Reviews

Despite his vast popularity 90 years ago, Mr. Haines is best described in today's terms as insufferable. I have many of his films on my hard drive due to the fact that MGM put him opposite most, perhaps all, of the reigning beautiful actresses of that time. This go round it was Alice Day's turn and a rare opportunity to see her in good quality up close. Her party dress was completely over the top in flapperism and her cloche hats were superb. The automobiles were great, that Packard roadster can come home and live in my garage! Did you notice how reliable old Jack Holt had a hairline which varied from scene to scene? Worth watching this movie as an exemplar of MGM at the pinnacle of its silent craft. Spoiled by the endless mugging of you know who.

It is amazing to me that this is only the second review of this title. The movie is of course severely marred by when it was made and by being from Lifetime. But Molly makes up for that and there are some humorous touches played upon the alternate universe theme. For some reason it is necessary to write way too much in this review, do not see any sense in that requirement, why are they doing this to us? The ending confuses me every time I see it, best to just rejoice with our heroine. No longer a teenager but still filled to the brim with enthusiasm and charm, Molly is always a treat to be with.

Amazingly bad but had to watch this since it was Miss Rich's last starring role. She was supposedly 32 years old here but looks older. No attempt to disguise her British accent - what was she thinking? Anyway, glad I got to see this, best fun was watching them deal with the snow which came and went and came back again. For those of you who watch a lot of these cheapo oaters from the 1930's, how many have you ever seen with honest to cripes snow on the ground? Just as I thought, exactly zero! I still have 84 characters to go, why would IMDb need 600 characters, makes no sense at all, just about there, done.

If you do not generally like old Hollywood films then of course there is a lot to disparage here. I see those faults and yet this is one of my favorite films. Does DeMille go way over the top? Of course he does, that is who he was. And as always he provides top drawer entertainment. Not to start an argument but which of our contemporary film makers could do as well even with today's technological advances? Glorious Technicolor at its very best, seemingly invented just to showcase the incredible beauty of Miss Carroll. And a cast of old favorites being themselves in ways that cannot be matched today. Always an enjoyable experience re-watching NWMP and to those who claimed that Cooper had little to do - check it out again please!

I rated this film much higher than the average for several reasons. And yes, it is bottom of the barrel poverty row dreck. Despite that, it is fun and a chance to get a good look at Miss Phyllis Barrington. She did fine, very lovely and charming, of course the hero fell in love with her! We also get to see what Los Angeles looked like in 1932, light years better that now - if you have a time machine I am ready to move back there right now. Racing cars, stunting biplanes, and plenty of almost new Lincolns, Packards, and Buicks on Hollywood streets, everything I was hoping for. By way of contrast, watch "Strange Interlude" from MGM that same year. Although I consider Norma Shearer to be in the top three actresses of all time, SI was a major misstep for all concerned and the film is almost unwatchable. Sometimes simple storytelling filmed 95% outdoors is the best.

If one realizes that this is a parody then all is well. Mr. La Rocque reprises his role from "The Delightful Rogue" (1929). This film is over 90 years old so of course it is not sophisticated by today's standards. Lots to enjoy here - the California desert, Emperor Ming before he was promoted, Tom Keene before he was Tom Keene, and the always delightful Doris Kenyon. Comparable to the giant budget westerns of that era? Certainly not but still a lot of fun.

I always enjoy Bruce Willis movies so I had high hopes for this. Sadly, it is complete and utter crapola. Shot mostly in the dark - what is the point of that? Poorly done sound quality on the dialog - in the world I inhabit everyone speaks clearly or they are asked to repeat themselves. No way to tell which scenes are in the past and which are in the future - seems like that distinction would be important in a time travel movie. Yes, I am an old guy and not much into this ultra fast paced stuff, but regardless of that, clear and cogent storytelling has been a requirement of films since the beginning. It is missing here and the director should be publicly shamed for this travesty.

Good performances by all but this film belongs to Miss Cummings. She is absolutely radiant and so are the costumes. Binnie Barnes is fine and it is easy to see why Hollywood beckoned her over. Do not be fooled into thinking this is a "quota quickie", no, it is as good as anything being done in America at the time.

