An American western musical directed by Joseph Kane, starring Gene Autry and Smiley Burnette.
A ranch foreman averts disaster in mixed up dealings over land and sheep between a rancher who is out for money and innocent college girls who have just moved in.
The complex plot was followable, but not as clearly presented as I would have liked. The characters were identifiable, but stereotypical of the genre and time. Audio and video as expected. The only thing to note is Smiley Burnette's repeated use of low vocals during his songs. I rate it poor because I just didn't like it.
An American western directed by Robert N. Bradbury, starring Tex Ritter.
A singing cowboy and his sidekick happen upon a disaster scene where a freight wagon has been destroyed. They deliver the dead bodies and lone survivor to the nearest town where they work to find the criminals responsible.
This was old and not very clearly presented. I lost the plot a few times (partially from being distracted) and had trouble identifying some characters (same reason). The video had artifacts, mostly vertical white lines and the audio wasn't great. Overall, this is low on the quality scale of old westerns, but not annoying. I rate it tolerable because it wasn't terrible.
An American western musical directed by Joseph Kane, starring Gene Autry and Smiley Burnette.
A cowboy in Texas gets a letter from his brother who is mining diamonds in Africa. The American brother rounds up the horses requested and goes to Africa in search of his brother.
This was pretty standard. The plot and characters were clearly communicated and there was plenty of music and comic relief. All of the songs were diegetic, but seemed to be from pre-recorded audio with actors miming and lip synching. It just boggles my mind how few actual music performances there are in movies. The audio and video were standard for the date, but clear enough to pass my inspection. Overall, it's a standard 1937 western musical with Gene Autry. What other description would be necessary? I rate it o.k.
An American Three Mesquiteers western directed by Mack V. Wright.
A woman's father is an anthropologist who is missing. She teams up with a group of cowboys to look for her father and the lost city that he was searching for. Together, they find the city and fight the indians there.
The plot and characters were clearly communicated, but the audio and video were horrid. The audio was muffled and distorted. The video was blurry and full of artifacts. I rate this poor because it's better than ROTW Pines, but definitely not good. You probably should not watch this.
An American musical comedy western directed by Joseph Kane, starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette and Ann Rutherford.
A cowboy hunts a gang of outlaws who are using technology to steal cattle.
This was actually pretty cool. In the first scene, there was a cowboy riding backwards with a mask on the back of his head to look out behind him. We got awesome camera angles in a chase scene and creative editing during Smiley's song about the detective in which he changes costumes. The music was that hokey old honky-tonk style that I like so much and there was a gag with two men in a cow costume attracting the attention of a bull. If you're looking for a western of the 53 minute variety, this is it. I rate it good.
An American western directed by Charles Barton, starring John Wayne, Marsha Hunt and Johnny Mack Brown.
A pair of cowboys get caught up in a gunfight and end up meeting the cousin of one of them. The cousin gives him money and sends him to lead a cattle drive. He also meets a woman who bandages his eye after a fist fight. During the cattle drive, the main character saves this woman when her horse runs away with her on it. When the drive is over, the main character is getting robbed by playing a rigged game of poker. The rich cousin steps in, wins back the money and catches the other players and the bartender cheating. Another gunfight ensues.
There was some fast paced action with the chases and fights. The plot was not as clearly communicated as I would like and the characters were a little too shallow. There were some good camera angles, the best one showing the bartended switching decks of cards when he served drinks. The style was very much of the time, but the audio and video were pretty clear. I rate this tolerable because it was alright, but didn't really catch my interest.
An American western directed by John English, starring Tex Ritter.
A cowboy in a music show extracts payment from men who have entered without paying. He is given a job as tax collector and runs into conflict with some outlaws who have not paid their taxes.
The plot was really lame and stupid. Characters were stereotypical, audio was a nightmare, video looked horrid and there were editing mistakes galore. Looks like someone doesn't know how to make a movie. The hokey honky tonk songs were the only good part. Since I like westerns and tend to give them more wiggle room, I will rate this poor.
An American crime drama directed by Elmer Clifton.
