The Lady Eve

The Lady Eve (1941)

Runtime: 94 minutes

Directed by: Preston Sturges

Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn, Eugene Pallette, William Demarest

From: Paramount

Some classic film fans will be APPALLED that this movie hadn’t been seen before by me. In fact, they may even think of me as a cockeyed cookie-pusher! However, it was about time I’ve seen one of the most popular films from Barbara Stanwyck, which also is likely one of the best performances she ever delivered. It wasn’t just hear that made the film a success; Henry Fonda as the rich heir to a brewery also made Eve work; it was easy for the viewer to believe that the young ladies on an ocean liner would swoon for the eligible bachelor but he’s a nerdy bookworm whom studies snakes.

Babs, her father and his partner seek to swindle Fonda out of his money. As this is a screwball comedy, love occurs. Also, wackiness occurs when Stanwyck plays another character, the titular Lady Eve, complete with English accent. It was designed to be absurd as otherwise her appearance is little-changed. Some do find the final act too absurd to them; even I can’t fault them for the opinion.

I was able to roll with this premise due to the leads, the laughs, the pathos, and the supporting cast that included the frog-voiced Eugene Pallette-to my delight, he sang in one scene!-Charles Coburn, and William Demarest. While I feel that Unfaithfully Yours is an even better movie from Preston Sturges, both I was glad to see; obviously, that is a blind spot that needs to be fixed in the future. There are many comedic laughs I dare not spoil—note that Stanwyck was as swell in comedy as she was drama. However, as many others have noted this, the scene involving a horse and its impact on an actor was amazing for several reasons.

 

Carry On Teacher

Carry On Teacher (1959)

Runtime: 87 minutes

Directed by: Gerald Thomas

Starring: The usual crew you’d expect in an early Carry On movie

From: Anglo-Amalagated Film Distributors

Reviews of this franchise from a Letterboxd mutual reminded me that I needed to see more of these. 

There's a list of what I’ve viewed so far; unlike him, I haven’t gone through those films in chronological order. Teacher is an early effort that only wasn’t seen by me, but is part of my physical media collection. A few years ago, The Carry On Collection (the first 12 pictures in the series) was purchased from Grindhouse Video, back when it was still in Tampa and hasn’t closed & moved to Knoxville, Tennessee. 

A Ministry of Education Inspector and a child psychologist both visit a boarding school. The students like their headmaster Mr. Wakefield; Wakefield would like to move on to a new school but the students sabotage his plans by making him to be a bad headmaster via engaging in hijinks that make the school look bad. Sawing the leg off the music teacher’s piano (Charles Hawtrey played MR. BEAN. Yes, that’s the character’s name), putting glue on chairs, spiking the coffee in the break room w/ gin, itching powder, etc. This plus some romance is as complicated as the plot becomes.

This statement is not meant as a slight. Early in the franchise, the films weren’t as bawdy as they’d become; seemingly, they were more randy the later in the 20th century the series would progress. The teen actors were fine although naturally the series regulars-like Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Hattie Jacques, Kenneth Williams, & Kenneth Connor were the highlights to me, already playing the similar characters they would throughout the franchise. Sims was more the sexpot than usual—then again, you’d expect it to someone they gave the name MS. ALLCOCK to.

There was more slapstick than usual-of course not a bad thing for me. It’s a silly, fun movie which did a decent job of mining the academic setting for a number of laughs.

Two More Stooge Shorts

First, What's the Matador?

(Short # 62 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

“Curly as a matador” is the gimmick here. The trio are entertainers who are sent to Mexico City. They meet a lady named Dolores who happens to have a jealous husband. One misunderstanding is that the husband believes all Three Stooges are cheating on his wife, and another is that the husband takes their suitcase by mistake; that had to be a cliché even in the early 40’s.

Unfortunately, this just wasn’t all that funny to me. The drama involving jealous husband Jose Sanchez was more irritating than humorous, as was the too-long segment of the trio attempting to speak to people but there’s a language barrier. A Mexican character delivered a long soliloquy which I didn’t understand; Wiki told me that he gave them directions… to jump in the river. They had an act in the bullfighting ring where Curly was a matador-Moe and Larry were in a bull suit together. Jose pays someone off to introduce a real bull.

There’s some chuckles there but even then it wasn’t a laugh riot. Of all shorts, this was remade as Sappy Bull Fighters, released in 1959 and best known as the last short the Stooges did at Columbia. That was worse than this; the reasons why will be discussed in the summer. Before anyone asks, my opinion of bullfighting has zero impact on the rating. It is a controversial topic and if I made any negative comments, it’d be offensive to who knows how many millions of Spanish-speaking people. If someone decides to root for the bull to gore or do worse to a matador… that is up to you.

