Yankee Doodle Goes to Town (1939) User Reviews

Look for the Silver Lining

[boblipton · 6/10 · 28 January 2014]

Clem Bevans plays his patented grumpy old man -- here called "Curdleface" -- in this John Nesbitt Passing Parade short for MGM. In it, throughout the years, from the Revolutionary War to the present day of 1939, there Curdleface is to moan that this current crisis will mean the end of life as we know it.

The Passing Parade series always offered a small guys, Roosevelt liberal view of the world. With the Second World War about to break out in Europe and people worrying about the future, this short subject offers its usual message in an engaging fashion. Modern viewers may find it a bit simplistic, but that is the point of the piece.

Old curdleface, one gloomy gus

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 5 July 2019]

This short subject from John Nesbitt's Passing Parade series is a tribute to American pluck and ingenuity since 1776. It's seen through the eyes of the glass is half empty guy Nathan Curdleface. Played here over the years by curmudgeonly character actor Clem Bevans.

Bismarck once said God watches over babes, drunks and the USA. Could be, but this subject opts for American exceptionalism.

Nice story and I always like Clem Bevans, but I doubt it could be made today.