates a large portion of this film. This portion starts with the revel of Mickey and Minnie tied up in Pete's cabin and ends with Mickey running after the stove crashes into Pete. Dick Lundy animates the opening scene with the crew singing. 

Now it is time from an early Terry-Toon, Jazz Mad (1931). This cartoon is a semi-remake of the Paul Terry directed Aesop's Fables short, Dinner Time (1928). While at this time cartoon studios like Disney and Warner Brothers were taking fully advantage of their cartoons now being talkies, this film and other Terry-Toons of this era tend to feel more like silent cartoons. In fact, if you watch this without sound, I couldn't blame you for thinking that this was a silent film. Though even the soundtrack can sound like a soundtrack later added to a silent cartoon (though it was there the whole time). 

In the later years of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales were often pitted against one another. While these were hardly the best films of either series, they are entertaining in their own weird way. Here is one of those cartoons, Feather Finger (1966).

 

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

And now for a Garfield Quickie. 

Next up is an early black and white Silly Symphony, The Cat's Nightmare (1931). You may notice the video below titles the cartoon, The Cat's Out. J.B. Kaufman and Russell Merritt's excellent book on the Silly Symphonies explains this, "Modern sources have sometimes identified this film as The Cat's Out. This was the working title and survives today in an original vault print. However the finished film was copyrighted and released as The Cat's Nightmare." Interestingly this movie played on The Mickey Mouse Club under both names (The Cat's Out on January 23, 1956 and The Cat's Nightmare on February 27, 1956). Whatever the name this is a darn good cartoon. It contains all of the atmosphere that enhances so many of the early Symphonies (especially the ones with a spooky theme). It may not quite be The Skelton Dance (1929), but it is a good film in its own right. Speaking of The Skelton Dance the animation of a rooster crowing (by Wilfred Jackson) is reused from that more famous Symphony. A review in The Film Daily states, "Right up to the high standard of this popular animated cartoon series." The following is a review from the Motion Picture Herald, "A clever piece of cartoon work, typical Silly Symphony number. The theme is as the titles suggests, and the animators have taken full advantage of its laugh making possibilities." However a review in Motion Picture Reviews warns us, "A Halloween spooky atmosphere is so well done that it might frighten a sensitive child."

Now let us end with a song. 

Resources Used

http://afilmla.blogspot.com/

https://mediahistoryproject.org/

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

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

Movie Review: GameStop: Rise of the Players

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B

 A very well-made documentary about the huge recent stock market rise of GameStop.

The reason this movie works so well is because it doesn't focus on the events or the facts behind what happened. Instead, it focuses on the people who saw this coming and invested a lot of money into GameStop. The subjects chosen for this documentary are perfect because they are all so darn likable. These are the type of people you want to see succeed and you are of course happy when they do. As well as a documentary this is an underdog story and there is a reason why we all love underdog stories so much. There is just something so satisfying about seeing David beat Goliath (an allusion this film itself makes). This movie also acts as wish fulfillment to us, as how many of us would not love to discover that some stock we invested in went way up and that we are now rich. Since this is a story about everyday people, we can easily picture ourselves in their place and live this fantasy for an hour and a half. Meanwhile for people who pay little to no attention to the stock market, this film provides you with all the information to understand what is going on. Maybe you won't have a great knowledge of how the stock market works after this film, but you will know enough to follow the story perfectly. However, this keeps the film simple enough for the focus to stay on the underdogs. 

On the downside this film relies too heavily on meme style humor and pop culture. This is obviously supposed to make the movie more entertaining, but it does not do this. Instead, it just comes off as loud obnoxious and annoying. Luckily the rest of the film is entertaining enough to make up for this. 

  This is simply a fast paced and entertaining documentary. 

Video Link: Stalker (1979): The Sci-Fi Masterpiece That Killed Its Director - Cinema Tyler

Movie Review: The King's Daughter

 

Michael's Movie Grade: C+

An enjoyable fairy tale movie. 

While the story of this film will feel quite familiar to most movie-goers, there is a reason this type of story has become so used. That is that there is a certain charm to it that still lasts despite the number of times we have seen it. This movie certainly retains much of this charm. This is very evident in our main character. She is incredibly likable from start to finish. What we see in her is what we all wish to see in ourselves. She is completely her own person, she stands for what she believes in at all times and she is full of compassion for all people. Yet this film avoids making her too perfect that she simply feels like a caricature. The king is also a very good character. What we see from him is a character who is blinded by his unlimited power. He has come to think of himself as someone who can determine what is right and wrong. He will justify anything unethical by telling himself it is the morally right thing to do. Not only this, but he believes all the lies he tells himself. This character gets us to thinking and to look inside ourselves. Have we done anything that wasn't the right thing to do because we convinced ourselves it was right? I think if most of us ask ourselves that question the answer would be yes and that makes this character immediately relatable. Also important for a fairy tale movie this film has scenes that feel magical. This is especially true of the scenes with our main character and the mermaid, which are quite well done. 

This film does have quite a few faults though. The most obvious of these is the pacing. This movie moves at a very fast speed, often simply jumping from plot point to plot point. This makes the film feel very rushed and takes away from time that could have been used to establish more atmosphere.  The romance in this movie also feels quite weak. Not only is the love interest a bland character, but there is also little chemistry between the two characters and the romance feels rushed as well. While the king is an interesting character, the man our heroine being made to marry is a very boring character. He has little personality outside of being a villain and he is neither fun nor interesting in his villainy. While it is a minor complaint, I always feel that using modern pop songs in a period film is not a good idea (the Shrek movies are the only time this has worked for me) and it took me out of the film a few times here. 

