The Old, Dark House

THE OLD, DARK HOUSE (BLACK AND WHITE, 1932)    

   

Director: 

James Whale

Cast: 

Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Charles Laughton, Lillian Bond, Ernest Thesiger, Gloria Stuart, Raymond Massey, Eva Moore, Brember Wills and Elspeth Dudgeon 

Ages: 

10 and up

Plot: 

In a rainstorm, five travellers in two separate vehicles seek shelter in a mansion belonging to the Femm family. The travellers are greeted unwelcomingly by the scarred butler Morgan (Karloff), who can be dangerous when drunk. The travellers have dinner with two members of the Femm family, Rebecca (Moore) and Horace (Thesiger), while 102-year old Roderick (Dudgeon) is bedridden upstairs and scripture-quoting Saul (Wills) is locked up. Over the course of one horrific night, the plot unfolds.

Still of Boris Karloff as Morgan

Why it’s good: 

It’s a wild movie. Although the film was not as well made as the rest of the Universal films like "The Mummy" (1932), there are many unforgettable characters and such funny dialogue which could tickle your funny bones and actually scare you at the same time.

The rest of the Universal horror films were more serious and scary, and this one isn’t scary at all. The scares come from Morgan, the butler, and if not, from Brember Wills who comes out only at the last minute as if he came in and said ‘Boo!’. Then he stays for just 5 minutes throwing knives like a maniac and rushing up and down the steps.

The cast playing the five disoriented travellers are magnificent. It includes Gloria Stuart, who played the old lady in 1997’s Titanic. Raymond Massey was the guy playing Jonathon Brewster in "Arsenic and Old Lace", as the lookalike of Boris Karloff (who appears here).

Parent’s guide: 

A knife comes through the air when Brember Wills goes crazy. A lot of scares for young children including the scene where Lillian Bond and Eva Moore have a fight.

Trivia: 

James Whale, the subject of the film Gods and Monsters, considered this film to be the best of his own works.

If you like this…: 

James Whale directed other horror movies and thrillers for Universal in the early 1930s, including The Invisible man (1933), Frankenstein (1933) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935). 

To Kill a Mockingbird

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (BLACK AND WHITE, 1962)

Director: 

Robert Mulligan

Cast: 

Gregory Peck, Mary Badham, Phillip Alford, John Megna, Frank Overton, Collin Wilcox Paxton, Rosemary Murphy, Brock Peters, Ruth White, Paul Fix, Estelle Evans, Robert Duvall, James Anderson and Richard Hale

Ages: 

7 and up

Plot: 

Atticus Finch (Peck) is a widower and lawyer in Alabama during the Great Depression. He has two children, Scout (Badham) and Jem (Alford), who befriend their visiting neighbour, oddball Dill (Megna). Atticus is then asked by the sheriff (Overton) to take on an unpopular case where he has to defend a black man Tom Robinson (Peters) who has been accused of raping Mayella (Paxton), the daughter of a white man, Bob Ewell (Anderson). Meanwhile, the three children worry about a slightly spooky neighbour named Boo Radley (Duvall). Later, Atticus proves Tom’s innocence, but he cannot save him from the racist town. It costs Atticus many friendships, but he earns respect from his own children. 

Atticus Finch (Peck) defending Tom Robinson (Peters).

Why it’s good: 

I had just come back from a children's book club discussion this morning where we discussed books. I like reading, yes, and I also like movies, too.   

One of the topics we talked about at the book club was “books made into movies – which one is better, the book or the movie?” The one which came to my mind first was this book and this film, as To Kill a Mockingbird is an all-time classic in American literature.  I mentioned it; and the girl sitting opposite me said she watched it too. And she was about my age. And she liked it. It was black and white, she commented.

So the film is still fondly remembered and it is a really great movie. I read the first few chapters of the novel, and it was a totally great book.

The values in the movie are good. We should not discriminate others by skin colour and that we should always stick to our principles. Are the townspeople right to capture Tom Robinson? Would it be different if the whole thing happened today? All of the movie’s themes are great subjects for debate.

I also learned about the mockingbird from this movie.  "Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy.  They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us.  That's why it's a sin to kill a mocking bird."

And most uniquely, the story is told from a little girl (Scout)'s perspective.  This makes it easy for children to identify with the movie.

Trivia: 

Harper Lee’s only novel and Dill’s character is based on her childhood friend writer Truman Capote (who wrote “In Cold Blood”).

Parent’s guide: 

A dog is shot by Atticus. A boy's arm is broken by another character toward the end of the film, but only some tussling is shown.

