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Month: August 2010

Pardon My Sarong (1942)

Pardon My Sarong (1942)

“Go ahead and back up.”

Synopsis:
A pair of fugitive bus drivers (Bud Abbott and Lou Costello) accompany a yachtsman (Robert Paige) and his rival (Virginia Bruce) on a trip towards an uncharted South Seas island where a villain (Lionel Atwill) is searching for treasure.

Genres:

  • Abbott and Costello Films
  • At Sea
  • Comedy
  • Fugitives
  • Hidden Treasure
  • Lionel Atwill Films
  • South Sea Islands

Review:
Pardon My Sarong was the second highest grossing film of 1942 (after Mrs. Miniver), indicating the enduring popularity of Abbott and Costello after their success the previous year in Buck Privates, Hold That Ghost, and In the Navy. Fortunately, …Sarong has held up reasonably well, thanks to a steady stream of enjoyable A&C routines scattered throughout its utterly ridiculous plot, which makes so little sense you’re better off ignoring it altogether (indeed, as Bosley Crowther noted in his review of …Sarong for the New York Times, “Plot is a normal convention which this picture manages to avoid”).

Meant to capitalize on the success of Crosby and Hope’s “Road” pictures, …Sarong takes Bud and Lou on an adventure to an uncharted sound-stage island, where natives are dressed in outrageously fruity costumes, and Lou — naturally — is both pursued by a beautiful local (Nan Wynn) and mistaken for some kind of hero. Only the final half of the movie takes place on the island, however; before this, Bud and Lou are given plenty of opportunities to engage in their usual shenanigans as they’re pursued by The Law (represented by the always delightful William Demarest) and find themselves on board a ridiculously tiny ship, where they quickly run out of food (leading to two of the film’s most infamous sequences — both involving Abbott treating his partner with more than even his usual level of disdain.) Pardon My Sarong isn’t Abbott and Costello’s best outing, but it’s full of enough enjoyable routines — and holds enough historical interest, given its enormous popularity — that I’m recommending it as optional “must-see” viewing for film fanatics.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • A number of enjoyably humorous scenes



  • Ridiculous costumes
  • Fun wordplay:

    Abbott: Why don’t you knock on the door?
    Costello: I don’t know… I just don’t give a rap anymore.

Must See?
No, though it’s worth a look as one of Abbott and Costello’s most popular films.

Links:

Hold That Ghost (1941)

Hold That Ghost (1941)

“It’s gonna be a pleasure to take you boys for a ride.”

Synopsis:
A pair of bumbling gas station attendants (Bud Abbott and Lou Costello) inherit a house with hidden treasure from a gangster (William Davidson) whose rivals are desperate to find the loot.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Abbott and Costello Films
  • Comedy
  • Hidden Treasure
  • Inheritance
  • Old Dark House

Review:
Although it’s lauded by fans as one of their funniest films, this Abbott and Costello comedy is surprisingly dull — and, despite its title, features nary a ghost. The only real humor comes in the film’s opening sequence, when A&C are working as high-class waiters and Costello takes his instructions from Abbott so literally (think Amelia Bedelia) that he completely bungles the position. From then on, we’re meant to laugh as poor Costello — who nobody believes, naturally — witnesses candles moving on their own, accidentally converts his bedroom into a casino (again and again) by throwing a jacket over a coat hook, etc.; unfortunately, these scenes are simply tiresome rather than amusing.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Atmospheric sets and lighting


Must See?
No — though Abbott and Costello fans will certainly consider it essential viewing. Listed as a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

Ghost Catchers (1944)

Ghost Catchers (1944)

“If you should hear noises, ignore them — they’re nothing, nothing at all!”

Synopsis:
Nightclub performers Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson try to unravel the mystery of a haunted house being rented by a southern colonel (Walter Catlett) and his two musical daughters (Gloria Jean and Martha O’Driscoll), who are due to make their debut at Carnegie Hall that night.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Amateur Sleuths
  • Comedy
  • Ghosts
  • Lon Chaney, Jr. Films
  • Old Dark House

Review:
Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson’s follow-up to Hellzapoppin’ (1941) was this “comedic thriller” clearly meant to capitalize on both the popularity of the Topper trilogy and Abbott and Costello’s Hold That Ghost (1941), which is openly referenced in the film. Unfortunately, there’s barely enough of Chic and Ole’s trademark zany antics to make this one worth sitting through, given that the surrounding plot is both nonsensical and insipid, and the song and dance sequences interspersed throughout are instantly forgettable. Lon Chaney, Jr. and Andy Devine make brief cameos in animal costumes (don’t ask), but aren’t given nearly enough to do. With that said, fans on IMDb insist that this film is “side-splitting” and that it’s Olsen and Johnson’s “funniest film”, so perhaps I’m missing something — you’ll have to decide for yourself. Meanwhile, I suggest sticking with Hellzapoppin’ as Chic and Ole’s one true must-see film.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Occasional snippets of truly bizarre lunacy
  • Effectively atmospheric cinematography during several scary sequences

Must See?
No — unless you’re a diehard Olsen and Johnson fan.

