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Felix Strikes It Rich (1923)
Farmer Al Falfa's Darkest Acting Role
Farmer Al Falfa is back on the farm and Felix is the farm cat. Things go badly for the farm when Felix starts hanging out with the hens to the point that they stop laying eggs and instead dance to jazz music Felix is playing all day long for 3 weeks. There is a funny joke about the hens becoming "sophisticated" and not laying eggs anymore, it being "old fashioned", an obvious reference to then current 1923 women's rights and social movements. What makes this memorable for me is that it gets crazy violent with Felix and Farmer Al Falfa going one on one in an escalating death match with only one survivor. Rumor has it that Farmer Al Falfa had refused to do the closing scene because it was past his character's limit of violence but when the studio head intervened, Farmer Al Falfa relented. This may have been his acting downfall. Killing such a beloved character as a cat resulted in him getting less and less acting roles. Just kidding, its a dark ending though for a 1923 cartoon and the main reason why I'm giving this an 8! It's kind of a forbidden video, IMO. This may be the first cartoon with a dig your own grave scene but it wasn't the last. Check out Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd in The Old Grey Hare from the 1940s, that's probably the best version of that skit.
Gilligan's Island: Smile, You're on Mars Camera (1965)
My End of an Age Learning Moment As A Kid
Before I had cable TV and online media to watch, there was 1970s TV after school on broadcast TV channels. The line up I would watch daily included Get Smart, Star Trek, F Troop, The Brady Bunch, The Odd Couple and of course Gilligan's Island! Being in middle school, I don't remember being amused by any of the comedy shows (except The Brady Bunch), but rather would be interested in the sub plots. I didn't want Max and 99 to be killed, and I didn't want the castaways to stay marooned on the island. I wrote a review on the Gilligan's Isle episode called Gilligan's Living Doll. That one has the space robot land on the island and Gilligan botches it up. I was in the 4th grade and thought for SURE they were going to be rescued, lol. I almost broke the 19" "portable" TV I was watching I was so upset at the ending. Even though this episode originally aired before that one, I watched it in reverse order seeing this after the robot one. This was a coming of age moment for me because my childish brain started to figure out they would never by rescued. Although admittingly, as a teen, when I watched the Gilligan's Island TV movie, I thought they were going to be rescued then too, lol. If you are an older kid or an adult watching this for the first time it's probably not a 10, but for me, having the memories of when I was 10 years old and still retaining those memories 50 years later, it rates a nostalgic 10. As the Skipper always says, "GILLIGAN"!
Gilligan's Island: Gilligan's Living Doll (1966)
The Episode That Made Me Most Angry At Gilligan
There are a few Gilligan's Island episodes that I can clearly remember and this is perhaps the one I remember the most. Flashback, I am in the 4th grade or so in the 1970s, watching GI on TV right after school. Like Get Smart, it was a comedy that also had an adventure sub plot in it and as a kid I didn't really laugh at either show but would be worried about Max and 99 getting killed and the Castaways getting off the island. In my childish mind I had full suspension of belief going on, and I thought in every episode the Castaways would get off the island! And of all the episodes I would watch, the robot one ending was the one that almost made me smash the TV set (a 19" B/W on a rolling stand, lol). I was angry the rest of the whole day and probably couldn't sleep thinking of how Gilligan messed it up. The next closest episode to make me that angry that they didn't escape and it was Gilligan's fault was the Space Probe episode. By the time I watched that one I finally put two and two together and for me the show would never be the same again. I was finally on to the gag that they were (spoiler alert) never going to escape, lol. Actually, later I thought they were going to escape in the TV movie too and I was a older teen by then, lol. I was looking for something light to watch at bedtime and thought I'd watch this with my wife 50 years after watching GI after school. It was pleasant comfort food for my brain, and my wife never watched it growing up so it was new for her. Same show, I remembered almost everything. Imagine holding those memories in your brain when you could have been learning something, lol. 10 of 10 for something I loved so much as a kid that I even got angry at Gilligan, I was completely taken in.
