Michael's Christmas Movie Guide: Bedtime For Sniffles (1940)

 

Quite charming Christmas cartoon, one of Sniffles' best.

Despite the fact that Chuck Jones is best known now for fast paced slapstick comedy (such as his coyote and roadrunner cartoons), he started his directorial career out doing some of the cutest and slow-paced Looney Tunes and Merrie Melody cartoons. He started directing in 1938 with a film called The Night Watchman (earlier he had worked as an animator for both Tex Avery's and Bob Clampett's units). At this time the Warner Brothers cartoon studio was fully know for fast paced crazy comedy. Because of this Chuck's films really didn't quite fit what the rest studio was doing.

The purest examples of the early Jones style were his Sniffles cartoons. These were extremely cute and also much slower than what Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, and Frank Tashlin were doing at the time. Sniffles cartoons were rarely the best films coming out of the studio (or even the best Chuck was making in this early period), but they had their charms. One of there greatest charms was Robert McKimson's (he was an expert at more realistic and precise animation, and his was also one of the studios' best animators or animators at any studio) animation, which fit perfectly into this type of cartoon.

The story of this film is very simple. Sniffles tries hard to stay up to see Santa Claus on Christmas Eve night, and doesn't find the task very easy. This story is what makes this one of the best Sniffles cartoons. It is simple, but very relatable and speaks to the child in each of us. This simple story gets rid of one of the series major faults, the story amounting to almost nothing. Here even though it has the same slow pace, and minor story, the film offers a slice of life type of storytelling that could have made the rest of these cartoons much more charming.

The animators on this film include Robert McKimson, Ken Harris, Rudy Larriva, Robert Cannon, and Phil Monroe. The story was written by Rich Hogan and Tedd Peirce. They were the two most common writers for Chuck in this early period. The voice of Sniffles was provided by Marget Hill-Talbot, who Walter Lantz fans may recognize as one of the voices of Andy Panda.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Resourses Used
Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons by Leonard Maltin
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032244/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt

Movie Review: I Am Not Ashamed

 

Review Written by Michael J. Ruhland











Michael's Movie Grade: B

Review: Good character study.


When this movie really works is when it is simply a character study of Rachel. This character is very relatable and likable. Her struggles are very much like are own struggles, and even non-religious people could relate to her yearning to be excepted. This film does a great job at letting us feel what the character is feeling.

On the downside this film features some clumsy acting and a group of bullies are very poorly written. I also have to say saying someone knows Shakespeare real well because they can quote the whole "All the World's a Stage" silique from As You Like It is quite clumsy writing. That shouldn't be a big fault but it is repeated too much this small fault gets very annoying.

While some may criticize this film without seeing it, because they are offended that a movie would use this tragedy for Christian propaganda. It is done in very good taste. Neither the Christian message nor the tragedy are forced into this movie and both are treated with the upmost respect. In fact the ending is extremely moving and will allow some who understandably have trouble with this films faults to forgive them.

Movie Review: Trolls

 

Review written by Michael J. Ruhland


















Michael's Movie Grade: B

Review: Very fun movie.

What really makes this movie work so well is the characters and the visuals. The characters, could have easily been boring and two dimensional. Poppy isn't just an obnoxiously happy character, and Branch is not just an overly depressed character. I am not going to say they are complex characters, but they are well thought out and very likable. The visuals are great,  including both design, and animation. The characters have a likable look to them and the world around them looks really cool. The characters are also very well animated and come to life through it. This film is just a joy to look at.

On the downside, most of the songs feel like they are here because they are popular, not because they fit the story. In fact most of them feel quite out of place here. Also the story is often very predictable.

Overall, just a very fun movie.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Movie Review: El Jeremias

 

Review Written by Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade:A-

Review: Fantastic movie that is both funny and moving.

As I have mentioned before, one of the many things I love about movies is when, I discover something great that I completely did not except. I just went to this film because I felt like seeing something different from what I have seen in theaters lately, and a Spanish-langue Mexican movie, nobody I know has mentioned felt like just the ticket. I got in just a few minutes before the previews started, and discovered I was the only one in the theater. I began to wonder if I had chosen the right movie to see. That fear was soon quieted. In the first few minutes I found myself laughing and enjoy these characters.

Nearly everything about this movie was great. Martian Castro (his film debut) is a very talented child actor, the whole cast is great in fact, the humor is very funny, the drama is quite touching and the film has a great and very important message, about family, childhood and life in general. There were few predictable moments, when I knew what was going to happen, but with how good the rest of the movie was this was just a nitpick.

This movie was the feature film directorial debut of Anwar Safa. I recommend seeing this film and keeping a track of this director in the future.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Silent Film of the Month: The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1928)

 

Runtime: 106 minutes. Studio: MGM. Director: Ernst Lubitsch. Writers: Hanns Kräly, Ruth Cummings, Marian Ainslee. Based on the book by Karl Heinrich and the play by Wilhelm Meyer-Förster.  Producers: Ernst Lubitsch, Irving Thalburg. Main Cast: Roman Novarro, Norma Shearer, Jean Hersholt. Cinematographer: John J. Mescall.





One thing (out of very many things) I love about movies is when you find a film that has been surprisingly overlooked, but is just as good as the ones that are considered classics. The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg is definitely one of these, as everything in this film is near perfect. This film isn't forgotten but it isn't talked about as one of the classic silent films. It really makes me wonder how a film directed by Ernst Lubitsch and featuring Norma Shearer (two names that should definitely resonate with many classic movie lovers) that is this good can possibly be so overlooked.  

