Classic Comedy Hall of Fame

Women will be your undoing, P�p�

04-20-19

And that, I believe, puts me at the halfway mark. Gonna see if I can squeeze in another watch tonight. Unsure what -- we shall see.

__________________
What I actually said to win MovieGal's heart:
- I might not be a real King of Kinkiness, but I make good pancakes

~Mr Minio

GulfportDoc

Registered User

04-21-19

It's a Gift (1934)

Although not one of the most recognizable titles among W.C. Fields' more than 40 films, it's filled with many of his routines that he'd perfected in vaudeville. In fact the film's plot is rather thin, but serves as a vehicle to piece together many of these famous routines: the blind man, the back porch, at a picnic with Baby LeRoy, etc., along with his penchant for playing an Everyman henpecked husband who triumphs in the end.

In this outing Fields plays a humble small general store owner who inherits land in California which he believes will fulfill his dream of owning a prosperous orange grove. The land turns out not what it is expected to be, but becomes a valuable gift in the end.

Fields is in the prime of his comedy effectiveness here. His shrewish wife is played to perfection by Kathleen Howard (who appeared against Fields in two other comedies). His well known interaction with his nemesis Baby LeRoy is famously showcased, which culminates in Fields giving LeRoy a kick in the pants.

At only 68 minutes running time, the film goes by quickly.

There is another film he did at Paramount, in 1932, which is my personal favorite Fields. The comments about Duck Soup will offer it in comparison.

~Doc

edarsenal

Women will be your undoing, P�p�

04-21-19

great review @GulfportDoc!!
I do enjoy Fields and loved it when he paired with Mae West. He was the only one, in my opinion, that was able to share the screen with her without being seen as fodder or background. And that doubles as a compliment to Miss West as well. No one could share the screen with her without being, mostly, ignored.

Last edited by edarsenal; 04-22-19 at 04:22 PM.

Citizen Rules

Noir Time

04-22-19

Duck Soup (1933)

You know I always thought that Groucho really had big thick black eyebrows and a huge mustache to match. I thought that when I use to watch the Marx Bros as a kid. When I was adult I remember seeing a much older Groucho Marx on TV and I wondered where in the hell his eyebrows had went to! So it came as a big shock to me when I finally realized that Groucho was adored in black grease paint after all! Of course with the internet all one has to do is to look at the photo up there and see the grease paint!

It's been a good 15 years since I last watched one of the Marx Bros films. So I watched this one last night. Glad it was nominated too as I was hoping for a diversity in classic comedy films...and we got it!

I still like Groucho! He's funny with his smart ass remarks and I guess that grease paint helps too. The Marx bros did all of their famous antics in Duck Soup: Harpo with his scissors and his leg in the arm trick, good stuff! I think my favorite bit was Chico and Harpo dressed up like Groucho and the resulting mirror scene, a classic for sure. I wasn't big on the story, for me the draw are the four Marx brothers. OK only three of them are actually funny. Poor Zeppo might not get any gags but he's a good sport.

Attachments

Click image for larger version

Name: groucho.jpg
Views: 843
Size: 20.1 KB
ID: 53496

lenslady

Msg

Registered User

04-22-19

The mirror scene was truly a classic @Citizen Rules. But you know, the first time I saw a mirror scene with a Marx brother was in this old I Love Lucy show

Last edited by lenslady; 04-22-19 at 11:25 PM.

Siddon

Msg

Registered User

04-23-19

Harvey (1950)

Harvey is a great exercise in whimsy, Jimmy Stewart plays a confirmed bachelor and eccentric who claims to see a 6'4 giant bunny rabbit. Elwood is a pleasant enough fellow even though he clearly drinks too much and hangs around with shady though once again pleasant characters.

Everyone in this film is sort of right on the verge of a breakdown, from his spinster niece to his sister who goes through her own tragic visit to the sanitarium to the climax which is what I assume would be a lobotomy. The film never really dives into these dark corners it just sort of glosses right over them and moves onto the next character and plot point.

