alancmiller

This well-sourced documentary benefits from the cooperation of the Doolittle family and their willingness to share an exciting archive of photographs documenting the life of Jimmy Doolittle and his role in the evolution of military aviation. The film is narrated by Gardner Doolittle who appears to be a family member with access to a trove of engaging anecdotes and observations. Gardner Doolittle is also the sole narrator, and I think this story suffers from a lack of movement and a variety of voices. Gardner has a voice and a speaking style reminiscent of Tom Brokaw. Toward the end of this 84 minute film, it starts to get a bit wearing.

I have just finished viewing this film on a Kino Lorber dvd, and it is one beautiful print. The sound is good, and the optics are as fresh and sharp as they must have been when the film first came out in 1956. Granted the script is a bit pedestrian, but Marla English sure looks great in a swim suit, and Ben Cooper's hot rod would be a winner at any classic car show. For those who are wondering, the State of California maintained a number of isolated mountain cabins for government hydrologists whose job it was to measure the snow pack throughout the winter. Luther and his sister Terry were state employees, and that is why a state-of-the-art "snow cat" would be sent to investigate when they stopped transmitting data. The Kino Lorber dvd includes a very informative audio commentary by film historians Toby Roan and Jay Dee Witney.

When my Dad was a boy in the late 1920s, he spent a lot of Saturday afternoons at the local theater watching cowboy movies. One of his celluloid heroes was Tom Tyler, and that is why I purchased this dvd. It turned out to be a pretty good western, despite its cheap production values and Alpha Video imprint. Tom Tyler was a tall, handsome fellow, who in both looks and voice, reminds one of a young Gary Cooper. He wasn't much of an actor, but "A Rider of the Plains" gave him a rare opportunity to appear in a good yarn about bandits who change for the better under the influence of a good woman (Lilian Bond) and a needy orphan boy (Andy Shuford). These are the themes that would be more fully developed later in "Shane" and "Hondo," but this was 1931, and we need to make allowances for the evolution of sound equipment and bulky cameras. My Alpha Video print was a little washed out, but still watchable, and there was a humming sound that was persistent, but not intrusive. Another reason to like this movie is the presence of Lilian Bond, a vivacious British actress who made the transition to Hollywood, and appeared in many quality films including "The Old Dark House" with Charles Laughton and "Air Mail" with Gloria Stuart, both in 1932, and "The Westerner" with Gary Cooper in 1940. In "A Rider of the Plains," Bond plays a pretty store clerk who captures the heart of bad boy, Tom Tyler. At just 57 minutes, it's a nice little western to watch when there's just an hour to spare before that trip to the bunkhouse.