Wandering Willies (1926)
The First Oyster Stew Skit Alone Gives This a High Rating!
How many times have you watched and laughed at Curly of The Three Stooges (and later on Larry with a lobster) have a fight with an alive, angry, hungry oyster in his soup bowl? How about when Lou Costello tried to get that live oyster in his soup bowl? Most likely if you grew up as a kid in the 1960s to 90s you watched it done by them in reruns several times. Well, much to my surprise, this 1926 film has that scene also! I'm guessing this is the earliest filmed version of the oyster stew skit. I also found this to be the funniest, although I may be jaded because it was by someone new to me. Billy and Andy are funny here as two vagabonds with no fear of the law and no morals, pretending to be a baby and also a cop. It was interesting to read another reviewer comment that Del Lord directed this film and that the oyster scene was done again by Curly Stooge in Dutiful But Dumb 1941. Abbott and Costello would do it again (without Del Lord this time) in Meet The Co Eds and also on their TV show. Finally Larry Stooge would do this with a bowl of gumbo and a lobster in Income Tax Sappy, made in 1954. It is near the 7 minute 50 second part of the film but there are other scenes that crack me up, especially the audaciousness of the wanderers. 10 of 10 just for cinematic history that was repeated in comedy films several times later.
Sweet and Hot (1958)
If The Stooges Had a Woman in The Team
If The Stooges Had a Woman in the team, it would be four stooges, and it would not work well. Thus is the problem with this late Stooge short. The Stooges are not together as a team like most of their shorts but rather Moe is introduced 4 minutes in as a German psychiatrist (think of Sidney Fields on The Abbott and Costello Show, who I thought did a funnier job as a quack). Before the whole team gets together on camera we have an extended song by our "fourth Stooge", Muriel Landers, who's IMDb bio says was formerly Ray Bolger's nightclub partner. Her online credits seem to be uncredited bit roles as a large sized woman in comedies. Here, she seems to have more screen time then The Stooges! I usually give all the Joe Besser shorts a higher rating because I like them more then most reviewers but here I'm giving it a low rating. Not because of Joe Besser but because the basic premise of the Three Stooges is so far off the norm here, plus its not funny. Not a single laugh really. Giving this a 4 is probably being generous.
Triple Crossed (1959)
Adult Themed Larry Fun!
I would say that most people have never seen the Joe Besser Stooge shorts. They were probably not included in syndication packages for TV that most of us watched as kids in reruns through the decades. I don't think its a matter of quality they were not included but rather continuity of the team might confuse viewers and that they included more adult themed humor. Keep in mind that these shorts were made for a wide audience shown before adult themed films in the theaters, so adult natured humor is in several "unseen" shorts, this one included. By "adult", I mean smoking, drinking alcohol and infidelity. The main Stooge in this short is Larry! Larry is drinking, smoking and cheating on everyone's girl, lol. If you are looking for something very different then the typically known Stooge shorts with Curly and Shemp, check this one out. Ever watched Larry beat up Moe without reprisal? Well, its in this one! As a Larry fan I loved it. This is next to the last of the traditional Stooge shorts before they would move to mostly juvenile material in their full length films. As Curly and then Shemp would pass away, it meant Larry had to pick up more material, so if you are a Larry fan and can't get enough of him, check this one out. Larry, the little angel, is a bad Stooge here, lol.
Broken Toys (1935)
Sorry, wrong number
I wrote another review that was censored. I wonder if this cartoon is shown at colleges as a subject to critique? Obvious stereotypes of Asians and popular Hollywood Blac actors of the time. But if the viewer looks closer, whether they are all white and other, they are a team. And they are together not as a race but as a species, dolls (humans). W. C. Makes approaches on a black woman in this and is rebuffed (indicating equality). W. C. Also hangs out out with another non-white doll They are all a team. The doll cartoon characters here seem very happy hanging out with the other race doll types, lol. I watched this to see Bud .Duncan (thinking it was a live film, not a cartoon) but he's not portrayed art wise here, only as a doll (the police doll), his star in the silent films had already fallen, sad. Great cartoon, a Disney with Mickey Mouse on the title but no mouse in it. Also United Artists. Its great to watch I love the teamwork of all the races and sexes of the characters! Every character is very respectful (unless you count WC slapping the black woman, but he apologized).
