Michael's Christmas Movie Guide: Trail of Robin Hood (1950)

When one thinks of Christmas movies, they don't usually think of a Roy Rogers western. This gives Trail of Robin Hood a very unique place among both Christmas films and Roy Rogers films. Still this movie provides one with all they could want from a Roy Rogers western. There is exciting action, great music, good humor and much more good natured family friendly fun. There is no pretention about this film at all. It just wants to provide us with some good natured escapism and it does this marvelously.

This movie also offers an extra treat for fans of old Hollywood westerns. Many old time western stars appear here as themselves. Jack Holt has a major role here and is one of the key parts of the plot. However most of these stars play smaller roles, but put a smile on a film buffs face very easily. These include Tom Tyler, Tom Keene, Monte Hale, Rex Allen, Rocky Lane, Bill Franum, Kermit Maynard and Crash Corrigan. Even western movie villain George Chesebro appears as himself. When a little girl tells him he is meanie, he responds that after making twenty pictures with Jack Holt, he reformed him. To quote a meme that was popular earlier this year. "Infinity War: This is the most ambitious crossover ever. Me:..." Really this part of the film is what an old western fan would want to put into fan fiction and it is awesome for it.


Of course a Roy Rogers western has to have songs and a Roy Rogers Christmas western has to have Christmas songs. Roy preforms two lesser known Christmas songs here, both written by Jack Elliott. These songs are Get A Christmas Tree For Johnny and Ev'ry Day is Christmas Day in the West. Roy also preforms a non-Christmas song as well. This is Home Town Jubilee written by Foy Willing (who also appears in this movie). As a country music fan, the songs are something I always look forward to in these movies and these songs don't disappoint.

Children were a major part of Roy Rogers' audience and as such there was often a kid character in many of his movies. This film offers one of the best. This time the character is played by Carol Nugent. While often times a kid character was the weakest part of these movies, here she is delightful providing a lot of heart and humor to many scenes. She never feels like she is trying to be cute, rather she just naturally is. Carol Nugent would later appear with the other singing cowboy, Gene Autry in an episode of his television show. Speaking of children look for Roy Rogers and Dale Evens' then 11 year old daughter Cheryl Rogers as a girl asking for Jack Holt's autograph.

This movie does not feature Dale Evans as is usually common in Roy Rogers westerns of this time. The reason for this is that Dale was pregnant at this time. She choose Penny Edwards to take her place in this film, partly because Edwards also had a strong Christian upbringing. Roy's other usual costar Trigger does play a huge part in this film, providing many excellent action scenes and showing why he truly earned his title as "The Smartest Horse in the Movies."

This movie was the last film Roy made in Trucolor, which used only strips of red and blue. It used this fantastically and the color in this movie looks incredible.

This movie was directed by William Witney, who is best known today for directing movie serials. He had directed the infamous western serial, The Lone Ranger (1938). However he is probably best remembered for directing what many consider to be the greatest movie serial, The Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941). Witney was directing many of Roy's films at this time and actually directed all of Roy's feature length movies for the last four years.

Despite the title of this movie, the film has nothing to do with Robin Hood or robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. I personally have no idea where this title came from.

This is one of those movies that makes me feel like a little kid again. All my grown up cynicism quickly goes out the window as soon as I start watching. There may be nothing new, challenging or thought provoking here, but I don't care. I just want to see my hero Roy and his friends take down the bad guys and for good to prevail once again. If you let yourself be like a child again for 67 minutes, I think you will feel the same way. The charming simplicity is just too much for the child in me to resist and this movie reminds me of being a kid and falling in love with movies all over again.

Resources Used


http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/20905/Trail-of-Robin-Hood/articles.html      

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043061/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_83

-Michael J. Ruhland

Celebrating Christmas With Laurel and Hardy at the Old Town Music Hall

This weekend is the annual Christmas festival at the Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo, California. I was able to see last night's show and loved it. This festival is always a treat and this year was no exception. As I have mentioned many times, the Old Town Music Hall is one of my favorite places to see old movies and a place that I recommend all my fellow film lovers go to when they are in Southern California. If you are interested in going (and why wouldn't you be) you can see the schedule and what movies are coming up here.

There was a Laurel and Hardy theme this year, which was no problem with me or anyone else there. The films this year included both a silent Laurel and Hardy short and a sound feature, both Christmas themed.

The silent short was Big Business (1929). This may be the duo's best silent comedy and maybe one of the laugh out loud funniest silent comedies. In this film Stan and Ollie are selling Christmas trees in California. They aren't very good at this and fail to sell one to their first two customers. Their third customer though is when their real problems begin. This customer is the one and only James Finlayson (one of the best supporting comic actors in the history of the movies and one that has proved on various occasions to be the perfect foil for Laurel and Hardy). At first this is just another customer who doesn't want a Christmas tree. However when he closes the door and the Christmas tree gets caught in it, this ends up causing one of the biggest slapstick fights in silent comedy history. Supposedly this film was originally going to revolve around Stan and Ollie trying to sell Christmas trees to each new customer, with the James Finlayson scenes playing a smaller role, but the crew found out that this was the funniest part of the movie and that most of the film should revolve around that.