Stewart really grounds this film, I don't what other actor could play Elwood with a sense of decency in this darkness. The casting director also did an excellent job filling all the supporting roles with quality character actors my favorites were Wallace Ford as the taxi driver and Victoria Horne as Myrtle two characters who might have been played as villains but were once again ingrained with a sense of charm. No one in this film is really that bad...they just have a little mischief going on around them.

edarsenal

Women will be your undoing, P�p�

04-23-19

nicely expressed @Siddon

Citizen Rules

Noir Time

04-23-19

I'm looking forward to a rewatch of Harvey. I really liked it the one and only time I seen it some 8-10 years ago.

Nathaniel

Mugen Impersonator

04-23-19

His Girl Friday (1940)

I decided to start with this one because Howard Hawks is peaking my curiosity right now. I watched Scarface and Bringing Up Baby fairly recently and ended up disliking them. I've liked a lot of his films going off memory but his well known films are falling into hit or miss in the past few years.

His Girl Friday is the high point of the screwball genre for me. The dialogue from Grant and Russell is impressive enough at the speed they are going but what they're coming out with is consistently witty. It also doesn't feel like rambling or saying a bunch of words for the sake of it. I liked it too because it stands out from the dialogue of Bellamy and some of the other characters. In fairness, I don't think Bellamy could deliver lines that quickly even if he wanted to but still

. It has lots of clever one liners from the entire cast. Grant's Walter casually describing Bruce by saying he looks like that Ralph Bellamy fellow from the movies came hilariously out of left field.

Rosalind Russell's Hildy was a unique character at this point in Hollywood cinema. It doesn't surprise me that the role was originally written for a male but it was a inspired decision to change the script and it leads to a great performance.

Hollywood loves the idea of newspaper men with no shame and I'd say this film is the funniest manifestation of that.

GulfportDoc

Registered User

04-24-19

Duck Soup (1933)

It�s difficult to overstate the effect that the Marx Brothers in general, and Duck Soup in specific, had in the history of comedy films. They had already well established their wacky and zany antics and harebrained plots in their previous six films (the first, Humor Risk, was never released). But with this picture they added off-beat, eccentric, and bizarre plots and situations --the kind of films that are represented today by Wes Anderson, the Coen Brothers, and the like-- which was uncommon in the 1930s and that really never took hold for several decades.

It�s likely that this embellishment in their established style was due to the addition of Herman Mankiewicz as producer and uncredited writer. Mankiewicz had produced and co-written W.C. Fields� Million Dollar Legs the year before, which had very similar themes: a dysfunctional fictional tiny country is in need of help by outside folks (�Klopsokia� vs. �Freedonia�). The absurdist comedy in both films is fresh, riotous, and memorable, and rank as my personal favorites from each artist respectively.

There were several other differences. This was the last film to feature Zeppo, the 4th Marx brother. He usually played a romantic part, as he was not a gifted wacky comedian. Neither Harpo or Chico had scenes in which they played their musical instruments. And Groucho had pretty well established himself as the lead Marx brother. This was their final project at Paramount.

The film is famous for featuring some of their best routines: the mirror scene with Groucho and Harpo; the production chorus scene where national fervor is represented as a minstrel show; the hat and lemonade scene with comedian Edgar Kennedy; and Harpo�s bit, dialing a radio thinking it�s a safe. In fact there are so many classic bits and double entendres that it�s hard to catch them all in one watch. One has to experience the film in several viewings-- and it�s only 68 minutes long!

It�s astonishing that the mirror scene was filmed in only two hours! There had been very well done similar scenes in two silent films: Lloyd�s 1919 The Marathon, and Linder�s 1921 Seven Years Bad Luck.

