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On stage, I have portrayed strong female lead characters: Miss Moffat (The Corn is Green), Mother (‘Night, Mother), and actress in Italian Language course. I have portrayed famous women like a TV producer and playwright. At age 13, I was Lead Actress Christmas play and Lead Witch Halloween play. I have been on stage since age 8.
I hold a Bachelor of Arts Degree: History, Fine Arts, Performing Arts.
In university dance coursework, I critiqued live shows and wrote research papers. I received excellent grades. My performance courses include tap, ballet, modern, jazz, tango, mime and dance history.
My arts include voice classes. I have sung solo first soprano for final exams, as well as first soprano in university women's glee club. I sing in six languages: English, Spanish, Italian, Latin, French and German.
I am an IMDb reviewer since May, 2002 (22 years). My favorite shows are song-and-dance films and backstage musicals. My comments include costuming, color vs. black-and-white, dance, singing, historical accuracy, actor believability and mise-en-scene. I also review TV programs and non-musical films.
Current: May 8, 2024 Wednesday
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
A Bill of Divorcement (1932)
Smashing.
Spoilers. Opinions. Observations. Reflections.
I am giving this a ten.
All lead actors perform great character studies here.
Barrymore does a fabulous job portraying a World War One ex-soldier nutcase who is almost back to reality. His character's emotions go from dithering to begging and pleading. He is good at crying. He should have been arrested for breaking and entering, not to mention trespassing and harassment. Come on, Hillary, you cannot ignore a woman for fifteen years and expect her to be pining away for you like a lovesick fool, now can you? You blew it big-time, old chap.
Hepburn is totally convincing. The irony and sadness here is that her character and her mother are both breaking up with their boyfriends, even though the mother finally gets back together with hers. Hepburn here is intelligent, charming and inventive.
My very first IMDb review, in 2002, was of "Sylvia Scarlett" (1935), in which Hepburn and Cary Grant sing and dance in pink Pierrot clown costumes. That film is quite memorable.
Billie Burke was an NYC stage actress in the middle nineteen-teens, and married Florenz Ziegfeld. Here, she portrays an older character, of course, who is still beautiful and charming. Almost gone in this performance is her trademarked fluttering and sing-songy voice. Of course, she also shone later as the Good Witch of the North in "The Wizard of Oz" (1939), wearing the beautiful pink gown and waving the fabulous magic wand.
Elizabeth Patterson portrays here a fidgety, fuss-budgety old maid, with no life of her own yet oddly obsesses over her shell-shocked, insane and locked-up brother. Is this a misplaced substitute for no man of her own? Who would have her? She is always whining and badgering to Billie Burke's character, and it gets annoyingly predictable.
Henry Stephenson is always charming and pleasant. His character here seems to have a knack of calming things down and making people act in a reasonable manner. It is always a joy to see him.
Hepburn's fiancé is adorable. Perhaps he could have adopted children with Hepburn.
Burke's fiancé is tall, businesslike and reasonable. He has to put up with a lot of sadness, woe-is-me and caterwauling from Burke. He may even end up getting attacked by the character portrayed by Barrymore, but the film ends before we can see any repercussions.
10/10. Smashing.
Orfeu Negro (1959)
Very good.
Spoilers. Opinions. Observations. Reflections.
I will prepare for you the environment of this 1959 film. I am a film historian. I critique and describe vintage films regarding acting, theatrical dancing, fine arts, costuming, diegetic music and mise-en-scene collections:
This film is very nice. The music is intoxicating. The whole atmosphere is sensuous. The moods are riveting. The parades are composed of well-choreographed and swaying dancers. The air is electric and thrilling.
It is Carnaval time in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the present time. It is a warm evening. The costume designs are colorful and outstanding. The dancing and swaying are wondrous to behold. The drumbeats are prescient with their obviously coded messages.
Breno Mello, a powerful athlete, shows his colossal strength in this film. He makes a dazzling and memorable performance.