The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg was Ernst Lubitsch's first film for MGM. This was the studio for which he would later make such well loved films like The Merry Widow, Ninotchka, and The Shop Around the Corner. Lubitsch began his career in Germany. His first film Fräulein Seifenschaum, was a 1914 film that is unfortunately lost today. Rather than the sophisticated comedies that he would be known for in the 1930's, at this time Lubitsch was known for making costume dramas, and film with a fairytale like atmosphere. He would move to the U.S.A. to direct a 1923 costume drama staring Mary Pickford called Rosita. While there was definitely a lot of tension between Lubitsch and Pickford, the film was a success both with critics and audiences. He would naturally stay in America to make more of these films. However one senses while watching The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg that he still had deep nostalgia for growing up in Germany. On top of that this film in many ways feels like one of his German films. It seems to take elements of both his costume dramas and his fairytale-like films, and it combines them perfectly.

Interestingly Ernst Lubitsch was not originally going to be the director of this film. The director was originally going to be Erich von Stroheim. However Stroheim had a bad relationship with producer Irving Thalberg. This was because Thalberg had done massive edits to Greed and The Merry Widow (interestingly Lubitsch would later make another film version of this story for MGM), two films Stroheim had directed, before they reached theaters. Because of this Stroheim not only turned down this film, but he also left MGM.

Ramon Novarro and Norma Shearer, the two main stars of this film, did not always agree with Lubitsch. One reason for this was that Lubitsch insisted on little time for rehearsal. Because of this various scenes would have many retakes before they turned out right. Though not proven true (or false for that matter), one rumor states that one scene for this film was shot 102 times. Lubitsch once ended up yelling at Norma Shearer, telling her that a studio waitress to play a barmaid better. Shearer was driven to tears by this remark. Another rumor that hasn't been proven true (or false) is that Norma Shearer told Irving Thalberg about this incident, and Thalberg responded “Everyone has a lot to learn from Mr. Lubitsch.” If this was true then it didn't hurt their relationship, because Shearer and Thalberg would marry a week after the movie was released.

Lubitsch was not overly happy with either star. However the studio said that he had to use Ramon Novarro and Norma Shearer. Despite this both of them give amazing performances here. Lubitsch would still never be satisfied with eithers performance.

One love scene did not satisfy anyone working on the film. It has been stated that Irving Thalberg called in director John M. Stahl to re-shoot the scene. If this is true than it might have had to do Stahl directing Ramon Novarro in the 1927 movie Lovers?. However Andrew Marton, the editor for the film, stated that Lubitsch directed every scene of the film. However Marton also stated that Lubitsch never liked the scene.

In this film Crown Prince Karl Heinrich (Played by Ramon Novarro) is tired of his sheltered life and longs to live in the outside world. The prince and his tutor, Dr. Jtter (played by Jean Hersholt) are allowed to go to Heidelberg. Here the prince can live life as he always wanted to. He also falls in love with a young barmaid named Kathi (played by Norma Shearer). However when his father  (Played by Gustav von Seyffertitz) becomes sick Karl must travel back to his home to attend to royal duties.

The film lost money at the box office and received mixed reviews from critics.

Despite this the film is incredible. Nearly everything works perfectly. The story, the characters, the cinematography, and the all around atmosphere are all amazingly well done. This film is also profoundly moving, and one that definitely can bring tears to my eyes, and I assume it would do the same for many of you. This is a must watch.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used
http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/835/The-Student-Prince-in-Old-Heidelberg/articles.html
http://www.silentfilm.org/the-student-prince-in-old-heidelberg-1927

Movie Review: Florence Foster Jenkins

Review Written by Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade:A-

Review: Intelligent, funny and moving. A fantastic film.


This film is really great. It is very funny, often times laugh out loud so. However the drama is equal effective. The combination between the drama and comedy is done amazingly. Neither the drama, nor the comedy, get in the way of each other. In fact the compliment each other very well. The comedy makes the drama better and the drama makes the comedy better.

The entire cast for this film are fantastic in their roles. Despite them being well known actors and actresses, you see them as the characters rather than the people playing them. They feel like they are the people their playing. They are very funny, but they never play it in a way that the characters feel less real. This allows the comedy to be as funny as it is and the dramatic scenes to be as great as they are.

The time period used for this film is represented great. It looks very authentic, and allows the film to have a great look different from most films today.

This is simply a great film.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Michael's Christmas Movie Guide: The Unholy Three (1925)

 

Note: Okay this may not really be a Christmas movie, but some very important story points take place during the Christmas season,  particularly Christmas Eve.


Fantastic silent film.

Though this was far from director Tod Browning's first film, it was the one that truly defined who he was a director. Though his early films had some strange stuff, this film was very weird as you would expect from this director. Browning would go on to direct such films as Freaks, The Unknown and Dracula (1931). All of these films reveled in the bizarre and strange. In this film Browning also worked with actor Lon Chaney, who he had great collaborations with such as The Unknown, London After Midnight, Where East is East and West of Zanzibar.

The story involves three former sideshow performers a ventriloquist named Echo (played by Lon Chaney), a midget (played by Harry Earles), and a strongman (played by Victor McLaglen), who work with a pickpocket named  Rosie O'Grady (played by Mae Busch (who my fellow Laurel and Hardy lovers should recognize)), whom Echo is in love with. The work at a pet shop as a cover for a man named Hector (played by Matt Moore), who loves Rosie. After a robbery on Christmas Eve  ends with murder, the whole gang turns against each other and Hector is blamed for the robbery.

This is a great film. The weirdness works perfectly and just adds a great atmosphere (especially a very strange scene involving an ape). The actors are perfectly cast. The story is quite a good one as well.

This film would be remade in 1930 as a talkie. Though that film would also star Lon Chaney, it would be directed by Jack Conway, instead of Tod Browning. The remake would be Lon Chaney's only appearance in a talkie (and his last film) as he would die shortly after.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used
http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/14037/The-Unholy-Three/articles.html
imdb.com