Some younger viewers might strain a little to appreciate some of the humor in a film such as Duck Soup, passing it off as too anachronistic. It helps to imagine the impact it had on audiences of the day, and to be aware of the restrictions film makers were laboring under, which would lead to the new Hays Code. Most of the Marx brothers� gags were fresh, even avant-garde in that period, and have been imitated countless times by others. As a testament to the legacy of Duck Soup, most reviewers place it in their lists of the top 100 great films; not just the top comedy films, but best films, period. In my own view Duck Soup is a unique farce, and ranks as one of my own very favorite comedies.

~Doc

Citizen Rules

Noir Time

04-24-19

Modern Times (Charlie Chaplin,1936)

I liked Paulette Goddard so much in Modern Times that I decided to use her as my lead photo

And why not? She's exhilarating, she's dynamic and she brightens up every scene she's in. As much as I liked her in Chaplin's The Great Dictator, I liked her even more here as a poor street waif. The film refers to her as a 'gamine' which is French for mischievous imp...and that perfectly describes her role in the classic film. I loved the banana scene where she's stealing bananas from a boat and throwing them with an enthusiastic glee to the hungry kids on the dock. What amazes me most about Paulette is that she looks so contemporary and so real, that I wouldn't be surprised to see her in the produce section at the grocery store pondering whether bananas should be free or not

Chaplin is great, of course. I've enjoyed every single film of his I've seen. And I want to see more. So I was glad that this classic got nominated. Chaplin is so innovative as a director that all of the stunts 'the little tramp' does looks so effortless. Loved the entire scene in the factory with the big machinery which I swear was real! Of course after the film I read that those huge clogs and gears were made of rubber and wood...but damn what a great set piece! And just thinking of the automated feeding machine that poor Chaplin encountered, makes me laugh!

Modern Times marks an end of an era. It was the last of Chaplin's silent films. Yes he does sing and we do hear voices, but those come from mechanical contraptions. Which I thought was quite clever and of course it is clever it's a Chaplin film: Written by, directed by, produced by, music by and starring the one and only Charlie Chaplin.

Attachments

Click image for larger version

Name: Paulette Goddard Modern Times 1936.jpg
Views: 778
Size: 119.3 KB
ID: 53537

Click image for larger version

Name: images.jpg
Views: 683
Size: 8.3 KB
ID: 53538

ahwell

Registered User

04-24-19

Top Hat

It's a fun an interesting film, and I liked it quite a bit. The plot was interesting and funny, and the characters were delightful. The music and dancing were also great, although the last song and dance was a bit long. One of my main complaints is the rewatchability, the idea that the whole plot is built around that one final climax. There's not really much more plot than that, I think that could make it boring on a second viewing. But overall, a good watch.

edarsenal

Women will be your undoing, P�p�

04-25-19

I've watched Top Hat as well. Just need to get a review put together and posted.

GulfportDoc

Registered User

04-25-19

Top Hat (1935)

This is a brilliant film, although not the first picture one would think of as a comedy. It�s chiefly a dance musical comedy, in contrast to a pure comedy. The laughs vary from good natured, aw shucks, minimally suggestive; and serve more to accentuate the budding romance between Astaire & Rogers (Jerry and Dale), along with the light story: girl believes boy is married, so she eventually agrees to marry another, but gradually boy & girl fall in love despite several screwball antics. Edward Everett Horton provides reliable off-beat and double-take gags, which is his meat and potatoes. Eric Blore is very amusing as Horton�s earnest but supercilious valet.

There are eight musical dance numbers which are innovatively and expressively choreographed by Astaire and Hermes Pan. All the songs are written by the great Irving Berlin. Many instantly became hits, and remain in the American song book: Cheek to Cheek, Top Hat, White Tie and Tails, Isn�t This a Lovely Day, and others. And who could forget the elaborate chorus and dance sequence, �The Piccolini�.

