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Reviews
Lonesome Luke's Lively Life (1917)
There hijinks at the hat check when Lonesome Luke's in charge
Another rare Lonesome Luke not quite complete (missing the last few seconds, but it doesn't matter to the plot) Just like other Luke's, this one is full of action and slapstick. It was a great to see Snub Pollard move with extraordinary limberness especially when he is dancing with the chorus girls. There's a great bit of comedy when Luke is checking in (and checking out) a lady and declares that she is not dressed properly for their establishment. He then takes a brush and paints on an elaborate back on her backless dress and she is allowed in. George Eastman House has a fair quality 35mm print that they are restoring the titles to as of 2008.
The Bicycle Flirt (1928)
A Girl finds flirting with a man on a bicycle can have unintended consequences
This well-made short is typical of the high standard of comedy films in the late 1920s. Photography is excellent, the pacing fast and it's full of extraordinary stunts that looked like no other-and no computer enhancement! A pretty girl (Lombard) has a boyfriend which is not up to her parent's standards by any means. They try to persuade her to ditch the loser but she is determined to keep the sad sack. So when she see an even bigger loser bicycling by she devises a plan to make her boyfriend look good in comparison. She drops her hankie in the hopes that the gallant man may return it to her-he does and the flirt is on. Great bicycle stunts ensue including some great scenes where he just lightly holds on to the side of the car so he can carry on his wooing with his feet up on the car-the bicycle just propels itself! They come up to a pole in the road and the father tries to aim the car so as to sideswipe him off-he lets go at the last second quickly swerves around and is back with the car-feet up again. Eastman House has a great 35mm print. Interesting to see Lombard way before her stardom and some great comedy by some relatively unknown actors. Highly recommended.
The Golden Bed (1925)
Southern femme fatale marries for money, has affairs, causes her husbands death and then steals her sister's beau only to ruin him too.
While many people roll their eyes when hearing of a DeMille production, they should perhaps actually watch some of them. Not being a big fan of his more later films I did however, enjoy this one. The Golden Bed evokes all the lavish images one now associates with opulent mid 20 Hollywood productions. The sets are deep with detail, the acting generally good or better. Lillian Rich never looked so glam as the greedy witch dripping in jewels and gowns and she never looked so dreadful as in her deathbed scene. It was a shame that the very talented Henry B. Walthall was only on screen for a few minutes at the beginning. I kept expecting him to pop up somewhere later on. The story may seem dated, characters not realistic and the ending a bit too optimistic for modern tastes. But h**l that's most films are anyway old or modern-men still do get sappy and get lured by bad women to make bad life choices.Rod LaRocque (is Keanu Reeves some sort of long lost grandson-they look very much alike although Rod is a much better actor)does a nice job as the rube that falls for Flora (Rich) and is ruined in the process buying into to greed and lack of morals. The goody than good sister is the weak link in the characters. One can not imagine that she would stick to Admah (LaRocque) through all that and not show resentment toward Flora and reviews of the day concur. The Candy Ball sequence is over the top as only a DeMille production can do, incredible set but only contains a few juicy bits (slaves being auctioned with candy chains on), it is a must see, the symbolism of the monkey and its relationship to Rich's character could go on for days and the golden swan bed, neck seemingly broken at the end sums it up nicely. Not as heavy handed as some of the DeMille features it nevertheless delivers fine entertainment. The print I saw was a 35mm from the Eastman House archive and was in very nice condition.