This is much more entertaining than most Vitaphone shorts. The Boys have fun singing and one wins the heart of Gloria Shea. Which one? That would be a spoiler!

I just read all of the other reviews to verify my premise, which turned out to be true. They all take the position that this movie is pretty awful on many levels. Well, sure it is since it is obviously a spoof and a send-up. Taking it seriously is a preposterous mistake of judgment. For whatever reason the director chose to go beyond all the limits and that is what gives him away. Maybe just to have fun, maybe to get even with the studio for some transgression, could have been anything. Like it or hate it as you choose but take a chill pill and recognize that your leg has been properly pulled!

Although this is sort of charming, it is hard to imagine paying money to see it live at the local theater. As the electric radio matured and squawking pictures came in, these folks were doomed. Had I seen this back in 1928 my reaction would have been that she was a combination of Ruth Etting and Jane Green without being a threat to either lady.

Used to fantasize about time traveling to 1929, a golden time at the dawn of squawking pictures. Some of these Vitaphone shorts make me wonder just how golden it really was. This short is not funny in any way, the crew must have been throwing up lunch behind the set.

This is not even remotely funny. Wanted to like it, tried to like it, could not do either.

This was not funny on any level. I appreciate many vaudeville acts but this one is just awful. This is why people brought rotten tomatoes to the theaters.

Most of the other reviews pan this film to such an extent that you might pass over it. Please do not. In the 1920s Miss Lois Moran was one of the most beautiful ladies on earth and she shines here. No, not in the acting department, the director forced her to give in to melodrama. But the camera is in love with her and that transcends all the silliness of the plot. We are fortunate indeed to have this relic as a testament to her charm.

This is not as bad as the critic review says. No plot? Sure, that is what Vitaphone shorts were all like! A chance to see Miss Wynne Gibson at the very dawn of her career is priceless.

I am never quite sure what the negative reviewers were expecting. This is vaudeville on film, of course is it bad! Also it is a unique opportunity to see what our ancestors thought was entertaining. Maybe we are all too wised up to appreciate pure vintage corn? As to the hand gestures, this is called pantomime. They are highlighting the song lyrics, makes perfect sense to me.

I have carefully avoided the Psycho Dane for 78 years but decided tonight to give him one chance. The last 10 minutes confirmed what I knew instinctively, this is total crapola. Maybe 500 years ago this stuff was entertaining but certainly not now.

Over the past six years I have watched this film three times as successively better prints became available. As an addict of talky drawing room comedies this is like catnip to me. It and a few others provide the only insight we can ever have as to what Broadway plays were like in the 1920s. That aside, this is undoubtedly Miss Wilson's finest hour, she is just perfect in this role.

Mr. Arthur did alright in his role but the reason I archived this is that it was Geneva Mitchell's first film. She was never a star but should have been. Same for Miss Dore, unbelievable that Hollywood suits did not give these ladies the roles they deserved.

A standard plot line here, bad guy trying to cheat someone out of their ranch. Acting is OK, just a little bit of overreaching by Miss Ray. Print is of reasonable quality and is currently up on YouTube. Although apparently not a comedy there are several bits of unexpected funny business. What happens at just past 10 minutes in is bizarre and I can only speculate that it was a genuine accident. Or maybe not?

The recurring piles of horse manure in this film are a fitting comment on its worth. No matter how strongly his fans plead his case, Langdon is just not funny. Real actors such as Lyon, Fred Kohler, and Richard Cramer left him and his silliness in the dust.

Sure, the acting is abysmal but try to look beyond that. This is pure 1950s schlock, probably not intentionally so. The footage from the original 3-D scenes is so blatant - throw everything at the camera including a steam locomotive - that one can only laugh. Not to laugh at is the very smoggy backdrop they were filming in; this is the only movie I have seen that shows L.A. like it really was. I lived there at the time and it was that bad most days, sometimes worse. On a lighter note, check out the gorgeous 1954 Chrysler convertible with the wire wheels. Ultra desirable today, if you have a spare $40,000 or $50,000 pick one up but do not run any roadblocks in it!

This film is not as bad as might be expected. The supporting characters are well developed and Miss Hayes is both menacing and vulnerable. Miss Warren was only in five films and this is a decent role for her. Great voice, perky looks, should have worked more.