At The Movies with Bryan, the Wannabe Filmmaker

It’s really hard to describe the impact that Laurel and Hardy had on my life; they were my gateway to classic cinema. I first saw Way Out West when I was six years ago (in 1985) and was amazed to find that I actually enjoyed a movie that my father found hilarious. Prior to this, I spent most of my time watching He-Man (and other dreadful 80s cartoons) and had no desire whatsoever to watch “old” movies. When my dad purchased Way Out West on video (a colorized copy), I was absolutely skeptical. “It’s so old,” I cried. “How can it possibly be any good?”  Then I watched it and I have been hooked on Laurel and Hardy ever since. If this “old” movie was funny, then maybe other “old” movies were just as good, too. Way Out West is my favorite Laurel and Hardy film. It is well directed by James W. Horne, who not only manages to get great performances from his supporting cast, but more, importantly never allows for the pace to lag; it is an extremely fast moving film. Way Out West is, than

The Ten Commandments has become a fixture during the Easter holiday that it’s only a natural a backlash would eventually happen. Many film historians have made it their goal to put Cecil B. DeMille in his proper place by constantly bad mouthing the famous director every chance they get. One of the latest culprits is Michael Sauter, who in his book, The Worst Movies of All Time: Or, What Were They Thinking?, includes three DeMille movies (Sign of the Cross, The Greatest Show on Earth, The Ten Commandments)   on his list. Which makes me suspect that Sauter  hasn't seen too many movies! Sure, DeMille’s movies are corny and absolutely lacking in subtlety, but it’s a bit of stretch to claim that they are among the worst movies EVER MADE! No one will ever mistake Cecil B. DeMille for being a David Lean, or an Orson Welles, but there’s no denying that his films are immensely entertaining, and that he was an extremely influential director. In fact, during the Golden Age of Hollywo

It’s hard to criticize a movie like Hollywood Revue of 1929, because it has no story to tell, it is a series of musical numbers and comedy skits strung together over the course of two hours.  It’s the equivalent of watching a high school talent show; the only exception being that the performers are some of biggest stars of the day as opposed to awkward teenagers hoping to make a name for themselves. Indeed, the Hollywood Revue of 1929 was a novelty film to cash in on the latest craze in motion pictures – sound; it was, rather inexplicably, nominated for Best Picture at the 1928/29 Academy Awards (it lost to The Broadway Melody) . For the audience of the time, it must have been pretty jaw dropping to see some of their favorite silence actors speaking and singing on the big screen. In a few cases (specifically and tragically John Gilbert), the voices of the actors did not live up to their silent screen image and their film careers would come to an abrupt end.  The problem is t