Josh's Blind Buys: Watching The Unseen Collection (1 Viewer)

[Josh Steinberg]

Fun fact for you, Josh:

A famous and rather large earthquake (centered in Long Beach) hit while this was in production (on March 10, 1933) and is actually caught on camera in an outtake that has been preserved all these years!



Reportedly, at the Warner lot in Burbank, Busby Berkley was shooting the famous neon violins sequence from GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 at the exact same moment and, since the soundstage was already plunged into darkness for the neon effect, it caused pandemonium on set because the girls (plugged in to electrical outlets) didn't know where to run in the dark. That hasn't been preserved on film, though.

I've seen that clip before. Actually it's funny you mention this. I just finished watching the A&E Biography special that was included as a bonus feature, and they said the footage was a hoax. Apparently when the earthquake hit, they were fine at the studio, but Fields recognized an opportunity for publicity. They then faked a take being interrupted by an "earthquake" (really just the cameraman shaking the camera), and then released that bit of film in a newsreel. It helped put the movie on the radar and the movie was a hit when released.

...or so the documentary claims, at any rate.

If the footage is real, it's an amazing piece of history to have. If the story that it was faked is true, that's somehow also an amazing moment in Fields history. I genuinely don't know which option I'd prefer!

 

[DavidJ]

I still haven't seen Mulan. A couple of my students were surprised by that and highly recommended it. I need to do something about that when I get the time.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I don't want to make it seem that I was that down on Mulan. I just think it's less good than The Lion King. It's an easy, fun watch and even if it doesn't change your life, it won't ruin it either.

 

[TJPC]

Fun fact for you, Josh:
Apparently they have discovered that although this may have happened, the out take was later staged.

A famous and rather large earthquake (centered in Long Beach) hit while this was in production (on March 10, 1933) and is actually caught on camera in an outtake that has been preserved all these years!



Reportedly, at the Warner lot in Burbank, Busby Berkley was shooting the famous neon violins sequence from GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 at the exact same moment and, since the soundstage was already plunged into darkness for the neon effect, it caused pandemonium on set because the girls (plugged in to electrical outlets) didn't know where to run in the dark. That hasn't been preserved on film, though.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

#83 - If I Had A Million (1932)
Viewed on: April 24th, 2017
Viewing Format: DVD (Universal)

If I Had A Million is one of the four W.C. Fields films included in the 18-film "Comedy Essentials Collection" that I didn't previously own. On one hand, I hate having to buy a set of 18 films just to get four that I didn't already have. On the other hand, I got the set on eBay for a little less than $20, so it worked out to $5 per each unseen film, which isn't bad at all. I mentioned recently that I'm a big W.C. Fields fan. I've seen the majority of his major films, but some of his earlier entries (or titles in which he had smaller roles) have been elusive. If I Had A Million hasn't received an official stand-alone DVD release in the U.S. until now. I put this in with a mixture of excitement and hesitation; the excitement was for seeing a "new" W.C. Fields movie, the hesitation was knowing that there aren't many of these left for me to watch for the first time.

If A Had A Million is essentially a package film, with a series of eight vignettes brought to life by multiple writers, directors, and stars. The basic premise is simple: a wealthy tycoon near the end of his life (Richard Bennett) can't stand his family or employees, and believes they're too stupid and/or cruel to be given a vast inheritance. Rather than leaving his money to a charity or to specific people (which he fears could be contested in court by the very people he's trying to avoid giving money to), he decides to pick names randomly from the phone book. Each of the eight "winners" will receive a check for one million dollars to do with as they please. Some of the vignettes are longer and some are shorter, but I don't think any one lasts for more than ten minutes, and some are even quicker than that. The W.C. Fields segment is the fourth of eight, and particularly appealed to my sense of karma and justice. I don't even want to spoil how W.C. Fields and his partner (played by Alison Skipworth) decide to spend their money; it's too good to spoil. But I can say that Fields and Skipworth have terrific screen chemistry; this was made before their later pairing in the feature Tillie And Gus, but you can tell here in only ten minutes that they're well-matched. This vignette plays to their strengths. The rest of the stories run the gamut from comedy to drama to ironic to wistful. The vignettes feature stars such as Gary Cooper, Charles Laughton, George Raft, Jack Oakie and many other familiar faces, and were directed by a group that includes Ernst Lubitsch, Norman Taurog, Norman Z. McLeod and others.

