An American drama directed by George Cukor, starring John Barrymore, Billie Burke and Katharine Hepburn.
A man is released from a mental institution to find that his wife has divorced him and is marrying another man. His daughter calls off her engagement to take care of her father because there is insanity "in her blood".
Boring, trite, simplistic, dated, generally not good. The simple plot had nothing to hold my attention and the shallow characters could not do so either. This was filmed in RCA Photophone, an early system of adding sound to films. It sounded terrible, but looked alright. I noticed good exposure, contrast and detail until the camera panned. During a pan, everything got all glitchy and choppy. I'm including an accurate image from the version I watched so you can see the detail. Check out the crisp highlights on the chairs and the man's hair in the center. The daughter abandoning her engagement because of her father's insanity goes along with the eugenics policies of the time. It was considered bad for people with even family histories of mental or physical illness to reproduce. Some were even given forced sterilization. Hitler picked up this idea AFTER America, but also after ancient Greece and most of Europe. I really had trouble watching this film, so I rate it bad. You should probably avoid it.
An American horror directed by Tod Browning, starring Wallace Ford.
A circus trapeze performer and strong man conspire to separate a midget from his fiance and try to kill him.
This was actually interesting. The plot eventually held my attention enough to watch it a second time in order to understand what was going on. The characters were actual freaks: amputees, midgets and mutants. The video was typical of the 1930s, but more raw and graphic than was popular in that time. I think that the most visceral scene was all of the freaks advancing on the strong man in the rain. The audio was horrible. I could barely understand what people were saying because it was so bad. Overall, a strange, old film for folks who dig weird shit. I rate this good. It's a keeper!
An American western directed by Harry L. Fraser.
A detective in New York is trying to catch a gang of criminals when he is shot. The doctor sends him home to Wyoming to rest at his father's ranch. When he gets there, he finds that the gangsters are also there and he must face them again.
The plot almost got my interest enough to follow what was going on and I think I recognized the main character reappearing a few times. The editing was pretty sloppy. There was one cool scene in which the cowboys had a quick meeting before giving their city slicker visitor a forced makeover. There were also a few fist-fight brawls that caught my attention for a moment. Other than that, it was a whole lot of nothing. I rate it poor. Not recommended.
An American horror directed by Victor Halperin, starring Bela Lugosi.
Invited by a wealthy friend, a man and his fiancee go to Haiti for a pre-honeymoon. Before the marriage can take place, the woman is turned into a zombie by a magician at the request of the "friend". This wealthy man wants the woman for himself, but is disappointed with the results. A pipe smoking priest who never carries matches helps the would-be groom to retrieve his fiancee.
I've heard of films getting mixed reviews before, but this one demonstrates that far better than others. Some people think it's atmospheric, while others say the acting sucks and it was sloppily made. Both are true. There was some good camera-work that included wide angles of cool scenes (picture). The sound was wretched, as demonstrated by the bloodcurdling screams of a bird and annoying native chants. I liked how the rich sub-villain gets what he asked for, but has buyer's remorse over the girl being in a zombified state that is useless to him. Bela Lugosi's "zombie grip" was unimpressive and overemphasized. Overall, it was a crappy movie with some shots that looked alright. I rate it poor.
A British thriller directed by Maurice Elvey.
A musician rents a room from a family. The daughter in the family hears a scream from a woman being murdered in a telephone booth.
I had to turn this off at about twenty minutes because I could not hear the dialogue. It sounded like the characters were speaking into a metal trash can. There was also significant dead air hiss, accompanied by crackles and rustling noises. The video was very poor as well. According to Wikipedia, the silent version of this was a hit while the talkie was not. I can hear why. In accordance with my turnoff policy, this gets a shit rating.
An American horror mystery directed by Frank R. Strayer.
A rich old man is dead and his relatives come to his house to hear the reading of his will. He leaves all of his money to his neice, but if she dies, his brother gets the money. There is a monkey secured in a cage and the neice is attacked by an ape-like arm that comes out of the wall by her bed.
This seems to be an alternative version of The Gorilla which was a play from 1925 made into films in 1927, 1930 and 1939. The plot is so similar with the reading of a will, a monkey in the house and the killer using a gorilla glove. The sound was a major problem with this. Dead air hiss was very loud and the actors' voices warbled and were distorted. Obviously, I was unimpressed with the plot and characters. Style was pretty standard for crappy films of the time. The pacing was quicker, resolving the stripped down plot in 59 minutes. I rate it bad for lack of originality and general poor quality.
I know I've been rating many a film poor and bad, but I'm just being honest. Seeking diamonds in the rough involves lots of rough.
An American comedy drama directed by Lowell Sherman, starring Joan Blondell and Madge Evans.
A trio of flappers compete for men.
This reminded me of The Women (1939) because the characters act so similarly. I was also reminded of a Snoop Dogg song called "A Bitch I Knew". Fortunately for this film, it was made in what is known as "pre-code" times. Early American sound films before censorship involved more interesting topics like alcohol, smoking, sexual innuendo, villainy being rewarded, etc. There is a scene in which one of the women receives a fur coat and removes her dress from under it while still at a party. Unfortunately, her subsequent flashing is implied rather than shown. Like I said, innuendo. Hence, no significant female anatomy points were earned. The plot was pointless and the characters stupid. The video was pretty rough and the sound was rougher. The audio quality was in fact so bad that I could barely discern what the characters were saying. The only thing that saves this from a shit rating is the "pre-code"ness of it. I rate it bad and would advise against watching.
