I'm crabby today. Really crabby and nothing seems to be helping with my attitude. :-( I'm just not sleeping and have a whole bunch of crap going on in my head. Again, first world problems.
For months I've been meaning to have a good old slapstick day. Since I'm crabby and have NO ATTENTION span again today....slapstick it is. Maybe it'll cheer me up. Prolly not though.
I have to be in the mood for slapstick, because let's face it, it's ridiculous. It's supposed to be. If I'm in a pissy mood or impatient, I can be too critical of it and just think it's stupid. Oooooo there's that pissy mood. However, one of the things I really like about slapstick is that it requires no concentration. Even if you lose track of the story line, which I'm guilty of all of the time even with talkies, you can still get a lot out of the film just based on the gags. The story lines are secondary. Oh yeah, and the films are short. Really short. Anyway today could go either way, so let's see!
I choose Snub Pollard today. I didn't know much about him other than the fact that he was Australian. I have a TON of his shorts. I bought all these silent "marathon" and " comedy collection" DVDs and he's all over them. So I've got a lot to choose from. Light, easy, cartoon comedy. Charley Chase and James Parrott are all over these too. Their presence kept distracting me. I've got to have a Charley Chase day.
The shorts don't have a lot of stunts. Not a lot of creative effects. Simple. Funny. I have to say nothing really unique. But I really liked Snub. There was something about him. I wanted to watch him and I wanted his character to succeed. I think that's where his skill lies. He was really likable.
I did so love his mustache too. Every comedian seemed to have something that identified them and for Snub it was his 'stache. In fact, later in his career, he ditched it to set himself apart from...himself? I guess that's the best way to say it.
A lot of the films were very Laurel and Hardy. Once I started reading up on him, I found out that they were supposed to be. He worked with Marvin Loback as a knock off Laurel and Hardy team. They directly copied them. I don't know how I feel about that... And Marvin's nickname was "Fat". I don't know how I feel about that either. He died quite young, only 41 but I couldn't find a cause of death. He and Snub actually had some pretty good chemistry. I just wish the copycat stuff wasn't there. It was irritating and distracting. I kept going, "Where have I seen this?" It was that close to Laurel and Hardy. In some scenes it looks like they were even in the same location!
The one that was really awesome was called "It's A Gift". You can find it on You Tube. Snub plays an inventor, and his inventions are just so clever. "An invention for every occasion." This short also features a magnet driven car. I'm sure we've all seen them in cartoons growing up. The character gets in a vehicle and hold up a huge magnet and gets pulled around that way. I'm sure this is the first appearance. Copied many times since! If you're going to see one Snub Pollard short, choose this one!
Snub had some pretty cool roles later in his career. He was in Miracle of 43th Street, AND the one I think is the coolest is Singing In The Rain. He was the guy that Gene Kelly gives his umbrella to at the end of the song after the cop stops him from dancing(stupid cop). Of course I had to go and watch it. You can't tell that it's Snub. Can't even see his face. I still think it's a fabulous cred! ;-)
Great Sunday! And yes, I'm not so crabby anymore! Thanks Snub!
Love,
Olive
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Eleanor Boardman for Silent Cinema Sunday
I so couldn't decide what to watch today. My focus has been off again lately. I have so many plans, then they just go all over the place and I get nothing done. I'm scattered. Ask me how many books I'm in the middle of reading right now....it's terrible!
King Vidor popped in my head this morning though, so I just jumped on it. Couple of months ago I scored a copy of The Crowd. I had to import it from Korea of all places! But it was only like 5 bucks! I was a bit worried about the intertitles. I imported a copy of The Adventures of Prince Achmed from Korea earlier this year and the intertitles were all in Korean. Ok I gotta take that intertitles thing back and be honest. The DEFAULT intertitles were in Korean. I didn't check the settings. And yes I watched it anyway, and yes I feel pretty stupid. When I find time, I'll watch it again properly. It was really pretty though. :-) If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. Especially considering the skill it took to make it.
That is what I love about old films. People had to figure out how to do things. A computer didn't do it for them. You had to be skilled and smart and creative. I think people are losing that. No one has to figure out how to do anything anymore. It's making us stupid. We're all going to end up like those chubby lazy humans in WALL-E. ::::sigh:::: Rant done. Sorry, not sorry.
The Crowd was everything everyone has said about it. Beautifully shot. Particularly the scenes that show New York. Brilliant! Draws you into the story and really contextualizes it from the start. The ending does the same, pulls you out of the story and really conveys Vidor's message: we are not important and we have no control over anything.
