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Post by RJH on Jan 25, 2017 23:29:01 GMT -5
When the Wind Blows (1930) - On a windy night, Jackie Cooper gets locked out of his house retrieving a book he threw out the window, after hearing his father explain why he gave his son a licking for not studying his lessons. Jackie makes some noise trying to get back in, and his parents summon Kennedy the Cop, who claims nothing ever happens when he's on the beat. Jackie seeks refuge in his friends' houses, but nothing works out for him. Farina is scared senseless at the sight of Jackie's face pressed against a window. Chubby's parents yell for Kennedy when Jackie throws a rock through Chubby's window. Jackie's little brother Wheezer evens sics Pete on Jackie when their bedroom window opens somehow. Jackie climbs a ladder into Mary Ann's bedroom, where she is writing a love note to him. When he protests he has no time for fooling, she sends him out, but the wind has knocked the ladder down. Mary Ann pushes Jackie hanging from the window ledge onto a real burglar, and Kennedy takes the credit for always getting his man.
Why does the phrase "always gets his man" makes me think of Dudley Do-Right? Here Kennedy is totally worthless, getting scared of cats, panicking when a piece of laundry or newspaper covers his face, and surrendering to a nail that snags the back of his jacket. Of course this is to comic effect, but it seems a bit exaggerated. His best line may be "Shut up!" to get Farina to stop screaming. Jackie is the star here and delivers a fine performance as usual. I don't care for how Farina is treated here, being scared of everything and screaming incoherently frequently. He does get to operate a contraption while reading a scary book by rocking his foot, which rocks baby brother Hector's cradle, rings a bell, and spins some laundry simultaneously. Wheezer delivers some well-times razzberries near the end. It seems odd how Pete is so belligerent toward Jackie, attacking him when he tries to get in and tearing his nightshirt. Jackie's house has a picture of Lincoln, which I've been conditioned to expect only in houses occupied by Buckwheat or Farina. But what I find very disturbing is when Jackie is pulling at his front doorknob, his father shoots a gun through the door, with the bullet narrowly missing Jackie. The father never realizes he almost killed his son. Overall the premise is fine, but there are several things I would change.
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Post by antifrodis on Jan 27, 2017 14:15:58 GMT -5
Your Own Back Yard (1925) - Hal Roach remembered this as being one of his favorite Gang shorts. Lost for the longest time, bits and pieces of this short were found by different people, and eventually re-compiled by our own antifrodis. After finally being able to see YOUR OWN BACK YARD, I find it to be entertaining, and at the same time fascinating. While I'm glad that the film is available in some format for people to see, let me just say that the version floating around out there was never intended to be made public. It was a preliminary edit that I did for my personal use. It contains some old footage for the first reel that belongs to Robin Cook of CW Films. As far as I know, Robin still intends to release a restored version of the film someday. Regardless, I did not have permission to release his footage publicly. However, I never posted this film and I am still not sure, to this day, how it got out there. On the plus side, the footage that Robin currently owns is light years better in terms of quality. Let's hope he is able to make it available to us sometime in the near future.
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Post by mtw12055 on Jan 27, 2017 15:12:09 GMT -5
Your Own Back Yard (1925) - Hal Roach remembered this as being one of his favorite Gang shorts. Lost for the longest time, bits and pieces of this short were found by different people, and eventually re-compiled by our own antifrodis. After finally being able to see YOUR OWN BACK YARD, I find it to be entertaining, and at the same time fascinating. While I'm glad that the film is available in some format for people to see, let me just say that the version floating around out there was never intended to be made public. It was a preliminary edit that I did for my personal use. It contains some old footage for the first reel that belongs to Robin Cook of CW Films. As far as I know, Robin still intends to release a restored version of the film someday. Regardless, I did not have permission to release his footage publicly. However, I never posted this film and I am still not sure, to this day, how it got out there. On the plus side, the footage that Robin currently owns is light years better in terms of quality. Let's hope he is able to make it available to us sometime in the near future. Ah, sorry about that, Geoff (and Robin, wherever you are). I feel guilty for viewing it now! While I don't know exactly how your edits got out there, or who grabbed them, I have occasionally seem unregistered webcam logos pop up on some of these prints. I'm guessing that's how it was done. Of course, that only makes the quality look worse.
