01/22/07
Moran of the Lady Letty (1922)
Somewhat entertaining silent melodrama from director George Melford who went on to do the Spanish version of
Dracula. A rich playboy (Rudolph Valentino) is liquored up and kidnapped onto a rough shipping boat with a no nonsense captain (Walter Long). The two feued at first but they quickly become friends until they rescue a woman (Dorothy Dalton) at sea and the captain has rather mean plans including rape. This was my first film with Valentino and after hearing so much about his legendary looks, I must say I didn't get much of a romantic feel so at first I'm a little puzzled over his reputation as a ladies man. Perhaps he just didn't have any chemistry with the leading lady who really wasn't all that interesting here. The film runs a short 71-minutes and includes a wonderful, action filled fight but outside of this everything is rather bland. The film is certainly watchable and entertaining but nothing much comes out of it. Long is certainly the scene stealing and you might remember him from some later day Laurel and Hardy films as well as playing the rapist (in blackface) in
The Birth of a Nation. On another note, it's quite clear that several scenes here influenced the much better
Captains Courageous.
Amos 'n' Andy: Anatomy of a Controversy (1986)
Interesting if brief documentary about the history of Amos 'n Andy from their radio show to the controversial 1951 CBS show, which was eventually canceled two years into its run due to the NAACP protest. Redd Foxx, Jesse Jackson and various others are interviewed about the show and we see clips from several episodes and I must say that I found the show pretty innocent and at times downright funny. As the host says, Amos and Andy weren't calling each other the "N" word nor was this show meant to be some sort of documentary. The show was made for laughs and as a comedy it worked. Having gone through some of the race films from this period I've gotten a better understand of why some would be offended but I personally can't see the issue with this show. I think it's a damn shame that the NAACP had this show canceled considering there were no other shows to feature a black cast. This was the first and I guess it paid the price as being the first black show. As it states in the documentary, this show put black people to work in front of and behind the camera so to take these jobs away is just downright stupid IMO. Especially when you consider the highest paid black actor was Al Jolson who was white! This documentary runs just under an hour so they never go into great details but there's an interesting story to be told here and hopefully something better will come along. It's funny to note that this show hasn't been seen since 1966 and remains so untouchable today. In fact, CBS has totally washed their hands of the show that they actually gave bootleggers permission to sell the show without any legal issues.
01/23/07
Gangster Story (1958)
Walter Matthau directed this film, his only stint in the director's chair. Matthau plays a hardened bank robber/cop killer who tries to hide in a small town but mafia dudes come chasing him. The plot of this film really makes no sense and the performances are all rather bad. This is an ultra low budget film that seems to have been filmed without sound and then later dubbed in. I'd recommend everyone watch this film at least once to see the dumbest bank heist in the history of film.
Canoeman's Holiday (1956)
Short film about rafting trips in St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada. This film basically just shows off the scenery, which is beautiful but offers nothing else.
Souvenirs of Death (1948)
Extremely interesting short about how automatic weapons used by Germans during WW2 made their way back to America and into the hands of the underworld. Apparently this was a big problem back in the day and this documentary short, narration from the gun's point of view, does a great job at showing the issues of gun control decades before it became a real issue. Directed by Crane Wilbur who would go on to director
It! The Terror From Beyond Space.
Bill of Rights, The (1939)
Boring short from Warner that does have the added quality of being in Technicolor. This documentary tells the history of The Bill of Rights but is so overdramatic that it's hard to take serious.
...I'm a movie fraud. 
Having gone through 90+ Jess Franco films, 30+ D'Amato films and countless "Z" horror movies, I'm lucky to be alive.