Westward Whoa (1926)
Hilarious, Watch The Reworked 1930 edition.
I found this to be a really funny cartoon. Made in the 1920s and later reimaged in color with sound effects, I prefer the newer 1930 version. For those wondering why they are using whistle effects for the voices, why not? It worked for Peanuts decades later for the adult's voices. Besides, Mutt and Jeff shorts were also remade in the 1970s with voices using the silent film versions and colorizing them or using the 1930 color version and adding voices and splicing it together as a feature film. One of the voice actors has been in dozens of films as a character actor short guy type (Robert Weil). The voices added nothing to the cartoons and I think hurt them more then helped. BTW, a really crazy movie of Mutt and Jeff with a exotic dancer spliced in, perhaps it was for the adult film circuit but my Mom dropped me off to watch it on a Sunday morning and I fell asleep, it was so bad (called The Weird Adventures of Mutt & Jeff and Bugoff). Back to this film, I have seen both the black and white and colorized version, the gags are great. I don't know who would win, Popeye the Sailor or Jeff in a fight. Popeye would definitely need his spinach to take on Jeff, lol. I would imagine a fight between them as like when Popeye is trying to catch Eugene the Jeep. The animation wasn't Disney from the 1930s, (but looking at Disney animation for the 1920s, when this was made, this was actually better, and it wasn't Hannah Barbera 1958 TV show bad quality either). 10 of 10, any Mutt and Jeff fan would agree!
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The Outer Limits: The Invisibles (1964)
In between Invaders From Mars and Aliens, there is The Invisibles
I have this series on DVD but now rarely watch discs (I'm lazy), so when I found this free, on demand, streaming on one of the free with commercial streamers (Pluto), I decided to check it out. I've watched many OL episodes over my boomer life but there are a few that remain unseen, this was one of them. I watched it with my wife, over dinner, probably the way most people watched it when it first aired (although now we have mush bigger TVs!). She seemed engaged by it, which is always good. The premise of the story is that extraterrestrials (or maybe demons? Lol) are controlling humans in powerful positions to take over the world for their species. This is a recurrent plot in sci-fi. There are probably films that predate it but the earliest I can think of a film with aliens (not talking about zombies or vampires controlled by others) is the 1953 film Invaders From Mars. Very similar concept of the alien injecting a human in the back of the neck. Roger Corman would also do it in 1956 with It Conquered The World, starring Lee Van Cleef, Peter Graves and Beverley Garland, a must watch if you really enjoyed The Invisibles and have not watched it yet. "It" was riffed on MST3K and its awesome but I enjoyed it by itself as well. Again, this is the alien in the back of the neck injection action, so we can see a pattern here. Of course the most famous alien injecting itself into humans is in the "Alien" franchise which is still making big budget films in 2024. I had to go back and look for Richard Dawson, his role here was so different then his usual cool Limey roles, I forgot it was him! Any fan of George Macready will really like him here, he has one crazy scene that breaks his polished mold into a thousand pieces! Analyzing all the sci fi things he was in, to me, he is like the 1960s version on Lionel Atwill. BTW, check him out in the other OL episode he was in, "Production and Decay of Strange Particles" (which also has a pre Spock, Leonard Nimoy). Everyone will notice Walter Burke, the hobbit looking guy. But what probably makes this a higher rated episode then the average OL is Don Gordon! He pulls it off for my suspension of belief. My rating and my overall entertainment factor is 7 out of 10. Judging by the number of reviews on this one episode (almost 20), its a good episode! BTW, if you look for this on Pluto they have two choices, an episode that is streaming now and one that says watch now, the later choice will take you to the episode list to chose which one to watch. As much as you may want to binge on this series, its probably best to watch it over a long period of time because the show can seem repetitive if one episode is watched right after another (the same dramatic music doesn't help, lol).