James Murray is the star. He only had a few films. 2 of the ones that intrigue me the most are lost. I HATE THAT. Leaves my OCD completely unrequited. And of course, two of the lost ones are Lon Chaney films. I hate that even more. All of Lon's work should have been encased and preserved and shown on a daily basis. What I wouldn't give to see The Miracle Man.....
Vidor apparently spotted James Murray on the MGM lot and offered him the lead in The Crowd. He didn't show up to the audition and Vidor tracked him down. He really saw something in him and wanted him bad. He was right about Murray. His performance is amazing. Really conveys the complexity of his character. It really is a roller coaster ride of a role. So much is there. James Murray died by the age of 35. He was found drowned in the Hudson River. It was never decided if it was suicide or an accident. He had descended into alcoholism and was basically a vagrant. Interesting side note: he was begging on the street one day and Vidor passed him. Recognizing him, he offered him the role on Our Daily Bread, which is the sequel to The Crowd. Not wanting pity, Murray turned it down. He'd take money, but not a job? Strange bird.
Vidor seemed to be a very Baconian director. Yep, that's what I'm calling it. My blog, my rules. From what I've read, he just let things happen. Let the situation guide him to the conclusion. I suppose this is the same message that was coming out of The Crowd. If it was supposed to happen, it would. I'm sure that it stems from the fact that he was a Christian Scientist.
Eleanor Boardman was the leading lady. She was also Vidor's wife. This colored my opinion of her at first. The wife gets the good role and all that. BUT she was awesome! Almost too pretty for the role, she had a lot to prove. And she did. Particularly the scene where she tells Murray she's expecting. It's just wonderful.
So I got intrigued by Eleanor at this point and decided to watch The Circle. I dunno, maybe it's my short attention span, but I just couldn't get into this one. I loved that Joan Crawford was in the beginning. I love Joan. Really love Joan. She's too much. HA! That's about all I liked about this movie. I just didn't care what happened to the characters. Nothing pulled me into the story line. Maybe I'll give it another chance later when I'm a bit more focused. As for now, meh. Joan is awesome.
I had time for one more, so I picked Souls For Sale. It has a LOT of cameos in it. I like cameos. As I'm learning more and more about movies, cameos thrill me. Cause I know who people are now! I can't tell you how excited I was the last time I watched Sunset Blvd. I got every single reference to old actors. Sounds stupid, but it made me happy. I guess before I just glanced over the references and didn't pay any attention to them. And in Show People, the William S Hart cameo was my favorite part. So I had hope for this movie. Even if I didn't like it, the cameos would get me through! Turned out to be a wonderful movie though. Really really good. Eleanor is absolutely charming. Pulled me right into the plot. It did remind me a lot of Show People, only with like, a killer running around. And yes, I LOVED the cameos. Snitz Edwards! Gaaaa!
I was also interested to see a film with Lew Cody in it. I don't think I've ever seen one? Wait, I have, he was in Don't Change Your Husband. Guess he wasn't very memorable in it? Who is memorable next to Swanson though? Unless your Valetino, you gonna fade into the background baby and I won't even know you're there. I know Lew Cody from his marriage to Mabel Normand. I believe they got married on a drunken bet and stayed married until she died of TB(cough cough....drugs). That's an awesome reason to get married. I'm sorry, but it is. And they were friends, so who cares? Besides, it makes for a great story!
Aileen Pringle is in this one too. I looked at her IMDB and apparently I've seen a lot of her films, but only the ones where she had teeny tiny roles. I have to go back and watch for her again. I'm surprised I didn't notice her in them. She's quite striking. She was on board the Onieda when Thomas Ince died of heart failure(cough cough...was shot by WRH).
I can't help it I love rumors and gossip. Sue me.
Considering how much I liked The Crowd and Souls for Sale, I will be giving The Circle another shot. Everyone seems to love this movie, so there has to be something there, right? Maybe I was just throwing a moody. Or maybe I just because all about Joan and couldn't focus on anything else once she was gone. ::::shrug:::::
So that was my Silent Cinema Sunday!
Love,
Olive
King Vidor popped in my head this morning though, so I just jumped on it. Couple of months ago I scored a copy of The Crowd. I had to import it from Korea of all places! But it was only like 5 bucks! I was a bit worried about the intertitles. I imported a copy of The Adventures of Prince Achmed from Korea earlier this year and the intertitles were all in Korean. Ok I gotta take that intertitles thing back and be honest. The DEFAULT intertitles were in Korean. I didn't check the settings. And yes I watched it anyway, and yes I feel pretty stupid. When I find time, I'll watch it again properly. It was really pretty though. :-) If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. Especially considering the skill it took to make it.
