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| Ella Cinders; Colleen Moore silent comedy 1926 | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 7 2013, 07:55 PM (425 Views) | |
| CliffClaven | Apr 7 2013, 07:55 PM Post #1 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Remembered this from eons ago, when the local educational television station ran silents in a series called "The Toy That Grew Up." Got the Grapevine DVD, which isn't fantastic but is very watchable -- probably a bit better than what KQED aired back in the day. Colleen Moore isn't so much a comedienne as an actress who plays comedy with a lot of appeal. She manages to be as cute as a button while still plausible as the plain jane heroine. Based on a popular comic strip I've only seen a few panels from, the story is mostly a straight update of the fairy tale. Ella, the slavey to her stepmother and stepsisters, at least has a friend in the handsome young iceman, Waite Lifter. There's a big movie beauty contest -- winner gets trainfare and a studio gig. Ella wins despite (or because of) an entry photo snapped while trying to twitch a fly off her nose. Once in Hollywood, she finds out the contest was a scam and the studio is closed. She becomes a gate crasher at other studios, eventually stumbling into a burning set while fleeing a live lion. In a nice change from the usual, her terror launches her career as a great DRAMATIC actress. Meanwhile, Waite Lifter turns out to be a rich college football hero, and he comes to Hollywood to rescue her from what he thinks is failure and poverty. Happy ending, which tells you she got married but confuses the issue of whether she gave up stardom. Lots of jokey subtitles ("Eating less than an ant at an Armenian picnic."), and gags more cute than slapstick. When Ella tries to act with her eyes as per a movie acting book, there's a famous trick shot of her peepers winking and looking in different directions independently. And while she's fleeing the studio guard, she mistakes Harry Langdon for a fellow gatecrasher and they do a quick bit together. Maybe not a classic, but short (52 minutes), briskly paced and likable as a puppy. The same DVD includes a "Tons of Fun" short titled "Three Wise Goofs." This comes right after the feature and should satisfy anyone who found "Ella Cinders" too subtle. Three hefty brothers live with their sister and father. There's a hint of a plot -- sister wants to postpone dinner until "Reggy" arrives -- but it quickly devolves from the hungry brothers swiping sandwiches from each other to madly fleeing Dad, intent on disciplining his boys with a shotgun. Outrageous and nonsensical stuff, most of it moving at top speed: Eating peas and spaghetti through straws, knocking people down with a stovepipe, etc. |
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| mort bakaprevski | Apr 8 2013, 07:09 AM Post #2 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Were you able to discern that one eye was blue while the other was brown? |
| "Nov Shmoz Ka Pop." | |
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| mort bakaprevski | Apr 8 2013, 07:40 AM Post #3 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMz2fI3q5wg |
| "Nov Shmoz Ka Pop." | |
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| SuperRog | Aug 12 2013, 09:41 AM Post #4 |
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Charter Member
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I just ordered this...it's my second Grapevine purchase in the last week. The first was Bare Knees.
Edited by SuperRog, Aug 12 2013, 09:42 AM.
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