High Treason (1929)
Fun Watch, Not To Be Taken Too Seriously
This early talking film (one of the first made in England), is not so much a great film, but it's fun to watch due to it's predictions of how the near future will be. Made in 1929, it predicts a world in 1940 where a lot of change has happened in roughly 10 years. Instead of a UK and USA, the continents have all been consolidated to a Atlantic States (USA, Canada, Mexico all together) and the European States (The UK and Western Europe together), as well as all the other continents together in their respective places like Africa and Asia. Despite this nation consolidation, there is still the threat of world war, with a border incident beginning the tensions. The message of the film seems to be for a one world government to prevent future world wars. It ends with a courtroom trial which doesn't help the story end very well. Is it really a 7? Well, no. But as a film geek, seeing anything early talkie is interesting for me to watch just to see how films evolved into the sound era. This film has a lot of things going on in the world yet it seems pretty slow paced despite its short run time. The best entertainment is seeing the "future" where everyone has a flat screen TV that also acts as a video phone. A DJ that uses automated instruments to replicate an orchestra. Funny thing is, the technology changed but they still listened to 1920s flapper music, lol. An English Channel Tunnel is real in this film, 60+ years before reality. Automatic sliding doors like in Star Trek with intercom buzzers and many other future predictions that I missed. My rating for the film itself is like a 5, but when you factor in cool stuff like a first English made talking film and future world war and all the advances humanity has made, I give this a 7. My main gripes with the film are, the dialog is over extended (boring too) and the ending is silly. SPOILER, the Doctor didn't shoot first, so why wasn't this self defense? Why are they so progressive in the future but still have a death penalty? Also was that scene really necessary to end the film, or was it just padding to get it over a 1 hour length? As another reviewer suggested, the silent version is probably more entertaining to watch, I don't think I'll re-watch the film in its silent version but something to keep in mind if you have access to both. BTW, look for Raymond Massey in a speaking role (his first film) who was also in the HG Wells future world war film, Things to Come.
Outer Space Jitters (1957)
Made Me Laugh, More Then Once! And an Early Dan Blocker Film!
This film made me laugh, more then once too! Plus its an early Dan Blocker film before Bonanza! Emil Sitka has a role on the Stooge's side instead of being against them like he seems to usually be. The film Pal Joey is plugged here and since its from the same studio, Columbia, and released the same year, this probably played as a short before it in the theaters. Joe Besser is really hated in Stooge land but hey, I'm a fan of his work on other shows like playing Stinky on the Abbott and Costello Show. A role that has been revived in the 1990s with TV's Frank character on Mystery Science Theater 3000. "I'll harm you!" So I get that Joe Besser didn't like getting slapped around when he joined the Stooges and to me that's a positive because the boys have to find other jokes and they do here. Besides Larry now took the brunt of the slaps and here gets hammered with Moe, among other playfulness. These Besser shorts are better then most of the Stooge feature length films, in my opinion. And unlike later Shemp films, the stories don't seem to be remakes of earlier Stooge films, I don't remember them going to a planet before this one! Also, they were still orientated to a general movie audience, not the kiddie show scripts with Curly Joe DeRita. I recommend it. Don't be a Stooge snob, or 'I'll harm you!
Beavis and Butt-Head: Home Improvement (1993)
Beavis and Butthead The Early Years
This is a notoriously censored early Beavis and Butthead episode. Its basically in the show's first 5 episodes, including its Liquid Television shorts. The show got instantly popular and probably propelled MTV away from expensively made music videos to TV geared for young adults (myself included if you include late 20s-early 30s when I watched this on broadcast cable TV). I watched this many times before and thought I'd show my wife for a laugh and realized that I watched a censored version as I never saw the cat getting painted scene. As a lover of cats and pets, I thought that was cringed but I laughed at it anyway. Am I like Mr Anderson? If you served in the military and are older now, how can you not identify with Mr Anderson, lol. This early BB episode features drug use, similar to the next time they would meet Mr Anderson, when they washed his poor dog. As a Cheech and Chong fan before, I found this very funny, but not good role models for the kids, lol. 10 out of 10.