This is not a new classic for the ages, but for fans of this type of film, it makes for a fun trip to the movies. 

 

Linus Van Pelt Theologian

 

Movie Review: Parallel Mothers (Madres paralelas)

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A+

Pedro Almodóvar is one of my favorite directors and Parallel Mothers is one of his best films. 

The basic storyline of this film sounds like it could feel a bit like a soap opera, but as you watch the movie it does not come off this way at all. The reason for this is the pure sincerity and honesty put into this movie. In other words, this movie feels completely real without a single moment that rings false. Much of the reason for this comes from the main character herself. In lesser hands this character would have simply gone through the same emotions any movie character would in the same situation with no more depth than that. However, this character deals with many conflicting emotions This is a fully fleshed out character who overcomes any melodramatic overtones of the plot and becomes a completely real person. Much of this is due not only to Almodóvar's excellent script but an incredible performance by Penélope Cruz (her 7th film with Almodóvar). Almodóvar has referred to Cruz as muse and two always bring out the absolute best in each other every time they work together. This could not be clearer than in this film as Cruz gives perhaps the finest performance of her career. This is not an easy role to play but she plays it too perfection, both capturing the broad moments and the subtle with seemingly effortless ease. Not that she is the only one in cast worth noting as the entire cast is perfect in their roles. Young Milena Smit (in only her second feature film) is incredible as Ana, a young woman who our main character meets at the hospital while pregnant, but who will come to play a much larger role in her life. Smit and Cruz share incredible chemistry with each other and really light up the screen whenever they share it. This is certainly an actress to pay attention to. Pedro Almodóvar's script is incredibly well handled. This is not a movie in which you can predict anything that is going to happen. Yet Almodóvar wisely avoids anything that would make it feel too melodramatic. Instead, everything that happens no matter how unlikely feels like the most natural thing in the world. There are times when you can almost forget you are watching a fictional movie but instead feel you are watching the lives of these two women. This is also one of Pedro Almodóvar's most political films. This too is handled masterfully. It never feels like the characters stop to sermonize to you but instead these political points are told in the most natural and unobtrusive way. They are also incredibly intelligent and will leave you with food for thought as you leave the theater. While they do deal with the political history of Spain, you don't have to be familiar with that history to be affected by the powerful message behind this movie because it speaks not only to specific political events but great human truths that are often ignored and those are universal and timeless. All of this leads to an ending image that is simply cinematic perfection. 

This may be my favorite movie of 2021 and it is certainly a must see for any other fans of one of Spain's finest directors. 

Cowboy Church #156

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

Today's musical selection begins with Marty Robbins singing Where Could I Go (But to the Lord). This song was written by James Buchanan Coats in 1940. The hymn was inspired by his neighbor Joe Keyes. When Keyes was dying, Coats asked him if he knew where he was going to spend eternity. Keyes responded, “Where could I go but to the Lord?” This is followed by Bobby Bare with his 1966 recording of Just a Closer Walk With Thee. Next is The Carter Family with their 1929 recording of Diamonds in the Rough. The group had recorded this song on February 15th, 1929, along with 4 other songs. The other songs recorded that day included Engine One Forty-Three, Bring Back My Blue-Eyed Boy to Me and The Foggy Mountain Top. This song has an important message for all of us. There are none of us who have ever been too rough around the edges to be saved by Jesus. He wishes for every one of us to come to him and be saved and his great power and mercy he can make even the roughest of us shine even brighter than the diamonds for him. When I look at how stubborn I have been in my own life, I am sure glad that Jesus has never stopped working on me and I hope I become more like him each and every day.    Johnny Cash worked harder on The Man Comes Around, then any other song he had ever written. It is also one of the most ambitious songs he ever wrote. It is lyrically and musically complex with an intensity that leaves one with being unable to feel neutral about what he/she just heard. This song talks about God's grace and love but also offers a stark warning of what lies ahead for those who reject God. The song's origins first came from a dream of John's where he met the queen of England who told the singer, "Johnny Cash! You like a thorn tree in a whirlwind." He knew he had heard this phrase before and looking through his Bible he found it was from the book of Job. After this he began an extensive study of Bible verses dealing with prophecies and the end times. The result of this study is this song which deals with what will happen when Jesus comes back. Sound engineer David Ferguson would later remember, "We cut it a few times. We cut it first with Marty Stuart and Johnny as a tick-tock sort of thing. Then he worked on it again with Randy Scruggs. It was then edited to make it meter out. The way Johnny laid it out, only he knew where the changes were going to be in the instrumental parts. It was something you had to learn. Rick [producer Rick Ruben] would take a bar out here and a couple bars out there to make the whole thing uniform." The result of all this is one the finest songs John had ever written and a musical masterpiece on every level. Pastor and Johnny Cash Biographer, Greg Laurie wrote about this song, "Personally, I think this is the greatest song that Johnny ever wrote It is both biblical and personal, powerful and poetic. From its first rapid strum of his guitar to the pounding piano chords, it is a picture of complexity and simplicity. The deft production skills of Rick Ruben, who understood that 'less was more' in this case, added to the familiar voice of the American icon Johnny Cash, and the result was a match made in Heaven." This is followed by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans with their version of the southern gospel classic, I'll Fly Away. Afterwards is Red Steagall with I Ride for the Brand of the Man with the Nail Scarred Hands. This is followed by Bill Monroe with I've Found a Hiding Place. This song reminds us, that there is no trouble the world can give us, that is beyond the power of Jesus Christ to help us overcome. Nothing this world can do can take away the salvation Jesus has given us. While things won't stop going wrong until we find ourselves in Heaven, through Jesus we have comfort through every storm and difficultly. Today's musical selection ends with The Sons of the Pioneers with their 1937 recording of Leaning on the Everlasting Arms. This hymn began creation with a man named Anthony Showalter. As a fan of gospel music and an elder in a Presbyterian church, he held many "singing schools" at various churches in the south. One day he received two letters from former students who were struggling after their wives had passed. To respond to these letters, Showalter consulted scripture. He came across Deuteronomy 33:27, "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." After reading this verse lyrics for a song chorus went through his head and he wrote down, "“Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms; Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.” After using this in the letters to his former students he sent this chorus to his friend hymnist, Elisha Hoffman. In the letter he also wrote, “Here is the chorus for a good hymn from Deuteronomy 33:27, but I can’t come up with the verses.” Hoffman then wrote the rest of the lyrics to which Showalter put to music. The hymn was published in 1887.

