Mickey’s Mechanical Man (1933)

MICKEY’S MECHANICAL MAN (1933)
Animated cartoon
Article 3180 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 2-27-2010
Posting Date: 4-29-2010
Director Unknown
Featuring the voices of Walt Disney and Marcellite Garner
Country: USA
What it is: Animated robot boxer short

Mickey is training a robot to battle a gorilla in the boxing ring. Complications ensue when he discovers that Minnie’s car horn drives the robot bonkers.

From this cartoon as well as THE ROBOT, I’ve come to the conclusion that boxing robots have been around (as an idea) for ages. As usual, this one is very well animated, but you’ll find the story utterly predictable; once you see how the robot reacts to Minnie’s car horn, you’ll know exactly how this short will play out. Still, how often do you get to see robots battling gorillas? Okay, there’s KING KONG ESCAPES, but it’s admittedly a rare notion.

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One Arabian Night (1920)

ONE ARABIAN NIGHT (1920)
aka Sumurun
Article 3179 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 2-26-2010
Posting Date: 4-28-2010
Directed by Ernst Lubitsch
Featuring Ernst Lubitsch, Pola Negri, Paul Wegener
Country: Germany
What it is: Arabian Nights epic

The beautiful favorite wife of a sheik is secretly in love with a handsome merchant. She hatches a plan to find another woman more beautiful than herself to lure the sheik into picking a new favorite wife, thereby leaving her free to pursue her affair. However, the woman she finds is a wild and unpredictable gypsy woman who is loved unrequitedly by a hunchback. Complications ensue.

The only fantastic content in this Arabian Nights story is the presence of a hunchback; other than that, the only reason I can think that this movie would qualify is by association, since many other Arabian Nights stories have more fantastic elements. Of the Lubitsch films I’ve seen for this series, this is my second favorite, but you must bear in mind that two of the others I’ve seen (THE EYES OF THE MUMMY and THAT LADY IN ERMINE) are considered his weakest movies, and this one is considered just a hair better. Lubitsch himself was extremely disappointed by his own performance as the hunchback here, and it was his last acting role. I quite liked the movie, though it is admittedly over the top, but the energy is very high, and it manages to tell its complicated story with verve and clarity. Much of the story is comedic, though it takes some tragic turns towards the end. Pola Negri is definitely memorable as the wild gypsy woman, and Paul Wegener shows up as the jealous sheik. My favorite story thread has the hunchback seeking solace from his pain by imbibing of a drug that puts him into a deathlike state, only to have his supine body embark on a series of unexpected adventures when it is stolen by thieves that mistake it for booty.

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The Robber Symphony (1936)

THE ROBBER SYMPHONY (1936)
Article 3178 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 2-25-2010
Posting Date: 4-27-2010
Directed by Fredrich Feher
Featuring Hans Feher, Magda Sonja, George Graves
Country: UK
What it is: Surreal crime musical?

A bag of loot is stashed in a piano that belongs to a family of traveling entertainers. A gang of robbers tries to get the loot back, and though they kidnap two members of the troop, the third, a young boy, has run off with the piano.

“The Motion Picture Guide” classifies this movie as a fantasy, but whether this movie actually belongs to that classification is a difficult thing to settle. A straightforward discussion of the plot yields little to qualify that classification, but the style in which the movie is shot is determinedly non-realistic, what with its surreal images (an orchestra made up of mustachioed men in bowlers is one touch) and it’s various cinematic techniques (lots of fast motion photography and the occasional moments in which the film is run backwards) tend to give us the feeling that this takes place in another world entirely. Apparently, English and French versions of the movie were made, but the movie tries as much as possible to rely on visuals and music to tell the story (in fact, the credits do not speak of the movie of having been directed but of having been “composed”) that the language is almost secondary; in fact there are moments where the talking is more for the sound of what’s being said rather than for the substance of it. All around, this is one strange and unique movie, sometimes confusing, but made with energy and wit. Director Friedrich Feher appears as an actor in THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, and uncredited co-producer Robert Wiene directed that silent classic, so this should give you a bit of an idea of what you’re getting into here.

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The Pit and the Pendulum (1913)

THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM (1913)
Article 3177 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 2-24-2010
Posting Date: 4-26-2010
Directed by Alice Guy
Featuring Darwin Karr, Fraunie Fraunholz, Blanche Cornwall
Country: USA
What it is: Fragment of a Poe adaptation

A thwarted suitor joins the Inquisition to get revenge on a romantic rival.