Amoozin' But Confoozin' (1944)
Better then the musical, IMO.
As a LiL Abner fan (of sorts) from the papers, I found this pretty good! Someone "restored" this and posted it on Youtube using black and white version parts to fill in for (I guess) missing color parts, if that was the case they did a good job. Its posted as the title "Amoozin' But Confoozin', if you are looking for it. I had never noticed "A Columbia Favorite" brand of cartoons before so that was a nice discovery for me, maybe the title cards were changed if they were shown later on TV. Grannie is like Popeye here which Columbia was also making cartoons of, so I guess they have privilege to use his mannerisms here. The artwork is a nice 1940s quality. All in all, it seems it's not getting a lot of love from cartoon enthusiasts but I thought it was interesting and funny at times. I enjoyed it better then the live action musical, I'll look for the others they made now! 7 of 10, especially if you are a LA fan.
Sanford and Son: Happy Birthday, Pop (1972)
Hilarious Episode, Fred Attacks Almost Every Other Race, Lol
It's strange, or maybe not so strange, that I am in my 60s and have watched Sanford and Son for decades in reruns sometimes very frequently, but I never watched Happy Birthday, Pop. I am familiar with first season Sanford and Son though. Have you noticed that Fred was much more set in his ways in the first season, at least as far as race, sexuality, gender and religion goes? This is why I think I never watched this on commercial or cable TV in reruns. Here Fred (Foxx doing some great stand up comedy), makes fun of the Whites, the Jews, and the Chinese! If you ever watch Red Foxx doing stand up on places like Youtube you will material like this (though with profanity). I loved it, laughing at every line he said. Man, Fred really upset Lamont in this but before they went out they were almost fighting too! 10 of 10, it may offend, I laughed at the white jokes (and the other jokes too, lol). BTW, I watched it on Tubi, very few commercials, not like the old days, they actually have it available!
Fiddlers Three (1948)
Different kind of Stooge Short! Very Funny too!
I really enjoyed this one because its kind of different. There are scenes with Larry alone and there is an epic pie skit with just Moe and Shemp. Overall, we get to watch the Stooges perform some nursery rhymes (very funny), and there is a large amount of violent humor as well! Shemp gets destroyed in more then one skit, poor Shemp, lol. I like that Larry is the only one acting like he is playing a violin seeing his musical background is as a violinist (probably an inside joke thing). Being made in the 1940s there are a few jokes that may go over the head for 2024 viewers like wolf calls and BO (body order). Shemp gets the last laugh by himself in the film. A different Stooges short, I enjoyed it, 9 out of 10.
Pit Stop (1969)
Brian Donlevy Goes Out With A Bang, I PROMISE YOU!
Awesome low budget film by Walter Hill. Brian Donlevy's final performance (remember him in Beau Geste? "I promise you!", lol), AND SIG HAIG WHO CANT DRIVE IN REALITY! Seriously, with all those very memorable cult film names AND throw in Richard Davalos and the Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn, I mean come on, this is grade A drive in material. I like the very end though when the Star Trek actor, Beverly Washburn, has the last line. That's how you will remember the whole picture. I luckily found this on Amazon prime a ways back but have seen it posted elsewhere since. I would recommend this with the 1964 film The Killers to get a double dose of drive in racing action. RIP, all those memorable actors who have now passed but especially Brian, Richard and Sid. Thanks for a wild ride!