This film perfectly shows what Laurel and Hardy do best. It follows their familiar, but surefire formula of tit for tat. Someone does something to Stan and Ollie, and they do something back to him. This continues until it reaches ridiculous extremes. This in the end represents another essential element of many of the duo's best movies taking a simple idea and pushing it to ridiculous extremes in a surprisingly believable way. This is one of the most pure and funniest examples of both these formulas and therefore one of the duo's laugh out loud funniest films, silent or sound. This is as good as it gets.

The great thing about the Old Town Music Hall is that I got to see this film the way it was intended to be seen. This is with an audience and with live musical accompaniment (by the very talented Bill Field on the Mighty Wurlitzer Organ (a vintage 1925 organ that was made to accompany silent movies)). If you have never been able to see a silent film this way you are missing out. This is a completely different experience than watching these film on TV or DVD and is something I think every film lover should do in their life. The film feels so new and fresh, even to someone who has seen it as many times as I have. This showing also proves that the film is still a crowd pleaser, as the audience was in hysterics. It is rare to see a movie audience enjoying themselves as much as one watching Laurel and Hardy, and with a film like Big Business, this is especially true.
 
After an intermission we watched the feature film, Babes in Toyland (1934, also with Laurel and Hardy). I have written about this film before on this blog as you can read here. Because of this I won't write much about the movie here, but what I will say is like Big Business this is a perfect crowd pleaser. The audience was howling with laughter at the funny scenes here and again seeing it with an audience again made it feel fresh and new even to someone who has seen this movie as many times as I have. If you have a chance to see this with an audience don't miss it for the world.

Like all shows at the Old Town Music Hall, the films were not the only part of the night. Before hand we got treated to some music on the Mighty Wurlitzer. First a very talented young man named Edward Torres played a medley of to two classic Christmas songs from the 1940's and then the incredibly talented Bill Field took over playing a medley of many great Christmas carols. This was followed by a sing-a-long where all the words appeared on the screen. These songs included White Christmas, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Frosty the Snowman, Jingle Bells and Silver Bells.


I believe going to the movies should be an experience and a great night out and the Old Town Music Hall always provides just that. Again if you are ever in Southern California this place is a must go.


-Michael J. Ruhland     

Michael's Christmas Movie Guide: Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

One of the most popular and influential Christmas movies is also one of the best.

This was the fourth film from director George Seaton, at least as a director before becoming a director he had been a writer at MGM then Fox. He had written for such films as The Wizard of OZ, A Night at the Opera, A Day at the Races, and The Song of Bernadette. Before this film he had directed  Diamond Horseshoe, Junior Miss and The Shocking Miss Pilgrim. Seaton also wrote this film.

Edmund Gwenn was not only a convincing Santa Claus to the audience, but also to then child actress, Natalie Wood. She believed he was the real Santa Claus, and who can blame her. She didn't realize he wasn't until she saw him out of costume at the wrap party. Not surprisingly Edmund Gwenn won a well deserved academy award for best supporting actor.

Maureen O'Hara was forced into this movie. She had in fact returned to Ireland, before being called to come back to America to play the role of the mom. She however fell in love with the script.

Despite the fact that this is obviously a Christmas film, Fox studio head, Darryl F. Zanuck felt the movie should be released in June, instead of at Christmas time. His reasoning was that people don't go to the theaters at Christmas time. Because of this most of the film's advertisements avoid saying this film had anything to do with Christmas or Santa Claus. Even the original title of the film, Christmas Miracle on 34th Street, was changed to Miracle on 34th Street.

Zanuck even felt this film was too cheesy for audiences. Boy was he wrong this film grew to become a classic, and boy is it. This is an excellent movie by any standards. The cast is perfect, the directing is great, the writing top notch and everything comes together perfectly. There are so many scenes that are so charming they can even win over someone whose heart is two sizes too small. One of my favorite of these scenes is the scene with Kris and the little Dutch girl. This scene is not necessary to the movie, but  it adds so much. It makes us love Kris all the more and helps us understand why such a doubting little girl starts to believe Kris is Santa. What also helps this film to work so great is that it never tells us whether or not Kris really is Santa. We have to go on faith just as Susan and Doris do. Watching this movie many of us become like children again, believing in something, because of our hearts rather than our cynical mind. A man who embodies Christmas so perfectly and wins over our cynical adult selves, must be Santa and we don't need the movie to show us what we feel in our hearts to be true. This is a movie that challenges the cynic in us by winning us over with pure childlike joy and wonder. This is not one of those movies that's beloved because it's considered a classic, but a classic because it is rightfully so beloved. This is a must watch.

This film is one of only three Christmas films to ever be nominated for best picture. The others were The Bishop's Wife (released the same year), and It's a Wonderful Life (released the year before).

This film also has appearing in the toy department Warner Brothers cartoon characters despite this being a Fox film. This is odd, but perfectly in line with the film's message.

This film won Boxoffice Magazine's Blue Ribbon Award to read more about this (from Boxoffice Magazine itself) click here.

The following is an article from Boxoffice Magazine (dated July 12, 1947).