Second, Matri-Phony: 

(Short # 63 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

So, today is Shemp Howard’s birthday; Samuel Horwitz was born on this day in 1895. It will be more than a month until I start talking about his time in The Three Stooges but it was trivia still worth mentioning today. Plus, that era isn’t as well-known as the Curly era-even by me-but what I’ve seen has usually been rather enjoyable so I’ll be happy to do those reviews.

As for Matri-Phony, the Stooges are in Ancient Rome. Their names are Mohicus, Larrycus, and Curleycue… and their foe is the Emperor, Octopus Grabus. This along with the premise of Grabus wanting “all unmarried red headed maidens between the ages of 18 and 22” to report to the palace so he could pick a bride and the trio help hide Diana, one of the women—this description should set the tone and mood rather well for the reader.

Grabus is like Mr. Magoo without his glasses-perhaps this is not historically accurate (then again, I know Gladiator II wasn’t) yet that’s irrelevant and his poor vision is a plot point later on. An asset is that the palace is a nice set featuring several rooms. Heck, all the sets here were of at least decent quality and helped Laughs are present throughout, including Curly’s interactions with “a tarantula”… actually, a crab.

The final third is Curly dressed as Diana. Moe tells Curly to “get sexy” (I’ve heard that the Hays Code did not scrutinize shorts as stringently as feature films. Perhaps that phrase wouldn’t have been in a 1942 feature film) after Vernon Dent as Octopus has his glasses broken. It’s a nice conclusion to Matri-Phony, a short that had laughs throughout and decently used the Roman setting.

I Talk Two More Documentaries

The first I reviewed on Letterboxd last week: Budo: The Art of Killing
 

A late 70’s Japanese documentary concerning the country’s martial arts which has a soundtrack that bragged about its usage of Korg synthesizers—sign me up! The film is apparently a cult classic in some circles, although it wasn’t until relatively recent that its existence was discovered by me. It was made in Japan by the Japanese although it took an American living in the Land of the Rising Sun (Arthur Davis) to find distribution. At least in this version, the narration was in English.

The samurai, the sword, and the weapons that the common people devised to guard themselves from the sword are first presented. Then, time is spent with the expected Nippon arts—sumo, judo, karate, aikido, etc. Zen Buddhism is also broached. This is set to a soundtrack which typically is standard “Eastern mysticism” but sometimes is groovy late 70’s music… meaning that it is awesome. The synth version of Toccata and Fugue in D minor was tremendous.

Budo puts over the country of Japan and its fighting arts. All disciplines are shown through strenuous practice and a constant refrain is that mental toughness and unending practice is needed to become proficient. Is this jam-packed with information and details concerning the histories of these disciplines? No it is not. However, Budo is still a nice love letter to the martial arts of Japan, each fighting style presented on camera and their attributes all made clear for the viewer. Plus, seeing karate masters break concrete blocks is always a rad time.

The second was 2010's Hubble, an IMAX presentation: 

Viewing an IMAX documentary at home streamed via Prime isn’t the same as experiencing it on an actual IMAX screen. Heck, this was originally shown in 3D, and naturally the 2D version is one that’s streaming. Be that as it may, talking about one will be different from the norm plus I was happy to see something concerning the Hubble Space Telescope. The James Webb Space Telescope (launched at the end of 2021) has fascinated me with its stunning images. The Hubble Space Telescope (launched in 1990) has been of interest to me since I was a kid in the 90’s.

Narrated by Leo DiCaprio, Hubble explained the history of its eponymous telescope, how a screw-up before it launched required a fix in space three years later, and the stunning images it captured. CG uses those images to create a cosmic journey to a particular interesting part of the cosmos. The focus is a mission to service the telescope; the shuttle Columbia blowing up in 2003 understandably delayed those plans for a long while. Once up in space, the mission hits a few snags but is ultimately a success.

This 44-minute long documentary scratched the itch for outer space that I’ve had since my childhood. It was nice to see those images, the praise for the astronauts, Hubble up close, and how perilous it was to do the maintenance without damaging the telescope. The James Webb Space Telescope is an improvement on Hubble in every way yet both are critical for the study of the cosmos.

Even via a stream, the audio and visual components were both impressive. Various IMAX documentaries are both on disc and on streaming platforms—this is something I should experience more often in the future.