Marpessa Dawn, an actress born in the United States, is a beautiful and exotic creature. She is absolutely wonderful. She is demure, feminine and breathtaking.
This film is utterly fantastic. I can still hear the music and the strong rhythms. I can still see the faces and the creative dancing.
Of which I speak: My university B. A. in History Degree includes coursework in fine arts and graphic design, textiles and clothing structures, acting-singing-dancing on stage, filmmaking, dance critiquing and theatrical critiquing.
10/10 -- Very good.
Marjorie Morningstar (1958)
Where are the great Kelly tap dance numbers?
Spoilers. Observations. Opinions. Reflections.
Kelly is too old. He, born in 1912, is old enough to be the father of Natalie, born 1938. I figured his makeup and hairline are adapted to the man of his thirties as depicted here, still too old of a slimy hound-dog for Natalie.
This story is a circle. I start at the end of the film. Natalie leaves on the bus. Sweet young things are still thrilled by Kelly. Once, Natalie was the naive ingenue. Perhaps she replaced Kelly's previous love-of-his-life.
Meanwhile, Kelly is a loser. He is a pitiful and small fish in the middle of nowhere, then throws a fit when his play gets criticized by NYC financial backers. After irate scene-chewing and predictable depression, he goes back to being a nobody in the wilderness.
In this film, Irish Kelly, raised Catholic in real life, is afraid to be Jewish. This is a post-World-War-Two America, and his character has to drop his religious identity as well as his family name. Even though he hides his Jewishness, he still is a total failure.
I wonder why the real Kelly even took this part? Were his classy dance days over? He was only in his forties. He is so dull here. Looks like they were too cheap to pay for any of his familiar-type dance numbers. He may have gotten a paunch, and could not afford new tap shoes.
Natalie sells out. Here, she ends up with bookworm-1-Adam-12-Life-with-Father Martin Milner, for whom she cares not a teeny whit. This is a mistake. My denouement predicted that she would end up with Kelly. I was wrong.
Ed Wynn is adorable here.
In the Good Old Summertime (1949)
Nice. Pleasant.
Spoilers. Reflections. Observations. Opinions.
Boy hates girl. Girl hates boy. Of course, you know that they will end up together. Opposites attract. Arguing, battling, battery poles meet. It is all meant to be. This is the way that it works. Cinderella and the prince did not meet by being obnoxious to each other. They, too, also lived happily ever after, however. Go figure.
This is a post-World War Two American film of victory, joy and happiness, whereas the prewar version is less enjoyable and even oddly meh -- according to some reviewers. After the obstacles are overcome in this film, the denouement surprise ending is delightful and refreshing.
The post office thing is just a vehicle to get us to keep hoping that these two will finally find out about the real identity of each other.
Meanwhile, the one who is the supervisor is constantly being shown up by the underling. Of course he is being obviously paid more money $$$, but that does not keep the underling from trying to charm the customers into spending more money.
This is a lovely film.
I enjoy studying post-World War Two musical color and Technicolor films, plus song and dance extravaganzas. I studied coursework about the history of postwar cinema on a collegiate level. It seems that during that same time period some European films tended to be dark, depressing and operating in an atmosphere of poverty and failure after losing said war.
Hear, hear for happy movies like this one. I wish that I could find a
Red Valentine Heart emoji to insert here, lol.
10/10.
Heaven Can Wait (1943)
Hilarious.
Spoilers. Observations. Opinions. Reflections.
Henry is trying to get into the place where bad people go, but he is not bad enough.
I do not see much of what he does as actually bad. Perhaps he is just a little naughty, not bad, and certainly he was not a criminal. Apparently filmic censorship has prevented the showing of his really bad wrongs.
So, Mephistopheles finds Henry unqualified to stay in the lower realm. His Excellency is a well-dressed gatekeeper who finds no compunction in actually dropping down a real sinner into the enflamed lower depths.
Henry is portrayed by the ever-handsome and charming Don Ameche. Henry is a wealthy wastrel, ever-elegant and seemingly with no future career planned.