Up next is Charlie Daniels talking about Merle Haggard. 

Next is Cowboy Kent Rollins with his poem, Horseshoes in Heaven.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:38

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:6-7

Do to others as you would have them do to you. Luke 6:31

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11

A voice cries: In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Isaiah 40:3-4

 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. Leviticus 19:18

 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

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 #158

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

Today's cartoon selection begins with The Pink Panther in Pink Sphinx (1968). This short film was directed by Hawley Pratt, who had been a layout artist on many of Friz Freleng's (the Freleng in DePatie-Freleng (the studio that made these films)) cartoons for Warner Brothers. Pratt was directing quite a few Pink Panther shorts and other films for DePatie-Freleng at this time. 

Next we join Little Lulu in Loose in a Caboose (1947). To read more about the great looking print here, read Steve Stanchfield's latest article on Cartoon Research.

The following is from an issue of Paramount Around the World (dated April, 1938), "BETTY BOOP IS DEAD! SALLY SWING IS SUCCESSOR!! It is with a sense of deep regret that we record the passing of Miss Betty Boop, the amiable, pulchritudinous, neckless young lady who has served Paramount so loyally for so many years. Miss Boop passed on suddenly but not before she was able to name her successor. Miss Sally Swing is the new Paramount cartoon eyeful. We present her above - front, side and reverse, as well as in the purely geometrical form that she is known to animators. Sally is presumed to be about 16 years of age. She is the epitome of modern youth, full of life, pep and the magic something which so sustains young people in the face of fearful odds. She is devoted to swing, is lithe and lissome, and, in parlance of Hollywood's scriptures is the ideal jitterbug. Her first cartoon appearance is scheduled for approximately two months from now." The following is from a 1938 issue of Motion Picture Daily, "Betty Boop, the Max Fleischer cartoon character which attained great popularity in its eight years of existence, will be missing from the Paramount short subject list next season. In Betty's place there will be a new cartoon character, Sally Swing, who is designed to be a modernized, stream-lined version of her predecessor, Paramount will distribute 12 of the cartoons featuring the new character."  This not true as Sally's cartoon career would end as soon as it began, and she would never have her own series. However, Betty's career was soon to end. 1939 would mark her last theatrical cartoon short. So here is Sally's attempt to break into the movies, Sally Swing (1938). 

Up next is the first pairing of Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales, It's Nice to Have a Mouse Around the House (1965). The two would be paired together in 25 more cartoons. 

Now it is time for a commercial break. 

Next comes Mickey, Donald and Goofy in Moving Day (1936). Like many of the Mickey, Donald and Goofy shorts, this cartoon has each character working together from the same goal but having separate set pieces for each one. While Donald and Goofy really get to shine in their set pieces, Mickey has little to do in this movie. After his character had been toned down from his earlier more mischievous self (due in part to parents wanting him to be more of a role model for kids), he became less of a comic character and more of a straight man. Because of this his cartoons around this era had most of the comedy coming from characters like Donald, Goofy and Pluto. He was originally going to have a bit more to do in this film as there was a planned set piece in which he would fight with an ironing board. However, this scene was dropped. Mickey's scenes in this picture are heavily animated by Paul Allen and Marvin Woodward. One of the highlights of this film is the entire sequence with Goofy and the piano. This scene was expertly animated by Art Babbitt. Woolie Reitherman (who would go on to direct The Sword and the Stone (1963), The Jungle Book (1967) and Robin Hood (1973), among others) animated very little of this movie. He animated Pete finding out what was going on and barging in as well as him yelling, "Hey come back." This cartoon also marks the first color appearance of Mickey's nemesis Pete.

While on a Disney not let us enjoy one of Walt Disney's silent Alice Comedies, Alice the Jailbird (1925). While earlier Alice comedies had fully live action openings and closings (that highly resembled Hal Roach's Our Gang films) by this time the shorts had dropped that and immediately started in the cartoon world. The only live action character in this movie is Alice herself. Here she is played by Margie Gay, who took over the role from Virgina Davis. 

Now let us end 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

http://afilmla.blogspot.com/search/label/Shorts_UA?updated-max=2008-11-18T21:00:00-08:00&max-results=20&start=8&by-date=false

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

Walt in Wonderland: The Silent Films of Walt Disney by Russell Merritt and J.B. Kaufman

https://mediahistoryproject.org/

   

    

Movie Review: Hotel Transylvania Transformania

 

Note: This film is only available on Amazon Prime. 

