bugsmoran29 Reviews

High Flyers (1937)

Bert Wheeler shadow boxing

[10/10 · 28 October 2021]

I enjoyed this final Wheeler & Woolsey feature film. The highlight was when Bert did his dance routine as Charles Chaplin. The part were he boxed with the picture was hysterical. Poor Woolsey gave his best effort here. It is sad to know he was dying at the time.

It was also fun to see Jack Carson as the bad guy and the dog as the real jewel thief.

Bye Bye Braverman (1968)

It had its' moments!

[8/10 · 12 August 2021]

Overall, it was an enjoyable movie. The four lead actors were all very likeable and believable. They were middle-aged men who were middling writers saying goodbye to one of their own.

The Toast of New York (1937)

Made Wall Street Look Fun

[10/10 · 22 June 2020]

I enjoyed this movie because it made Wall Street and big finances look fun. It was the roll of the dice and you're rich...or poor. Edward Arnold played Jim Fisk as a bigger than life character just as he did with Diamond Jim Brady, Daniel Webster and Nero Wolfe. My favorite character was Uncle Daniel Drew played by Donald Meeks.

Dalziel and Pascoe (1996–2007)

Good episode with a haunting soundtrack by Lucas Campbell

[10/10 · 29 April 2020]

I am an American who really appreciates British mystery series. Dalziel and Pascoe right at the top of my list of favorites from the BBC. I was really awestruck by the soundtrack in this episode. Research indicates that the music was composed and performed by Lucas Campbell. Wonderful music.

Wild Boys of the Road (1933)

The Road Boys did exist

[10/10 · 5 December 2019]

The Road Boys where a real part of the American scene, dating from the late 19th century well until the 20th century. Many were orphans, riding the rails as a way of life. Others were youngsters seeking employment to help out the folks back home. This movie is very graphic and distressing, as well as very true. Frankie Darro is outstanding as the road boy.

Horror of Dracula (1958)

Why does Dracula need a libarian?

[10/10 · 25 October 2019]

I first saw this movie in the early sixties at a movie theater in my small home town in Wisconsin. It scared the daylights out of me! Years later, this film is still very grisly. I'm not sure if this movie is set in Romania or Germany. I do know the count's castle is very close to the city where Jonathan Harker, Doctor V, and the Holmwood family lived.

I have to wonder out loud why Count Dracula needed a librarian? Did he put an advertisement in the newspapers? Did he interview perspective candidates? Why did Johnathan take on the count inside of his castle instead of waiting for the arrival of the doctor.

For all of that: it is great fun!! Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee were at their best in this film!

Der blaue Engel (1930)

The professor and a show girl

[9/10 · 17 September 2019]

Marlene Dietrich stole the show with her performance as a lusty show girl who woos and then destroys a stuffy professor from a local academy. The movie certainly is rather creaky and grainy. The action is drawn-out at times, especially with the Herr Professor blowing his nose and elaborately wrapping up his hanky and stuffing it back into his pocket. However, I found the story interesting. I liked the wet and grimy cobblestone streets of the German city, as well as the smoke-filled atmosphere of the night club. the degradation of the professor is tragic and depressing.

Stan & Ollie (2018)

So Long Stan and Ollie

[10/10 · 29 July 2019]

This movie was a bittersweet look at the final days of the great comedy team of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Once Hollywood bigshots, the two go to the United Kingdom and Ireland to reboot their dead careers. With false hopes for the feature-film deal in London, the two old troupers do their beloved routines and song and dance one more time to adoring audiences.

When the two arrive in Cohb, Ireland, the church bells ring out their famous signature musical tune. Ollie dies two years later and Stan expires in 8. However, as the movie indicated, the two would remain beloved by movie audiences for years to come.