I have seen Ameche portray other charmers, as in the films Alexander's Ragtime Band, The Story of Alexander Graham Bell and Cocoon. I can never imagine him as a baddie.
I do like this film. I like the beautiful furnishings and historical costume choices.
I have reviewed films for IMDb since 2002.
10/10.
Tonight and Every Night (1945)
Wonderful.
Spoilers. Observations. Opinions. Reflections.
I like this film. It is pleasant. It is exhilarating.
I had heard many things about how good of a choreographer Jack Cole was, and how he had designed dance presentations for many well known dancers.
In this film, however, this is the first time I ever remember seeing the great and famous choreographer Jack Cole actually dancing in front of the camera. His dance moves were superb. He was a joy to watch.
Rira Hayworth as a dancer is outstanding, as usual. She always makes it look so easy to get up there and perform her smooth and precise moves. Kudos to Rita Hayworth.
Marc Platt is so heroic, and so utterly well-prepared, coming in and doing his lightning fast dance interpretations of radio music and voice broadcasts. Marc Platt was such a nice dancer, and he always made dance combinations look as easy as the proverbial pie.
This film is delightful to see. I like it.
10/10.
Down to Earth (1947)
Great
Spoilers. Observations. Opinions. Reflections.
This is a beautiful movie.
The story is wonderful. The atmosphere is delightful. Rita Hayworth is outstanding. The costuming is very nice.
She portrays the Muse well, and shows the slimy Earthbound copycat-clone how to act in a much more dignified manner.
I always like Marc Platt. Wasn't he an early ballet practitioner in Ballets Russes? He would go on to join the ensemble male dance group in the film, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I also like him in the film, Tonight and Every Night, when he dances to the impromptu radio broadcasts.
This film is well put together. I feel that the choreography is excellent and well thought out.
10/10.
There's No Business Like Show Business (1954)
Great film.
Spoilers. Observations. Opinions. Reflections.
I like this film. It is an uplifting slice of life. It shows a history of show business entertainment. It shows traveling on the road. It talks about schedules and destinations.
I like the story. The children are small. They go to school, away from show business and the stage. Then they grow up. This film talks about their relationships with their parents and other people.
I feel that this movie is pleasant escapism. It includes major actors and actresses. It strives to convey an upbeat continuation in the decades of show business.
Dan Dailey, here, reminds me of his film with Betty Grable, also about a performing show business family.
I am an historian and film reviewer.
10/10.
Grease (1978)
Outstanding.
Spoilers. Opinions. Observations. Reflections.
This is an outstanding film. I like all of the big stars in it. There are so many that one is just overcome with sheer fandom. These are of the older generation, going quite well with the younger main characters of this movie.
This an upbeat, not-depressing movie. The dancers are great. The delinquents are hilarious. The toughs and greasers are well-represented; there does not seem to be any of them college-bound that I can recall. They are lucky to even get through high school.
The clothing is dazzling, and quite fashionable for the time period represented. The graduation carnival is very well done. The school administrators are quite down to earth, and good role models for the students.
I am an historian and film reviewer.
10/10.
Hairspray (2007)
Adorable
Spoilers. Opinions. Observations. Reflections.
This is an adorable film. It is upbeat. It is enjoyable. The colors are excellent. The clothing is wonderful. The drag mother is awesome. Dancing Christopher Walken is wonderful, as always. The daughter is excellent. Her enthusiasm is catching and inspiring.
The dance show is outstanding. The time period presented seems to be authentic. The music is very nice and uplifting. There is no depressing part of this movie. It is warm and inviting.
The racial themes of the time period are interesting, and the intermingling of different people is smooth and blended well. The times they were changing, and of course later on in history more of this would become the norm.
I am an historian and film reviewer. I do like how the racial integration was smoothly woven into this story of acceptance and how all people can be valued quite well.
10/10.
The Paradise (2012)
Very nice show.