Links:

Hellzapoppin’ (1941)

Hellzapoppin’ (1941)

“It’s a picture about a picture about Hellzapoppin.”

Synopsis:
Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson make a movie based on their Broadway play about a love triangle between a poor but proud musician (Robert Paige), his wealthy love interest (Jane Frazee), and her fiance (Lewis Howard).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Comedy
  • Elisha Cook Jr. Films
  • Fantasy
  • Love Triangle
  • Musicals
  • Play Adaptation

Review:
The comedic team of Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson aren’t nearly as well known as Abbott and Costello or the Marx Brothers, but they possess a small cult following, and merit some attention by film fanatics simply for the uniquely zany sensibility they brought to their work. Their most famous production was the Broadway play Hellzapoppin’, which ran for over three years (from 1938 to 1941), and was finally turned into this enormously creative cinematic “adaptation”. The original show has been described as “a demented vaudeville brawl without the Marx brothers” (ClassicImages.com), and the same can be said about its movie equivalent; indeed, the film’s opening sequence, taking place in Hell itself, is truly over-the-top, plunging viewers immediately into the mayhem that Olsen and Johnson were infamous for.

Unfortunately, the narrative itself — a silly musical about a love triangle, with a subplot involving man-crazy Martha Raye chasing Mischa Auer’s penniless baron — is tiresome at best, as is the final extended “sabotaged ballet” sequence. However, it’s what Olsen and Johnson do around their narrative that really entertains, as they construct an ongoing meta-commentary about the making of their own film, and break the “fourth wall” of cinema again and again — these moments are consistently inspired (see stills below for just a few examples). In addition, film fanatics are sure to be delighted by numerous cinematic in-jokes, including a nod to Citizen Kane, a brief Busby Berkeley homage, and a priceless “cameo” by Elisha Cook, Jr. These moments alone make Hellzapoppin’ must-see viewing at least once.

Note: Watch for a hint of MST3K inspiration (was it?) as Olsen and Johnson sit with their backs to the camera, commenting as they watch themselves on-screen.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Creative cinematic “trickery”


  • Several fun cinematic “homages”

  • The surreal opening sequence in Hell
  • Droll dialogue:

    Director: Now look, Selby, you seem like a bright young man – how old are you?
    Selby: Twenty-three.
    Director: Twenty-three. Well that’s a peak age. Uncle Sam needs young men like you. I assume you’re ambitious?
    Selby: Oh, yes!
    Director: That’s fine. What would you like to be?
    Selby: 29.

Must See?
Yes, as Ole and Johnson’s finest cinematic achievement, and a cult favorite.

Categories

  • Cult Movie
  • Historically Relevant
Links:

Black Girl/La Noire de… (1966)

Black Girl/La Noire de… (1966)

“Why am I here? Am I a nursery maid or a housemaid?”

Synopsis:
A young Senegalese woman (Mbissine Therese Diop) suffers from debilitating depression when she’s sent to France to work as a housemaid for her heartless employers (Anne-Marie Jelinek and Robert Fontaine).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Africa
  • Downward Spiral
  • French Films
  • Race Relations
  • Servants, Maids, and Housekeepers

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary argues that this “first feature of Africa’s most famous filmmaker, Ousmane Sembene” is “crudely made [and] unusually structured” but “of interest for reasons other than its landmark status in African cinema”. He points out that “no film has better conveyed the concept of ‘domestic slavery'” — a form of “neo-colonialism” in which “whites pay wages to blacks but treat them as if they were property”. It’s especially unfortunate, then, that this landmark film is such a chore to sit through. Despite the undeniable importance and sincerity of Sembene’s message, the acting, characterizations, and script are all so crudely executed that Black Girl comes across more like a promising student film than one that deserves any kind of worldwide acclaim.

The majority of scenes in this hour-long film — “adapted from Sembene’s 1961 short story about a real-life tragedy” — seem scripted merely to show us how unjust Diop’s situation is, which we understand and sympathize with right away; from there, not much happens, and we’re not given nearly enough insight into the motivations or backgrounds of either Diouana (Diop) or her bigoted employers to care about them as three-dimensional characters. While we can sense and appreciate Sembene’s deeper thematic concerns — Peary notes that his “films are intended to show the problems of his people… [who] are susceptible to falling into the same trap as [Diouana]” — he fails to effectively bring them to the surface, instead relying far too heavily on Diouana’s rather repetitive voiceover. With that said, it’s fitting that this film — which is undeniably groundbreaking on several levels — won the Prix Jean Vigo, an award usually given to a young director, for his or her independent spirit.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • A valuable cinema verite glimpse at neo-colonialist Senegal in the 1960s

Must See?
Yes, simply for its historical significance as the first feature film ever released by a sub-Saharan African director.

Categories

  • Historically Relevant

Links: