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Reviews
Air-Tight (1931)
Fun slapstick in the sound era
This film is gets off to a predictable start, a runaway glider, but then pulls out all the stops with lots of great slapstick gags.
No, it's not a deadly serious work of art or comedic genius. But it has a lot of twists and turns to make it fun.
Just when you think you know what the next gag will be, they throw something entirely different in.
There's really not a wasted frame in this fine little comedy from a series that produced only a handful of films. This ranks as one of their best.
If you enjoy slapstick, you'll love this one. New prints of it are available at filmclassic.com for $185; too bad such a high price of admission is charged for this little gem, but it does show up on TCM from time to time.
It would be great if Hallmark would release all the Boy Friends shorts on DVD.
Busy Bodies (1933)
Pure joy
This gem is pure Laurel and Hardy, no plot, just the boys having fun in a lumberyard.
They use the props available to their absolute best advantage. There is very little dialogue, and it's unnecessary, as they show their tremendous ability to get laughs from the simplest situations and without engaging in vulgar comments today's "comedians" depend upon to get a laugh.
This is a timeless classic. I would rank it as their best, with the possible exception of Tit for Tat, Brats and Towed in a Hole.
It's unfortunate that DVDs of this classic are not readily available in the U.S. at this time.
The Chases of Pimple Street (1934)
A real delight
What a pity this little gem of a film is not available on DVD or tape. This is simply a joy to watch, from the opening song and nostalgic moon in the window of the Chase residence to the closing scenes at the night club, this is one great short.
I especially like the line "Why he's one of the finest men from Ashtabula, Ohio." That's where I live and when that finest man shows up drunk, it's absolute hoot for local audiences who enjoy a screening of this film at my home.
I am running a super 8mm Blackhawk sound print, but hope one day to have a 16mm print of this wonderful comedy. It's certainly the best he did in 1935 and eclipsed only by Pip from Pittsburgh, IMHO.
The Psychic Parrot (1977)
One of the funniest statements on human nature I've seen
This is a great little gem of a film.
I purchased a 16mm print of this film not knowing what it was, but I was delighted to find such a creative, fun look at how the average American would react to the end of the world. "Why isn't the government doing something about it?"
The husband and wife characters are like people I know -- the wife is wrapped up in watching TV and eating while the husband is concerned about the head on his beer.
As the hour of death draws near, Americans crowd Times Square and watch fireworks like it was the dawn of New Year.
The ending is great.
Obviously low budget, this film is nevertheless very enjoyable. It brings howls of laughter from audience I show it to at our movie nights in our basement "theater."
highly recommended.
Songcatcher (2000)
A veiled attempt to promote lesbianism
This movie is supposed to be about the collection of folk music from an identified section of the "Southern Mountains," or Appalachia.
In typical Hollywood fashion, it presents the people of this land as hard-drinking, suspicious of outsiders, bearing kids as kids and fundamental Christian extremists.
The whole point of this movie is not about collecting songs but to make the viewer sympathetic to the lesbian relationship between the two teachers. The movie should have an R rating at a minimum because of the gross lesbian love making scene in this film. Further, the whole premise that a couple of the people in the community would burn down the school because of this lesbian relationship between the teachers is one more stereotyping of these people and the Christian faith found in the mountains.
I was really disappointed in this film because it is nothing more than pro-lesbian and pro-feminism propaganda.