Spoilers. Opinions. Observations. Reflections.
I like this show. It is too bad that it does not have more seasons. I wanted to see more of it.
I was enjoying it, and also Mr. Selfridge. It seems that The Paradise was a late 19th century British department store series, whereas the Mr. Selfridge time period occurs after the turn of the twentieth century.
I have my own retail department store sales experience, so I like these two shows.
It seemed that The Paradise is more droll and less colorful than Mr. Selfridge, but I still like The Paradise. Mr. Moray of The Paradise is very good at what he does, but he does not have the outgoing personality of Mr. Harry Selfridge.
I also like these department store stories because they occur later in history than the typical general stores we always hear about on the wild frontier of America, with their cracker barrels and dry goods. Perhaps with a one penny licorice stick?
9/10.
Are You Being Served? (1972)
Excellent.
Spoilers. Opinions. Observations. Reflections.
I always like this show. I am watching different segments now on YouTube, and they are still hilarious. This comedy never gets old.
I am one of these people who likes this series because I also worked in a department store, which had similar elevators and cash register cha-ching noises. (I operated the cash registers!!) I love the theme music of this series. This program brings back many nice memories for me of my retail sales career.
(I was working in the store because I was a student enrolled in an educational program that included advertising, marketing and retail experience, thus receiving academic grades plus actually getting paid and earning real money for selling clothes and jewelry. I was even assigned to the candy department. I earned an A in the course, and placed high in the qualifiers to go on to the state educational contest for retail selling. How wonderful!!)
I understand that one of the writers of this show also had a similar experience to myself, having had retail selling experience in a typical department store. Those were the days, weren't they? Christmas holiday sales were the best and the busiest of the whole year.
Because of my own department store retail selling experiences, I also like TV series such as Mr. Selfridge and The Paradise. All three shows remind me of my most happy days selling in different departments and retail areas.
So, now onto the funny. We will go back into memory, but I will speak in present tense. Mr. Humphries is so hilarious. Mrs. Slocombe is so wonderfully memorable. Miss Brahms is sweet and kindly, with cutely snarky remarks. Young Mr. Grace always prides himself about his good taste in women. Captain Peacock is such a goof, and deserves to have pranks played upon him. These characters always deliver a comedic charm that fills one with chuckles and long-remembered happiness.
The pratfalls and hi-jinks in this show are remarkable, and stay long in the memory.
10/10.
Shogun (1980)
Smashing.
Spoilers. Opinions. Observations. Reflections.
I read the book on which this is based. This book is colorfully descriptive of how Blackthorne, centuries ago, went to Japan and became immersed in its imperial life.
I feel that this film does a good job of showing what the book describes. Interesting characters are Blackthorne, of course, and Toranaga. Both of these people seem to be based on personages in real life.
I enjoy their friendship and camaraderie. They have a respect for one another. They understand that each comes from a different part of the world with its own particular customs.
This story is dashing and exciting.
10/10.
Peter Pan (1960)
Better than I thought it would be.
Spoilers. Opinions. Reflections. Observations.
This is better than I thought that it would be. The color is fairly good. I am surprised that it looks this good, after so many decades.
There should be more sharpness in the filming, but after such a long time it does well. It seemed rather fuzzy and unfocused at first, at least until I got used to it.
I find fault with the flying. Peter swings back and forth like a pocket watch on a chain. This is not a good look. This is not believable.
How did he even get to Neverland? The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, but Peter would be going in all sorts of strange directions.
Another fault is that the mother looked like a grandmother to the children. There are old-looking rouge and pancake makeup on her face. In the 2003 Peter Pan film, the mother is quite young and beautiful, so I am spoiled.
The Indians are refreshing to see. This production was made before that name became out of date. They are energetic, and good dancers. They are well-choreographed. I especially like the dancing and leadership of Tiger Lily. Tiger Lily has refreshing enthusiasm.
Ritchard is a good and athletically comical Captain Hook, and dashingly elegant late in the production when he is again the father.