An American comedic mystery directed by Edwin L. Marin, starring Bela Lugosi, David Manners and Adrienne Ames.
An actor is killed on the set of a film. While the police are trying to solve the murder case, a man who works at the film studio teams up with a studio security guard to solve the case as well.
I've come to dislike Bela Lugosi, as most of the films containing him suck pretty bad. This one had some sloppy editing, but was otherwise technically sound. The characters were easy to identify and keep track of, the plot was clearly presented and the pacing kept things moving. There were also a few creative camera angles. It wasn't painful to watch, but with sloppy editing like that, I have to take points off. I rate it poor and would probably not recommend it.
An American comedy directed by Edward Sedgwick, starring Buster Keaton and Jimmy Durante.
A dorky professor thinks that he has inherited a vast sum of money and leaves his office for New York. On the way, he befriends and gains ownership of a theater group.
I could tell from the first few seconds that this would be terrible. I turned it off at 38:16 because the humor was the least funny I have ever seen and Jimmy Durante is annoying. Most of the "jokes" had to do with a disagreement between characters because of a misunderstanding. Physical "comedy" like putting an item on a luggage rack, only to have it fall on the person who put it there was also used. I rate this shit. DO NOT WATCH!
An American action drama directed by Fred C. Newmeyer, starring Regis Toomey.
A boxer injures his arm and is told that he can no longer fight. He gets a new job as a bouncer in a night club where he angers the boss on his first night of work. When money is reported to be missing, it is found in the ex-fighter's jacket and he is jailed. After he gets out of jail, the boxer calls upon his friends to help him set wrongs to right.
The characters were identifiable and some actually changed over the course of the film (EGADS! Dynamic characters!). The plot kept my attention through the entire duration and I thought that it was good. The audio and video were dated, but pretty good for 1932. The style and editing were typical of that time and this was the only negative that I found. Some of the editing was a little sloppy on timing by today's standards and the boxing matches were shown at a higher speed, which seems like it would have been an old technique even in 1932. Overall, it's a pretty good film for anyone who likes older movies. I'm rating it adequate.
An American drama directed by A. Edward Sutherland, starring Douglas Fairbanks.
A man on a boat makes a bet with his friends on whether he can live on an island until they return.
This is what's known as worthless drivel. Static characters and a threadbare plot make an hour and ten minutes seem like a long time. I really disliked the main character and thought that his work in other films with less dialogue was far superior. I don't feel the need to drag this out. I rate it bad.
An American romantic adventure directed by King Vidor.
An American boat arrives at an island in the south Pacific. The islanders greet them on canoes and when a shark approaches, one of the sailors tries to catch it but gets pulled into the water when caught in his fishing line. An island woman saves him who turns out to be the daughter of the chief and the two fall in love against the will of the tribe. They try to stay together, but continue to encounter difficulties.
For an old film, this looked alright. The acting and editing didn't seem weird at any points, but the quality of the audio and video definitely reflected the era. The plot was very traditional and the characters fit well into it's framework. I noticed that the American man was teaching the Pacific Islander woman English, but not learning her language. This is how it would happen in real life, but not the way that things should work. I actually liked the vintage style or flavor of the film, as it reflected 1930s American pop culture's romanticized notion of island life. I'm rating it adequate because I consider it to be well made and a reflection of the time in which it was created.
An American drama directed by Lewis Milestone, starring Joan Crawford.A ship is held up because of weather conditions and the passengers all have to stay at a general store on an island. Two of those passengers are an insane priest and a wild and free party girl. The priest sinks his bible-thumping claws into this young woman and brainwashes her with religious dogma.Being a devout atheist, I liked the plot and the characters very much. The priest played his role very much like most religious nuts and the poor girl was clearly tormented past her breaking point. Joan Crawford was a real scorcher in this film. The style and production value were absolutely prehistoric and left much to be desired. I'm rating it good anyway because the ending (which I'm not spoiling) was the way that I would want it.
An American war romance directed by Frank Borzage, starring Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes.A soldier falls in love with an army nurse. They are separated when the soldier is sent off to fight and their letters are stopped by an army official.It wasn't a bad film, but not good either. The characters were decent and the plot was clear. The style and production value reflected the time period, but there were some creative shots like when the soldier was on the stretcher and the camera followed his view of the scene. They were going through an arch roofed religious building and the camera settled on the highest peak of the structure. I'm rating this o.k.Google, I know you read every word I type, so: I downloaded a public domain film via peer to peer sharing. Read it and weep. You can't stop this blog.
An American horror directed by Karl Freund, starring Boris Karloff.Some archaeologists dig up a mummy that was buried alive and a magic scroll that was buried with him. The scroll brings the mummy back to life and he tries to reclaim his reincarnated girlfriend. Unfortunately for him, she already has a boyfriend.This film was created to raise The Munny. It's widely well known, so lots of people have seen it and it only lasts an hour and 10 minutes. It was a success for the filmmakers, but not the viewers. The plot and characters barely have time to develop, but at least it doesn't waste tons of time. I'm rating it poor.
A crime drama directed by Howard Hawks.A gangster rises through the ranks of a crime syndicate and abusively tries to keep his sister out of trouble.This is a rare case of the remake being about as good as the original. I had already seen the Al Pacino film when I watched this, so I was comparing all the way through. This one has that irreplaceable early gangster flick rawness to it where the later film has better production value. My favorite part was when Tony discovers the machine gun and the montage of drive-by shootings occurs. I'm rating it adequate and worthy because of the primitive method in which it was presented, but still having a good plot.