Though the transfer used in this set appears to be older, and though four movies share a single disc, the quality on this DVD is better than I would have expected. The print looks reasonably good, the audio was easy to understand, subtitles were provided, and the compression didn't appear oppressive. The titles are windowboxed. There are no bonus features related to this film on the set, though the set as a whole features a vintage documentary about Fields. I quickly scanned through a couple of the movies that I have as stand-alone discs, and there's very little difference in quality between the two. On a television, it's almost imperceptible. Even on my projection screen, I had to look really close to find differences in the compression between the "four movies crammed on one disc" set and the single movie per disc set. So if you don't have W.C. Fields and would like to remedy that, this 18 film set is a great value.

If I Had A Million was a far more enjoyable film than I expected. Each vignette lasts the perfect amount of time, and by having Richard Bennett's millionaire character appear in each segment, the film does feel more connected than one might expect. I'd actually love to see modern filmmakers tackle a version of this idea; but instead of being a remake, I'd like to see the biggest stars and directors of today working together. Sadly, with actors and directors working more independently today than they did then, it seems unlikely that you'd ever get eight prestigious directors and eight movie stars together like this these days, but I'd love to see it. Because it's only available in this set, If I Had A Million is a little bit of a pain to acquire. But with that said, I think it's a movie that will reward anyone who gives it a chance. And seriously, what W.C. Fields and Alison Skipworth do with their million is comedic and karmic gold.

 

[David Weicker]

I really enjoy If I Had A Million.

The gem of the stories is Charles Laughton's (IMO). But none of them are bad.

I believe the Charlie Ruggles segment had at least some influence on the Rocky and Bullwinkle show (two prominent names).

There was a TV show in the 50's that used this premise. There was a single revival in '78.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

The Laughton story was a delight! I'm sure I'm not the only one who's ever had that fantasy...

 

[Matt Hough]

I don't own the film presently, but I saw it a lot as a teen. One of the local UHF stations licensed a syndicated package of very vintage Paramount films and they were heavily rotated so I saw a lot of Alice in Wonderland, Merrily We Go to Hell, If I Had a Million, I'm No Angel, and You're a Sweetheart (which was a Universal movie).

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I've seen all of those except You're A Sweetheart. They put Cary Grant in such a wide variety of movies as he was starting out!

 

[Matt Hough]

Oh, Mississippi was another that was shown seemingly every week. Very fun if weird film that had Bing Crosby and W.C. Fields each doing his own thing.

 

[J. Casey]

Love IF I HAD A MILLION! Back in the day, Universal only released the very brief Lubitsch segment on laserdisc (in a Lubitsch box set). I was excited that Uni included the complete feature on this release. Some have offered trivia tidbits and here's mine: Richard Bennett is the father of Joan, Constance, and Barbara Bennett. I always knew him mainly for this film and THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS.

Like Josh, I would recommend this set to any Fields lovers pending blu ray release (which I doubt will ever happen, but who knows?). The only real stinker in the set is MRS. WIGGS OF THE CABBAGE PATCH, which is sourced from a print that's seen better days and I assume was included for historical purposes (major damage, horrible jitter, etc.).

 

[Josh Steinberg]

84. Six Of A Kind (1934)
Viewed On: April 25th, 2017
Viewing Format: DVD (Universal)

Alison Skipworth: Why do you drink so much?
W.C. Fields: Because I like it.
Skipworth: Everything you like to do is wrong.
Fields: According to you, everything I like to do is either illegal, immoral or fattening.​

Six Of A Kind is another film in the 18-movie W.C. Fields Comedy Essentials Collection that I hadn't seen. Like If I Had A Million, Fields is not the main star. Unlike If I Had A Million, Six Of A Kind is a comedy from start to finish. Running just over an hour, this ensemble comedy also features Charles Ruggles, Mary Boland, Alison Skipworth, Goerge Burns and Gracie Allen, and was directed by the great Leo McCarey. It's an easy, breezy movie that doesn't stay in any one place for too long, and despite the blending of different comedic styles, the movie flows pretty well.

As the movie begins, Charles Ruggles is preparing to take a vacation from his job at the bank. His plan was to go on a road trip with his loving wife (Mary Boland), and as the two are packing, they realize they haven't had a romantic trip together since their marriage twenty years ago. But unbeknownst to Ruggles, Boland has placed an ad looking for another couple to accompany them to save on expenses. The couple materializes in the form of George Burns and Gracie Allen; Boland is more amused by Ruggles is practically livid. Even worse, it turns out that Burns and Allen aren't actually married, and therefore are unable to share a hotel room; what started as a second honeymoon for Ruggles and Boland has turned into something else. When the group arrives in Nevada, they encounter an innkeeper played by Alison Skipworth, and a sheriff played by W.C. Fields. Meanwhile, one of Ruggles' colleagues at the bank has framed him for embezzlement, which comes to a head as Fields is placed in charge of an investigation.