I have seen Peter Pan performed as a live ballet, and liked it very much. I enjoyed the film, Finding Neverland. Peter Pan has also been produced on the stage many times.
I like the energetic dancing in this show.
8/10.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2003)
I like this show.
Spoilers. Observations. Opinions. Reflections.
I like this show. It is quiet. It can be slow-moving. It can get very funny. I like the skits. The way that this show explains current events is very informative. It simplifies some of the boring reporting of other information shows.
I like this host better than some others on late-night TV. He is pleasant and peaceful, and knows how to milk the crowd to take the time to understand his slow-moving subliminal innuendoes.
This show is refreshing and of-the-moment. I can always watch it and find out the day's events in a thought-provoking and hilarious manner.
10/10.
The Daily Show (1996)
Great show.
Spoilers. Observations. Opinions. Reflections.
I like this show. It is informative and hilarious. It cuts through the boring regular news shows. I like the correspondents. I miss Trevor. The people who have taken up the slack are very good. I like how this show lampoons certain subjects and personalities. I also like how it finds the absurdities in common everyday situations.
I miss Roy. He was also hilarious, interesting and thought-provoking. I think that he was the one who did the traffic maps, and his presentation was funny.
I especially like the women reporters and presenters. They always give a very unique slant and take on the current issues, and their feminine points of view are always impressive.
10/10.
Saturday Night Live (1975)
Great show
So wonderfully Avant-Garde. I love it. Always have. Miss some actors. Others not so much. Love the cold open. Love weekend update. Love the diversity. Current actors doing a great job. Wait for this show every week. Show not on consistently right now. Bummer.
Getting ready for season 50. Actors have lots of new material to learn every week. Seems a lot to memorize. Many of them have graduated from Second City and improv places like that, so it's no wonder that they are so adaptable. Lorne doing a great job. Long may this show last. I think that it is not for the naysayers or other ilk, who may not appreciate some of the hilariously comedic and ridiculously naughty subtleties. Kudos and congratulations, Lorne, for hopefully-upcoming 50 seasons. Yayyyyyyyy !!!!!!
10/10.
8½ (1963)
Marvelous.
Spoilers. Opinions. Observations. Reflections.
I am adding this to my study of Italian films, some in college coursework and others elsewhere. I have also studied Italian language and culture.
I have seen some Fellini films in the past few years. Here is one.
I have to see it again. I had earlier heard a lot about it. It bears taking apart and dissecting all of the different parts, plus putting them back together.
There are some puzzles. Are we going into the mind of the director and the main character? Can we decipher the meaning of the whole thing? Is this a 1960s psychedelic and hallucinogenic trip?
The part of the young boys in the scenes with La Saraghina are interesting. I had also seen this actress, Eddra Gale, in the film Somewhere in Time, where she portrays a character in a play after having a dressing room encounter with hottie Christopher Reeve.
Here, La Saraghina wears a short black dress and seems to be a carefree sort of pied piper to the young boys. Her hair is long, curly and flyaway. In Somewhere in Time, there is a marked contrast. In the play within the film, her costume is a brightly colored but dowdy and matronly dress. The costuming for Eddra for both films is quite shockingly different, but both in both films she does quite interesting work. In the dressing room scene, she has a French accent (speaks French?).
All in all, this is a surreal voyage into the mind. It is a sleepy trip into yesterday, and even the film itself is yesterday -- made in the 1960s.
10/10.
Il posto (1961)
Quiet, interesting.
Spoilers. Opinions. Observations. Reflections.
I have already studied some postwar 1940s Italian cinema on a collegiate level, and also some Italian crime films. So far, they show a dismal and dreary image of Italy. One is even rather comical. They are all black and white. One is The Bicycle Thief.
Neorealism 1940s post-World War Two Italian films have shown damaged cities and much poverty. People are grubbing for the smallest financial survival.
