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Horse Feathers

GroovyMovieGuy — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:51:29 +0000

The Marx Brothers go to college in “Horse Feathers,” but not with honors. This movie is more like a series of sketches rather than an evolving plot.
Prof. Quincy Adams Wagstaff (Groucho Marx) becomes head of Huxtable College which his son Frank (Zeppo Marx) attends. The new president decides this backwater school needs to set its priorities straight and build a winning football team. Pinky (Harpo Marx) and Baravelli (Chico Marx) participate in a wild plot to recruit, then kidnap their opponent’s top players.
The famous speakeasy password (swordfish) scene with Groucho and Chico is a comedy classic. Another highlight of the film is Chico’s piano playing while pretending to be a music teacher. (68 min.)

Unrated - 1932

Director:
Norman Z. McLeod

Starring:
Groucho Marx
Harpo Marx
Chico Marx
Zeppo Marx
Thelma Todd
David Landau

Writers:
Bert Kalmar
Harry Ruby
S.J. Perelman
Will B. Johnstone

Six of a Kind

movieMoll — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:35:47 +0000

These comic luminaries — Charles Ruggles, Mary Boyland, W.C. Fields, Alison Skipworth, Geroge Burns and Gracie Allen — add up to a winning hand in “Six of a Kind. Mild-mannered bank worker Pinky Whinney (Ruggles) and his wife Flora (Boland) plan a cross-country car trip to California. George and Gracie answer an ad placed by Flora to share trip expenses. While Ruggles and Boland have top billing, Gracie Allen fuels the mayhem the trip turns into. Adding to Pinky’s troubles is the fact that, unbeknownst to him, a fellow bank employee has stolen and stashed $50,000 in his suitcase, which his employers believe was embezzled by Pinky. W.C. Fields, playing a less-than-honest small town sheriff, and Alison Skipworth, as the local innkeeper, discover the money and round up the suspects with hilarious results. (65 min.)

Unrated - 1934

Director:
Leo McCarey

Starring:
Charles Ruggles
Mary Boland
W.C. Fields
George Burns
Gracie Allen
Alison Skipworth
Bradley Page
Grace Bradley
William J. Kelly

Writers:
Walter DeLeon (writer)
Douglas MacLean (story)
Harry Ruskin (writer)
Keene Thompson (story)

Six of a Kind

GroovyMovieGuy — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:33:52 +0000

Flora Whinney (Mary Boyland) advertises for a couple to share expenses on a cross-country automobile trip with her and her husband, Pinky Whinney (Charles Ruggles). They get George Edwards (George Burns) and Gracie De Vore (Gracie Allen), an unmarried couple, that put a kink into just about every mile of the journey.
Along the way, they stop at an inn where proprietress Mrs. K. Rumford (Alison Skipworth) and the Nuggetville Sheriff (W.C. Fields) bring as much calamity as calm to the situation. A master of physical comedy, W.C. Fields has an extended scene shooting pool while inebriated to comic effect.
“Six of a Kind” is the best movie of the three film DVD set that also features “Here Comes Cookie” and “Love in Bloom.” (65 min.)

Unrated - 1934

Director:
Leo McCarey

Starring:
Charles Ruggles
Mary Boland
W.C. Fields
George Burns
Gracie Allen
Alison Skipworth
Bradley Page
Grace Bradley
William J. Kelly

Writers:
Walter DeLeon (writer)
Douglas MacLean (story)
Harry Ruskin (writer)
Keene Thompson (story)

A Day at the Races

movieMoll — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:21:34 +0000

This Marx Brothers’ follow-up to “A Night at the Opera,” completes the double feature of what most critics — and fans — consider to be the comedy team’s two best films. When Dr. Hugo Hackenbush (Groucho) comes on staff at Standish Sanitarium, owner Judy Standish (Maureen O’Sullivan) hopes he can save the business from bankruptcy. Insanity ensues as Judy’s friends (including Harpo and Chico) try to keep secret the fact that Hackenbush is really a veterinarian. His medical qualifications hardly matter since his real job is to make wealthy hypochondriac Emily Upjohn (Margaret Dumont) happy enough to lend her financial support to the sanitarium. Judy’s boyfriend Gil (Allan Jones) saves the day with a long-shot race horse, with Harpo as jockey. “All God’s Chillun Got Rhythm,” featuring black cast members is painfully stereotypical today, but was progressive for the time and provided an early showcase for Dorothy Dandridge. The plot, of course, is entirely secondary to the brothers’ antics, which include Groucho choreographing some fancy footwork with two women on the dance floor at the same time, Harpo deconstructing a piano and plucking a harp from the rubble, and Chico conning Groucho while hawking his “Tootsie Fruitsie” ice cream. (111 min.)

Unrated - 1937

Starring:
Groucho Marx
Chico Marx
Harpo Marx
Maureen O’Sullivan
Allan Jones
Margaret Dumont
Sig Ruman
Esther Muir
Dorothy Dandridge
Douglass Dumbrille

Director:
Sam Wood

Writers:
Robert Pirosh
George Seaton
George Oppenheimer

A Day at the Races

GroovyMovieGuy — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:11:28 +0000

Hackenbush! Hackenbush!
Calling Dr. Hackenbush, aka Groucho Marx, and his brothers Chico and Harpo who led the wild hijinks in this comedy classic set in both a sanatorium and at a horse racing track. Highlights include Groucho entertaining a young lady at a table with a centerpiece so big he has to stand on his chair to see her; Chico playing a classical piece on the piano with finger work that includes him shooting the keys with his index finger; and Chico destroying the same piano and playing it like a harp.
The Marx Brothers inspired British rock group Queen in naming two of their albums. “A Day at the Races” featured Queen’s hit song “Tie Your Mother Down.” It was the followup album to “A Night at the Opera,” which included the hit song “Bohemian Rhapsody” heard in “Wayne’s World.” (111 min.)