A young woman works at a nail salon for men. Her boyfriend is trying to get a job as a newspaper reporter. Meanwhile, there is an organized crime syndicate working on counterfeit money and prostitution.
The plot was very, very vague. I believe that the Motion Picture Production Code may have had something to do with this, but there were women in lingerie, murder and a fight scene. The audio and video seemed about right for the date in that they were not too bad, but not too good either. Basically, it seemed like they were beating around the bush too much. I rate it poor.
An American romantic drama directed by William A. Wellman, starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March.
A country girl longs to be a Hollywood star. With her grandmother's savings, she goes to the city and rents a room at a boarding house. A fellow boarder befriends her and offers her a job that leads to a relationship with a falling star.
The plot and characters were relatively interesting. The old time style didn't help communication-wise, but I watched it anyway. The video was hideous and the audio made me cringe. Amazingly, it's in color. Correct exposure was out of their grasp. Such a pre-historic artifact should be handled with care. SMASH IT ON THE GROUND! It must never be watched! Because it caused no pain, had no editing mistakes and was not annoying, I have to rate it poor. Far better than it deserves.
An American musical directed by Andrew L. Stone.
A bookie falls in love with a dance hall girl who is trying to cheat him out of money. The bookie decides to trick her back and convinces her that he can get her into a broadway career. The bookie and his friends set up everything to put on a fake broadway show using an out of work troupe of Gilbert and Sullivan performers.
The plot and characters almost held my interest and there were no technical flaws. The style was of the times and pacing kept things moving. I'm reminded of Topsy-Turvy (1999) in which the troupe perfoms the same opera, The Mikado. I actually like The Mikado more than I like this film. Basically, this is just another late '30s flick with starstruck flappers, shady gangsters and a sappy moral ending. Obviously post-code. I rate it poor because it was mediocre and didn't stand out.
An American comedy directed by Norman Z. McLeod, starring Constance Bennett and Cary Grant.
A rich old man is stuck in a schedule set by his wife and wants to break free. Recently departed party animals who died in a car crash come back as ghosts, seeking to do a good deed by helping him and earn their way into heaven.
The video effects were pretty cool and ahead of their time. There were disappearing people and objects seeming to move by themselves. Otherwise it wasn't all that great. There were no technical difficulties so the audio and video were standard and it looked more '40s than '30s to me. The plot and characters kept my attention and some of the humor was entertaining. I rate it o.k. and would recommend it only as a time killer.
An American romance directed by Mitchell Leisen, starring Carole Lombard and Fred MacMurray.
A soldier and a hair stylist meet in Panama, quit their jobs and fall in love. The soldier gets a new job playing trumpet at a bar and when an opportunity to advance his career in New York comes along, he goes alone. Initially a success, he develops an alcohol addiction and the hair stylist thinks that he is cheating on her. Can they save their relationship and his career?
This was alright for an old movie. The production quality was shit by the time it got to me. There was some pretty heavy dead air noise and video artifacts. The plot was interesting, although alcohol addiction films never really were my cup of tea. The characters were stereotypical and showed little depth. The duration was a little too long for me and the style was of the time. I rate it o.k. because I liked the first half, but the second half sucked.
An American comedy directed by John H. Auer.
A young woman who is being evicted from her apartment forges a letter that says she can live in the apartment of a famous composer while he is away. She then submits music and forges his name on it. The apartment is next door to the man who will be writing lyrics for the song and the 2 neighbors have noise battles through the walls.
The plot was stupid and I didn't like the characters. The dead air hiss and treble-biased audio combined to make a ringing/screeching sound at some points. There was a scene that teased the viewer with the promise of female nudity, only to deny what it promised. We see the starlet take off her shoes and drop clothing on the floor, then the camera begins to pan up her naked legs, only to have a long dress drop into view. AAARRGH!!! I rate yet another film bad. Do not watch.
An American comedy drama directed by Ralph Staub, starring Walter Brennan and Lyle Talbot.
A sea captain returns home from a voyage to find that his daughter is engaged to the wrong man and his business is in danger. He gathers his family and future in-laws for a voyage on his ship to set things right.
