Month: June 2017

#65) Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)

OR “I Got a Friend in Jesus”

Directed by Fred Niblo (and a whole bunch of uncredited directors)

Written by June Mathis and Carey Wilson. Based on the novel by General Lew Wallace

Class of 1997

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xX90wV6iUPI

The Plot: Set in the same time period/location as Jesus, Judah Ben-Hur (Ramón Novarro) is a Jewish prince falsely accused of murder by Roman soldier/childhood friend Messala (Francis X. Bushman). Judah is forced into slavery and separated from his mother and sister (Claire McDowell & Kathleen Key). After encountering young Jesus (Claude Payton), Judah’s faith gets him through his imprisonment and eventually into a chariot race against Messala. With a cast of thousands!

Why It Matters: The NFR points out the film’s spectacular chariot race and Technicolor sequences, and mentions that this is the film that put Hollywood studio MGM on the map. An essay by silent film expert Fritzi Kramer goes into detail about just how epic this whole thing was in its day.

But Does It Really?: Absolutely. This is one of those fabled Hollywood epics that needs to be on the Registry to accurately tell the story of American film. It’s still quite an impressive feat of filmmaking to watch over 90 years later.

Everybody Gets One: Ramón Novarro was a matinée idol and “Latin Lover” in the vein of Rudolph Valentino. He is unfortunately one of those Hollywood stars whose untimely murder has eclipsed his actual film achievements. Francis X. Bushman* was also a leading man of the silent era, but his career ended when he lost his fortune in the 1929 Stock Market Crash. He managed to reemerge in the ‘50s and ‘60s as an older character actor. I remember him best from “The Phantom Planet”. And special mention to Claude Payton as Jesus. Those are some of the best hands in the business.

Wow, That’s Dated: I’m just going to assume that no one in this film is actually Jewish or Italian or Middle-Eastern.

Other notes

• I have to say that the novel/film’s subtitle is misleading. I would argue it’s more of “A Tale in Which the Christ Shows Up Sometimes”.
• Author Lew Wallace was an actual General; he served in the Union Army during the Civil War. He began writing stories as a distraction while he was supposed to be studying law with his father.
• That’s Betty Bronson from the silent “Peter Pan” as Mary. The Mother of Christ is The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up.
• Cool, parts of this film are in early Technicolor! Does that mean they’re in Oz?
• Judah and Esther’s meet-cute involves a diseased pigeon. Great.
• Gratus is the Archduke Ferdinand of this story.
• As a reward for sitting through a 2 ½ hour silent film, “Ben-Hur” contains occasional pre-Code nudity.
• The galley attack is pretty amazing to watch. Blink and you’ll miss an extra get impaled with a spear!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPnPiCPtehc

• Jesus is photographed in this film exactly like The Onceler.
• Antioch is described as “colorful”, yet isn’t in Technicolor. What gives?
• “By the three-horned goat of Ranor” is my favorite intertitle. The internet has yet to tell me what the hell that means.
• Iras has a sort-of Mae West thing going on. Mae East?
• Judah competes in the chariot race as “The Unknown Jew”. Does that mean he has to wear a paper bag over his head and appear on “The Gong Show”?
• What can I say? That chariot race is still exciting to watch. But don’t think I didn’t notice the occasional under cranking going on.

• If the stories are true, the extras in the chariot race include current and future MGM stars. Among them; Joan Crawford, Mary Pickford, Harold Lloyd, John & Lionel Barrymore, Dorothy & Lillian Gish, and Marion Davies.
• Hey, down in front, guy sitting on the other side of the Last Supper!
• The people of Ancient Jerusalem should not think they’re better than lepers. I don’t see any of them with indoor plumbing or any basic hygiene skills.
• I guess Judah Ben-Hur was the first Born-Again Christian. Can you convert to a religion that hasn’t yet established itself?

Legacy

• The novel has been adapted into film many times over the years, most notably the 1959 remake by this film’s assistant director; William Wyler. It’s longer and even more epic, and went on to win all the Oscars and find its own place on the NFR.