Soda Jerks (1925)
Catch This In Remastered Color
There are some Mutt and Jeff haters out here in the 100 years later world. The IMdb score is again a low under 5.5 score. I really enjoyed this in its repackaged form using whizzo sound effects and in color, I'm sure I'd also like the original, I guess I'm a Mutt and Jeff fan. I notice a lot of similarity to the later Tom and Jerry cartoons (the cat and mouse ones and also the human cartoon team from the 1930s), Jerry the mouse even reminds me of Jeff here when Mutt keeps disrespecting him, first with the girl Jeff is trying to attract and then Mutt calling Jeff, "boy". Jeff is just really steaming angry (much like Jerry would do) and this is used as the reason why Jeff accidently does a switcheroo with the pep drops instead of the soda syrup. Those pep drops say on the label 2 drops per dose, so when the customers get 500 drops in their soda instead of syrup, you can understand what happens in a cartoon next. Then Jeff has a serious altercation with the world and that includes a dozen police. Hilarity ensues. Because many of the themes were used in cartoons later, I'm giving this a 10 out of 10. This was released originally in silent black and white and then repackaged in a film colorized with dialog around 1973, called The Weird Adventures of Mutt & Jeff and Bugoff and shown with other colorized M&J shorts and spliced together a couple of ways with a belly dancer segment once and shown at the 16MM circuit theaters. Then they repackaged it again as just silent with sound effect colorized shorts separately for TV sale. The film with the belly dancers is horrible but may be of interest to obscure film lovers. I think I saw it on a Saturday morning as a kid in 1973 and fell asleep, lol. 10 of 10 for the silent versions!
Domestic Difficulties (1916)
One of The Funniest Cartoons From 1916 Ever.
I was taken aback that this has a pretty low overall rating under 6. Domestic Difficulties has a lot of rough edges to it. Plus its silent and in black and white so some viewers may dismiss it and not be entertained. As another contributor has said, there is reptation in the movements and you can see a lot of the scenes are using the same drawings. BUT, the material is hilarious! The humor starts nuanced where Mutt (who's wife calls him Augustus here) is sitting at home stroking a banjo or small guitar acting like a regular boy scout saying "yes Dear" to everything his wife demands of him. This is very similar in premise to the 1930 Laurel and Hardy film, Blotto, predating it by 14 years; when Mutt telephones Jeff to meet him for drinks after he gets away from his wife. The boys eventually get out thinking the coast is clear (its not) and get smashed drunk. Which, after personally being in that situation before, with everything spinning around, is hilarious. I played this twice, the second time with my wife and she was greatly amused also, especially the end when the boys come back to Mutt's home. I watched this on the internet, its public domain and easy to find. Thinking that this funny adult humor is from 1916 gives it extra star ratings in my book, kind of dirty! 10 of 10!
Columbo: Playback (1975)
Loved It! Oskar Werner and 70s Tech!
This is a really good Columbo episode. I just watched it after frankly giving up on Columbo for a few years after watching it for decades, but I had never watched this one. It was on Roku Channel with very small commercial breaks, much better then we had to put up with on 1970s broadcast TV! I had been watching some Oskar Werner films (The Last 10 Days, about the Berlin bunker) and wanted to see more. Someone on his bio mentioned this and I'm glad I finally watched it 50 years after it was made. For me this had the best Columbo ending I ever remember, except maybe the one with Donald Pleasence, that one is also very memorable. But Oskar's character really takes the bad police news like you can believe it, not like a person automatically admitting guilt like in a Perry Mason. His acting is top notch at the end! 10 of 10.