Michael's Movie Grade: C+

A fun movie though not as good as the previous films in the franchise. 

This movie marks the first Hotel Transylvania film, not to be directed by Genndy Tartakovsky (though he did work as a writer and producer) and the first one not to feature Adam Sandler as the voice of Dracula (impressionist Brain Hull does a quite good job though). Because of this I was initially worried about this franchise going a film too far. Luckily while it may not have lived up to its predecessors, I had a good time watching it. Like the previous movies, one of the best things about this picture is the characters. For a franchise with a lot of characters they all have distinct personalities and are all quite likable. Because of this we truly care about what happens in this story. Like the other movies in this franchise, though this is a silly comedy the emotional moments work surprisingly well. The relationships between Drac, Mavis and Johnny feel real to us and bring a good emotional center. On the comedy side the gimmick of monsters turning into humans and humans into monsters is a good one and the best comedy moments come from this. While the humor can be a bit uneven at times the jokes the work, work very well. 

On the downside the idea of this movie centering so much on Drac not fully accepting Johnny as part of the family feels a bit derivative. This has been a major part of the previous movies and there has been quite of character development involving this. So much of that character development seems to disappear with this film and we are obviously taking steps back in that department. It also makes the film feel a bit too similar to the previous movies. On the humor side sometimes, the slapstick could benefit from some sharper timing and slapstick gags that could have been funny aren't simply because they are not timed well enough. There are also too many comedy moments that rely on screaming which can get a bit annoying at times. 

While not the best this franchise has to offer it is still a fun movie.     

Saps at Sea (1940)

 

Saps at Sea was the last film Laurel and Hardy made at the Hal Roach Studios and the last one with Harry Langdon (who was one of the great silent movie comedians and worked as a writer on the Laurel and Hardy features The Flying Deuces (1939), A Chump at Oxford (1939) and Blockheads (1938)  as one of the writers and the last one where they would appear with frequent co-stars Charlie Hall and James Finlayson. With this was also the last film from the duo in which the supporting cast would be providing the laughs just as much as our two stars. In the post-Hal Roach films, Stan and Babe would provide the laughs while all the other actors played it very straight. Almost as if the filmmakers knew this was ending, this movie has some of the nuttiest supporting characters in the history of Laurel and Hardy. This is especially true of Eddie Conrad as Stan’s music teacher. The very way he looks in this film is over the top and silly. 

 This movie begins with our boys working in a horn factory. However, the constant noise stresses Ollie to the point where he has a mental break down (“Horns to the right of me. Horns to the left of me”). Ollie is then diagnosed with “hornaphobia” and is sent home. A doctor (James Finlayson) tells Ollie the only cure is sea air. Ollie is afraid of sailing, but Stan has an answer, they can rent a boat and sit out in it without sailing. However, one day while the boys are sleeping on the boat an escaped murderer named Nick (Richard Cramer) stows away on the boat and the boat accidently sets sail. 

 This is an excellent film that resembles the duo’s best shorts. The gags come fast and furious and all of them are very funny. This film goes by so fast that it seems to end before you know it, leaving the audience wanting more.

 One delightful sequence involves a cameo from Ben Turpin. During the silent era, many comedians were known for looking unusual. Often this was done through a fake mustache. However, Ben Turpin had probably the most unique physical trait of the silent comedians. He had very crossed eyes. This was obviously used as joke material in plenty of silent comedies. Though he was much less prolific in the sound era, he could sometimes make gag appearances in sound comedies, such as Wheeler and Woolsey's Cracked Nuts (1931). However, Saps at Seas uses these crossed eyes for one of the cleverest jokes the trait was ever given. The legendary director D.W. Griffith was working as a techincal advisor on One Million B.C., which was made at Hal Roach studios. One day he visited the set of Saps at Sea. As soon as he got there he called out, "Where is the great Ben Turpin." D.W. Griffith and Ben Turpin spent quite a while just talking. Griffith then watched the boys film and told them, "You two are greater pantomime artists than Charlie Chaplin." Director Gordon Douglas would later state about this remark, "I think he genuinely believed that too." 

Gordon Douglas had just recently directed Oliver Hardy (without Stan Laurel) in Zenobia (1939). That film also featured Harry Langdon in the cast by the way. About making Saps at Sea Douglas said, "After Zenobia which was an expensive picture with some big names in it, the Saps at Sea film was done a lot faster, but that's because Stan was pretty much determined to show Roach, we could do a film efficiently and on schedule. Yes, I directed the film, but Stan was very much in charge. He knew what he wanted, and I had enough sense not to interfere with him. He was giving me an education in directing."

A review in the Hollywood Motion Picture Review stated “Here is one that will drag them in, and they will really enjoy the slapstick. Why doesn’t Universal or Warners grab this pair and give them some decent stories ad a little dough to work with.”

The following is an exhibitor’s review in the Motion Picture Herald dated March 8, 1941. 

“Saps at Sea: Laurel and Hardy – I for one regret that these comedy stars comedy stars stopped making pictures. At least there are none in sight and none announced in the trade press. All their pictures have done well at this theater and ‘Saps at Sea’ is no exception to this rule. This picture was filled with the usual L. and H. funnyisms, which brings out gales of laughter. This was doubled with ‘Marines Fly High’ RKO – J. E. Stocker, Myrtle Theatre, Detroit, Mich. Neighborhood patronage.”    