The transfer used on this DVD was ancient; it even began with the old MCA Universal Home Video logo, which was fun to see again. The transfer is a little soft overall, and lacks fine detail, but the element used appears to be in decent shape, and it's very watchable. The opening titles are windowboxed. Most of the film is dialogue driven, and the audio is easy enough to understand. Subtitles are available. There are no bonus features related to this film included in the set.

Six Of A Kind was a fun discovery, a whimsical road movie with a great cast and lively direction. Each of the couples in the film is well-paired, with Charles Ruggles providing the film's heart and soul. At its core, this is a film about a man who desperately wants to spend some romantic time with his wife, and is thwarted every step of the way. But the George and Gracie routines are well done, Fields is hilarious in a supporting role, and Boland and Skipworth are equally good. I can't help but appreciate Leo McCarey's direction, and just how well he balances all of the characters; it never felt that we were spending too much time with one group, or not enough time with another. Though I'm saddened to have only two unseen W.C. Fields sound films left now that I've finished this film, I found Six Of A Kind to be very enjoyable, exactly the right movie for the right mood at the right time.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

#85 - The Big Broadcast Of 1938 (1938)
Viewed on: April 27th, 2017
Viewing Format: DVD (Universal)

The Big Broadcast Of 1938 is another of my unseen W.C. Fields films from the 18 film Comedy Essentials Collection. Like International House and If I Had A Million, Big Broadcast gathers a large variety of stars and musical performers. W.C. Fields leads the all star cast, and Bob Hope makes his feature debut here. But unlike those other two films, Big Broadcast never gels into a cohesive whole, but is enjoyable for its individual elements.

The action revolves around a transatlantic race. Fields plays dual roles as brothers; the more respectable one is the owner of the S.S. Gigantic, favored to win the race. Not wanting to take any chances, he books a ticket for his troublesome younger brother (also Fields) on the opposing ship, S.S. Colossal, knowing that chaos follows the younger Fields wherever he goes. But the younger brother, through a series of golf routines and other comedic mishaps, winds up on the Gigantic, and indeed causes some mayhem. Meanwhile, Bob Hope is serving as emcee for a radio broadcast from the ship while trying to juggle three alimony-demanding ex-wives. For me, W.C. Fields was the highlight of the picture. I enjoyed his scenes, but most of his routines are familiar from other, better films.
Bob Hope gets a lot of opportunities to be amusing, but he's also stuck handling a lot of the transitions into performances, so you never quite know when you see Hope if you're going to be getting a scene or a halt in the narrative.

The transfer in this set is pretty good. The picture is mostly clean, and the audio is mostly clear. The titles are windowboxed. This is one of three films included on the same disc, whereas the other titles I reviewed in this set were from discs that had four movies each. It's hard to say if it's just my imagination, or the quality of the elements and transfers used, but this one seemed to look a tad nicer. The disc included subtitles. There are no bonus features in the set related to this film.

The Big Broadcast Of 1938 was pretty much what I expected. It's a decent collection of performances and skits, but it's more entertaining as a time capsule than as a feature film. It represented W.C. Fields' last film for Paramount; his next set of films would be made for Universal.

(Of the major Fields films, I now have just Mrs. Wiggs Of The Cabbage Patch left to see. I've previously seen all of his Paramount and Universal starring pictures, as well as David Copperfield and Her Majesty Love. I've seen the six shorts in the Criterion set, and several of his silents. It's bittersweet; on one hand, it'll be great to have seen them all, but I'm sorry that there won't be any new Fields films left for me. I've been quiet on the review front this week mostly because I've been rewatching the other films and it's been a delight. I'm hoping I can convince my wife to give him a try and watch It's A Gift with me.)

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I have seen very little of W.C. Fields over the years -- not sure why. Josh, your recent reviews have spurred me to correct this, as I just ordered the Fields 10 film set for $11.61. At that price, it's hard to go wrong.

 

[David Weicker]

Josh, how would you compare the PQ of International House between the single disc and the 18-film version.

I sold off my single 5-disc collection without doing a comparison for this film. (I did one for You Can't Cheat An Honest Man and didn't notice a difference)

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I haven't directly compared those two - but I can try to take a look later tonight and get back to you on that. If I haven't posted about it after tomorrow, PM me and remind me, but no trouble at all to check.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I have seen very little of W.C. Fields over the years -- not sure why. Josh, your recent reviews have spurred me to correct this, as I just ordered the Fields 10 film set for $11.61. At that price, it's hard to go wrong.