Lassie (1954)
Loved as a Kid, Now I would Tell Timmy To Get A Switch
I put this on from the Roku channels, its on 24/7. I used to watch this probably daily after school in the 70s, I most remember the theme song and Lassie, the rest is a blur, I guess that I flipped the channel dial around after the Lassie theme song to watch another show after school, like The Brady Bunch or Gilligan's Island, or Looney Tunes. Watching now in 2024, in my 60s, the stories always seem that Timmy gets in trouble in the woods and Lassie saves him from injury or death. This went on week after week for years, talk about formulaic TV! Lassie has nostalgic memories to it, but I prefer the Lassie films, this is like lame in 2024. I did look up Hugh Reilly to see what else he was in, seems like a nice father in the show. Maybe too nice? I mean Timmy is almost badly injured or outright killed or almost kills other people every week. I would break out the switch, especially in the 1950s. Anyway, I tuned in this Sunday morning and the first episode didn't have Timmy down a well (as the trivia points out, never happened) but his old Uncle Martin (played by kindly George Chandler (of WC Field's fame Fatal Glass of Beer) was down a deep well and needed his crow friend and Lassie to save him! I then saw Timmy go into a US Army active minefield they put up near their farm (lol), then an episode where Timmy broke some eggs he was delivering for his mom and substituted owl eggs from an owl's nest and got stuck in an abandoned barn and Lassie had to get help twice (L. Q. Jones saved them, twice, the second time Timmy's mom was in trouble too, lol), the final episode I started to watch but couldn't finish was a mountain lion in the area and they were putting bear traps all in the woods. The thought of either Lassie, Timmy or the mountain lion getting caught in a bear trap was too gruesome for me, so I flipped the channel (to I Dream of Jeannie's 24/7 channel, lol). I did get to remember Lassie's dog friend Mike, I always liked little Mike the dog as a kid. Thinking about it as a whole, the show ran so long that it did have some good guest stars on it, and the only Lassie shows I remember watching were with Timmy and I see now that Lassie was with several families over it's run so I upped my score a little. Great show to sample a little (at least of the Timmy ones) but after you see one you probably saw them all. Watch the Lassie films, they are epic.
Flying Saucer Daffy (1958)
Funny One, Not Rehashing too Much Old Material Either
Now over 60 years old, I have been watching the 3 Stooges since childhood. Wanting to be a completest Stooges viewer, I bought their official complete set on DVD a long time ago (not the best quality, not recommended unless very cheap, used) but now with streaming video I just look up the episodes online. I was looking up a sci fi film review for The 27th Day and saw that it and this Stooge short used Earth vs the Flying Saucers footage. Being it was a Saturday morning why not watch Flying Saucer Daffy? I thought at first from the title it was a Daffy Duck cartoon but was happy it was a Joe Besser Stooges short. Happy about Joe Besser? YES! BTW, my theory after watching the Stooges for over 50 years is that I watched episodes mainly on broadcast TV and they only showed about half of their shorts, perhaps the TV stations had a 100 film Stooge deal?
What this means is that many people only know about the Curly shorts, maybe a few Shemp ones, but all were chosen to be on broadcast TV because things like smoking, drinking and carousing around with women were not shown much. So when people see the Joe Besser shorts they are instantly put off by them, because many have smoking, drinking and carousing around. Some reviewer gave this short a 1 rating saying it didn't follow "Stooge etiquette" of all for one and one for all. Ever watch the very first Stooges short (Women Haters)? I don't think Larry was on the same side with Moe and Curly, lol. Later on, as their act was in its 2nd and 3rd decade, they tried to incorporate more adult humor, I remember watching one with Shemp cheating on Moe's wife (Gypped in the Penthouse)! Another Shemp one had them all cheating on their taxes (Income Tax Sappy)! I'm pretty sure none of these type Stooge shorts got shown on broadcast TV during the 60s to 90s. As much as I love the Curly shorts (and Shemp), to see a Stooge film that I've never watched before, I love it! This one did make me laugh too, so that's the point. I also like to watch how the act was changing with the older Stooges and Besser, looks like Larry got more airtime, and slaps, lol. Watching Joe go against the other two also made me laugh and the ending was very funny. 7 of 10, great way to start my Saturday morning! BTW, stop hating on Joe Besser or, I'll harm you!
Danger Man: Position of Trust (1960)
Makes a Nice Double Feature With A Man To Be Trusted
I don't want to give any spoilers away, just to say that this is an excellent episode! As the trivia section mentions, it has 4 James Bond links to it with, Donald Pleasence (Blofeld), Martin Benson (Mr. Solo), Lois Maxwell (Miss Moneypenny) and of course Patrick McGoohan who turned down the Bond role. I actually mistook this for another later made Danger Man 1 hour episode called A Man to be Trusted and watched that one first and followed it with this episode from the first season with the shorter episodes. Two different Drakes for sure! This one is great because Drake seems out of his normal do little wrong persona. 9 out of 10 for me. I wish to convey the story of how I got here today in 2024. I have been watching a lot of actor Donald Pleasence's work lately and remembered him being in a Danger Man before and remembered the title had the word "Trust" in it. After a YT search, I jumped on A Man to Be Trusted although I vaguely remembered it was only a 30 minute episode, not 1 hour, I figured I was mistaken. So about a few minutes in I realize it's not the Donald Pleasence episode, but was hooked anyway. That one I gave an 8 out of 10, check it out, the Danger Man whodunnit with Voodoo episode! I decided I must watch the Position of Trust Episode next and did, great entertainment! Awesome to rewatch too because I didn't remember the drug angle, which is more relevant then ever.