The Independent Film Journal had an article about Cleone Cloe Baker the manager of The Raleigh N. C. Varsity Theater, this article stated “Somehow or another she manages to turn a stinkeroo into something less than a complete flop and often times into an overwhelming success. Her recent handling of ‘Saps at Sea’ a Laurel and Hardy comedy- a success by the way that brought her a letter of congratulations from the president of her chain- is one of the best examples of Mrs. Baker in action. When informed that the Varsity must run ‘Saps at Sea’ Mrs. Baker was in despair – She knew it was the kind of show her customers would stay away from in droves. Putting on her thinking cap, she hit upon an ‘All Comedy Night.’ At once she went to work putting out lots and lots of strategic advertising and getting some comedy shorts to fill out the bill. Result: A capacity house that broke the all-time record.” This shows that by this time Laurel and Hardy films where no longer the guaranteed box office successes they had been during the 1920’s and 30’s.       

Resources Used

https://mediahistoryproject.org/

Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies by Randy Skretvedt

Video Link: Gene Autry - Texans Never Cry (from Texans Never Cry (1951))

Short Film Corner: Not Waving But Drowning (2022)

Movie Review: The Matrix: Resurrections

 

Michael's Movie Grade: F

Another terrible movie in this vastly overrated franchise. 

To be honest I have not liked any of the Matrix movies, but I still think this film is the worst of them. This fourth installment features all of the faults that made me hate the previous films but somehow, they are even worse here. The biggest fault here (and in the other movies) is simply how bland and boring the characters are. These characters have little to no personality outside of how they serve the plot. We are four movies in, and I still cannot relate to characters like Neo or Trinity in the slightest because there is nothing about them to relate to. There has never been a moment in any of these movies where any of these characters felt real and therefore there is no emotional connect to any of them. The main characters of an action film do not need to be deep or complex, but they still need to be people you can relate to and root for. This movie adds a new villain to the mix, who frankly is just as boring as our heroes. This film also features another fault so prevalent in The Matrix movies, which is dialogue that is supposed to come off as thought provoking or deep but is instead incredibly simplistic and hollow. The philosophy offered in these movies offers little food for thought after watching them. It is actually really basic philosophy that is no more complex than that of many action movies that are much less pretentious than these films. This film however takes this to a whole new height. If you are like me and felt this dialogue in the previous movies was too on the nose, that dialogue is subtle compared to what you get here. The dialogue about the new video game early on in this movie is painfully annoying in its obviousness. However, this is nothing compared to the villain's dialogue which so obviously spelled out everything this film was trying to say as if I was too dumb to get the message otherwise. To say this made me feel talked down to is an understatement. Personally, I would rather watch a big dumb action movie than one which conveys its message as poorly as this does. Speaking of action, that is the one thing I liked about the previous Matrix movies, but somehow even that is terrible here. These action scenes simply seem like pale copies of the ones from the previous films.  

Maybe if you are a Matrix fan you will find something to like here. But not only did I hate the previous films, but I hated this one even more. 

Laurel and Hardy in Foreign Languages

 The following is an article from a 1930 issue of The New Movie Magazine. If you have trouble reading, click on the pages and use your touch screen to zoom in. If that still doesn't work, click here.

Movie Review: Betty White: A Celebration

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B+

An excellent documentary on Betty White and a touching tribute to someone we all love. 

This movie is equal parts a documentary on Betty White and a loving tribute to her. There is much time spent with the people who worked with her gushing over how amazing she was. In many documentaries this would seem like too much, but in a movie about Betty White this feels well deserved. After all is there a single one of us who owns a TV set and doesn't love her. The documentary aspect of this film is excellent but tantalizingly brief. Not including a bonus TV episode at the end, this movie only runs about 70 minutes. For such a long career this is too brief a runtime to give comedy buffs (like me) all the information they want to know. However, this film fits a surprising amount of information into this brief runtime and provides an excellent overview of her career and a good look at who she was as a person. And even if it is too brief there is no doubt, I was riveted every second. The movie also includes some clips from her amazing TV career. Betty was one of the funniest women to every grace the TV screen and these clips do an incredible job of showing this. Little scenes from Life with Elizibeth, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Golden Girls and Hot in Cleveland got huge laughs from the audience in the movie theater with me. These are golden comedy moments that will still be funny 100 years from now. As an animal lover myself (and someone who strongly believes in animal rights), I also absolutely loved that this film highlighted all that Betty has done for animals. She has done as much for animals as she has done for comedy and it is just another thing, I love about her. 

After the documentary was over there was a bonus TV episode of Date with the Angels. This was something I had mixed feelings about. On one hand it is something that most people haven't seen and gives a good historical look into the early part of Betty's career. On the other hand, this is easily one of the weakest TV shows she had starred in. Plainly put it was not funny at all. Hearing the silence from the audience after the majority of the jokes, I couldn't help but think how loud and infectious the laughter would have been if a Mary Tyler Moore or Golden Girls episode would have played. Still, I admit the history buff in me found it a fascinating watch. 

All in all, this is a very well-done documentary and I imagine Betty would have approved. 

