Stay At Home: The First 50 Films

On Tuesday, 17 March 2020, my company closed its office.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania had said that all non-essential businesses needed to close. As we fit that criteria, our company did what was required.

So, I've been home.

Several years ago, I had an operation that kept me home for a couple of weeks. I spent that time watching early French Silent Films and learning about the pioneers of Cinema. Now, home again, it's time to fill in some holes in my viewing and check out some movies that I finally get around to.

For fun, I figured I'd go through the first 50 I've seen. I have taken the time to group them accordingly.

The best place for me to begin is an old favorite - Zombie films. A number of my friends on Twitter talk about being over the zombie genre. I am not. I still have films to see and I still have love for those flesh eaters and the way they shamble away with one's heart. So far, I have seen eight.

One Cut of the Dead (2019)
Zombie with a Shotgun (2019)
Doc of the Dead (2014)
Night of the Living Dead: Resurrection (2012)
Zombieland: Double Tap (2019)
The Dead Don't Die (2019)
The Girl with All the Gifts (2016)
Zoombies 2 (2019) from The Asylum

The Girl with All the Gifts

Of these, "The Girl with All the Gifts" may be one of the best and more inventive Zombie films out there. Currently, it's on Netflix and is well worth your time and effort. "One Cut of the Dead" is a Japanese film currently on Shudder that also deserves your attention. The only advice about this film is Don't Quit On It. The remainder ranged from good to disappointing.

Alice Guy-Blache

Next, Alice Guy-Blache was a focus as Turner Classics showed the documentary "Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blache" (2018), along with a number of her films, some of which I had already seen. The new entries were:

Matrimony's Speed Limit (1913)
Canned Harmony (1911)
A House Divided (1913)
The Ocean Waif (1916)
The Birth, the Life and the Death of Christ (1906)

The documentary is an amazing study of the first female director in film history and the mark she left on cinema, that she only recently received credit for. Many of her films are on YouTube. If you are a true student of film, seek her out!!!

Patrick Rea

Several years ago, I did a series about short horror films for Bloody Whisper, a horror site run by the woman who gave me my first real chance to write, Cassie Carnage. The letter "R" got two entries: one for the film title and the other for two filmmakers whose talent deserved special attention, one of which was Patrick Rea. I was lucky enough to add four more of Mr. Rea's works to my list.

Justice Served (2017)
Fused (2019)
The View from Here (2019)
Spiritual Practice (2020)

Many of Mr. Rea's works are viewable on Vimeo. He tells great stories in a short time. His films can make you scared, make you laugh, or make you cry. I've managed to view 34 of his short films. Not a bad one in the bunch.

Being a lover of animation, it only would follow that I would add several films to my long list of cartoons and CGI. Viewed were:

The Willoughbys

Wonder Park (2019) no director, but not bad
The Little Vampire (2017) remake of the 2000 live action film
Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon (2019) an Aardman product, BAFTA nominated
Onward (2020) the newest from Pixar on Disney+
The Simpsons: Playdate with Destiny (2020)
The Willoughbys (2020) based on the Lois Lowry book
Pokemon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life (2009) don't judge me
My Hero Academia: Two Heroes (2018) yeah, I like the anime. What's it to ya?
Butterfly (1972) a Russian animated short
Hells (2008) a unique anime, often preachy

Farmageddon

The best of the lot is definitely "Farmageddon". Nick Park's company Aardman (home of Wallace and Gromit) once again produces an amazing film filled with laughs, sight gags, and Easter eggs. "The Willoughbys" is a close second. Both are on Netflix.

What else?

Well, there were monsters, with:

Jurassic Galaxy (2018)
Colossal (2016)
The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961)
Beneath (2013)
Killer Sofa (2019) yes, a possessed lounge chair
The First Purge (2018)


There were comedies like:

Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made (2020) Disney+
The First Wives' Club (1996)
Listen Lena (1927) starring Al St. John with a cameo by Roscoe Arbuckle
Haunted Spooks (1920) with Harold Lloyd

And finally, films I should have seen already, but hadn't, like:

Stan & Ollie

Kuroneko (1968) a Japanese ghost story
Yokai Monsters: Along with Ghosts (1968) the 3rd part of the trilogy
Hangover Square (1940)
Once Upon a Time..in Hollywood (2019)
The Black Sleep (1956)
Happy Death Day 2U (2019) not a bad sequel
Stan & Ollie (2018)  very touching
Hitsville: The Making of Motown (2019)
Let Me In (2010) not a bad US version
Snowpiercer (2013)
Shazam! (2019)
Chopping Mall (1986)

I really am sorry it took so long to see both "Let Me In" and "Snowpiercer". I really like both.