Danger Man: A Man to Be Trusted (1964)
A Regular Whodunit, ala Danger Man Style
Very entertaining episode. It features a real "whodunit" up until the end on a 3rd world island with Voodoo. Look for at least two actors who were on the TV show UFO. The trivia section also talks about a connection to Live and Let Die! I wish to convey the story of how I got here today in 2024. I have been watching a lot of actor Donald Pleasence's work lately and remembered him being in a Danger Man before and remembered the title had the word "Trust" in it. After a YT search, I jumped on this although I vaguely remembered it was only a 30 minute episode, not 1 hour, I figured I was mistaken. So about a few minutes in I realize it's not the Donald Pleasence episode, but was hooked anyway. I looked up the Donald P episode it's named "Position of Trust" BTW. I'm going to watch it now as a sort of double feature. To wrap it up, I didn't know who the bad guy was until the end, 8 out of 10. Scary ending!
The Wild Wild West: The Night of the Death-Maker (1968)
One Of Wendell Corey's Final Roles, Taylor Swift Look Alike Villain
After cutting off cable TV recently I was in search for something light to watch along with my wife over dinner and decided to give this episode a try. My experience with WWW is watching it as a child in reruns and on and off since but its been years since I last watched it. I find it being like most action TV shows, repetitive. This episode is no exception but I really enjoyed watching Angel Tompkins, the villainess, who struck me as having an uncanny similarity to Taylor Swift! I mention this as a time capsule review because if I had watched this in 2014 and not 2024 I never would have thought this but Taylor Swift in 2024 is a corporate media darling so she is unavoidable to see on a daily basis. I even put both of their photos side by side and you could ask random people who was Taylor and I bet a few would guess wrong! Besides Angel, Wendell Corey is the main antagonist and I was wanting to see him slur his dialog like he did in other films he did around the time like, Women of the Prehistoric Planet and Agent for HARM. Surprisingly Wendell acts more like the 1950s Wendell version then he does late 1960s Wendell. Sadly for him he would pass away not long after this was made. I noticed Arthur Batanides in a small henchman role, I enjoyed him a lot in the John Carradine Z schlock The Unearthly and also in Star Trek as no doubt a soon to dead crewman. Another notable I saw was J. Pat O'Malley as Brother Angelo, his parts were mostly wide shots not the typical close ups of his recognizable face. Some things I noticed, some of the action music sounded a lot like Mission Impossible theme music to me. And a scene where Jim could have burned a guy alive but instead they briefly show the knocked out henchman in a corner. My wife enjoyed the episode so it was a good time to watch over dinner. The stinger end aboard the train with beautiful women was perfect for an ad lib joke I made that made my wife laugh. 7 out of 10.
The Abbott and Costello Show: The Birthday Party (1953)
One Of My Favorite Episodes! Happy Birthday Louie!
One great thing about the Abbott and Costello show for me is how I can watch many of the episodes over and over again. This episode I specifically remember watching over 50 years ago as a kid because I remember it teaching me how to tell time! I'm probably biased by memories of my youth but I really laugh out loud at this one now. There is intense dramatic dialog used and Lou is utterly depressed after Lou's birthday guests leave his party for reasons I wont spoil. It gets pretty dramatic from there but if you are in on the gag it is very funny. Look for a Stinky cameo and the Sidney Fields looking glass picture is a riot! 10 of 10.