eocostello

I saw today the restored version of "Mammy," restored in that the two colour sequences have been put back in. (Some areas had to use sepia-tinted bridging sequences.) I'm no fan of Jolson, but the movie did keep my interest, the presentation was good, and Al here is somewhat restrained, all of which added up to a surprisingly good time. Presentation (including a very good soundtrack) is everything

Elstree Calling (1930), like most of the revues of the era, has some high points and misfires. Hitchcock's linking material here can be quite funny, and the colour sequences aren't bad (even if "The Thought Never Entered My Head" is a bit ungainly). A pleasant goof, for most

MGM, ever thrifty, did something slightly unusual with this short. Mixed in between Ted Healy (as a top-hatted "daddy") and his Stooges (guess who?), not to mention a shapely fairy princess, we see two color segments recylced from earlier MGM films. One is the "Woman in the Shoe" number from "Lord Byron of Broadway," and another is a number entitled "A Girl, a Fan and a Fella," which is a number that was cut from either "The Hollywood Revue of 1929" or "March of Time." The first number fits in much better with the "bedtime story" theme, and features slick dancing, but the second number (which is actually shown first) has a quirky, Erte-like elegance about it that demands attention. MGM would do something similar later with "Roast Beef and Movies," with Curly Howard, but not to the same whacked charm-effect. Try it, and get an interesting idea of early Technicolor music.