I was about to refer to this film as "Affairs of Crappy Pricks" until I saw who the main character was played by. I can't do that to Stumpy (Rio Bravo 1959)! Suffice to say that I did not like the film, although it may have been technically well-made. The plot and characters were clearly communicated, but I did not like them. The style reminded me of a '50s sit-com. The pacing seemed a little off because it felt long, even though it was only 56 minutes. This may be because I don't like comedy films and didn't find this to be funny in the least bit. The sets were very well designed and the characters were in appropriate costumes. I'm rating this o.k. because it met some of my main criteria, but I didn't like it. You should watch this if you tend to disagree with my evaluations of films.
An American adventure film directed by Ewing Scott.
A man is sent to serve legal papers to a senator. They meet at a yacht race where the man is denied entry to the senator's yacht. Pretending to drown, he is brought on board and is stuck on the ship. When a storm strikes, the yacht crashes into a pirate ship and the passengers are taken hostage by the hostile captain.
The audio was of especially poor quality and the editing of the audio and video were very sloppy. The plot and characters were not explained sufficiently, did not make sense, but were easy to follow (if that makes any sense). This was just more rough to sift through in search of diamonds. I rate it poor.
A British American historical drama directed by Victor Sjostrom.
A cardinal makes a deal with a man who is caught dueling illegally. The man must capture the leader of the Huguenots.
The audio and video seem to come from the time period depicted in the film. The plot and characters did not hold my attention in the least bit. The whole thing is just so antiquated that it is impossible to watch. I rate it shit because I turned it off before the end.
An American action disaster film directed by Scott Pembroke.
A pair of new line installers come to a small town to help run telephone lines. They are immediately disliked and plunged into small town drama of relationships, infidelity and trouble in the workplace. Once things start to go well for them, the local dam breaks and causes a flood.
The plot, although inconclusive, was interesting and kept my attention through the whole duration. The characters lacked back-stories, but weren't bad. The audio and video were pretty good for 1937 and the style was standard for that time, but not too shabby. The pacing seemed right and made sense. Nothing was rushed or drawn out. At 52 minutes, it was easy to watch. I'm rating this o.k.
An English historical drama directed by William K. Howard, starring Lawrence Olivier and Vivien Leigh.
English nobles argue about war with Spain while a young Spanish man is falling in love with the English princess.
The plot and characters were some of the driest and most boring I've ever seen and on the whole, it was not a good film. However, the camera-work was PERFECT! I realized this at about 1:10 during a fight scene in which I could see both combatants struggling. Thinking retrospectively, I realized that the whole movie was shot wonderfully. There was a scene in which the young lead characters are together singing and the backdrop looks fantastic. I wish that modern filmmakers would shoot like this. Alejandro Jodorowsky would be proud. I'm rating it o.k. because it was a boring movie despite the great camera-work.
An American film noir directed by Louis J. Gasnier.
A group of gangsters, tired of the same old crime, decide to start robbing banks. A pair of these gangsters intentionally get picked up for vagrancy and spend a night in a jail that is also a post office in order to steal some money. A detective, clumsy photographer and their lady friends try to catch the gangsters.
I think that this was very well made. The production, editing and acting fit the time period, but looked pretty alright. The plot was a little thin and didn't keep me very interested though. The photographer seemed to be used as comic relief, but in a film noir this seems out of place. For doing an alright job making a mediocre film, I rate this o.k.
An American Comedy directed by William A. Wellman, starring Carole Lombard and Fredric March.A newspaper man finds out that a young woman has radium poisoning and goes to Vermont to interview her. It turns out that she is perfectly healthy, unbeknownst to the newspaper man, but he takes her and her doctor to New York anyway. There, she is the talk of the town and a celebrity because of her fake illness.I was surprised to see a colorized film from 1937. Apparently, Technicolor was invented in 1916, but obviously not widely used. The plot and characters were simple and direct. The style was very clear and the production value was good for the time. I daresay I liked it! Rating this good.