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Post by rarefilms on Jan 28, 2017 15:29:59 GMT -5
I was hoping that "Your Own Back Yard" would have been released by us by the time this film was going to be discussed. The film being out there in the way it is has had a detrimental effect on me, but it will be released by us (C-W Films) in the near future. I can't say exactly when, but it will happen. The footage that Antifrodis used in his edition was a copy taken from a VHS tape made in about 1999 by the owner of the original 35mm nitrate film. He had made some tapes of films he had in his collection so that someone could identify all of the films on them. They were copied on an editing viewer, but not a proper telecine machine. I found out about the nitrate film copy in 2002. I told the owner I would like to restore the film but it took two years for him to get the film out of the vaults to make a safety film copy. It was even his business making film copies! It's hard to relax when you know that there is an important film that may be the only known copy in the world and it is on nitrate base! For a few months before I ordered the copy, I wasn't sure that the film still existed as I knew there had been a vault fire. I later found out that the fire had been in the room next to the vault with "Your Own Back Yard" in it! I started to restore the film late in 2005 by making proper main titles and subtitle cards, and finished it in January 2006 on 35mm film just one day before I was to leave to go to a silent film festival in Bristol, England, where it was to be shown.
Robin of C-W Films
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Post by ymymeatemup on Jan 30, 2017 2:13:00 GMT -5
WEDDING WORRIES (1941)
Things I like: Pretty Much Nothing. As often happens with MGM, good comedy ideas tend to wither during the process of filming them. Back at the Roach studio, unleashing a jarful of fleas onto a wedding party resulted in a bevy of surefire slapstick gags. If it had been laughing gas, the results would have been similar. But whether it's laughing gas or fleas, the folks at MGM could barely raise a smile with this material - which is what happens when you take the job out of the hands of comedy specialists and give it to people who make their living producing light-hearted family fare.
Things I don't like: Those IQ Points I'll Never Get Back. Now, of course, the story of Cinderella and her stepmother isn't enough to draw any conclusions about Darla's new mom, since it's merely anecdotal evidence. But Froggy's got something better than that! He's got ANOTHER story of a wicked stepmother, thus DOUBLING the amount of anecdotal evidence and proving his theory. What could be more logical? What I don't get, though, is the failure of plans 1 and 2 to actually stop the bride and groom from getting married. I mean, it's one thing if locking somebody in a room with alternative exits doesn't work (it's not like they had Waldo on hand to see that one coming!), but why would anybody want to spend the rest of their lives with the person they love after their wedding has been interrupted for several seconds by a radio program?
Grade: D
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Post by ymymeatemup on Jan 31, 2017 22:37:11 GMT -5
YALE VS. HARVARD (1927)
Things that intrigue me: The Extra Effort. Reportedly, since this was the first Our Gang episode submitted for MGM distribution, the Roach studio went beyond their usual level of effort to ensure a strong start for this new association. The cutting continuity makes this at least partially clear, as it repeatedly describes overhead shots, dolly shots and "glass shots," which involved the camera looking up at the kids from below. An Actual Reason For The Skunk Gag. Like many other Our Gang shorts, this one ends with Farina bringing a skunk onto the scene. However, this time around, Farina has spent almost the entire short pitted against a stereotypical Italian member of the opposing team who eats garlic and repeatedly breaths into Farina's face as a way of gaining advantage in the game. The skunk is Farina's final revenge.
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Post by RJH on Feb 5, 2017 16:00:54 GMT -5
So who won the football game in Harvard vs Yale? The only photographic evidence I could find was this, which indicates the gang needed an epic comeback, but it might not be the right game. If required, how can I read the cutting continuity to find out? After some though, I have decided to justify reviewing "Your Own Back Yard" by promising to buy it when it officially becomes available from a proper vendor and not a bootleg version. If I die before then, I refuse to feel guilty. If unauthorized copies weren't made and the only original was destroyed in a vault fire, would this film really have been lost forever? Your Own Back Yard (1925) - Farina is bored being confined to his yard, but when he tried to play with the gang, they give him a hard time and chase him away. Ignoring advice from his mother to stay in the back yard, Farina goes out and has several adventures, involving Mexican jumping beans, a mad dog scare, and getting a string on his pants caught on a revolving door. Dazed, he falls asleep in a blind beggar's chair, and when he wakes up, he finds a small fortune has been donated in the tin cup he's holding. He promptly buys a new suit and some other goodies. When the gang sees him and wants to play with his new toys like balloons, he tells them to stay in their own back yard. I find myself comparing this to "The Smile Wins" because of the initial bad treatment of Farina, and like that one better because the gang comes around to realize they've been jerks and help him. Here that never happens, so they fully deserve the final retort. Mickey is particularly nasty cheating Farina out of his ice cream cone, yet Farina is bright enough to read the store sign and buy the nice set of clothes on his own. How many four-year-olds do that today? A side story has Joe excitedly running to tell his mother about the new baby at home. A good point is pranksters Johnny and Jackie squirting Joe, Mary and Mickey in the face with their fake camera, and not just Farina. There is a lot of shooting in this, with the gang having put dental cream samples on dogs, reviving an old trick, but the police go crazy, not caring that ricocheting bullets could hit anyone in the streets. Farina handles his lead role well, and would get several more in the following films.