Minding the Gap

This is a famed 2018 documentary I should have viewed much sooner, for a specific reason: 

This documentary was filmed in the town I was born in (Rockford, Illinois) which was also right next to Belvidere, the city I grew up in. One of my two sisters still lives in the area; she and her beau have nice jobs so this is why they haven’t moved away from a city that is still suffering from the effects of being hurt by the decline that all the other Rust Belt cities have… or while the crime rates have improved, for years Rockford was infamous for being at or near the top of the list for crime in the nation, as the documentary explained in one scene. Thing is, Gap’s main themes could have been presented by similar kids in many different cities across the United States.

Minding the Gap covers three youths who have formed a bond via their shared love of skateboarding; the viewer follows them through the years. The opening minutes-where they skateboarded around their city-several locations were already recognized by me. Director Bing Liu filmed his buddies Keire Johnson and Zack Mulligan—they and their ancillary friends do typical teenage things. This includes cursing like sailors, general hooligan behavior and drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon despite being teenagers. The PBR thing was at least popular in Belvidere when I was a teenager and apparently it is still popular in the region!

This documentary is serious; among other moments, there is teenage pregnancy, the introduction of Nina-a woman who becomes involved with one of the main players-racism (Keire is Black) and the realization that all came from fractured life at home as children. Other revelations are made, which I dare not spoil. They try to make it in a city where unemployment is rife; it was a bad problem when I lived around the area too. Skateboarding is not my thing; Lord knows I’m not coordinated to do such a thing. That activity is presented as a time when they can forget their troubles, whether romantic relationships or any other struggles.

Minding the Gap is compelling as unfortunately, I imagine many people around that age in the past decade or so have dealt with similar struggles. This includes the most disturbing allegations made in the film. The film is in general downbeat although not every main player ends up in a bad spot or constantly does bad things throughout. I am glad that while my family life wasn’t perfect, at least it was not chaotic like what they experienced. Not that I’m saying this to sound “superior”; I have varying degrees of sympathy towards them. Likely, one of them you’ll not like due to their behavior and what they state on camera. It’s all complicated, like real life is. The movie is shot and edited quite well, especially considering this was Bing Liu’s debut.

I was happy to have finally tackled Minding the Gap. The documentary was quite the rewarding journey, even through all the difficult moments. For all of its faults, Rockford (and Belvidere, for that matter) can be a fine place to grow up; fate more than anything else will determine your childhood. Me, I still miss a variety of people who I grew up with-many of them stayed in the area and for the most part they’ve been doing fine.

Catching up on Stooge Shorts

In the Sweet Pie and Pie: 

(Short # 58 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

Another classic Stooges short. A trio of sisters named Tiska, Taska, and Baska Jones need to be married by tonight or they’ll lose out on a 10-million-dollar inheritance & their beaus are soldiers out to sea. Their lawyer’s scheme: marry the Stooges, who are on death row and will be hung by the neck ‘till dead the next day. Turns out, that next day, the real killers confess so the marriages are intact.

It's usually a swell time seeing the boys mix w/ high society and rich folk. Pie and Pie stands out as there are many hysterical scenes and one-liners in a short with a fast pace. This has everything from a sportscaster covering the hanging (named Bill Stein; at the time there was a popular sportscaster, Bill Stern; he appeared in The Pride of the Yankees) and a pie fight to many creative puns, the creation of a bunk bed gone wrong and parts of a scene from Hoi Polloi from 6 years prior. That scene was Geneva Mitchell unsuccessfully teaching the trio to dance, the lesson spoiled by a bee. Even in truncated form the scene still is riotous.

Pie is one of the most popular of all the shorts among Stooge fans; I agree w/ that assessment due to the overwhelming amount of laughs and such unexpected (in 1941) sights as three people being judo-flipped at the same time.

Some More of Samoa: 

(Short # 59 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

The Stooges as tree surgeons… why not? It is a silly effort where Moe asks Larry to “pick up the footprints” of Curly and Larry literally picks them up—along with them visiting the island of Rhum Boogie to find another example of the “puckerless persimmon” tree as a rather irritating old man needs a mate for his puckerless persimmon tree… yeah, don’t scrutinize the plot too hard.

Naturally, Samoa is not the most enlightened look at a Polynesian island—some white people are present, and that’s not even counting the white people cosplaying as natives, or their status as cannibals. Let’s not get started on how Moe and Larry are prompted to start an Amos ‘n’ Andy routine, or why that has aged like spoilt milk by 2025 standards if you don’t know the details of the Amos ‘n’ Andy radio show turned television show.