Here, in Il Posto, however, I notice marked financial improvement. The parents are hardworking and monetarily surviving, even though they are not wealthy. They can afford the nice clothing for the son to wear to the job interview and the work experience. He has money for the streetcar and the coffee.
The company itself looks prosperous, is large and divided into several areas and departments. The business seems very methodical, sensible and efficient.
So, this 1960s Italian film is further away from that war than the 1940s neorealism. This city looks prosperous. I did not notice buildings bombed out here, for example.
I read that the lead actor was nonprofessional, yet I notice that as a trained method actress myself I try to look for the emotions and feelings of the characters in films. Here, he shows shyness and good manners. He has many blank looks upon his face, as if he is in a naive learning situation from the older characters. He performs the emotions well.
He finally livens up and even laughs later on in this film. This character has finally felt safe enough to let down his hair and have a good time at the party.
In the ending, things get back to a workday environment. He now has a new desk position. We see drudges, older long-term employees. Their work looks very simple and methodical. We see someone hand-operating a mimeograph machine. The drones all know their places. The film ends.
Is this his future? Will he get promoted to something higher? Will he end up a zombie like the older employees? Will his life be dedicated to the humdrum of modern office machines?
Is this a 1960s mindlessness of being a futuristic robot? The people all seem to dress well and fairly business-like, and we can see that their society has improved since the war years. They are working in the boring jobs in order to afford to purchase the clothing. They can now afford to feed their families. No one is bombing the Italian cities anymore.
I have studied Italian language, so I could pick up some of the words spoken.
This film is also black and white. As an aside, the Italian 1940s postwar films I studied did not show color, as opposed to American postwar films which consisted of many pleasant and colorful song-and-dance musicals and happily-ever-stories.
10/10.
The Jolson Story (1946)
Marvelous.
Spoilers. Opinions. Observations. Reflections.
I am giving this film a ten. It is a marvelous showing. It may be fictionalized, but I feel that it is a wonderful window into the life of a legend.
I had heard several things about this person, but they never coagulated into a logical whole. There were parts that never lined up until I saw this film. I had heard about it for quite a while, but this is my first opportunity to view it.
Jolson the character is superb, and he has a wide singing repertoire. He has the nerve and courage to improvise on stage, and gets away with his innovations. The audience and stage management are enchanted by his charms.
His parents are portrayed as kind, patient and understanding. They hear him singing in the house of another religion. They are not mortified, but seem gently at ease. They later become proud of him when he embarks upon a commercial entertainment career.
I am a degreed historian with interests in stage and cinema. I am an actress, stage makeup artist, a dancer, singer and artist-designer. I have reviewed many films for IMDb since 2002.
10/10.
The Emperor Waltz (1948)
Very good
Spoilers. Observations. Reflections. Opinions.
In early 20th Century Europe, a sophisticated neurotic dog in heat pines for a mongrel male canine, even after a dogfight. Sounds like human characters in other movies, who fight and fall madly in love.
Is this Lady and The Tramp, but with a dogfight? Here, a private veterinarian obstetrician shrink says fancy dog needs to believe in her dreams. After Mr. Everydog gives her puppies, her dreams come true.
Whoa, Lassie. It's scandalous. The fancy female dog here is engaged to a royal prince dog -- complete with paparazzi upscale wedding in the royal kennels. Spoiler: Prince Charming Doggo gets stranded at the altar.
Der Bingle is the lead human. He's attracted to a bankrupt countess. She wants his American bowling-alley lifestyle, because her two uppity fiances are dim lightbulbs.
Do the unequal doggies and humans live happily ever after? Or do these two females end up with the boring fiances? Didn't Lady end up with The Tramp?
My historian side: This film was made after World War Two. It was an era of celebrating Americanism. This film shows American ingenuity prevailing over older European ideas.
I am a degreed historian who has also studied cinema and theatre at university.
The Little Minister (1921)
Excellent
Spoilers. Opinions. Observations. Reflections.