That is what I love about old films. People had to figure out how to do things. A computer didn't do it for them. You had to be skilled and smart and creative. I think people are losing that. No one has to figure out how to do anything anymore. It's making us stupid. We're all going to end up like those chubby lazy humans in WALL-E. ::::sigh:::: Rant done. Sorry, not sorry.
The Crowd was everything everyone has said about it. Beautifully shot. Particularly the scenes that show New York. Brilliant! Draws you into the story and really contextualizes it from the start. The ending does the same, pulls you out of the story and really conveys Vidor's message: we are not important and we have no control over anything.
James Murray is the star. He only had a few films. 2 of the ones that intrigue me the most are lost. I HATE THAT. Leaves my OCD completely unrequited. And of course, two of the lost ones are Lon Chaney films. I hate that even more. All of Lon's work should have been encased and preserved and shown on a daily basis. What I wouldn't give to see The Miracle Man.....
Vidor apparently spotted James Murray on the MGM lot and offered him the lead in The Crowd. He didn't show up to the audition and Vidor tracked him down. He really saw something in him and wanted him bad. He was right about Murray. His performance is amazing. Really conveys the complexity of his character. It really is a roller coaster ride of a role. So much is there. James Murray died by the age of 35. He was found drowned in the Hudson River. It was never decided if it was suicide or an accident. He had descended into alcoholism and was basically a vagrant. Interesting side note: he was begging on the street one day and Vidor passed him. Recognizing him, he offered him the role on Our Daily Bread, which is the sequel to The Crowd. Not wanting pity, Murray turned it down. He'd take money, but not a job? Strange bird.
Vidor seemed to be a very Baconian director. Yep, that's what I'm calling it. My blog, my rules. From what I've read, he just let things happen. Let the situation guide him to the conclusion. I suppose this is the same message that was coming out of The Crowd. If it was supposed to happen, it would. I'm sure that it stems from the fact that he was a Christian Scientist.
Eleanor Boardman was the leading lady. She was also Vidor's wife. This colored my opinion of her at first. The wife gets the good role and all that. BUT she was awesome! Almost too pretty for the role, she had a lot to prove. And she did. Particularly the scene where she tells Murray she's expecting. It's just wonderful.
So I got intrigued by Eleanor at this point and decided to watch The Circle. I dunno, maybe it's my short attention span, but I just couldn't get into this one. I loved that Joan Crawford was in the beginning. I love Joan. Really love Joan. She's too much. HA! That's about all I liked about this movie. I just didn't care what happened to the characters. Nothing pulled me into the story line. Maybe I'll give it another chance later when I'm a bit more focused. As for now, meh. Joan is awesome.
I had time for one more, so I picked Souls For Sale. It has a LOT of cameos in it. I like cameos. As I'm learning more and more about movies, cameos thrill me. Cause I know who people are now! I can't tell you how excited I was the last time I watched Sunset Blvd. I got every single reference to old actors. Sounds stupid, but it made me happy. I guess before I just glanced over the references and didn't pay any attention to them. And in Show People, the William S Hart cameo was my favorite part. So I had hope for this movie. Even if I didn't like it, the cameos would get me through! Turned out to be a wonderful movie though. Really really good. Eleanor is absolutely charming. Pulled me right into the plot. It did remind me a lot of Show People, only with like, a killer running around. And yes, I LOVED the cameos. Snitz Edwards! Gaaaa!
I was also interested to see a film with Lew Cody in it. I don't think I've ever seen one? Wait, I have, he was in Don't Change Your Husband. Guess he wasn't very memorable in it? Who is memorable next to Swanson though? Unless your Valetino, you gonna fade into the background baby and I won't even know you're there. I know Lew Cody from his marriage to Mabel Normand. I believe they got married on a drunken bet and stayed married until she died of TB(cough cough....drugs). That's an awesome reason to get married. I'm sorry, but it is. And they were friends, so who cares? Besides, it makes for a great story!
Aileen Pringle is in this one too. I looked at her IMDB and apparently I've seen a lot of her films, but only the ones where she had teeny tiny roles. I have to go back and watch for her again. I'm surprised I didn't notice her in them. She's quite striking. She was on board the Onieda when Thomas Ince died of heart failure(cough cough...was shot by WRH).
I can't help it I love rumors and gossip. Sue me.
Considering how much I liked The Crowd and Souls for Sale, I will be giving The Circle another shot. Everyone seems to love this movie, so there has to be something there, right? Maybe I was just throwing a moody. Or maybe I just because all about Joan and couldn't focus on anything else once she was gone. ::::shrug:::::
So that was my Silent Cinema Sunday!
Love,
Olive
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