Black '47 (2018)

Celtic Warrior on a Quest

[10/10 · 29 July 2019]

In spite of the depressing backdrop of the Famine, I found this to be an interesting story. An Irishman in the British army returns to Ireland to find his family extinct and his nation vanquished. The soldier starts a mission of revenge towards those he holds responsible, with his ultimate target being the landlord.

One can't help but pull for the Gael rebel against the police, the so9ldiers and the upper class. Obviously a 90 minute movie is never going to be able to get too deeply into the complexity of the Great Hunger.

The hero is Irish but Hannah is the symbol of English decency and brvery.

Black '47 (2018)

Brave celt versus savage saasenachs

[10/10 · 27 July 2019]

Black 47 is a very gripping movie, but a painful one to watch! It did remind me of those 'revenge movies' in the old spaghetti westerns. A soldier returns to Ireland after taking the King's shilling, where he discovers that his family has been victims of racial-religious genocide. The soldier, using his skill sets he leaned while serving for the British Empire, sets out to kills the people he hold responsible for his loss: the land agent, the judge, the landlord and assorted red coats and coppers.

The story of the famine is very sad and complicated one. However, contrary to what one poster wrote, the bad guys weren't all English. Hannah, the second main character in the story, was an Englishman. One young English soldier tried to get his comrades to feel the hungry people at gunpoint...and it costed him hs life.

The soldiers, the constables, the landlords and many of the other rogues were Irish. My family left Ireland in 1850 and the horror still lingers in the memories and the DNA of many millions of the descendants of The Great Hunger in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, Scotland, England and points in between.

Capernaum (2018)

Made a grumpy old white guy cry

[10/10 · 12 July 2019]

This movie was almost unwatchable for me at time because of its heartbreaking depiction of life on the streets of a big city. The scenes with the 12 year pulling around the infant in a big pot as he sought to provide for them both made me cry. There's so much pain in the world!

The Catcher Was a Spy (2018)

Moe the Master of 8 Languages

[10/10 · 7 May 2019]

The running joke in baseball was that Moe Berg could speak 8 languages but he couldn't hit in any of them. He had a long career in baseball because people were impressed by his intelligent. It was said that he found his place as a bullpen catcher where his conversational skills entertained the relief pitcher. Moe Berg's spying activities were classified information for years. A fictional book about Moe Berg in Japan is titled "Zen Babe."

I really enjoyed he movie because Moe Berg was an enigma. He also was a very sad man who seemed to drift the last twenty years of his life. Wild Bill Donovan, who was Moe's boss in the movie, was also a major league pitcher who served with the legendary "Fighting 69th" during the first World War. He also went on to start the CIA.

High Gear (1931)

My favorite of the 15 Boy Friends Shorts

[10/10 · 25 February 2019]

Mickey Daniels, Grady Sutton are at their best in High Gear. Mickey gets his grumpy Irish father's permission to use the family car with a stern warning not to wreck the car's new paint job. Of course, Mickey and the gang get involved in a fender bender, received for a cop (Edgar Kennedy), get a brawl with hoodlums and finally wreck the car's paint job in a downpour. The fight scene is hysterical, with athletic Dave doing all sorts of jumps, kicks and falls that would make Jackie Chan proud. The girl friends, per usual, are all pert and tart, with Mary being the cutest.

The Knockout (1932)

A funny boxing match

[10/10 · 25 February 2019]

I have to admit I really enjoyed the boxing match in this film. Mickey Daniels was a delight in and outside of the ring. I must also admit I enjoyed all fifteen short films made by Hal Roach and The Boyfriends. The girl friends are also sassay and sexy in this one!

The Black Cat (1941)

A good rainy night mystery-comedy

[10/10 · 16 February 2019]

I just watched this movie on a rainy winter's night in South Carolina, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. I thought the movie was a good blend of mystery and comedy. I did enjoy the antics of Broderick Crawford and Hugh Herbert. The movie had plenty of atmosphere: a black cat, a thunderstorm, a hand coming out from behind a curtain, beautiful women, comic relief, red herrings and more. I liked it much better than Bela Lugosi's earlier movie by the same name. Bela and Basil added to the fun.