The gypsies are stereotypically accused of many bad things. One gypsy is actually an aristocratic daughter dressed in clever disguise. She is charming and capricious to the new tiny of height minister.
She even appears to him in the pages of his Bible he is trying to read. Shame on her.
Her name is Lady Barbara, also known as Babbie. As a gypsy, she is kind to neighborhood residents. She is very pretty. They like her.
In this industrializing weaver town, the woven products are bringing in smaller income. They previously had been made by hand, but now machinery has made the products cheaper to produce.
I have followed this story as a stage play, plus in other films made of this story. It is interesting to see the different versions.
Halliwell is a hunk. The minister is gentlemanly but a shrimp, and he wins the heart of Babbie.
The Emperor Jones (1933)
Smashing.
Spoilers. Opinions. Reflections. Observations.
Brutus Jones gets sent off to his new career by his church congregation. They are happy. It is prestigious to be a train porter.
Brutus, a Baptist, falls in with gambling and violence, and goes to prison for evil deeds. He escapes, working as a coal shoveler on a ship bound for exotic locales. He hears about an obscure island, and hilariously jumps ship and swims ashore.
He runs into an authoritarian regime, after being rescued by thugs who find him exhausted on the beach. Brutus worms his way into the dictatorship, acting aristocratic and abusive.
He "puts his religion on the shelf", blending his obnoxious personality with the island religions, superstitions and witch doctors. Brutus gets very mean and cruel. You could see this coming a mile away -- people you abused are going to pay you back.
The islanders stage a revolution, hiding in the jungle. Brutus thinks he has mastered the forest's nooks and crannies, but his subjects are descendants of peoples who have lived there for thousands of years. Brutus, you are doomed.
I have studied film censorship at university. This film is pre-code.
There is a lot of racial name-calling. I feel that the script reflected the times. This film was made during The Great Depression in 1933, when there were lots of song and dance films made -- as a contrast to Brutus' shenanigans. My degree is in History.
Captain January (1936)
Shirley and Buddy
Spoilers. Observations. Reflections. Opinions.
I like tap dance. It's one of my favorite types of dance. I like the dancing here of Shirley and Buddy. Many followers of Beverly Hillbillies/Jed Clampett do not know that Buddy had an earlier career as a dancer, or that he almost became the Tin Man in the film, The Wizard of Oz.
Small observation: beginning of film, Shirley getting dressed. Undies have small hole in front. Is this boys' underwear? This looks weird and peculiar. She should have on some feminine underthings, complete with lace and softer accoutrements.
The grizzled sailors in the Codfish Ball scene remind one of the male aviators in her The Good Ship Lollipop scene in the other film. Shirley is a lone female.
I still like this film. Shirley has a great pantheon of films in a wonderful collection.
Jane Darwell cleaned up better here than in The Grapes of Wrath. I've never seen her look so good, relatively speaking. Jane was way more feminine here than she was in Mary Poppins.
The film observer and critic.
8/10.
12 Years a Slave (2013)
Too horrible to watch.
Spoilers. Opinions. Reflections. Observations.
This was recorded to watch later. Upon viewing, the early and lovely family scenes were quite pleasant, happy and peaceful.
Then the crooks moved in on our wonderful person. I could tell that these horrible denizens were up to no good. All of a sudden, the main subject finds himself bound up in wicked and ugly chains.
We go back to when the main character is boozed up by the nasty charlatans. They are encouraging him to have more and more alcoholic consumption. We see him later all adrift in their cruel machinations. How can they be so mean and ugly?
Aha, it's all for money, as I thought. He, a wonderful and free man, has been sold out to the racist pig slavery industry. He has been duped by evil monsters.
He then is attacked by his new captors. This is horrible to watch. I cannot watch any more. It is heart-wrenching.
The acting is so good. Everything looks so realistic. I, however, cannot deal with it. I have had to erase my recording early into this film.
I waited a long time to see this movie, but I could not finish it. I feel strongly that it deserves a 10, but I could not continue with the viewing.