An American drama directed by Sam Wood, starring William Holden.
Life in a small town at the beginning of the 1900s is shown.
Boring. This is the only version of this story to use sets and props. I tried to watch a newer one without sets one time and had to turn it off because it was putting me to sleep. Yes, this is a talking movie. No action takes place. The best part that I noticed was the editing of a match shot going from a girl walking to a chicken walking. When a minor editing setup is the best part, you know it's pretty bad. I'm going to have to go ahead and rate this shit. DO NOT WATCH!
An American drama directed by John Cromwell.
A boy in America is informed that he is the heir of a wealthy estate in England. He is brought there where he develops a relationship with his grandfather, but another heir appears.
This was quite uninteresting. The plot and characters were lame and the production value was poor. I shouldn't have to describe what audio and video from 1936 are like, as I have done so many times in the past. It wasn't painful and there were no mistakes, but I just did not like it. I rate it poor.
An American romantic drama directed by Christy Cabanne, starring Virginia Bruce.
The story of the eventful life of a woman in England is told. An adopted girl from an abusive home leaves for school or goes back to the orphanage (depending upon the version of this story that you see) where she stays until she becomes a teacher. After an argument with the headmaster over discipline, she leaves and gets a job as a governess, taking care of the daughter of a rich family. She falls in love with the uncle, but her employment takes her away from him.
I actually liked the plot and characters. I remember my mom and sister being really into this story a long time ago when I did not have the patience for it. The main character is portrayed very well as being an honest and caring person. She does her best to stand up for what is right. You can go on Wikipedia if you want to read their gigantic article about the morals of this story. The audio and video were absolutely prehistoric to the point where I thought I was in for a silent film at the beginning. Video artifacts, lines and noise are everywhere onscreen. Dead air hiss, crackles and pops can be heard. If you can get past the primitive production, the acting is good and there's a good story hidden in there somewhere. I rate it adequate.
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 animated fantasy comedy directed by Dave Fleischer.
The prince of one kingdom and the princess of another are about to get married. Unable to decide upon a song for the wedding, the kings declare war. A giant man is found on the beach of the princess' kingdom and he help to solve the problem.
The animation style is very primitive and very American. This is most evident in character design. It is also the element of the film that I found most annoying. The voice acting was also annoying to me. The plot was basic with only a few main characters. I know it's the first non-Disney American animated full length film. I am unimpressed. Poor rating. Only watch it if you're really into the historical value.
An American comedy written, directed and produced by Preston Sturges, starring Harold Lloyd.
A man is fired from his job and given a pension. He meets a stranger on the street who is trying to borrow money from him. The stranger takes him to a bar where the bartender creates a special drink for the unemployed man. Upon becoming drunk, he accidentally wins money by betting on a horse race. He then blacks out and wakes up two days later with no memory of what happened.
The plot and characters definitely held my interest. There was always something going on. The audio and video were of the times and there was an editing mistake in the bar scene. I thought the comedy was actually funny, unlike most other comedic films. Another aspect that caught my attention was the character figuring out what he did the day before by what was going on in the present. It helped to make the plot more interesting. The tame lion was a really cool addition as well. I rate good. Watch it for the clean '40s humor.
An American drama directed by E. Edward Sutherland.
When a trio of friends find that their dinner guests for christmas eve are not coming, they make a wager. Each of them throws a wallet into the street with $10 and his business card. They attract 2 dinner guests before they die and the story follows the lives of these guests.
This was boring and barely held my attention to follow the plot. The fact that it is an old talking movie did not incite my interest. Primitive black and white video was coupled with a slow soundtrack and the characters' voices. They did a double exposure effect to make some of the characters look like ghosts (picture). I rate it tolerable. If you have something else to do and want a movie playing while you practice guitar for example, this would work.
