Carnival Day

"Carnival Day" isn't the deepest of films but it is enjoyable. It's much like visiting an old carnival in the 1930s complete with little vignettes interspersed through the film of character actor Henry Armetta trying to make us laugh. Even if you love old films, you probably don't recognize Armetta's name, but he was a very familiar character actor of the day--usually playing goofy and very stereotypical Italians.

There really isn't a lot of depth to this one...just some nice clips and Armetta. But its made in lovely color and is quite enjoyable. And, sometimes, that's more than enough.

By the way, one tiny portion might offend some, as it shows some happy black folks singing and dancing...a common and widely accepted image of the day. Incredibly stereotypical but rather benign compared to some portrayals of the day.

This is the fairgrounds at Pomona, California. There are various characters going about their day. There is some dancing, some music, some jokes, and Technicolor fun. It may be a fictional day, but I like the general realism of the place. I can almost smell the peanuts. Most importantly, this is a showcase for Technicolor. The colors are bright. Tony is carry around balloons of every colors for a reason. That one blue balloon is doing some heavy lifting. It's all about showcasing the different colors in this process. The skin tone is a bit too red, but that's something that they need to learn.

Carnival Day (1936)

** (out of 4)

This early Warner short is a very important one, although the end results are rather one-sided. The movie takes place at a carnival as a balloon salesman (Henry Armetta) is walking around, meeting various people. He eventually has to stop a couple bad guys who are trying to fix a race. The plot here is actually a lot less than that but that's not the reason to check this film out. The real reason to watch this thing is because of the Technicolor, which was one of the earliest uses of it and this here was pretty much a test for the studio to see how everything would work. The following year they'd deliver THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD and it's rather amazing to see how close both films are in terms of their color. I might even go a bit further and say this here looks a lot better than some of the Technicolor we'd see in the 40s and 50s. There's not a single frame here that won't have your eyes tossing around trying to take everything in. The different color balloons are one thing but check out the clothes being worn and even the dirt that everyone is walking on. An impressive shot, visually, but there's no denying the weak story leaves you wanting a bit more.

I would never recommend this short on plot, but it is a not to be missed item when it comes to color. This film must be one of the earliest uses of Technicolor around and they use it beautifully. The images are crisp, clear and almost jump off the screen. The scenes of Peggy, the flower girl, and Bobby, the jockey, are gorgeous. The only film of this era that had colors as well executed was, in my opinion "The Adventuresof Robin Hood" two years later. It's only 16 min. long and worth every minute of it. The cinematographer, William V. Skall, was later nominated for eight Academy Awards (four in a row 1940-43) and won for "Joan of Arc" (1943).

Purebred horses parade around the race track, followed by other animals whose owners hope for a blue ribbon. Following this, we move into a little sketch about the forthcoming race.

This Warner Brothers short is inbrilliant Technicolor. The latest version of Technicolor, Three-Street offers a lot more variety in what could be seen on the screen. The purpose of a Technicolor short was often just the fact that it was in Technicolor, but Warners liked to offer value for money, and we get to see some popular performers of the day playing comic yokels. Henry Armetta, Joan Barry, and Matt McHugh, for three, may not be as well remembered as stars like Jimmy Cagney and Erroll Flynn. But perhaps they should be. And in any case, the audiences were happy to see them.