The only copy I’ve been able to find of this movie is a seven-minute one on Yahoo video, and I suspect it’s only a fragment. It sets up a backstory in which a man is framed for the theft by sorcery of church property, and given that this is discovered by the Inquisition, this no doubt leads to the man being tortured in the method described by the Poe story. The movie cuts off just as the the man is framed for the theft, which makes me suspect that this is just a fragment. I suppose this shouldn’t count, but it’s late at night and I don’t have time to watch another movie, so I’ll beg your indulgence on this one.

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Le voyage imaginaire (1925)

LE VOYAGE IMAGINAIRE (1925)
aka The Imaginary Voyage
Article 3176 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 2-23-2010
Posting Date: 4-25-2010
Directed by Rene Clair
Featuring Dolly Davis, Jean Borlin, Albert Prejean
Country: France
What it is: Surreal fantasy/comedy

A timid bank clerk tries to win the heart of a female co-worker, but finds himself at odds with two other co-workers who also try to win her attention. He enters into a dream world where he must learn to overcome his timidity to win her.

Some of the above plot description may be a little inaccurate, since my copy of this silent movie only had Italian title cards, but I don’t think I’m far off the mark. The fantasy sequence that makes up most of the film, with the sequences in which our hero enters the underworld and transforms some old crones into beautiful women and the one in the wax museum where the figures come to life being the high points of the movie. This being a Rene Clair movie, it has that lightness that keeps the fantasy sequences from getting heavy handed; I find it rather fitting that one of the heroes of the wax museum sequence is a Charlie Chaplin figure come to life. There’s a bizarre alligator creature that eats clothes, a man in a cat costume, the transformation of a woman into a mouse and a man into a dog. It’s all very indescribable, but likable in its own way.

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The Singing Princess (1949)

THE SINGING PRINCESS (1949)
aka La rosa di Bagdad
Article 3175 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 2-22-2010
Posting Date: 4-24-2010
Directed by Anton Gino Domenighini
Featuring the voices of Julie Andrews, Patricia Hayes, Stephen Jack
Country: Italy
What it is: Animated Arabian Nights story

The beautiful princess Zeila becomes the amorous target of the corrupt Sheikh Jafar, who uses a magician named Burk to cast a spell over her. Only her childhood friend Amin can save her.

If you do a chronological sort on the movies of Julie Andrews on IMDB, you may be startled to find that her first movie was this animated fantasy from Italy made in the late forties; she would have been 14 years old when this one was made. However, if you pay attention to the opening credits, you will see the copyright for the English version is much later – 1967; this was obviously not her first film. I can’t help but notice that several of the user comments on IMDB fail to take this into account. The movie makes a lot of fuss about her involvement here; it stars “the magical voice of Julie Andrews”, but, truth to tell, the semi-operatic tunes she warbles here just aren’t very memorable. The animation is obviously modeled off of the work of Disney, and even if it doesn’t flow as well, it does seem to have a rhythm all its own. The story itself is a variation of Aladdin, with the genie from that story making an appearance late in the movie. The English version isn’t done with a lot of care; the syncing is off, and there are moments where characters speak with no voices coming out at all. This makes for a very uneven viewing experience, but there are some neat moments in the story; I love a creatively staged dance with three snakes, and Amin’s final confrontation with the evil magician is a definite highlight.

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Seven Thunders (1957)

SEVEN THUNDERS (1957)
aka The Beasts of Marseilles
Article 3174 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 2-21-2010
Posting Date: 4-23-2010
Directed by Hugo Fregonese
Featuring Stephen Boyd, James Robertson Justice, Tony Wright
Country: UK
What it is: War drama

During WWII, two British POWs lay low in the old quarter of Marseilles, which they discover is populated by a number of refugees from the Germans. But how long can they hide here safely…?

“The Motion Picture Guide” partially classifies this movie as horror, but I suspect any horror fan would walk away from this one frustrated and disappointed. It does contain a horror element (there is a serial killer present), but this element remains peripheral to the plot for the most part, and furthermore, it’s the type of serial killer that’s in it for the money, and this detail tends to lessen the horror vibe of the concept. Those who decide to see it through will find a not uninteresting wartime drama, albeit one that feels a little cluttered with too many characters; it’s one of those movies that is based on a novel and feels like it. The serial killer does provide some memorable moments, especially during a scene where he describes to a victim just what is going to happen to him, and it builds to a nice climax when the Nazis take some extreme measures to flush out the refugees in the old quarter. I’d say it’s good, but not great.