I hope you love it! It's a great bargain, I had that set for a while. It's A Gift is my all-time Fields favorite. The Bank Dick is a favorite to many, though I'm not totally in love with it. I love the absurdity of Never Give A Sucker An Even Break. You're Telling Me and Man Of The Flying Trapeze are hidden gems. There really isn't a bad one in the set but there are definitely preferences I've got.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Josh, how would you compare the PQ of International House between the single disc and the 18-film version.

I sold off my single 5-disc collection without doing a comparison for this film. (I did one for You Can't Cheat An Honest Man and didn't notice a difference)

Sorry this took so long!

Results were more or less as expected. I did notice a difference in the title sequences - on the individual disc version, the titles are windowboxed with a black border. On the version in the 18 movie set, the border is grey. I was curious if it was a different transfer, but there's some identical print damage in both films, so it appears to be the same.

The compression is better on the single disc version. The 18 movie set has it on a disc with three other movies. It's by no means unwatchable, but if you look really really really close (which I don't advise, cause why ruin it?) the compression is a little more obvious. On my 50" TV it's less noticeable than on my 100" projection screen.

I had the single movie per disc set for Vol 2, sold it off in favor of the 10 movie set, and just rebought the single movie per disc sets. That was more of an emotional than logical decision - It's A Gift is a top-ten-all-time-favorite movie and it kinda bothered me not to have it on it's own disc. But unless you're watching the movies standing an inch away from the TV (and again, why would anyone do that?), I don't think you're missing much having the combo set.

Basically, this is added proof that I'm a sentimental pack rat

 

[DavidJ]

I hope you love it! It's a great bargain, I had that set for a while. It's A Gift is my all-time Fields favorite. The Bank Dick is a favorite to many, though I'm not totally in love with it. I love the absurdity of Never Give A Sucker An Even Break. You're Telling Me and Man Of The Flying Trapeze are hidden gems. There really isn't a bad one in the set but there are definitely preferences I've got.

I basically haven't seen any of Fields's films. I've never been too interested and with all the stuff I need and want to watch, I haven't really given his films much thought. You guys are beginning to change that.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I basically haven't seen any of Fields's films. I've never been too interested and with all the stuff I need and want to watch, I haven't really given his films much thought. You guys are beginning to change that.

Very cool!

I was lucky to be introduced to him at a young age (about 13 I think). There was something about his comedy that really appealed to me. I know that of the famous screen comedians of that era, that more people today are Chaplin fans or Marx Brothers fans, and while I like both, I love Fields.

If I'm to put on my objective hat, Chaplin probably made the best films of that group. They're more consistent as pictures and try to evoke more emotions and feelings beyond laughter and happiness. This is a strength overall, but a weakness if you're looking for pure comedy. The Great Dictator is probably my favorite Chaplin, and City Lights, The Kid, Modern Times and The Gold Rush are all wonderful, but they're not necessarily light and fluffy movies that offer mindless escape. They're about the human condition, and while humor plays a part, there's a lot more going on there. They make for great films but not necessarily what I have in mind when I think about watching a comedy.

And then you've got the Marx Brothers, who are certainly my vote for best classic comedy team. I'll take them over Laurel & Hardy, Abbott & Costello, the Three Stooges, etc. But their stuff is so zany that there's little semblance to any believable reality. And that's totally fine, but I find that I need to be in a specific mode for a Marx Brothers movie. Groucho Marx can be one of the funniest human beings ever to walk the earth, and Chico and Harpo are right there with him, but it's something I have to be in the mood for. Zany doesn't necessarily work for me at any old time.

But Fields -- there's something about his particular brand of comedy that I never get tired of. He's identifiable as an everyman, but not necessary an everyman you'd want to spend a lot of time with. He can be mean or cruel, particularly to small children and animals, but the thing is, when you watch it in his movies, you're always with him... you can start to see how that kid was asking for it... I don't know what's more absurd, the indignities that he's subjected to or the absurd situations he gets himself into and the ridiculous excuses he uses to try to get out of them. His persona is all of my worst traits combined and amplified and exaggerated for comedic effect. I can relate so much more easily to Fields, even if I know better than to actually act like him.

Now, if I'm being truly objective, I'd agree that not all of his films are fantastic - he's always great, but some are better than others. When the films are at their best, the plot allows Fields room to do his shtick but integrates it into the storyline, so that the film doesn't stop when he comes on. The supporting characters (and actors) serve as balance to Fields antics, but don't take too much time away from him. For the films that aren't quite as good, the Fields routines themselves are always solid, but sometimes they seem more random inserts into a different movie. But I think there are far more where everything is working together than not.