Mersey Boys: A Letter from Al Moran (2019)

An American Meets The Beatles in a Pub

[10/10 · 9 February 2019]

Mersey Boys: A Letter from Al Moran is a ten-minute short that'll make its world premiere in Delray, Florida at the Beatles on the Beach Festival, April 25th to 28th. The movie revolves around a fictional meeting between Professor Al Moran (Fiach Kunz) and John Lennon (Robert Bourke), Paul McCartney (Mikey Casey) and George Harrison (Ben Collopy). Great fun. Look for Jessica Messenger as Ginny Browne.

Car 54, Where Are You? (1961–1963)

One Irish cop plus one Jewish cop equals a lot of laughs

[29 March 2017]

Officers Francis Muldoon and Gunther Toody as played by Fred Gywnne and Joe E. Ross are still as funny in 2017 as they were back in 1962 when I watched them as a child. It's funny in a way to see the Irish cop being the smart one and the Jewish cop being the dumb one. The other day I saw an episode where Gunther disguised himself as a guitar-carrying beatnik and I don't believe I have laughed so hard in years. Al Lewis, who later was Grandpa to Fred Gywnne's Herman on The Munster, is always a scream on this program as Leo. Car 54 Where Are You? humanizes the Bronx's men in blue in a way that wasn't to be matched until Barney Miller a decade later. In a way it is sad to see the New York through Damon Runyon's eyes in the early Sixties before the Big Apple became rotten to core.

Diamond Jim (1935)

Diamond Jim, the Irish-American Prince

[10/10 · 4 January 2017]

I really enjoyed this biopic of "Diamond" Jim Brady, who was a celebrity in his native New York City at the end of the 19th century. A bigger-than-life man about town, Jim made his fortune in the railroad industry, and he spent his fortune on diamonds (hence his nickname), fancy clothes and huge meals. A powerful eating man was Jim! He loved his oysters and lobsters: he drank buckets of orange juice. He also showered his fortune upon two women he loved but who didn't love him in turn. Edward Arnold was an ideal actor to play the part of the easy- going Brady. A young Cesar Romero is along as the romantic male lead.This movie has it sad parts.

Tales of Wells Fargo (1957–1962)

Good to watch it again.

[10/10 · 4 January 2017]

The Western Encore channel has only just recently begun to show "Tales of Wells Fargo" here in January of 2016. I haven't watched this black and white cowboy show since it originally aired on network television back in the late Fifties and early Sixties. I must admit that I am really enjoying watching Dale Robertson as the Wells Fargo special agent or troubleshooter. The show brings to mind "Have Gun, Will Travel." Hardie, like Paladin, is a man who would rather use his wits and wiles before resorting to his fists or weapon. Like Paladin, Joe Hardie, travels all over the west and into Canada, tracking down highway agents, frauds and thieves.

Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008)

Britpop without the Beatles

[10/10 · 26 December 2016]

I really enjoyed this movie about Joe Meek, the English musical pioneer and the producer of numerous hit singles during the Sixties. The song "Telstar" was a major hit on the radio when I was a child during the Kennedy years of the early Sixties. Oddly enough I did see Joe Meek's movie "Live It Up" at the theater. I think it was paired with "A Hard Day's Night."

I recently watched a BBC documentary from 1994 about Joe Meek's career, as well as his troubled life and violent suicide. I was fascinated by how the man had constructed his own tiny home recording studio that actually produced great records by the Tornadoes, Mike Berry, Jonathan King, Screaming Lord Sutch and the Honeycombs. I had to track down the DVD at amazon.com.

I enjoyed this movie and being introduced to some of the early rock stars of Great Britain that were big before the Beatles, the Dave Clark Five and the Rolling Stones. I enjoyed the music very much. I also regret that Joe Meek didn't stick around longer: what he could have done for Pink Floyd. Obviously I quickly made a connection between Joe Meek and Phil Spect0r, another rather sinister and unlikable genius.