Martin Luther King Jr. Sermons

 

Cowboy Church #155

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

Today's musical selection begins with Ray Price singing Don't Wait Till Sunday to Pray. This recording comes from Ray's 1974 gospel album, This Time Lord. This is followed by Skeeter Davis singing God Loves His Children. This song was written by bluegrass legends Lester Flatts and Earl Scruggs. It comes from Skeeter's tribute album to Flatts and Scruggs, 1968's I Love Flatts and Scruggs.  Next comes Johnny Cash singing Softly and Tenderly.  The song was written by an Ohio businessman named Will Thompson in 1880.  As well as writing gospel songs Thompson also wrote quite a few secular songs and parotic songs. When the songs he wrote were rejected by publishers he created his own company,  Will L. Thompson & Company. This company would not only publish music by sell musical instruments. Softly and Tenderly first appeared in 1880's Sparkling Gems, Nos. 1 and 2, a collection of songs from the company. When evangelist Dwight L. Moody was on his death bed he told the songwriter, "Will, I would rather have written ‘Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling’ than anything I have been able to do in my whole life." This was appropriate as Will decided to make songwriting his career while at a meeting held by Moody.  This version of the song comes from John's 1975 album, Johnny Cash Sing Precious Memories. This album (which entirely consists of traditional gospel songs) abandons John's traditional sound for a more lush and orchestrated sound. Much of this was due to arrangements by Bill Walker, who had been the musical director for John's TV show. This album was dedicated to John's late brother Jack, who had died at the age of 15 in a sawmill accident. His death took its toll on John and affected him for the rest of his life. This is written on the back of the album, "Dear Jack, We lost you one sad day in May 1944. I was twelve years old. Some of these songs were the songs we sang at your funeral. As you were dying you gave us a description of heaven and singing angels. Could these be some of the songs the angels were singing? See you later. Your little brother J.R." This is followed by The Sons of the Pioneers with their 1948 recording of The Old Rugged Cross. After this is Red Steagall with Church At the Wagon. This is followed by Conway Twitty with Who Will Pray For Me. The song was written by Darrell Statler & Lorene Allen.  This recording comes from Conway's 1973 gospel album, Clinging To A Saving Hand /Steal Away. Next is Roy Rogers with Peace in the Valley. This version of the song comes from an episode of Roy's radio show entitled The Rene Eigen Case, that aired on April 11, 1952. Today's musical selection ends with Gene Autry singing God Must Have Loved America. This recording comes from an episode of Gene's Melody Ranch radio show that aired July 26, 1942. This is the most famous episode of the show as it was the one where Gene was sworn into the United States Army Air Forces live on the air. This song closed this great episode. 

Next is a 2006 interview with the one and only George Jones.

Up next is Martian Luther King Jr. with his sermon, Our God is Marching On. 

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-25

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. James 1:5

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7

Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed are those who heed wisdom's instruction. Proverbs 29:18

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:26-28

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 #157

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

Toby Tortoise Returns (1936) is maybe my favorite Silly Symphony cartoon. Like many great comedy shorts the story for this cartoon is extremely simple. Max Hare and Toby Tortoise (returning from the earlier Symphony, Tortoise and the Hare (1935)) fight each other in a boxing match. This leads to some amazingly good slapstick. Again, those who think of Disney cartoons as cute and sweet while Warners cartoons were wacky and funny might be surprised to see this film. This cartoon in fact even resembles a Looney Tunes or Merrie Melody from this time period. The slapstick is fast and furious and there is a real wise guy tone to much of the humor. The idea itself came from Ward Kimball, an animator who had joined the studio a year earlier. Ward would soon become one of Walt’s favorite animators and a major asset for the studio’s animated films. Ward is hugely known by Disney buffs today as one of the studio’s most comedic animators, so it comes as no surprise that he would suggest the story for one of the studio’s funniest cartoons. As well as coming up with the story Ward also was one of the film’s animators. One of the scenes he animated was early in the film where the referee is introducing the fighters. There are no real jokes here, but the animation itself is quite funny. The character doesn’t look funny, but he moves funny. This is something that is much more important to animated comedies. This over the top and quite funny animation sets you up perfectly for the slapstick you are about to see. This cartoon is in fact full of fantastic slapstick comedy.  The part with the water was mostly animated by Bob Stokes. The fireworks section was animated by Dick Huemer with the exception of the tiny bit where Max blows out of the ring and into the ambulance, which was animated by Jack Hannah. What all three of these animators understood was using speed for comic effect. This kind of speed was fairly new to cartoons and while Tortoise and the Hare mastered animating speed, this film masters using this type of animation to its full comic potential. Another delight in this cartoon is the use of other characters from Silly Symphonies cartoons in the audience. Just as it is fun for movie buffs to spot all the stars in Mickey’s Gala Premiere (1933), it is fun for cartoon buffs to catch all the cartoon characters seen here. A review in The Film Daily stated, "Aside from the loud laughs, its beautifully done in Technicolor."




Not everyone loved Toby Tortoise Returns though as you can see by the below page from a 1936 issue of Screenland magazine. If you having trouble reading it click on the page and use your touch screen to zoom in. If you are still having trouble, click here.

Next comes one of Bob Clampett's great color Merrie Melodies, A Corny Concerto (1943). This is an unusual film as it is written by but not directed by Frank Tashlin. Tash had been working at the Disney studio after having been a director at Warner Brothers. After coming back to Warners, he found himself briefly in the writing department before returning to the director's chair (taking over Norm McCabe's unit). Appropriately this cartoon is a Disney parody. A Corny Concerto is a parody of Fantasia (1940). However, while this cartoon certainly has its fun with Fantasia there is definitely more than a little respect for Disney's ambitious feature. This cartoon while not as elaborate as a Disney feature, the look of this cartoon is definitely more elaborate than the average Merrie Melodies short. Even as a fan of Fantasia I have to state that the satire is dead on here. Probably the best bit of satire is Elmer Fudd serving in the Deems Taylor role, as he captures the part visually, but is still Elmer Fudd and hilariously lacking the sophistication of Taylor. This cartoon also has one of the few times Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig share the screen in the golden age of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies and even though neither speaks, they work off each other very well. This short is included in in Jerry Beck's book 100 Greatest Looney Tunes. 