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Post by rarefilms on Feb 7, 2017 14:49:30 GMT -5
If the original had been destroyed in a vault fire, I would still have had the VHS copy--as I think it was made just before that fire. I know someone else claims to have a negative (apart from mine) of Your Own Back Yard, so it may not have been lost forever. But, would they ever restore it and sell copies for us to see? I wanted to save this film for all to see. As far as I knew, it was the only known copy!
Robin of C-W Films
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Post by RJH on Feb 10, 2017 23:31:57 GMT -5
Wild Poses (1933) - Spanky's parents get a coupon for a dozen pictures, but when they arrive at the photographer's studio nothing goes right. For some reason other gang members (Stymie, Tommy, and Jerry) are there and mess things up in the studio, in addition to frightening Spanky with their explanation of photography terms they overhear. Consequently Spanky tries to avoid being shot, or rather, having his picture taken, and punches the photographer (Otto Phocus) several times in the nose. A final attempt almost succeeds when Spanky laughs at his father getting his head stuck in a camera, but when Phocus tries to develop the pictures he finds that the plates had been exposed to light, thanks the the rascals' earlier efforts. He gets one final bust in the nose after pleading for one more chance.
Spanky is very good in this, showing his fear of the camera and all that might happen to him. A lot of attention is given to his parents and Otto Phocus, which results in the drawback that the rest of the gang is given very little to do. At least they're significant near the beginning, playing with the equipment and breaking a lens and replacing it with a bottle, and filling a rubber bulb with water. Stymie gets one good line explaining that retouching means to touch a second time. There is no explanation of why they are there, and after that, they only appear for a few seconds in funny costumes and at the end to help Spanky's father get his head unstuck and admit to the exposing of the photographic plates. Spanky's mother does an impressive imitation of Gracie Allen, and his father plays the exasperated role well. Then there's the very memorable cameo of Laurel and Hardy dressed as babies fighting over a milk bottle, indicating that the door-to-door salesman will say anyone's baby is the best ever subject for a photograph. The film is well done; it's just a bit of a stretch to refer to it as an Our Gang film.
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Post by myhomeo on Feb 11, 2017 17:09:24 GMT -5
Why the other Rascals were there: Clearly, Otto was canvessing the neighborhood and had managed to con a lot of the local parents into getting portraits taken.
As for why there were so few and they were so underused, reportedly it was a period of rebuilding for the series. A lot of the former stars had outgrown their roles or gone on to other projects. Spanky was pretty much made to carry the load until they got some more kids in.
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Post by ymymeatemup on Feb 14, 2017 22:06:04 GMT -5
WHEN THE WIND BLOWS (1930)
Things I like: Jackie & His Family. There's a lot of heart in Jackie's relationship with his father, even if the parenting style has become a bit old-fashioned. Add to this a doting mother and a pain-in-the-backside little brother and you practically have the makings of a spinoff series. Jack himself performs well enough, both in this film and the previous one, that it's a bit baffling that he didn't take the lead again for several months. Honorable mention should also go to neighbor girl Mary Ann, who provides a memorable, though brief, appearance in this film. The Story. As strong as this series was, it too often relied on threadbare stories on which to hang its gag material. This one, though, has a bit more flesh on its bones, which makes it surprising that it was never remade. The pacing is a lot quicker than the earlier talkies in the series, though this might be somewhat of an illusion caused by the constant incidental music and generally noisy gag material.
Things I don't like: The Screaming. Most of this comes from Farina and some from Jack, but it never produces the level of comedy that the filmmakers must have expected. The sheer amount of screentime devoted to this activity does serious damage to the overall quality of this episode. A Few Minor Things. In spite of his legion of fans, I've never been that fond of Edgar Kennedy, and though he does have some amusing moments, they're greatly outnumbered by the more routine business. This is the first Our Gang talkie to feature incidental music throughout, which does a lot to pull the series out of the doldrums it had been experiencing for the previous several months. Unfortunately, Leroy Shield had not yet begun writing his ditties for this series, so instead, we're given tunes recycled from the discs made for the late silent episodes. It's a step in the right direction, but lacks the nostalgic charm of the Shield material.
