John Nesbitt’s Passing Parade No.64: Goodbye, Miss Turlock (1948) (short) Dir: Edward L. Cahn
Production: MGM
Sentimental nostalgia piece lamenting the demise of the one-room schoolhouse caused by the rise of the giant union schools, themselves made possible by rural highways and busing. Nesbitt takes us back to the turn of the century and his warm remembrances of his fellow students, with names like ‘Irish’ and ‘Stinky’, and the stern but understanding schoolmarm that taught them, Miss Turlock. Miss Turlock represents the kind of teacher many of us fondly appreciate long after the fact; strict, but knowing just how far to go before the student could get resentful, and her acknowledgments could always manage to evince gratitude and respect. Evocative and sweet, if not particularly dynamic storytelling.
out of 4
A Pete Smith Specialty: Ice Aces (1948) (short) Dir: David Barclay
Production: MGM
Pete takes us backstage at the Ice Capades where we see the whole all-star roster in action practicing their routines, including stars Donna Atwood and Bobby Specht, Eric ‘The Comedy Cut-Up’ Waite, Alan Konrad, “icedom’s daffy duo” of Lynam and Jackson, Chuck Slagel and Johnny Flanagan. Yes, I said Johnny Flanagan!! Okay, I have no idea who these people are, but the Ice Capades was big business back in the day so give them their due. Atwood was known for her speed in cross-foot spinning and a typical spin of hers is broken down here in slo-mo to reveal an average of 240 spins per minute, or 4 per second. Specht was the Men’s National Champion of 1942 and here he skates opposite Atwood in a pairs act. Konrad was known for his acrobatics which he displays. Waite and the team of Lynam and Jackson provide slapstick skating stunts. For my money, the star of this show is Slagel, who does his trick skating (jumping tables, etc.) on 18-inch high stilt skates. He also teams up with Flanagan on some dangerous moves. I normally don’t have any time for figure skating but I can’t say I was unentertained by this.
out of 4
By Indian Post (1919) (short) Dir: John Ford
Production: Universal Film
13 minute fragment of a John Ford two-reeler whose existence, according to the R2 compilation set it’s included in, is allegedly owed to a single collector. Not only did said collector ‘save’ the film, he supposedly also trimmed the first seven minutes to make the film play better (!!). Silent film cowboy star Pete Morrison plays Jode McWilliams, the foreman of the Circle O ranch, who finds himself in the dangerous position of being in love with Peg Owens (Magda Lane), his boss’s (frequent Ford actor Duke Lee) daughter. Pa Owens does not approve of the union. When a mischievous Indian takes a love letter of Jode’s, after it was posted for delivery by his fellow ranch hands unbeknownst to him, and brings it to Miss Peggy, Pa finds out. This sets up a showdown involving Jode, Peg, Pa, a helpful parson and some quick thinking from Jode’s pal, Chub (played by another silent star, Hoot Gibson).
Not especially distinguished, and the missing footage obviously leads to an occasional awkwardness in the story, but Morrison is a somewhat enjoyable presence, there’s a funny moment or two, and there is a nice backward tracking shot of Jode and his crew on horseback in pursuit of the ‘thief’.
out of 4
“Hollywood”: Episode 1: Pioneers (1980) (TV) Dir: Kevin Brownlow and David Gill
Production: Thames Television
Filmmaker/historian Kevin Brownlow teamed up with David Gill to produce this 13 hour series that expounded on his landmark book on American silent film, The Parade’s Gone By. The idea was to document the silent era with interviews of many of its surviving participants; actors, directors and craftsmen. Another idea, presumably, was to make you seek out and watch silent films, which you will want to do after watching this. Narrated by James Mason.
The series begins by trying to challenge your perception of what ‘silent film’ means. To many people, it is a poor print, jerky sped-up action, “slightly absurd” as Mason says, a twinkling piano accompaniment--in other words, a poor presentation. But that was not the experience for the silent film audience. To prove it, we are plunged into a stunning and thrilling sequence, set to a stirring orchestral score, from the 1926 film, THE FIRE BRIGADE. And we are told, this isn’t a classic, it’s just a regular release from a big studio. Then we take a tour through a typical movie palace, a place where many of the people who saw THE FIRE BRIGADE would have seen it, something the likes of which can hardly be imagined today. Next we are shown an aerial sequence from WINGS (1927), a sea battle from BEN-HUR (1925), an ingenious stunt from the early 2-strip Technicolor film, THE BLACK PIRATE (1926), the climatic scene from THE WIND (1928) and the incredible spectacle of the flood from NOAH’S ARK (1928). You are ready to forgive some of the interviewees for their assertions that film took a large step backwards with the invention of sound. Actually, you are ready to believe them.
After this lengthy introductory segment, the episode gets into some history. We start with the origins of film, with loops like ANNABELLE BUTTERFLY DANCE (1894) which played in little boxes at arcades. Then, just when it seemed like a fad on the way out, comes the phenomenon of THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY in 1903 and its importance as a 12-minute long film. American cinema soon falls into a rut, however, and its product is distinguished only by its relative crudity compared to the sophisticated and technically advanced cinemas of Italy, England and France (as seen in the 1907 Pathé Frères production, THE RED SPECTRE). Another important event is Sarah Bernhardt’s role in QUEEN ELIZABETH (1912), which helped abolish some of the stigma of acting in ‘flickers’ compared to the stage. It is the work of D.W. Griffith, with his cameraman Billy Bitzer, at Biograph that eventually puts American film on the map (as we see by the editing in THE MUSKETEERS OF PIG ALLEY (1912), AN UNSEEN ENEMY (1912) and the same year’s THE GIRL AND HER TRUST) and inspires other filmmakers to match him and devise their own innovations (noted is the cutting and split-screens of Lois Webber’s SUSPENSE, 1913). Griffith would eventually be influenced by the success of the Italian epics (like QUO VADIS?, 1912) into attempting his own longer features. A difference in philosophy over this at Biograph lead to Griffith going his own way, and eventually producing THE BIRTH OF A NATION (1915) himself. This episode ends with a contextual look at Griffith, BIRTH, and its reception and impact.
The lifeblood of this series is the interviews, and we get some great ones here. In addition to King Vidor, Jackie Coogan, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Lillian Gish, Blanche Sweet, Viola Dana, Anita Loos and Adela Rogers St. John, there is famous theater organist Gaylord Carter talking about the movie palaces; BEN-HUR art director Arnold Gillespie describing how they bought and skinned two goats to serve as some kind of flesh to be seen for a shot where a Roman soldier is tied to the bow of a ship that rams through the hull of another ship; Hal Roach tells a hilarious story about trying to secure the use of a house for Laurel and Hardy to basically destroy for BIG BUSINESS (1929); Byron Haskin talks about seeing Michael Curtiz direct the flood scene in NOAH’S ARK and watching him throw stuff at the extras to stop them from panicking or freezing; Dolores Costello describing the same film and seeing a bloodied extra leaning against a wall and telling her he wasn’t hurt enough to make the first 39 ambulances on the scene; ‘Broncho Billy’ Anderson talks about his roles in THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY and how the crowd reacted when he saw it in a theater; and Karl Brown, an assistant cameraman on BIRTH, talks about opening night and how he knew something different was happening when he saw the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the orchestra pit. There’s even an archival clip of Griffith in 1930 reflecting on BIRTH. It’s all quite priceless, Carl Davis’ score included.
out of 4