The question of how animated cartoons are made has been around nearly as long as animated cartoons. Even back in the silent era film studios were offering often very simplistic explanations to answer this question. How Animated Cartoons Are Made (1919) offered movie goers a look behind the scenes of animated cartoons. 

Next we join the Pink Panther in Sky Blue Pink (1968).

Now for a commercial break. 

Jan Švankmajer is not only one of the finest filmmakers in the history of stop motion animation, but a director, who can hold his own with many of the great live action filmmakers. Case in point is his brilliant short film, Punch and Judy (1966). 

Now we join our good friend Gandy Goose in Gandy's Dream Girl (1944). This cartoon follows a formula often seen in this series where Gandy and his good friend (and this time romantic rival) Sourpuss find themselves a fantasy world of Gandy's imagination. This is in my opinion an above average use of this formula as this film gives us quite a few good gags that make me smile whenever I watch it. Not everyone was so impressed with this cartoon though as evidenced by the following exhibitor's review from The Motion Picture Herald, " GANDY'S DREAM GIRL: Terrytoons—Just another cartoon. Laughs few and far between. Skip this and you won't miss a thing. —Elmer Bohlig, Lake Theatre, Big Lake, Minn." 

Now let us close by singing one we all know. 

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

The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Edited by Jerry Beck.

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

https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/animator-breakdown-for-disneys-toby-tortoise-returns-1936/

Way Out West (1937)

 

If Sons of the Desert (1933) is Laurel and Hardy’s most popular feature than Way Out West is a close second. Its popularity is well founded as this is one of the funniest films the boys ever appeared in. This classic was directed by James W. Horne. This was Horne’s last picture for Hal Roach studios. After this he would move to Republic Pictures. His first picture for Republic was the Oslen and Johnson comedy, All Over Town (1937). For that movie he brought some regulars at the Hal Roach studio. That film would feature regular Roach actors James Finlayson Stanley Fields, Fred Kelsey and Jack Egan. Roach writer James Parrott was said to have worked on that film as well, though that is unconfirmed. 

 The simple plot of Way Out West is little more than excuse to fit in some great comedy and musical numbers. Mickey Finn (James Finlayson) and Lola (Sharon Lynn) are the caretakers of Mary Roberts (Rosia Lawrence). Unfortunately, they are crooked people who couldn’t care less about poor Mary. Stan and Ollie meanwhile are traveling to the town of Brushwood Gulch (where Mickey, Lola and Mary live). They are hitchhiking (this includes a clever reference to Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night with Stan showing a little leg). They eventually get a ride on a stagecoach, where they annoy a woman (Vivian Oakland) also riding. When they get to the town, the woman’s husband (Stanley Fields) turns out to be the sheriff and gives the boys until the next coach comes to get out of town. Luckily, they have a quick and simple job to deliver a deed to a goldmine to Mary Roberts. However, they are fooled into thinking that Lola is Mary (“This is the first mistake we made since we bought the Brooklyn Bridge” says Ollie). When they find out they have to get the deed back which proves to be an extremely difficult task, especially since they were supposed to be out of town by now.    

In 1936, it was announced that the next film for another Hal Roach comedy team Pasty Kelly and Reba Roberta was to be called Girls Go West. This film never happened but it was not too long afterward that Stan and Babe would start work on Way Out West. Stan’s wife at the time (Virginia Ruth Rodgers) would later claim that she played a huge part in this movie being made. She would say that her instance that the duo appeared in a western resulted in this film. Whether this is true or not is lost to history.   

Shooting for the movie started on Monday August 31, 1936 and finished Wednesday November 11 of the same year. This was a long time for shooting for a Hal Roach film. Most Hal Roach features only took about 40 days to shoot. 

The film starts off in a way that might at first scare some Laurel and Hardy fans. At the beginning of the movie Laurel and Hardy do not appear on screen for a few minutes. However once Stan and Ollie show up our fears are quickly clamed. The focus after this is always on the boys. The movie is pure Laurel and Hardy slapstick at its best and this fairly short feature film (just 64 minutes) has more laugh out loud moments than most two-hour slapstick comedies. Still with this in mind the film still manages to have a leisurely relaxing pace. This pace never takes away from the comedy but rather enhances it. It never moves too slowly that it might kill a joke, but it moves slow enough for the film to have an atmospheric feel that makes this one of the most charming and endearing Laurel and Hardy films. 

One scene in that is definitely a highlight in this movie is when Stan and Ollie sing Trail of the Lonesome Pine. The scene starts with the boys singing it straight, giving us a great chance to hear Ollie’s fantastic voice. Then Stan’s voice goes into a deep bass (that is obviously not Stan’s voice). Ollie is confused then annoyed. He asks the bartender for a mallet. With this mallet Ollie clunks Stan on the head. Stan’s voice than turns into a woman’s voice. The woman’s voice was supplied by one of the co-stars in this movie, Rosina Lawrence. Chill Wills provides the deep bass voice. In 1975, the audio recording of this song (straight from the movie’s soundtrack) would be released as a single. Shockingly the recording shot up British pop charts and it would land at #2, beating out such huge names as Paul McCartney and Elton John.  