"PITTSURG - 'Duel in the Sun' and 'Miracle on 34th Street' both in extended runs, were leaders, the former playing at Loew's Penn at increased prices, with the latter on view in J.P. Harris at regular prices. Other downtown offerings grossed under par. Admissions generally in the area are hitting only 75 per cent of average this period.


"Record crowds are turning out for sports events, including night games, operettas, park attractions etc."


The following is from the same issue of Boxoffice magazine.


"CINCINNATI - With exception of the Shubert, which did alright with 'Miracle on 34th Street,' Cincinnati box offices fell off considerably during a desultory week. 'Miracle' did a big 160 per cent; the Lyric did average business with a duel program, 'The Two Mrs. Carrolls' and 'Dishonored Lady.' All other houses fell below average."    

-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used
http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/83570/Miracle-on-34th-Street/articles.html
http://mediahistoryproject.org/

Michael's Christmas Movie Guide: The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

Enrst Lubitsch, is a name that will probably be recognized by any classic movie fans reading this. Lubitsch is best known as the master of sophisticated comedy, and is considered by many to be one of the greatest comedy directors of all time. However he was just as great at sentiment as he was at comedy. One of the best examples of this is The Shop Around the Corner. This is a extremely lovely movie. In fact James Stewart remembered it as one his favorite movies he ever worked on (which considering his filmography was saying a lot).

In 1939 Lubitsch had singed with MGM to make Ninotchkia and one more film. That one more film turned out to be The Shop Around the Corner. Lubitsch had owned the rights to a play called Parfumerie. He would sell the rights of this play to MGM for $62,500 and then began work with writer Samson Raphaelson to make this into a movie. Lubitsch based much of the film off of his years as a child in his father's tailor shop in Berlin. Lubitsch wanted to be sure this film was not like the movies he was known for. The way this film would be different would be by being much less glamorous than those movies. He went to such great lengths to achieve this that he left a dress that Margret Sullivan (the film's leading lady) would wear in the movie out in the sun, and later even had it altered to make it fit her worse. Margret Sullivan had in fact before this bought a dress she thought worked perfectly for her part, but Lubitsch said it looked too good.

The film centers around a man named Alfred (played by James Stewart) and a woman named Klara (played by Margret Sullivan) who have been writing each other anonymous love letters (excuse me... cultural discussions through the mail). They both end up working at a little shop owned by a man named Hugo Matuschek (played by Frank Morgan). They meet and grow hate each other, while still unaware that they have been writing each other. To make matters worse Mr. Matuschek seems to be growing colder towards Alfred, leading Alfred to get fired and Klara to blame this on herself. This all leads to a Christmas Eve that will change everything for both of them.

The movie rightfully became a huge hit when it was released, which surpised the whole MGM studio, who felt that this was just an assuming little film. Luckily for us, this film is just as charming today as it was when it was originally released in 1940. This beautiful little film remains one of Lubitsch's best movies.


Part of what makes this movie so great is its sense of atmosphere. Watching this movie one truly feels like they are transported to this little town. It is so easy to get swept away in the characters as well. These are not simple little characters, but fully formed human beings. It doesn't take long until we accept these people to be as real as our friends and family. This movie is fact overflowing with humanity. In fact some of the sadder scenes in this movie are in fact painful to watch, I admit even feeling a little hurt by the "insignificant little clerk" remark. On the other hand the happier scenes are a complete joy and never fail to put a smile on my face. Even with how moving the drama is, this movie is still a comedy there are plenty of times I laughed out loud watching it. This is truly what makes the movie so special. Every element comes together to create a nearly perfect whole. This is one of those movies that reminds movie lovers like me why we fell in love with film in the first place.   

This film is so charming in fact it was later remade as a movie musical in 1949, another great film (and big hit) called In the Good Old Summertime. Charles Smith who played Rudi in The Shop on the Corner would also appear in In the Good Old Summertime in a small uncredited role. It was later remade again as You Got Mail in 1998.

To see san original review from Box Office Digest click here.


The following is a brief article from The Film Daily (dated January 26, 1940).


"SRO business greeted the opening of 'The Shop Around the Corner' yesterday at Radio City Music Hall where morning and afternoon figures were described as being equal to those on the opening day of 'Ninotchka.' The MGM picture is topping normal business from 18-43 percent in Baltimore, Springfield, Mass. Albany, Indianapolis, Rochester, Syracuse, Kanas City, Toledo, St. Louis, Nashville, Louisville and Dayton."  

The following is from an article in the Motion Picture Herald.

"Matt Saunders' exploitation campaign for 'The Shop Around the Corner' at Loew's Poli, Bridgeport, was featured by a full-page cooperative ad in the local Post. Contracting neighborhood merchants, Sanders arranged for a display, day before opening, featuring ads of various dealers including luggage, furniture, photographs, service stations, carrying copy plugging 'The Shop Around the Corner' and urging readers to shop at these places following their visit to the theatre. The title of the film itself was fitted with the individual ads."
-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/413/The-Shop-Around-the-Corner/articles.html 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033045/?ref_=rvi_tt
http://mediahistoryproject.org/