u/Keltik

Man, i just absolutely adore The Marx Bros. Their zany, chaotic, comedic anarchy is just right up my alley. Their most famous film, i believe, is Duck Soup. However Animal Crackers is my personal favorite.

Groucho stars as Captain Spaulding, the African explorer, returning from the jungle and finding himself invited to a party that includes an art unveiling. After Harpo and Chicko arrive, in grand comedic manner, we find the art piece has been stolen and must be found.

The film is based on the original musical also starring the brothers. It's directed and presented in true theatrical style. Almost as if we're watching a recording of the Broadway production. But that doesn't stop the laughs from rolling in. It truly is a laugh out loud romp that stands the 96 year test of time.

Tonight my boyfriend and I were lucky enough to see this 100 year old silent movie.

It was made by Norman Studios, the only white studio making movies with a black cast. Race movies were a popular type of movie made for black audiences and featured fully black casts. Norman Studios was one of 30 studios based out of Jacksonville, FL and while a white studio making movies for black audiences seems like a money grab; Richard Norman also saw it as an opportunity to improve race relations.

The movie is about an ace fighter pilot returning home and resuming his job as a detective for the railway. He then gets assigned the task of finding out who kidnapped a railway employee and stole the payroll!

What is most delightful about this movie is that (with one exception) the characters in this movie are not caricatures. Our male lead is dashing and heroic. He is calm, level headed, and of course sweeps our leading lady off her feet. The character Peg falls into the more goofy side kick role that was typically available to black actors at the time. But what keeps it from being over the top is the earnestness and joy the actor displays on screen.

Steve Reynolds is amazing as Peg. Reynolds was missing most of his right leg.. it looked like up to about the middle of his thigh. Reynolds walked with the help of a cane and used it with AMAZING skill for comedic effect... From using it to propell himself into a moving train to using it to pedal a bike before turning it into a gun. At times he reminded me of Charlie Chaplin and it's hard to take your eyes off him

This movie features fist fights, airplanes.. in the "air" and on the ground, and a scene where a plane goes upside down. (Brilliantly done by turning the camera since the plane never left the ground).

One of my favorite scenes was near the end when our dashing hero is making his intentions known to the leading lady.. she was smiling, looking down, and gently kicking her foot. The picture of shy, sweet, innocence but secretly excited about the prospect of THIS man courting her. An action that is easily recognizable even 100 years later.

Just beyond lucky to have local indie theaters that offer so many unique screenings.

Because the movie was on network tv, it's rather tame compared to R-rated horror B movies that you would see at the cinema.

What I love about the Dollars trilogy is you don't need to have a continuous narrative or original production plan just like the other series of trilogies. I mean from a legendary Italian director himself Sergio Leone widely regarded as a master director and a visionary genius who completely reinvented the Western genre.

Now to the film I should say it's more ambitious this time, it's a western drama in the midst of a Civil war. Of course notable performances by Eli Wallach as Tuco with some over the top but so fun to watch acting performance. And you got Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef I mean just by watching their aura alone will make any movie good whether its western or some plain drama, they are just too good. And the cinematography is just beautiful, 

Now I might get hate on this, I mean this movie is received the most, probably top 1 in the whole trilogy for some obvious reasons. Now if you ask me, If I would to rank it I'd probably say this is the my least favorite in the whole Dollars trilogy. I'm not complaining by the length of the film, but I just don't like the pacing compared to the previous entries. I'm also not a fan of the plot. I'm not gonna spoiled it but I noticed a lot of breaks whether the scene needs to move on or not. The plot's getting convoluted at some point. It's like I'm used to the other 2 entries that has a real villain. Just like El Indio or Ramon Rojo played both by the one and only Gian Maria Volonté, he is so damn good on those roles. He is probably in my top 5 movie villains of all time one of my favorite actors to play as a villain. Don't get me wrong I still love this movie even compared to some of the western movies I've seen. I think this is one of those films that deserves a re-watch as it's getting better and better in time. I mean the whole Dollar Trilogy is timeless.

DEEP-voiced Cajun country from '73 by unknown singer Jerry Nolan.

From the opening of the song you know you're deep in Cajun country!

It may well be a mini-miracle that someone saved this Promotional Record from the bin and uploaded it to YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B35Lv31shU

There are many more characters that I couldn't include in the title like Gossamer, Henery Hawk, Witch Hazel, Sniffles, The Three Bears, Hubie & Bertie, Marc Antony & Pussyfoot, Ralph Wolf & Sam Sheepdog, and the finalized version of Charlie Dog. He also had a number of one-shot characters like Michigan J. Frog.

What are your favorite Chuck Jones films and characters?