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Yellow Submarine (1968)

YELLOW SUBMARINE (1968)
Article 3173 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 2-20-2010
Posting Date: 4-22-2010
Directed by George Dunning
Featuring the voices of The Beatles, Paul Angelis, John Clive
Country: UK / USA
What it is: Musical psychedelic adventure movie

When Pepperland is invaded by the music-hating Blue Meanies, one man escapes to call on the Beatles to help them rid Pepperland of the menace.

Director George Dunning had previously produced the animated TV series “The Beatles”, a show that was not a favorite of the group itself. Probably as a result, the group wasn’t initially thrilled with this project, and though they contributed four songs (none of which proved to be hits), they largely saw it as a way to fulfill their movie contract with United Artists, and didn’t even voice their own characters. However, they were so impressed with the results that they agreed to appear in a filmed epilogue in which they lead the audience in a sing-along of “All Together Now”.

When looking at the credits, I was surprised not to see the name of Peter Max, whose work was extremely similar to the visual style of this movie; it was Heinz Edelmann who was responsible for the wild psychedelic look of the movie. The plot is pretty standard stuff; the basic adventure story format is the type of thing that would work for your average sword-and-sandal movie. But then, the movie isn’t really about the plot; it’s about the music and the visuals. It’s fascinating to watch, though it does go on a bit too long. The movie is full of references, including ones to FRANKENSTEIN and KING KONG, as well as numerous ones to the Beatles themselves. The animation is on the limited side, but it would prove to be influential on the work of Terry Gilliam.

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Welcome Home, Johnny Bristol (1972)

WELCOME HOME, JOHNNY BRISTOL (1972)
TV-Movie
Article 3172 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 2-19-2010
Posting Date: 4-21-2010
Directed by George McCowan
Featuring Martin Landau, Jane Alexander, Brock Peters
Country: USA
What it is: Psychological drama or Paranoid conspiracy movie?

A POW from Vietnam returns to the states; he was only able to survive his captivity by recalling memories of his hometown in Charles, Vermont. When he’s well enough to leave the hospital, he takes his nurse to visit his hometown… only to find that it doesn’t exist.

It’s a little hard to discuss the fantastic content of a movie like this; for most of its running time, it walks a thin line between the truth and the illusion without letting on which is which, and to talk about what the fantastic content is would be to give away the game. Let’s just say that one possible explanation takes us on an exploration of madness (marginal horror) while another deals with the marginal science fiction of vast conspiracy theories. One of these does apply.

Whatever its fantastic content, I found this TV-Movie to be truly engrossing, it’s well written, well directed, and extremely well acted. In particular, Martin Landau as the tortured POW of the title gives one of his finest performances, but I also have to mention Forrest Tucker, who shines as a fellow patient in the ward. Jane Alexander is also strong as the nurse, and Pat O’Brien has a memorable cameo as a former recruiting sergeant with a faulty memory. The movie does a strong job of keeping you in suspense as to the nature of the truth, and even once you think you know which story is true, you’ll find out there’s still some details that are capable of changing the whole game. The ending is not a disappointment. Highly recommended.

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Off to Bloomingdale Asylum (1901)

OFF TO BLOOMINGDALE ASYLUM (1901)
aka L’omnibus des toques blancs et noirs
Article 3171 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 2-18-2010
Posting Date: 4-20-2010
Directed by Georges Melies
Cast unknown
Country: France
What it is: Bizarre little trick film

Four black men turn white when they are knocked off an omnibus by a mechanical horse. They turn themselves black again, then white again, then black, and merge into one fat black man, which then….

The black men are white men in blackface, so you know that this Melies short wouldn’t fly today. According to one source, they’re being transported to an asylum, but they probably got that from the English title; the French title doesn’t appear to have any words that reflect an asylum at all. It’s surreal, quick, and fun.

CORRECTION: According to doctor kiss at CHFB, the word ‘toques’ above more or less classifies the characters as “madmen”, and the world “Charenton” on the omnibus is a reference to a French asylum. So, I stand corrected.

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