Grade: B-
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Post by RJH on Feb 19, 2017 23:34:56 GMT -5
Regarding "Wild Poses," I felt that other films from that year like "Fish Hooky" and "Mush and Milk" made "use of the whole cast, and while "The Kid from Borneo" clearly features Spanky, the other kids had a lot more to do than in "Wild Poses," "Forgotten Babies," and "Bedtime Worries." It's frustrating to see Tommy Bond not get to show his talent until the long hiatus when he returns as Butch.
The Old Wallop (1927) - Again, thanks to all those who brought this film to light. I'm still interested in buying a copy from those responsible if it ever becomes commercially available. Of I course I have to go from memory here, but am fortunate I watched it two times through when it was available. I should have taken down some quotes and perhaps gotten some screen shots.
Wheezer is quite a boxer, and gets convulsions when he doesn't get to punch somebody. Jackie has been hired as a punching bag and succeeds in getting a raise from 25 cents to one dollar, but after one punch offers Joe a dime to take over. A punch later Joe gives Farina a penny for the job, and after a few punches Farina gives up and says to let Wheezer convulse, or something like that. Wheezer punches several other people, and then gets away to a construction site. Since Farina is responsible, he chases Wheezer through a pipe-like covered walkway that gets lifted off the ground when Farina is in the middle of it. The gang tries to get him down, and of course does not do a good job of it. Jackie operates the controls, and sends Farina up and down a lot, and sliding from one end of the pipe to the other. Some of the gang climb the building, and Harry frequently pulls down Joe's pants. Most of the gang is in constant danger, including a bit where Jay and Joe(?) are on opposite ends of a ladder pivoting like a seesaw. I don't remember how this ends, I seem to recall a fadeout with some of the gang still on the skyscraper under construction.
It was a real treat to see this, and while I had read descriptions of the high-rise sequence, the first part of the film was completely unknown to me. Included among this was a laugh out loud moment where Jackie is back to playing practical jokes. By this point in his career Jackie was overshadowed by Farina and Joe, and now Wheezer was was becoming a prominent star, so it was great to see Jackie trick Harry into playing leap frog. Jackie jumps over Harry, and when Harry jumps over Jackie, Harry lands in the big puddle from "Olympic Games." Jackie also does the best financially as he earns 90 cents for receiving one punch. Farina really should have held out for more than the one cent offered by Joe. Somewhere in there Jackie's father is said to be a swivel engineer, which makes Jackie qualified to operate the controls. Farina misses a chance or two to get off the pipe-like thing when it does reach the ground, only to have Jackie raise it again a moment later. In a display of annoyance, Joe pulls Harry's hat down over his head, almost causing Harry to walk off a beam several stories up. The construction sequence is the highlight, as Wheezer's hitting every adult who comes by gets tiresome after not very long. Which reminds me that Wheezer's parents aren't doing a good job raising him by giving in to his desire to punch everyone. In any event, I hope I get the opportunity to watch this again in the future.
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Post by ymymeatemup on Mar 4, 2017 0:22:30 GMT -5
YOUNG SHERLOCKS (1922)
Things I like: Ernie's Tall Tale. Making up the bulk of this short is the rescue of kidnap victim Peggy Cartwright by the series' only long-term contractees at this point: Ernie Morrison and Jackie Condon, who more or less dominate all activity. Though there are flaws along the way, this extended sequence is adventurous enough to establish this episode as the best so far in this young series. Freetown. Capping off Ernie's tall tale is another yarn about a town made entirely for kids. Looking at the establishing long-shot, it's clear that the studio didn't exactly splurge on this part, but it still looks like a fun place. The Animals. Peggy's pony, Gee Whiz, is smart enough to understand the idea of carrying the ransom note back to her parents. More impressive, though, is Dinah the Mule, who carries the biggest load towards subduing the kidnappers. She even wears a disguise.
Things I don't like: The Prospectors. I refer to the earliest scene in the episode, in which Ernie tries to extract milk from a nanny goat to feed Farina. Compared to what follows, this rather long sequence feels very much like padding. The J.J.J.'s. It may be a totally innocent club, but the hoods worn by its members make these boys even more squirm-inducing than the Cluck Cluck Klams from "Lodge Night."