Even so, Samoa was a pretty funny short, filled w/ new gags. This includes “Vitamin PDQ,” a multi-armed totem and an extended bit featuring an alligator. It’s not one I’d revisit much—at least in full. Certain moments, on the other hand…

Loco Boy Makes Good: 

(Short # 60 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

The Stooges actually made good in this short. What I mean is that they are thrown out of their hotel for having 8 months worth of back rent. That is funny as the hotel is only 1 dollar per month. They then again decide to do a slip and fall settlement scam in another establishment (Ye Olde Pilgrim Hotel), only to hear that its kind old matronly owner is behind pay herself and is about to lose the place.

Uncommon is Howard, Fine, & Howard helping someone else out of the goodness of their hearts. Even more rare is that despite themselves, their plan is a rousing success. Sure, as seen before when they engage in carpentry, buffoonery occurs—yet somehow, they succeeded and the hotel now has a swank nightclub.

Waldo Twitchell (an obvious spoof of Walter Winchell, a famed newspaper gossip columnist who even appeared as himself in such films as An Ace in the Crowd) is at the club one night; a bad review from him would be enough to keep people away. While not going to plan, the comedy act they present to the customers is a rousing success due to happenstance: Curly wears a magician’s jacket accidentally; more than just a rabbit comes out.

The final third is superb, sealing the deal on the high marks I gave Loco.

Cactus Makes Perfect: 

(Short # 61 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)

Curly invents “a gold collar-button retriever.” Yeah, this is rather silly. After all, they receive a letter that proclaims it is “incomprehensible & utterly impractical” and both them and their mother (portrayed by a man in drag!) think those are compliments. As Ma took some pratfalls herself, perhaps this is why Monte Collins-who was in some others shorts w/ the trio-was in the role. Or, perhaps it was because this was the first short that Collins wrote for the boys, a task that would be done on five other occasions.

This contraption is an arrow fired from a device; the Stooges go “out West” to find actual gold. Unlike typical for them, a contraption they use actually works; a “lost mine” is found. They run afoul of two “desert rat” villains. Not surprisingly, not only does one of them get shot in the butt by an arrow, but two of the Stooges meet the wrong end of a cactus.

My noting of the silliness should not be taken as a slight against Cactus. There are laughs throughout involving dynamite, a ghost town saloon, the lost mine itself, and a funny 90 second routine where the trio share the same small bathroom and do such mundane tasks as shaving & brushing their teeth. Thus, even for something that is “minor” compared to their classics and isn’t Perfect, there are still laughs to be had.

Forbidden

Forbidden (1932)

Runtime: 85 minutes

Directed by: Frank Capra

Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, Adolphe Menjou, Ralph Bellamy, Dorothy Peterson, Thomas Jefferson… yes, that was this actor’s name

From: Columbia

Less controversial than hating the new movie from Bong Joon Ho (or even really liking Conclave; yes, I got static for both on another site) should be my viewing of a Pre-Code movie from Barbara Stanwyck. Each Wednesday evening in March through Thursday afternoon, Turner Classic Movies is playing Stanwyck films. As I’ve only seen a few yet enjoyed all of them, due in no small part to Babs’ contributions. This will be one of at least a few that will be DVR’ed through the month.

Frank Capra, Director and a soapy melodrama plot both intrigued. Stanwyck portrayed a dowdy librarian who is allegedly not a beautiful woman because she dresses dowdy and (gasp) wears glasses. She is suffering from spring fever so suddenly, YOLO occurs and Lulu Smith goes on a cruise to Havana. It is scandalous that (egads) Lulu does everything solo. Suddenly, Adolphe Menjou enters her life. As it’s a lawyer character portrayed by Adolphe Menjou, can you trust him?

Stanwyck goes through an ordeal throughout the decades-yes, decades. The drama includes a baby born out of wedlock, a woman who’s an invalid, a debutante, and a gun being fired. Of course, it is Lulu that endures much misery through the years. It is easy to root for the likable Lulu, even if the viewer wishes that she wouldn’t be in this scenario solely due to her unwavering love for a real lout.

There are better Stanwyck movies out there, whether during the era of the Hays Code-like the noir classic Double Indemnity-or such bold Pre-Code delights like Baby Face and The Miracle Woman. Yet, I was still entertained by the melodrama and the cast was uniformly fine, although yes Babs and Menjou were the highlights. Ralph Bellamy (in one of his first roles) did not play the sidekick role he became famous for; in fact, his character wasn’t quite as nice as you’d first suspect.
One final note: as this was a Columbia film, I was amused to see a few bit players that would later appear in Three Stooges shorts.