Unrated - 1937

Starring:
Groucho Marx
Chico Marx
Harpo Marx
Maureen O’Sullivan
Allan Jones
Margaret Dumont
Sig Ruman
Esther Muir
Dorothy Dandridge
Douglass Dumbrille

Director:
Sam Wood

Writers:
Robert Pirosh
George Seaton
George Oppenheimer

Laura

GroovyMovieGuy — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 06:13:11 +0000

It’s too bad that many people have forgotten what a fine actor Vincent Price was. His performance in the film noir classic “Laura” is outstanding and worthy of one who as a younger man played leading man on Broadway against Helen Hayes.
Clifton Webb received a well-deserved Oscar nomination for his supporting actor role. Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews were dead on as the femme fatale and tough detective.
Look for Oleg Cassini’s cameo as himself. He was Gene Tierney’s husband at the time.
The cinematography in “Laura” is a beautiful version of film noir, winning Joseph LaShelle the Best Cinematography (Black and White) Oscar. Other Oscar nominations include Best Art Direction-Interior Direction (Black and White), Best Writing-Screenplay as well as Best Director to Otto Preminger.
The accolades are truly deserved, as this is a noir classic that should not be missed. (88 min.)

Unrated - 1944

Starring:
Gene Tierney
Dana Andrews
Clifton Webb
Vincent Price
Judith Anderson

Director:
Otto Preminger

Writers:
Vera Caspary (novel)
Jay Dratler (screenplay)
Samuel Hoffenstein (screenplay)
Betty Reinhardt (screenplay)

Lauren Bacall’s famous line from ‘To Have and Have Not’

movieMoll — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:45:03 +0000

Bogey and Bacall made cinematic history. Every fan of classic movies knows Lauren Bacall’s line to Humphrey Bogart’s character: “You know how to whistle, don’t you, Steve?”

The Chinese Cat

movieMoll — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 13:47:09 +0000

Considered lesser work than earlier 20th Century Fox films in the series, this second Charlie Chan outing under low-budget Monogram Pictures is still enjoyable for Sidney Toler fans. The adage-spouting detective exercises his usual charm and brilliant deductive ability, this time with Number Three Son, Tommy (Benson Fong), in tow. Father, son and their reluctant driver Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland) stumble over corpses as they follow the trail of diamond smugglers and Chan solves a locked-room murder that baffled police for months. Chan rounds up the bad guys after a chase through a carnival fun house. Just over an hour long and lots more fun than a stale TV sitcom. (65 min.)

Unrated - 1944

Director:
Phil Rosen

Starring:
Sidney Toler
Benson Fong
Mantan Moreland
Joan Woodbury
Weldon Heyburn
Ian Keith
Betty Blythe
John Davidson

Writers:
Earl Derr Biggers (characters)
George Callahan (story)

Impact

movieMoll — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 19:58:25 +0000

Successful businessman Walter Williams (Brian Donlevy) is crazy about his beautiful wife Irene (Helen Walker) — and she’s crazy about someone else. Irene and the other man plot to get her husband out of the way so they can enjoy his money without being inconvenienced. The murder doesn’t exactly go as planned. “Impact” is a bit schizophrenic — part film noir, part Mayberry, but both parts are enjoyable to watch. Walker is great as the femme fatale and the San Francisco locales are beautifully shot. Great quote from movie: “In this world, you turn the other cheek, and you get hit with a lug wrench” - Walter Williams. (111 min.)

1949 - Unrated

Starring:
Brian Donlevy
Ella Raines
Charles Coburn
Helen Walker
Anna May Wong
Robert Warwick
Mae Marsh
Tony Barrett

Director:
Arthur Lubin

Writers:
Jay Dratler (story, writer)
Dorothy Davenport (screenwriter)

To Have and Have Not

movieMoll — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 06:13:04 +0000

Don’t let the plot confuse you. “To Have and Have Not” isn’t about smuggling or the French Resistance, it’s about Bogie and Bacall falling in love on and off screen. You can hear the electricity crackle between Steve Morgan (Humphrey Bogart) and Marie Browning (Lauren Bacall) in the first of four films the two stars made together. Only 19 years old, this was Bacall’s first film, but she owns it. We can’t take our eyes off her anymore than Bogart could. And she delivers some of the best lines ever written for a leading lady: “You know how to whistle, don’t you, Steve? Just put your lips together and blow.” ( 100 min.)

Unrated - 1945

Starring:
Humphrey Bogart
Walter Brennan
Lauren Bacall
Hoagy Carmichael
Delore Moran
Sheldon Leonard
Marcel Dalio
Dan Seymour

Director:
Howard Hawks

Writers:
Jules Furthman (screenplay)
William Faulkner (screenplay)
Ernest Hemingway (novel) uncredited