Grade: B
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Post by ymymeatemup on Mar 20, 2017 22:40:58 GMT -5
WILD POSES (1933)
Things I like: Gay Seabrook (and Emerson Treacy). In a film with Franklin Pangborn, it's amazing that he isn't the funniest character, but Seabrook's dingbat wife practically puts Gracie Allen to shame, and is actually more to the forefront than in the earlier "Bedtime Worries," of which this episode is almost a sequel. It seems that every aspect of still photography provides an opportunity for her airheadedness. Treacy is again her long-suffering husband, and handles his persona of a young Depression-era head-of-the-family quite well, but in this film, he's clearly the fourth funniest person around. Overall, I'd have to say that if the Roach studio had decided to take this route, a series featuring Spanky and these two as his parents would have been a lot of fun. Spanky. In one of his all-time great appearances, he runs the gamut from grouchily refusing to have his picture taken, to showing sincere childhood fear of the unknown, to exhibiting an uncommonly photogenic smile in those brief moments when a photo can actually be taken, to shaking his head derisively at his mother's dimwittedness, to reacting in a similar manner to Pangborn's prissiness, all while being the ripe old age of five. Franklin Pangborn. He was the perfect choice for this role, and this is never more obvious than when he's demonstrating to Spanky how to smile. It's difficult not to feel sorry for him, though, as he's not at fault for all the equipment failures, and Spanky's folks never do anything about the repeated punches in the nose from their toddler - but this is a two-reel comedy from the '30s, so whatever. Most Everything Else. The incidental music from Leroy Shield is relatively abundant in this episode, which is always a good thing. We also have an unexpected cameo by Roach's biggest stars, Laurel & Hardy - though the surprise factor wore off shortly after 1933. It isn't exactly the best moment of their careers, but there's nothing like old friends showing up out of the blue.
Things I don't like: Not Much. This is one of those episodes where the additional Our Gang kids are somewhat superfluous. This doesn't bother me too much, since the four main players are all so solidly cast. However, Stymie, Tommy and Jerry don't have much of a reason to be present other than messing up Pangborn's equipment. It's not like they're terribly funny, and the studio probably could have come up with another way to make the same things happen even without them. I guess I feel that if they're in the film, then put them to better use, and if they're not that important, then let them stay home. Of course, after this, the Our Gang series took a break for several months, and returned with a whole bunch of new kids and a new director, and the Treacy/Seabrook idea disappeared. The high quality of the episodes over the next few years would seem to indicate that this was the right move. The only other thing I can complain about is repeating Pangborn's reaction of "Playing?!?" which I'd assume was an error in continuity or editing.
Grade: A-
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Post by ymymeatemup on Apr 5, 2017 23:51:41 GMT -5
YOUR OWN BACK YARD (1925)
Things I like: Farina. I think this just might be my favorite Farina episode. Not only is he the object of our sympathies in this short, but his acting chops are downright startling for someone who hadn't reached the age of five just yet. Nowhere is this more apparent than when he switches from crying over the practical joke Mickey has played on him to laughing as Mickey is himself the victim of a prank. The Cinematography. It isn't often that the camerawork in these shorts draws attention to itself, but there are at least three moments in this film when it is notable: the moment when we're introduced to Farina as he swings back and forth on his front gate (in and out of camera range), the merry-go-round technique used as Farina dizzily sees the world spinning around him; and the terrific zoom-in as we see Farina in his new duds. A Few Other Things. Joe has a nice 'running' gag as he speeds home to tell his mother that she's going to have a baby. The gag in which the chickens have eaten the Mexican jumping beans, only to bounce around the yard themselves, is a bit pedestrian, but it's totally saved by the bouncing eggs.
Things I don't like: Farina's Mom. Unfortunately, she's portrayed as a typically stereotypical black character who's spooked by the jumping beans, and even moreso by the chickens and eggs bouncing around. This is somewhat tolerable until her face turns white as a ghost. Not Much Else. Some of the material in this short doesn't rise above the typical fair of most silent comedies, such as the tug-of-war with the chickens, but the strong performance from Farina and the extra effort put into the production still places this episode ahead of most of the others. It is somewhat painful watching the way the older kids treat Farina, though his eventual triumph compensates for this to an extent. The practical joke Mickey plays on him, as clever as it is, would probably seem a lot funnier if it had been played on somebody who actually deserved it.
Grade: A-
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