An American western musical directed by Frank McDonald, starring Roy Rogers, George Gabby Hayes and Trigger.
An old man runs a dated rodeo show that is losing popularity. The owner of a more successful rodeo proposes to the old man's daughter in hopes of combining the two rodeos. A singing cowboy steps in to sort things out.
The video was amazingly clear for this early date and I liked the hokey, old music. In fact, I'm beginning to like the Roy and Gabby team. The plot was not communicated very clearly and was vague in some places. The recycled characters from every other singing cowboy western were pretty stale, but worked alright for this one. It seems that there were many 55 minute westerns created around this time that are hit and miss based on luck. Some have a hokey charm and others are just shoddily crafted filler. I rate this o.k.
An American western directed by Lambert Hillyer, starring Johnny Mack Brown.
A marshall poses as a cobbler to catch bank robbers.
This was just very old and outdated. The plot and characters were not clearly communicated and much of the video was underexposed. What I saw was a murky cesspool of antiquated western elements. I have to rate this shit because I turned it off.
An American western musical directed by Joseph Kane, starring Roy Rogers.
A pair of cowboys are mistaken for kidnappers when they find the bracelet of a runaway girl on the trail. They eventually meet the girl and find that she is searching for her late father's buried treasure in his worthless mine. A businessman is in the process of buying the mine and the cowboys must decipher whether the girl's story about her father's treasure is true.
The plot was clearly communicated and characters easy to keep track of. The musical numbers were tastefully sprinkled through the film, so they did not wear out their welcome. I thought that the style seemed a little bland and hokey. The filmmakers were definitely not trying anything new and creative on this one. It always throws me for a loop when I see cars in a western. This one seemed to be set near a city for some strange reason that I cannot fathom. Overall, it's a standard, old, hokey singing cowboy flick. I rate it o.k. because there are many things that are much worse than that.
An American science fiction horror directed by Sam Newfield, starring J. Carrol Naish.
A scientist poisons a pianist and says he will supply the antidote if he can marry the pianist's daughter.
The simple plot and shallow characters did not make a good story. The audio was pretty bad, with dead air hiss, crackle and pops. I didn't see any editing errors, but had a hard time paying attention because of lack of interest. The "monster" that is made was unimpressive. Overall, it was a waste of an hour. I rate it bad.
An American comedy mystery directed by Frank McDonald, starring Bela Lugosi, Jack Haley and Jean Parker.
When a rich man dies, his relatives gather at his house to read his will. They are obligated to stay until the correct tomb can be built or not get money. A life insurance salesman shows up and gets drawn into their escapades as well.
I had to turn this off at about the hour mark because it was stupid, pointless and badly produced. The video was underexposed and the plot and characters were annoying. Nothing more need be said. In accordance with my turnoff policy, I rate this shit.
An American comedy drama directed by Ralph Murphy.
In neighboring houses, fathers fight and eldest children wish to marry. They make their way to another town where they are told that they need to file a document 3 days in advance before being married. With the document filed, the clerk of the office finds out that children from the 2 families were switched at birth. Now brother and sister are engaged and facing jail time because of it.
More of the same. Everything was standard for the 1940s including the accidental pan-and-scan job that cut a little bit off the sides of the frame. The sitcom style "humor" was not funny in the least bit. The "stock" (Some Kind of Monster) plot and characters did not impress me. I noticed a Freemasonry-style not-so-secret society of Mooseheads which raised the only chuckle of the film. I rate this bad and would advise against watching.
An American drama directed by Frank McDonald.
A man returns from the army to find that the business deal that he is a partner in was corrupted when his friend died. Another friend owns a night club with gambling along with some gangsters. The ex-soldier meets up with a female friend who works in the night club and was married to the dead friend. In order to put wrongs to right, the trio must embark on a temporary career in logging. Unfortunately for them, one of their current business partners is a friend of the man who corrupted the investment in the first place and is trying to stop them.
The plot and characters were adequate to hold my attention. The audio quality was horrible, with high pitched dead air and a constant clicking sound. There isn't much to write about this film, but what in the world is that crazy statue on the mantle? (picture) I rate it o.k. and would only recommend watching to kill time.
An American musical comedy directed by William Berke.
The owner of a comic and cartoon company has not smiled or laughed in 20 years and wants his daughter to marry a man who she does not love. The daughter and her real boyfriend hire a special psychologist to help the father. When this does not work, they dig into the family's past for an answer.
This was actually pretty good. The plot was decent, but did not completely fill the duration of just an hour and 7 minutes. The filler is what made the film in this case. This consisted of comedic and musical acts that I imagine must have been popular at the time the film was created. Although dated by today's standards, I think that these acts have stood the test of time quite well. Some highlights include a man who dresses a model using only strips of cloth, a trumpet player with a hand puppet and a very good piano player. The video was of the time, but did not have the sloppy editing that I have gotten used to. The audio was a little thin, but the music came through alright. I'm rating this good because I liked it. You may want to check it out if you can dig the vintage comedy.
An American film directed by William Berke.
A man trying to claim his inheritance boards the wrong boat to get to America. On the boat, he encounters a burlesque dancer and some men who want to kill him.
The plot and characters were unclear and the presentation was lacking. The audio and video were surprisingly good quality, but when they show a jumbled mess, it doesn't help. 1944 seems to be quite a bad year for movies. I'm rating this bad.
An American talkie directed by Edgar G. Ulmer, starring John Carradine.
A puppeteer who strangles women set his sights on a dressmaker.
The audio and video seemed like they were from 1904 rather than '44. The plot was dry and the characters drier; Mummy dry. Being totally devoid of style, this film should have been put out of it's misery sooner because an hour and 10 minutes was too much and I turned it off half way through. I have to rate it shit.
An art film by Maya Deren.A woman washes up on a beach and passes through ordinary situations without logical transitions.This was REALLY short. 15 minutes! There was no sound and the video was black and white. There isn't much here to rate, so I'm defaulting to o.k. on the basis that there was no film to rate. No soundtrack, no plot...I even watched it twice and was still wondering "where's the movie?".
A comedy directed by Frank Capra.A man who is about to go on his honeymoon visits his aunts before he leaves. He finds that they are killing men and his brother (who thinks he is president Roosevelt) buries them in the basement. The shit really hits the fan when his other brother, a convicted felon, shows up with his assistant. The police and the people from a local sanitarium show up and everything becomes a big mess.I thought this was quite amusing. It's a breath of fresh air compared to modern comedies with their stupidity and sex jokes. All the actors play their parts very well and the camera-work plays a very small role. If you like modern comedy, stay away from this! Please excuse me for giving so many films good ratings so close together. Either I'm going soft in the head, or I just got a batch of good films.