Another delightful scene featured Stan eating Ollie’s hat. Earlier in the film Stan has stated that they would get the deed back or he would eat Ollie’s hat. Ollie makes him follow through on this, to teach Stan not to make rash statements. Stan at first eats it reluctantly, then he begins to enjoy it and eats it happily until Ollie pulls it back. The hat was actually made of licorice for the scene. One brilliant touch in this movie is that after this scene happens, Ollie’s hat actually has the bite marks in it and that lasts for the rest of the movie.  

Way Out West was not the original title of the film. Some earlier titles were Tonight’s the Night, You’d Be Surprised, In the Money and They Done it Wrong. This movie however was not the first to be called Way Out West. With this title there had already been a two-reel comedy with Hank Man, a 1930 William Haines feature and an Educational short staring the Cabin Kids. The title is perhaps a play on the 

In the scene where Stan is relating the story of what had happened so far, a piece of music created by Marvin Hatley called Gossip played. This piece of music originally ran much longer than it does here but needed to be cut in order to fit the movie better. Another piece of music was called Get the Deed and was surprisingly in the scene where everybody is trying to get the deed. This music for Get the Deed moved so fast, that many takes had to be done to finally get it right. The music in this film as a whole is excellent, and it received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Score. This was a very rare thing for a slapstick comedy. After all there were two types of films that the Academy Awards frowned on. These were slapstick comedies and B westerns. So, for a slapstick comedy parodying B westerns to be nominated was quite a feat.

This film originally ran 4 minutes longer, but Hal Roach felt it should be cut to make the film play better. It is believed most of what had been cut had come from the scene with Stan and Ollie hitchhiking. Supposedly originally the sign saying how far away the town was is blowing around. Similarly, there were some scenes in the original script featuring American Indians (natural for a parody of 1930’s B westerns), but they were never filmed. In the original script there was also an ongoing joke, before Stan and Ollie figure out, they have been tricked, where Mickey Finn would get extremely excited every time either Stan or Ollie would mention the goldmine, then have to calm himself down so our heroes don’t get wise.     

Some of the musical numbers were performed by the Avalon Brothers, who also appeared alongside W.C. Fields in the classic It’s a Gift (1934). One of the members of the Avalon Brothers was Chill Wills. Supposedly Hal Roach had to remind Chill Wills to calm down his language. Rosina Lawrence’s role in this film was originally intended for Julie Bishop. According to many people who have met her she was just like Mary Roberts in real life. She had the same type of sweet innocence her character here does. Her best remembered role today is as the schoolteacher in many Our Gang shorts. Similarly, Stanley Fields’ role was originally going to go to Tiny Sanford (best known for being the tall man coming up through the elevator in Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights (1931)). This is may have caused a controversy between Stan and Hal Roach as Stan was good friends with Sanford and wanted him in the picture. Some believe this to have caused a strong rift between the two and maybe even caused Stan to think about leaving. Another co-star in this movie was Dinah the mule, who is best known for her many appearances in Our Gang shorts.   

World Film News, 1938

World Film News, 1937

Resources Used

DVD commentary by Richard W. Bann and Randy Skretvedt 

Laurel and Hardy the Magic Behind the Movies by Randy Skretvedt

https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/614595/way-out-west#articles-reviews?articleId=92511

 

Movie Review: Belle

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A- 

A beautiful and moving animated drama from Japan.

Anyone who has seen Mamoru Hosoda's previous films (Wolf Children, Summer Wars, The Boy and the Beast) will know that he is one of the great filmmakers of today and Belle just further cements this standing. Though one can accuse this movie of trying to do too many things at once, it does each of these things excellently. This movie works as a teen romance, an animated fantasy, a character study, a comedy and a social commentary on how the internet has changed our world. Much of why each of these elements work is because of our main character. This character is incredibly real and likable. On the outside she like so many girls that we just simply pass by every day. Yet beneath all this she is a truly beautiful, kind, loving and talented person. She is too hurt (by the passing of her mother among other things) as well as shy and insecure to show this side of her to everyone, yet through the internet she is able to allow who she is to shine there without anyone else knowing it is her. This is something that each of us can relate to as well as something that perfect represents the time we are living in. Because of this each emotional moment feels completely real and relatable. As the film goes on it becomes truly moving and touching. The finale may even bring a little tear to your eye. I also love how smart the social commentary is here. There are many movies that have the overly simplistic moral that the internet is bad, that we should spend more time away from it and in the real world. This movie portrays the internet in a more complex and realistic way. While it does show the faults of the internet, it never condemns it as a whole. In fact, it shows how great it can be as a means of artistic expression and a way to connect to other people. Yet this film also shows the importance of not hiding behind the internet or to only be ourselves when we are there. Technology is meant to enhance our lives, not be a replacement for them. This moral is one that hurts further home and has much more truth behind it than a simple "the internet is bad," and I applaud this film for taking on a more complex moral. This movie also discusses some darker themes such as child abuse and the loss of family members. Again, when discussing these themes, the film never talks down its audience or offers any simple solutions to these problems.

This film is also a visual treat. The internet world is so colorful and inviting that is clear to see why some people would want to live in there. Yet the real world is also beautiful looking and captures the beauty of nature extremely well. I also have to praise this film for how well the humor work. There were times when the audience I saw this film with all laughed out loud and I definitely joined in. 

All in all, this is a must see for both anime fans and non-anime fans alike.