Everyone has their favorite Astaire solo dance as well as his many famous duets with Rogers. Some prefer Flying Down to Rio, or The Gay Divorcee, but Astaire and Rogers never are better in several of their routines in this picture. Isn�t This is a Lovely day, later followed by Cheek to Cheek showcases the pair in their initial attraction and bashfulness, followed by the back bending finale of Cheek to Cheek, when it�s obvious that they are in love.

Astaire performs his famous Top Hat, White Tie and Tails tap routine, which never gets old. This is one of my personal favorites, and ranks with his ceiling dancing, and dancing with a hat rack, both from Royal Wedding.

I became familiar with these movies in the perfect place. Living in Hollywood in the 1960s, the local all-nite L.A. movie channels played many of these classic �30s and �40s films. We were night owls in those days, so every evening was spent enthralled by these wonderful classics, imagining ourselves somehow apart of those eras, and very drawn to the style. It was a wonderfully fortunate experience.

~Doc

edarsenal

Women will be your undoing, P�p�

04-26-19

Originally Posted by GulfportDoc

Top Hat (1935)

I became familiar with these movies in the perfect place. Living in Hollywood in the 1960s, the local all-nite L.A. movie channels played many of these classic �30s and �40s films. We were night owls in those days, so every evening was spent enthralled by these wonderful classics, imagining ourselves somehow apart of those eras, and very drawn to the style. It was a wonderfully fortunate experience.

~Doc

Sounds like some truly wonderful times indeed.

And yes, another great review rich with knowledge!

ahwell

Registered User

04-27-19

Arsenic and Old Lace

This is a hilariously funny crime thriller that mixes together the stories of some murderous aunts, their confused and shocked nephew and his fiance, and his two brothers (one who thinks he is the president and the other who is a serial killer). There is a wide range of great scenes, whether it is Teddy's "Charge!!" and trumpet blasting, or the two sweet aunts speaking of how their murders are "merciful." A really good dark comedy, although the pacing and structure is a bit off.... I wish the movie would have taken a little more time to breathe.

Can't decide between a

and

ahwell

Registered User

04-27-19

Nothing Sacred

I enjoyed watching it, but it just didn't have the charm of some other screwball comedies of the time. I think the acting was great, especially from Lombard, but I don't think the movie knew what it was going for - commentary, a good laugh, both, neither? Maybe it was the quality of the version I watched, because I found it very hard to understand the characters, but it wasn't fun to pay attention to either. That said, there are some good laughs and some great scenes, with perhaps an underlying message about how easy it is to lie and corrupt.

Citizen Rules

Noir Time

04-27-19

Originally Posted by ahwell

Nothing Sacred

...Maybe it was the quality of the version I watched, because I found it very hard to understand the characters, but it wasn't fun to pay attention to either....

Yeah I can understand that the quality of a movie video can effect it's enjoyment, it does with me. If anyone needs a good quality link to Nothing Sacred just say so or PM me, the version quality I watched was excellent.

edarsenal

Women will be your undoing, P�p�

04-27-19

Modern Times

". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "

I have been enamored and endeared to The Little Tramp since very early childhood and that love as remained the entirety of my life.
Along with his humorous escapades, hilarious chase routines, and getting in trouble; there is a lot of heart and soul in a Charlie Chaplin movie. A desire for something more noble and beautiful in a dirty, harsh world. The Tramp (to use a Lebowski term) abides. With many of his films ending in him walking off in his signature gait. Of course, in this one, he is accompanied for the one and only time with his costar, Paulette Goddard. Which definitely says a lot for the Tramp and his countless attempts at love in prior shorts.

While a comedic vehicle, there is a number of statements about humanity and the difficult times of the 30's as the Tramp suffers through them with his penchant smile and charm. No matter how many times he's tossed into the paddy wagon. Whether he was guilty or not. His soul, his heart, remains in tact. Even in the closing of the film, unemployed and homeless, again, he faces it, reminding his now partner, to smile. And off they go.
Giving the audiences of the time, and us, a little more determination to continue on and keep our hearts light doing it.

Bravo Charlie. Bravo!

edarsenal