Short Musical (in Technicolor)

 

 

 (imdb)

PIRATE PARTY ON CATALINA ISLAND-1935-This technicolor musical short starts off with a big band where all the musicians are wearing masks of famous comedians (Laurel & Hardy, Chaplin, Joe E Brown). Then Chester Morris (dressed as a pirate) narrates. With appearances by Cary Grant, Randolph Scott, Errol Flynn, Mickey Rooney, Marion Davies, Leon Errol, Robert Armstrong and some banjo playing, singing, dancing and actor Buddy Rogers and his orchestra. The uncredited director is Gene Burdette.

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Carradine and Chaney together..... in a Western?

FRONTIER MARSHALL-1939-Randolph Scott stars as Wyatt Earp who brings law and order to the lawless town of Tombstone.

Caesar Romero is Doc Halliday who despite his reputation becomes friends with Earp. John Carradine is a saloon owner who is also responsible for some stagecoach robberies. His gang includes Joe Sawyer and Lon Chaney Jr. (the same year he was in OF MICE AND MEN). There's a lot of plot involving Doc and his wife (Nancy Kelly) and a chorus girl (Binnie Barnes) but in the end history is rewritten with Earp going solo to see justice prevail at the OK corral.

Although there are several plot holes and clichéd dialogue this is a very entertaining western made 7 years before John Ford's more famous MY DARLING CLEMENTINE.

Frontier Marshall was director by Allan Dwan who's career dates back to 1911. He made two other movies in 1939. THE 3 MUSKETEERS and THE GORILLA, both featuring The Ritz Bros.

Thanks to my friend Tony for giving me this!

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3 Quickies. It's a Busy Weekend!

CINDERELLA-2006-This is not based on the famous fairy tale that features evil step sisters. This is a Korean made sort of horror film about a girl named Hyunsu who’s mother is a plastic surgeon. She does cosmetic surgery on some of her friends who eventually wind up dead. It has some good effects but overall the plot is confusing and the ending is a disappointment.



A DIRTY CARNIVAL-2006-This is an very well made Scorese’ influenced South Korean gangster film. Byung-doo is a low level mobster who seems more like a doormat than a thug but after murdering a lawyer for a his boss he slowly and viciously gains more power and becomes more ruthless. His childhood friend who is now a filmmaker uses Byung’s knowledge to make his own gangster film and this causes problems. There’s several violent fights but it was a little too long for me.



THE TALL T-1957-Randolph Scott is a loner cowboy who runs up against outlaw Richard Boone and his two goons (Skip Homeier & Henry Silva) when hitching a stage coach ride with some newlyweds (Maureen O’Sullivan & John Hubbard). This is the second of seven “adult” westerns Scott made with director Budd Boetticher from 1956-1960. It’s psychological, violent and very cool! Arthur Hunnicutt is a doomed stage driver. Burt Kennedy wrote the script based on a story by Elmore Leonard.

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Seven

SEVEN MEN FROM NOW-1956-Great but overlooked Western by the underrated Budd Boetticher features Randolph Scott as a former sheriff out for revenge on the seven bank robbers who killed his wife. After killing 2 of them in the opening scene he meets up with a couple heading for California. Lee Marvin and Don Red Barry show up looking for the stolen gold the robbers are suppose to have. Meanwhile the remaining robbers wait in town for the seventh man to deliver the loot.

SMFN is one of several unusual westerns Boetticher made in the late ‘50’s (several of them produced by John Wayne and also featuring Scott). The directing and acting are very good and the script (by future director Burt Kennedy) features some good dialogue with touches of sarcastic humor (mostly from Marvin in a standout role) and sexual tension between Scott and leading lady Gail Russell as well several plot twists. John Wayne wanted to play the Scott role but was busy doing THE SEARCHERS (for John Ford who almost directed).

SMFN also features John Larch, Fred Graham (later the sheriff in THE GIANT GILA MONSTER), John Beradino, Pamela Duncan (ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS) and in one scene Stuart Whitman. After many years out of circulation TCM finally showed this and a very interesting documentary on Boetticher.

Now all TCM has to do is show THE TALL T, COMMANCHE STATION and the rest of his westerns!

Note: I just found out TCM has shown COMMANCHE STATION so I guess I screwd up!

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Old Zoo Revue

MURDERS IN THE ZOO-1933-The always great Lionel Atwill is a millionaire who collects animals for a zoo. The movie opens with him sewing a man's mouth shut for trying to kiss his wife! Kathleen Burke (Lota The Panther Woman in ISLAND OF LOST SOULS the same year) is Atwill's philandering wife, plotting to runaway with John Lodge. Randolph Scott (who had an un-billed "beast man" role in ISLAND OF LOST SOULS) is a zoo lab technican working with snakes. The sinister story however suffers from the comical antics of Charles Ruggles as a fast talking press agent. Like after fainting from fright he says "Is there a good laundry in town?" Atwill gives a party at the zoo where the guests are surrounded by wild animals but it's ruined when Lodge is bitten by a snake and dies (how convenient!).

Atwill gives a terrific performance as the high class but obsessed husband who eventually throws Burke in an alligator pit and pins two murders on Scott's character. His demise is pretty memorable too. Gail Patrick plays Scott's love interest/assistant.

Atwill made the classic MYSTERY IN THE WAX MUSEUM and THE VAMPIRE BAT the same year. John Lodge ended his career playing Luther The Bersek in the low budget horror film THE WITCHMAKER in 1969.

Strangely director A. Edward Sutherland later directed WC Fields in POPPY (1936), Laurel & Hardy in THE FLYING DEUCES (1939) and Abbott & Costello's film debut ONE NIGHT IN THE TROPICS in 1940!
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Three Again Rambling

I've always liked the ZATOICHI series featuring Shintaro Katsu as the blind swordsman- gambler-masseur who always finds trouble while helping the down trodden in Feudal Jaoan. Many of the storylines are essentially the same: Z comes to town and runs afoul of the local crime boss and his gang, he meets someone (usually a woman) in need and helps them, exposes crooked gambling, slaughters all the bad guys, leaves alone and disillusioned. It's Katsu's performance in the lead that makes the series however. He is gentle, soft spoken, humble and extremely deadly.






I'm not a fan of Robert Rodriguez. It's hard to like ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO (2003) with it's meandering story, over the top violence and self indulgent "Tarantino inspired" direction. It completes the trilogy started with the far superior EL MARIACHI and is partially saved by Johnny Depp as the weird "3 armed" CIA agent but Antonio Banderas is laughable as the legendary hitman who whispers a lot and rarely shows any emotion. The interesting, wasted cast includes Reuben Blades, Wilhem Defoe, Mickey Rourke, Ceech Marin, Salma Hayek and Danny Trejo. Pedro Armendariz Jr. plays the corrupt "El Presidente".



BUFFALO STAMPEDE from 1933 is an early western effort from Henry Hathaway (his third movie) about the troubles brewing over the hunting of buffalo and the trading of their pelts. Randolph Scott, Buster Crabbe (who was the lead in TARZAN THE FEARLESS the same year) and Harry Carey are the bickering leads. Also with Raymond Hatton, Noah Berry, Judith Allen, Barton McLane and Monte Blue. It's based on a story by Zane Grey and also known as THE THUNDERING HERD.

Scott was in ISLAND OF LOST SOULS, MURDERS IN THE ZOO and SUPERNATURAL the same year. Hathaway would make THE TRAIL OF THE LONESOME PINE (the first Technicolor film shot outside of a studio) in 1936 (the same year Buster Crabbe debuted as Flash Gordon )and then better bigger budgeted Hollywood films.

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