Most of these films can be found on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, epix, Starz, Disney+, Cinemax, YouTube, Vimeo and Turner Classic Movies On Demand.  I suggest you seek out what you can.

Numbers game:

My total film tally stands at 5301. 2944 are in the Horror/Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre. 267 Animated Features. 1848 Short Films, of which 720 are Animated.

2020 Vincent Price Blog-a-Thon: Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965)

Vincent Price.

We all know that he can scare the heck out of us. We all know that as a dramatic actor, he surpasses many. But in a broad farce? Well...yes!

And therein lies the 1965 film, "Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine," with Vincent Price in the lead role of Dr. Goldfoot, evil genius and master criminal.

The film opens following a lovely young lady, Diane, walking through the streets of San Francisco. She is hit by a car and shot in a bank robbery, all with no effect. She meets cheapskate secret agent, Craig Gamble, played by Frankie Avalon. He is one of the more inept agents in a secret service run by his uncle, played by character actor, Fred Clark, who even demotes him from Agent 00-1/2 to Agent 00-1/4. Diane drinks a glass of milk from the table, which spouts out the bullet holes. Of course, Gamble is smitten. And why not? She is beautiful, speaks with a French accent and can double as a fountain.

Thus begins a bevy of sight gags, sarcastic patter, and "Monkees" type sound effects that makes this movie fun to watch and everyone's performance a laugh riot.

The Bikini Machine creates Goldfoot's army, made up of beautiful golden bikini clad robot women. Diane is #11 of twelve, and one of his best agents. Dr. Goldfoot's plan is to get his agents to marry rich men throughout the world and send all their riches to him. If the man is already married, the good Doctor instructs the robot to give the wife a pair of opera glasses that injects poison into their eyes. Actually, they resemble a smaller version of the binoculars in "The Horrors of the Black Museum", made six years earlier.

Diane's target is Todd Armstrong, played by Dwayne Hickman. Todd is rich and young. He owns stocks and real estate. He is a perfect victim for Dr. Goldfoot and his sidekick, Igor, who Goldfoot brought back to life. Igor, played by Jack Mullaney, is as inept as Agent Gamble, and is constantly being berated by Goldfoot. Gamble spends a good deal of the film trying to protect Armstrong from Goldfoot and keep him from signing a Power of Attorney, turning his entire fortune over to Diane.

Armstrong and Gamble finally track down Dr. Goldfoot's lair, where the good Doctor has other means to coerce a signature out of the rich man. This includes a fully-equipped dungeon with an iron maiden and a pendulum.

The film devolves into a huge chase through the streets of San Francisco, that contains a dizzying run down Lombard Street, said to be the World's Most Crooked Street. There are also crashes, explosions and wide range of vehicles, including a street car that runs off its tracks. It ends with Dr. Goldfoot and Igor going over a cliff onto a beach, then hit by missiles from a Navy ship practicing off the coast. Is Dr. Goldfoot dead? Would the fact of a sequel called "Dr. Goldfoot and his Girl Bombs" be a good indicator?

Overall, the film is a silly, fun romp that should be enjoyed for the camp that it is. Price is, as always, an excellent villain, but the added sarcasm gives give him a chance to show a flair for comedy that was more over-the-top than in films like "The Raven" and "A Comedy of Terrors." It would also carry through to some of the tongue-in-cheek humor found in the Dr. Phibes series and "Theater of Blood."

The film is also a veritable game of Trivial Pursuits:

The opening and closing credits contain claymation by Art Clokey, creator of Gumby.

The opening and closing song is performed by The Supremes. You can hear Diana Ross if you listen well.