If you like this…:

Other dramas which explore similar themes about discrimination against blacks in America: "12 Angry Men" (1957) and "In the Heat of the Night" (1967) .         

Duck Soup

DUCK SOUP (BLACK AND WHITE, 1933)

Director: 

Leo McCarey

Cast: 

The Marx Brothers (Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Zeppo), Margaret Dumont, Raquel Torres, Louis Calhern and Edgar Kennedy

Ages: 

4 and up

Plot: 

In the bankrupt state of Freedonia, Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho) is elected president with the backing of millionaire widow Mrs Teasdale (Dumont). Ambassador Trentino of neighbouring country Sylvania (Calhern) sends in two spies (Chico and Harpo) to spy on Firefly, creating lots of chaos and comedy in the process.  As the Ambassador Trentino attempts to woo Mrs Teasdale, Firefly declares war on Sylvania.  But can Firefly outwit his opponents?

Why it’s good: 

Because this is considered the best of the five films the Marx brothers made for Paramount. Many, many of the classic sequences here have been parodied in many, many other movies.

In this film, the politics is just a parody to the Depression. The year was 1933 during the Great Depression, and the Brothers were ready to give their very best. Once you hear that first musical number, "These Are the Laws of My Administration", you would think that whatever Groucho blabbers applies to any politician you can think of.

There are always a few classic sequences in each Marx Brothers movie, one which is funnier than the rest. Here, it is the mirror scene, where the Brothers start mimicking Firefly. Then they closely mimic each other's action in their best comic moment onscreen.  Click here to watch the classic mirror scene.  It still makes me laugh watching it!  The lemonade battle Chico and Harpo have with a lemonade vendor is just hilarious and rather aggressive.  The battle scenes are not graphic at all.

The "All God Chillun Got Guns" number in Duck Soup.

Trivia: 

This is the only film where Harpo does not play the harp. Mussolini banned the film in Italy.

Parent’s guide: 

Nothing noteworthy, except that the battle sequence is a little scary.

If you like this…: 

The other 4 films the Brothers made for Paramount: "The Coconuts" (1929), "Animal Crackers" (1930), "Monkey Business" (1931) and "Horse Feathers" (1932). Do not mistake the 1931 Monkey Business film for the 1952 film of the same name starring Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers and Marilyn Monroe with a completely different plot.       

The General

THE GENERAL (BLACK AND WHITE, 1926)

Director: 

Buster Keaton and Clyde Bruckman

Cast: 

Buster Keaton, Marion Mack, Glen Cavender, Jim Farley, Charles Smith, Joe Keaton, Tom Nawn and Fredrick Vroom

Ages: 

4 and up

Plot: 

Johnnie Gray (Buster Keaton) is on the Confederate side of the American Civil War. When it starts, he tries to enlist, but since he is an engineer, the Confederates think he is much more useful in that role. A year later, Johnnie's beloved locomotive, "The General", is stolen by Union spies led by General Thatcher (Farley) and Captain Anderson (Cavender) with Johnnie’s girlfriend Annabelle (Mack) in it. Can Johnnie save both of them?

Buster Keaton as Johnnie in The General.

Why it’s good: 

Because Buster Keaton is probably the most representative comedian of the silent movie era, although Charlie Chaplin is probably more famous because of his trademark cane, bowler hat and moustache. Buster didn’t really have such "trademarks" - he is just one of those simple actors who is excellent at acting and did not need an exaggeration.

I think "The General" (1926) is his best work. It is set in the American Civil War and is the least dramatic of his pictures.  If you want to see a dramatic set-piece, look for 1928’s "The Cameraman in Kino" DVD. He is usually misunderstood in his films, always very reserved and here, his girlfriend thinks he is a coward.

Yet all these posturings are just invitations to join in the comedy. The comedy is slapstick, slap-happy and hilarious. Funny comes with a little hardship, you know.

Parent’s guide: 

The two leads kiss when they meet. There is some slapstick violence, e.g. knocking, firing cannons.

Trivia: 

The final scene sparked a fire in the forest, so the cast and crew stopped filming to stop the fire. The two armies were made out of 500 National Guardsman from Oregon. When Marion Mack and Buster Keaton tried refilling the water for the locomotive, Buster Keaton did not say Marion will get wet. When she did, she was shocked.

If you like this…: 

More Buster Keaton films. "The Cameraman, Sherlock Jr." (1924), "The Navigator" (1924), "Steamboat Bill Jr." (1928) and any of the shorts that he made.