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A Slight Case of Murder (1938)
pure Gold (Velvet, that is)...
During Prohibition, Gold Velvet Beer was a big seller, along with being darn right illegal. But when the Prohibition laws were repealed the beer sales hit rock bottom. The brewery owner, Remy Marco (Edward G. Robinson), can't quite understand why the bar owners (who earlier gladly stocked his beer) refused to continue purchasing his product ('taste the beer Remy, taste it').
He asks the brewery's 'managerial team'(a bunch of stumble-bum hoods)to get him the answer to the sudden turn of events ('taste the beer Remy, taste it'). Oh, they know the answer but are afraid to tell the big boss.
Marco is forced to sell off all his assets and go into debt to keep the brewery afloat. With only days remaining before the banks would call in his loans, Marco takes his family (along with his 'managerial team') to Saratoga, hoping to get new financial backing. Along the way, he stops at an orphanage to pick-out an orphan, one who would be treated with a short vacation with the Marco family.
Once the Marco's and company finally reach Saratoga, things go from bad to worse. The orphan is played by a young Bobby Jordan, one of the early Eastside Kids...and he is a handful...a laugh-out-loud handful. And dead bodies start showing up everywhere, all while poor Remy is desperately trying to get that financial backing.
Remy may not have enjoyed the ensuing events, but I sure did...I'm giving it '9 Gold Velvets'...'taste the beer Remy...taste it'
Here Come the Girls (1953)
a contrarian's view...
To those reviewers who said that this is a lesser Hope entry (one saying that it was the start of his decline) I say, nay...Hope put enough into the likable egotistical fool Snodgrass to carry it off just fine. And plenty of 'ham' in his Stanley character, enough to supply all the fixings (with plenty of left-overs) for the Attila the Hun and his Horde's annual May Day, or should I say Mayhem, picnic.
And to those who said that there were to many forgettable songs, I say...too many sure, but I'm glad that they were 'new' and not the same-o same-o...new is good sometimes.
And since I'm being so contrary, I'll apply a little of that to myself...after decades of watching Hope (too many decades my tired, old body cries), I was sure I had seen all of his films. Wrong! This was my first viewing, and I was thankful that I finally stumbled upon it. Enough smiles, enough laughs and enough of my contrarian views...'hey Attila baby, pass the ham'...
Having Wonderful Crime (1945)
keep hoping, but...
I've watched this movie several times, and each time I go in with the hope of finding more satisfaction than the last time I viewed it...and I am disappointed. I've given it a somewhat favorable rating, and there is some enjoyment to be found in this comedy/mystery...but...
I've never read Craig Rice's book that was the basis for the movie, but if I had to guess, the husband & wife would have been the main characters and the lawyer the 'sidekick' to the couple. In the movie, Pat O'Brien as the lawyer is on the screen as much as Carole Landis & George Murphy are, and it just seems awkward to me...or...he's the 'three-is-a-crowd' guy on the screen. Sure, a romantic interest passes his way, but...
The three leads are fine, although I personally found Carole Landis's portrayal just a little bit too 'zany-cute' for my tastes. Pat O'Brien as usual played his affable, but slightly crusty character and George Murphy held his end up too.
Just wish that I'd have a big smile on my face at 'The End'...but hey, a little smile ain't so bad...
Dead Men Tell (1941)
Charlie Chan deals with treasure maps...and death traps...
Where else could you see Hop Sing (Sen Yung) get decked (well...almost) by Superman (George Reeves)? A flying fish you say SuperDude?, 'Confuses' say "Club in hand don't look like no flying fish"
Yes, number 3 son Jimmy Chan is on board a spooky ship scheduled to sail off on an adventure trip in search of treasure. Well...he's on board some of the time, but he's mainly in the water is this above average entry in the 'Charlie Chan' series. But 'Pop' Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) is there to bail him out once again.
Chan has to deal with the ghost of a peg-legged pirate, a small, but mysterious group of passengers, and the ship's brooding Captain. Never fear, Chan is here.
The movie has a nice 'feel' to it, with plenty of atmosphere...salty, dark, and mysterious. The story itself is pretty much what you'd expect from this type of movie, but it's good enough to carry you along for the cruise. Fun little mystery.
A Night at the Opera (1935)
What'a ya mean there ain't no Sanity Claus?
There must be one and he made this movie for me!...mine...mine...mine...
I started to write a review of this crazy Marx Brothers' movie only to find that halfway through I ran out of words and had to go back. So then I found some more words in another dictionary and started out one more time. I was just about to land on the last period of the review and realized I forgot my keyboard (and plane...and gas) and had to go back again.
They don't make movies like this anymore...in fact, they didn't make movies like this even back then. All I can say is, such lovely lunacy.
The Lone Wolf Takes a Chance (1941)
The Lone Wolf takes the train, and a plane, and a car ride...
I'm a big fan of Warren William and Eric Blore, as well as mystery/comedy movies of that era, so my 9 star rating may be a tad prejudiced by that...still, the movie is one of the best entries in those early Lone Wolf films.
The plot at times is rather silly with the Lone Wolf and Jamison trying to save the life of an inventor (Lloyd Bridges)...what did he invent?...a railroad car that couldn't be broken into...if a criminal tried, bells & whistles would sound, and poison gas would fill the car...Huh?...what if some poor hobo, looking for a ride and a place to sleep happened upon that car?...Llyod would have got his butt sued...
But the movie chugs along the rails at a fast pace, plenty of laughs and an enjoyable way to spend a little over an hour of one's time...
I keep this movie on my cluttered DVR...it's a comfortable movie for me...when sleep comes slowly, I just turn this on and within 30 or 40 minutes I'm fast asleep...
Mud (2012)
A coming-of-age story set in the Louisiana backwaters.
A teenage boy, who lives with his struggling parents on an old houseboat on a river in Louisiana, and his best friend discover an old boat resting in a tree on a nearby island. The boys, looking for adventure, decide to take owner-ship of the wrecked boat, only to find that a stranger, a man named Mud has other ideas about that boat. Mud (played by Matthew McConaughry) tells the two boys about his early life there in the same Louisiana locale, and about his love for the pretty girl he fell in love with in his youth. He then asks them to help in restoring the boat so that he can re-unite with his first love. The boys are at first apprehensive, but one of them, love struck with a girl a couple years older than himself, decides to help and his friend relents and goes along with the plan. They soon discover that Mud is a man on the run, but they still continue to assist him in his quest. This is a little coming-of-age tale with enough warmth and suspense to make a viewing well worthwhile. The cast is excellent, and the sense-of-place is near perfect.