A British drama directed by Zoltan Korda and Produced by Alexander Korda.
A British military/government leader rules wisely over the tribes of Africa. When he is replaced, conflict occurs, but he returns. The main African chief says that he has learned much from this man.
Not so great. The plot was almost interesting, but the characters were severely lacking in depth. The video was decent at best. There were some compositing scenes and I don't know how they did that in 1935. The audio sucked donkey nards. The dialogue was really quiet and the soundtrack was not to my liking. More on that in a sec. The believability was absolutely zero. AS IF the African war song was in a Jew Hollywood style and ALL the Africans AND ANIMALS could understand Morse code? Oh my fucking god! It "buggers belief" to quote David Icke. On the plus side, Female Anatomy Points for this African dancer (picture). Overall, a piece of crap. Only watch this to mock it. I rate it bad.
An American western directed by Sam Newfield, starring Tim McCoy.
A very polite outlaw holds people up along a roadway and makes them drop their guns before robbing them. He then pretends to be people whom he is not when the destruction of a mine with dynamite is being planned.
There was almost nothing to review here. It was very standard and regular, but the plot was a little too vague or murky. What stood out most to me was the haunting visage of Tim McCoy. He has a very long face. During the dynamite to mine plan, Tim mimics the exact words and speech style of the nerdy explosives expert, which I found funny. There were a few editing mistakes and audio/video artifacts, but it wasn't poorly made. Overall, not good, but not painful. I rate it tolerable.
A British thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
A man tries to help a counter-espionage agent prevent a group of spies from stealing information. The agent is killed and the man tries to stop the spies.
I couldn't understand the plot and looked it up on Wikipedia. The audio was muffled and almost incoherent. The video looked like total crap. Hence, the production value was quite low. Same for plot and characters. I gave up and turned it off after about 40 minutes. I rate it shit. DO NOT WATCH!
A British fantasy drama directed by Henry Edwards, starring Seymour Hicks.
Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol story is told. A stingy and unkind old man is visited by ghosts of past, present and future to teach him moral lessons about Christmas.
This is the first talky version of this film and Seymour Hicks also starred in the 1913 silent film as well as stage renditions of the same. I think that the well known plot and characters were presented clearly and in a way that holds the viewer's attention. The audio was amazingly good for such an early film and the black and white video looked adequate. The only issue that I have with this is the ghost of Christmas future. In newer versions, this ghost is a grim reaper-like character who is shown. In this film, only a shadow of his hand is seen on screen. Given the early date of this film and compared with other films from that time period, I think that this was pretty well made. I rate it good. If you have seen more than one other version of this story, you should probably check this one out.
An American mystery film directed by Clifford Sanforth, starring Bela Lugosi.
On the night that an inventor is demonstrating his new television transmission invention, he is murdered. A police chief must find the murderer among those in attendance at the demonstration.
What a snoozer! This was so boring that it hurt to watch. The loud dead air whoosh, crackle and hiss didn't help matters. With a talking movie this boring and bad audio, nothing else really matters. I rate it shit because I turned it off at 44/54 minutes. Don't watch it.
An American western directed by Robert N. Bradbury, starring John Wayne and Lucile Brown.
A sheriff thinks that he has killed his best friend and mentor in a shootout with robbers, so he quits his job. When the friend's daughter comes to town to run her father's ranch, the ex-sheriff is convinced to help her with the ranch.
Everything about this was antique. From the audio and video to the style and the pacing, it was absolutely prehistoric. This meant that I got to see a very young John Wayne. This Sheriff John looks very different from the tough old sheriff in Rio Bravo. The main characters were identifiable, but everyone else was anonymous. The plot was barely decent. The indians' voices were difficult to make out because they spoke in such a low register and so quietly. I'm rating this poor because it was from a antediluvian time before the concept of a good movie was invented.
An American action adventure directed by Edward Kull and Wilbur F. McGaugh, produced by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Tarzan goes to Guatemala with a safari in search of a statue with valuables inside.
The plot was simple and the characters shallow. The audio and video were prehistoric. At least it was only an hour long. I just don't see any reason to watch this movie at all. Rating it bad.
An American crime action film directed by Burt P. Lynwood.
A young woman accidentally gets involved when the police are trying to track a Chinese smuggling syndicate.
The plot was simple, yet still managed to get muddied by poor presentation. The characters were some of the least developed that I have ever encountered. The style seemed very generic and the acting was atrocious. In fact, everything about the film was generic and disposable. It was a crappy movie and I rate it bad.
An American western written and directed by Robert N. Bradbury.
A cowboy and his old, deaf partner get into a shootout with an outlaw gang and a local sheriff comes to their aid, only to be shot. He deputizes the young cowboy who goes into town for help. In town, there is a trial held to determine the heir to the estate of the cowboy's wealthy deceased relative. The pair of good cowboys has to prove legal rights to the estate, stop the outlaws and help the wounded sheriff.
This is one of the few films that I've seen with only diegetic music (no score or soundtrack, only triggered by characters in the film). The plot and characters were to my liking and I think that the lo-fi production and editing worked in the film's favor. I really like the old cowboy archetype in old westerns and the young hero was portrayed well as well. At about 50 minutes running time, it's like old western film candy to me, so I rate it good.
An American horror directed by James Whale, starring Boris Karloff.Frankenstein survives the fire that was supposed to kill him and befriends a blind monk. Meanwhile, a pair of scientists are planning to make another undead person. Hunters find Frankenstein and burn down the monk's house. Frankenstein then returns to the scientists and they make him a wife.I think this film was very poorly named because only in the lasts like 3 minutes do we see the female reanimated corpse. The plot made sens and the few main characters were decent. I can't say much about style or production value because of the prehistoric date and primitive equipment on which this was made. I'm rating it o.k.
A drama directed by Frank Lloyd.A cruel captain mistreats his men on a voyage to Tahiti. When the return voyage begins, some of the men rise against the captain and set him afloat in a dingy with a few other men. The mutineers return to Tahiti and the dingy crew make it back to civilization.This film is black and white and 2 hours long. There is a keelhauling scene and a few floggings. The surgeon is absolutely in love with brandy. In the time that this was made, all of the ropes, sails and sailors' clothing was made of hemp. I'm digressing. This film gets an o.k. rating because it was alright, but a little long.