• The most recent screen version of Ben-Hur came in 2016 and I guess makes Judah and Messala brothers? By all accounts it’s terrible.

• Messala survived the chariot race, and gave us this delicious chicken and curry dish.

* CORRECTION: Francis X. Bushman also has a brief uncredited appearance in “The Bad and the Beautiful“.

#64) MASH (1970)

OR “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Korea?”

Directed by Robert Altman

Written by Ring Lardner, Jr. Based on the novel “MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors” by Richard Hooker.

Class of 1996

The Plot: Set in a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (there’s your trivia answer) during the Korean War, “MASH” chronicles the episodic misadventures of surgeons “Hawkeye” Pierce (Donald Sutherland), “Trapper John” McIntyre (Elliott Gould) and “Duke” Forrest (Tom Skerritt). They drink martinis, hit on every nurse in sight, and cause trouble for the higher brass, most notably Major Burns (Robert Duvall) and Major Margaret Houlihan (Sally Kellerman), who gets more than her share of abuse from the unit.

Why It Matters: The NFR applauds the film’s “black comedy” and “gritty presentation” and praises Altman, Lardner and a “[s]pirited ensemble”.

But Does It Really?: Perhaps my appreciation for the TV series gave me a disadvantage, because the film is…okay. I laughed a lot, but the film’s anti-war stance seems a bit tame. Whether that’s my familiarity with the show or today’s more common acceptance of anti-war sentiments, I don’t know. I place “MASH” slightly more on the culturally significant side of this list. I’ll be curious to see if the film continues to hold up compared to the TV series.

Shout Outs: Henry Blake briefly mentions “Knute Rockne” during the football game.

Everybody Gets One: Gary “Radar” Burghoff was the only cast member to reprise his role for the TV series.

Wow, That’s Dated: While Altman intentionally made very little effort to make this film an authentic period piece, Elliot Gould’s moustache screams 1970.

Take a Shot: As is often the case with movies where the title is a location, they say, “MASH” consistently but not frequently.

Seriously, Oscars?: “MASH” scored five nominations, including Best Picture. At the time, Oscars were still handed out by Old Hollywood, so they favored the more traditional pro-war “Patton”. The Academy did, however, give Best Adapted Screenplay to “MASH” and its Old Hollywood screenwriter, Ring Lardner, Jr., even though very little of his dialogue ended up in the final cut. Robert Altman lost the first of his five Best Director nominations. And how “Suicide is Painless” didn’t get an Original Song nomination is just unacceptable.

Other notes

• First of all, I have to say that I do love that poster. That one image somehow tells you everything you need to know about the film.
• The title “MASH” is presented without the asterisks during the opening credits, but the poster and TV series include them. I don’t know who to trust anymore.
• Boy these credits are making a lot of introductions. What a host.
• Ah yes, Sutherland’s whistle thing that he sneaks in. I knew “Fantastic Mr. Fox” got it from somewhere.
• With this film we are introduced to Robert Altman’s bold idea that you actually don’t need to hear or understand any dialogue.
• I forgot how much rampant sexual harassment happens in this film. I’m supposed to like these guys, right?
• Shout-out to The Bickersons.
• Best line in the film; “If I nail Hot Lips and punch Hawkeye can I go home?”
• The song “Suicide is Painless” was written by Robert Altman’s 14-year-old son Mike. It became the TV series’ theme song as well, and Mike made more money off the song than his dad did from the film.

• Sometimes Margaret’s last name is given as “Houlihan” and other times as “O’Houlihan”. All evidence I can find shows that it’s always been “Houlihan” and that the few instances of “O’Houlihan” are slip-ups by the actors kept in the film.
• The film’s claim to be the first major film to say “fuck” has been contested. Further research is needed.
• That…is a weird ending. Although at least now I know how to pronounce “Auberjonois”.

Legacy

• As mentioned throughout this post, “MASH” the film became “M*A*S*H” the long-running, Emmy-magnet TV series. The NFR calls it “folksier” than its film counterpart, but that’s really only the first few seasons. It’s sanitized for broadcast, but “M*A*S*H” broke out of the film’s shadow and became the better known of the two. That being said, Altman hated the show.