With many of the robots appearing in bikinis, you'd think it was a Beach Movie, for which Frankie Avalon was well known.

Dwayne Hickman is best known for his TV series role of Dobie Gillis (1959-63).

During a threatening tour of Dr. Goldfoot's dungeon, a woman in stocks has her head lifted to reveal Annette Funicello, Avalon's co-star in most of the Beach Movies.

A door is opened in the same dungeon to reveal a man on a motorcycle, chained up, who happens to be Harvey Lembeck, portrayer of Eric von Zipper, villain in most of the Frankie & Annette Beach Movies.

Somewhere in the film is a cameo by teen idol, Fabian. I didn't find him, but then I've never spotted George Harrison in "Life of Brian", so, there you are. Fabian stars in the sequel.

The film includes a "Pit and the Pendulum" scene, with Price wearing the same robe that he wore in the 1961 film.

The screenplay is written by Elwood Ullman, who penned many of the Three Stooges shorts of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, along with their features of the 1960s. This adds to the slapstick nature of the film and Price acting like Moe Howard on a number of occasions.

Many of the cast and the writers would work together in "The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini" in 1966, along with Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone.

It can be viewed for free on Daily Motion. Special thanks to IMDb for help with fact checking.

If you enjoyed this article, there are plenty more to be found at the 2020 Vincent Price Blog-a-thon or at the 2020 Vincent Price Blog-a-thon. If you didn't like this article, go there anyway and you'll likely find a better one!!

2020 Short Film Challenge - The Missing Weeks - Roscoe Arbuckle

Well, the pandemic was unforeseen when the Challenge was laid. I am stuck at 157. I am also out of work until May 1.

In going over the calendar, I found that I would be missing three very important weeks that I am going to celebrate here. Of course, any film viewed cannot count toward the challenge, but it would be nice to honor the these film stars. The first is a truly tragic figure in film history.

Roscoe Arbuckle - born 24 March 1887

Known as Fatty, Roscoe Arbuckle began in the stable of Mack Sennett. He can be seen as one of the famous Keystone Kops. Soon, he would distinguish himself as a masterful comic. In spite of his size, he was known to have the grace and agility of a ballet dancer. Legend has it that he was also the most accurate marksman when it came to pie fights.

He was often paired with two of the greats of the time. He and Mabel Normand made numerous films that began with the words "Fatty and Mabel". He was also partnered with his friend, Buster Keaton. He even working with Charlie Chaplin. By himself and with others, Arbuckle is credited with 166 films.

In 1921, Roscoe was accused of rape in the dying breath of Virginia Rappe (who, according to IMDb, had a long history of accusing men of rape). After a hung jury and a mistrial, he was finally found not guilty. But the damage was irreparable. No one would hire him.

Arbuckle did work as a director, under the name of William B. Goodrich. His friends, Buster Keaton, Al St. John, and others, would use his comic savvy to make their films. IMDb lists 133 films directed by him. Overall, he has a large body of work.

In 1932, Roscoe made a talking short that sparked interest in him. He would make five more shorts in 1933. Warner Brothers was impressed and signed him to a contract to make a feature film. Sadly, he would die in his sleep the day after signing. He was 46.

When speaking of Roscoe Arbuckle, one should use his name. It was documented that when fans would call him "Fatty" in public, he would usually say "I have a name, you know."

Films viewed:

Silents

Fatty and Mabel Adrift (1916)
Fatty and Mabel's Wash Day (1915)
Fatty's Spooning Day (1915)
Fatty's Suitless Day (1914)
A Flirt's Mistake (1914)
Mabel's Dramatic Career (1913)
Mabel's New Hero (1913)
Mabel and Fatty's Married Life (1915)
Missy Fatty's Seaside Lovers (1915)
Peeping Pete (1913)

Sound

Close Relations (1933)
In the Dough (1933) with Shemp Howard


Ones to view:

Listen Lena (1927) An Al St. John comedy featuring a "Fat man with a strategically covered face", thought to be Arbuckle. Likely his last silent film.


His films are available on YouTube, Daily Motion and Vimeo.  Thanks to IMDb for some of the additional information.