She (I) (1965)

Bernard Cribbins was my favorite!

[7/10 · 18 October 2016]

I really enjoyed Bernard Cribbins as Job, the valet or manservant of the Major, played by Peter Cushing. The barroom scene where Job and the Major take on a squad of drunken soldiers was great fun and should have been longer. Another poster mentioned what great fun it was to see Peter Cushing and Bernard drunkenly dancing with some sexy belly dancers and I agree. It was fairly decent movie that was colorful in the style that Hammer Production was well-known for in the Sixties. I had to wonder about She Who Must Be Obeyed soldiers who perhaps ripped off their garb and shields from another movie being made about the Roman legions on another studio lot. Ursula was very sexy and beautiful. Overall, it is about average sandal and sandals movie.

The Terror of the Tongs (1961)

Tough Captain Sale

[8/10 · 18 October 2016]

I recently watched this movie along with 2 other similar Hammers Productions film ('She" and "Fu Manchu") and this was the best of the 3 in my opinion. Christopher Lee plays the kingpin of a criminal organization in Hong; his character was sinister and sly. The big, burly Englishman who played Captain Jackson Sale was an effective hero who held his own against the gangsters. I enjoyed watching the martial arts fighting scene where the actors were mixing a Chinese fighting style with Japanese judo. The woman who saved Sale's life was a living doll. I suppose one can take exception to white Europeans playing Asian characters. All in all, it was a fun movie.

Gotham (2014–2019)

Oswald Cobblepot steals the Show

[20 September 2016]

I finally watched a complete episode of "Gotham." It was the first episode of the third season. Before viewing the premiere I decided to watch as many clips as I could find on you tube. I think the character of Oswald Cobblepot is by far the most arresting one of this series. He is crazy, creepy and charming all in one. The Jim Gordon character is very interesting as a bounty hunter in a crime-laden city, and I also like actor playing the part of a long-haired and bearded Harvey Bullock.For some reason I find all of the female leads on this show grating and annoying. The cutie playing the reporter is the Queen of Annoying. The Bruce Wayne character is a rather dismal and depressing fellow but maybe he'll evolve. Overall I really enjoyed the episode and I look forward to watching the program next Monday night.

The Avengers (1961–1969)

The Bat Masterson of England

[10/10 · 19 September 2016]

John Steed, with his bowler and umbrella, reminded me of great deal of Raymond Barry in "Bat Masterson," with his cane and bowler. Both men were debonair, intelligent and dangerous when pushed. Unfortunately, Bat didn't have a Cathy, Emma or a Tara to assist him. Patrick Macnee' John Steed was the epitome of 'British cool' during the Swinging sixties. Emma Peel (Dame Dianna Riggs) was priceless as Steed's karate- savvy companion. I watched this classic television program back in the Sixties and to a boy growing up in rural Wisconsin there seemed no more of a mod-magical world than the city along the Thames. The avengers was "Batman," "James Bond" and The Beatles all rolled into one.

Wagon Train (1957–1965)

Flint, Charlie and the Major

[8/10 · 19 September 2016]

I remember watching "Wagon Train" when I was a child. It ranked up there with such western classics as "Gunsmoke," "Bonanza," "Have Gun Will Travel," and "Laramie." I think the earlier episodes that featured Ward Bond as the Major and Robert Horton as Flint were somewhat better than the last few years the show was on. Of course, Charlie the cook was everyone's favorite character. It was interesting to see what obstacle the wagon master had to overcome on a weekly basis: blizzards, floods, Indians, outlaws, religious fanatics, small pox, snakes, droughts and so on. There's an episode featuring the great Charles Laugthon as a pompous Englishman that is my favorite. This television program is the epitome of true grit on the lonely frontier.