• About halfway through the run of the TV series, a spin-off show called “Trapper John, M.D.” followed that character’s life in modern-day (1979) San Francisco. The producers of “M*A*S*H” sued for royalties, but the court declared the show a spin-off of the film rather than the series, hence its inclusion here.

• Based on the success of the film, Richard Hooker wrote two more novels: “M*A*S*H Goes to Maine” and “M*A*S*H Mania”. An attempt at turning “Maine” into a film never took off.
• And of course, this is the film that gave us Robert Altman, so I blame “MASH” for “Popeye”.

Further Viewing: “MASH” isn’t the first film about the Korean War’s mobile hospital units. 1953’s “Battle Circus” told a story of love and war with Humphrey Bogart as a Hawkeye-esque doctor and June Allyson as, let’s say a “Lukewarm Lips” kind of nurse. I haven’t seen it, but let’s just assume it’s a bit more pro-war than “MASH”.

Further Further Viewing: 1970’s other irreverent look at war, “Catch-22” had an all-star cast, a very hot Mike Nichols at the helm, and a best-selling novel as its source material. All signs pointed to “Catch-22” being the bigger hit film over “MASH”. That didn’t happen.

#63) Gerald McBoing-Boing (1950)

OR “The Boinging of a New Era”

Directed by Robert Cannon

Written by Bill Scott & Phil Eastman. Based on the story by Dr. Seuss.

Class of 1995

The Plot: In Dr. Seuss fashion, a story in rhyme

Of a boy who speaks sound effects all of the time.

I’m kidding. How much would you hate me if I did this whole post in verse?

Why It Matters: The NFR cites the film as a representation of UPA’s more cartoonish style of animation, versus Disney’s more realistic style.

But Does It Really?: UPA was a game-changer in the world of animation, and I’m glad there’s a place for them on the Registry. “Gerald McBoing-Boing” is harmless enough as far as shorts go. It tells a good story with inventive animation, which is really all you can ask for.

Everybody Gets One: Among the animators who worked on the film was Bill Melendez, who would go on to turn the “Peanuts” comic strip into a series of acclaimed animated TV specials.

Wow, That’s Dated: Doctors paying house calls, kids playing marbles, radio dramas.

Seriously, Oscars?: In one of the rare cases where Oscar actually embraced something new, “Gerald McBoing-Boing” won the Best Animated Short category against more traditional fare like “Tom & Jerry”. UPA would continue to have a strong showing in this category throughout the ‘50s, most notably in 1957 when all 3 nominees were from UPA!

Other notes

• Bill Scott, one of the writers, would go on to voice Bullwinkle in “Rocky & Bullwinkle”.
• UPA’s animated shorts were called Jolly Frolics? Were all their other names taken?
• So what do you think causes a boy to speak in sound effects? Is it a recessive gene that finally made its way through? Or is this yet another side effect from a generation that smoked and drank during pregnancy?
• I do have to update the NFR’s statement that UPA is “still in business today”. While that was true when “Gerald” first entered the Registry in 1995, the company closed for good in 2000. The current rights to the UPA library are owned by NBCUniversal, though UPA still holds the licensing rights to its most famous creation; Mr. Magoo.

Legacy

• Gerald had three animated follow-ups; “Gerald McBoing Boing’s Symphony”, “How Now Boing Boing” and “Gerald McBoing! Boing! on Planet Moo”. Notice that there is no consistency on his last name’s punctuation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xm_-o64ueXc

• Following these shorts, Gerald moved to television with “The Gerald McBoing-Boing Show”, which was revamped in the mid 2000’s.

• And I’m gonna go ahead and blame Gerald for Michael Winslow in those “Police Academy” films.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE-lLZDDdXE

Further Viewing: If you’re looking for another Dr. Seuss film adaptation that’s not based on his classic books, might I recommend the incredibly bizarre “The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.” It’s…weird, it’s just weird.