The Private War of Major Benson (1955)

Atten-shun!! Get ready to muster for some good family entertainment with The Private War of Major Benson, a little-known gem of a comedy from Universal Pictures. 

Charlton Heston stars as Major Benson, an overly strict army officer but one whose bark is worse than his bite. He opened his mouth once too often and ended up being booted from active service and assigned to command a military boarding school co-run by Catholic nuns. The "men" he needs to drill into soldiers range from age six to fifteen, one of whom has trouble keeping his pants up. 

"We've gotta turn these milkshake drinking school boys into whiskey drinking soldiers!"

If it isn't humiliating enough to be in this position, Major Benson gets pegged ten notches lower when the boys go over his head and sign a petition to have him ousted. Benson then does some soul searching to discover where he went wrong as a leader and, with the aid of Mother Redempta (Nana Bryant) and the lovely Ms. Lambert (Julie Adams), he tries to win back their approval. 

The Private War of Major Benson was one of many entertaining family comedies that Universal Pictures released in the 1950s. This came a year before Heston donned sandals and staff to portray Moses in Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments. No matter how rough Heston pretended to be as Major Benson, he still comes out looking like a swell guy - a little chipped, but still lovable. 

At least, the school's doctor Ms. Lambert aka "Lammy" thinks so. The boys think otherwise, especially little "Tiger" played by the scene-stealing Tim Hovey. The other boys who consider Benson a fink include Tim Considine, Sal Mineo, Butch Jones and Gary Pagett. 

"This is our school's founder. He was canonized in 1857." - Mother Redempta [showing Benson a portrait of a priest] 
"Aw, gee... That's too bad." - Major Benson

Jerry Hopper does a great job of directing The Private War of Major Benson and keeps the fun going from start to finish. The script was penned by Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher who later created "Leave it to Beaver" on television. Also in the cast is William Demarest as the school's handyman, Milburn Stone as Benson's commanding officer, and Don Haggerty. Major Benson doesn't have the makings of a four-star general, but he gets four stars for entertainment!

From the Archives: Come to the Stable (1949)

This photo from Come to the Stable (1949) shows Dorothy Patrick, Hugh Marlowe and Louis Jean Heydt in one of my favorite scenes. Dorothy is singing "Through a Long and Sleepless Night" which they all agree will be composer Hugh Marlowe's best song yet... until they hear the nuns from the convent across the lawn singing an old French melody that sounds just like the piece. The set design for Hugh Marlowe's house is marvelous - who wouldn't want that great big fireplace!

From the Archives is our latest series of posts where we share photos from the Silverbanks Pictures collection. Some of these may have been sold in the past, and others may still be available for purchase at our eBay store: http://stores.ebay.com/Silverbanks-Pictures

Tell it to the Judge (1949)

Rosalind Russell and Robert Cummings seem like an unlikely pair of actors to play a married couple but they were a delightfully entertaining twosome in Paramount's 1949 comedy Tell it to the Judge. 

Roz was top-billed as a would-be Federal Court judge who is being wooed by ex-husband Robert Cummings who wants her back. He remarries her only to lose her once again when Marie McDonald, a curvaceous client of his, reappears in the scene. Gig Young adds to the merriment as a debonair playboy whom Russell snags to spite her husband. 

Tell it to the Judge is chock full of witty barbs that Rosalind Russell and Bob Cummings enjoy throwing at each other and there are plenty of visual gags, too. It is one of Paramount's better comedies of the late 1940s and it brought back the bubbly vibes of the 1930s screwball comedy genre. In fact, had this film been released ten years earlier it could have been an excellent MGM comedy starring William Powell and Myrna Loy. ("Let's Fall in Love" would have been a perfect title to this imaginary production).

The film bounces along at a spritely pace with director Norman Foster making sure there was never a dull moment. The setting jumps from Washington D.C. to Palm Beach to the snowy Adirondacks and the art direction - by Carl Anderson - is wonderful. However, it is the cast that makes the picture. Rosalind Russell and Robert Cummings were in top form. Cummings is especially hilarious when he acts drowsy after taking four sleeping tablets! The rest of the cast is made up of seasoned pros such as Harry Davenport, Douglas Dumbrille, Marie McDonald, Fay Baker, Louise Beavers and Clem Bevans.

Tell it to the Judge is available on DVD and can also be seen frequently on the Cinevault Channel on Roku. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

                                     

Happy Thanksgiving dear readers! 

Shirley Temple is as surprised as we are by how quickly turkey-day has come around. We are grateful for a lot of things this year, including a wonderful Thanksgiving Day dinner, family and friends, great classic films to enjoy, and we are especially grateful for you, our loyal readers. We wish you all a blessed holiday season!

British Pathé: Map Making (1961)

In Great Britain, they have a national mapping agency known as The Ordnance Survey (OS) which provides highly-detailed geographic maps for individuals as well as for military purposes. In the early 1960s, the Ordnance Survey undertook to re-map Great Britain and it was a massive project. 

This 1961 British Pathe newsreel shows just how large a project it was and how many people were involved in the creation of these new maps... literally thousands of skilled artists and technicians! Mapping the land is difficult enough but it is even more impressive to watch the maps being made, from the super tiny ink work that needed to be done to the huge printing plates that had to be created. 

These road maps were then purchased by drivers and hikers who probably had no idea how many people were behind the making of the map that they held in their hands. 

Ready to watch Map Making? Simply click on the link below: 

Map Making (1961) - 3:36 sec

Similar British Pathé newsreels:

Map Making (1942) - 1:50 sec 

Plastic Maps (1947) - 1:23 sec

Map Survey (1965) - 2:20 sec

Ordnance Survey Mapmakers (1965) - 1:00 sec

Film Albums: The Trouble with Angels (1966)

In 1966, Jerry Goldsmith was relatively new to soundtrack scoring for comedy films (he was making a name for himself writing music for western films and television series), but nevertheless he created a marvelous score for the dramatic comedy The Trouble with Angels starring Hayley Mills and Rosalind Russell. He mixes a light-hearted upbeat tempo (reflecting the rebellious teens) with a solemn church-like theme to create an entirely new sound. It's a happy score with hints of religious themes and it was perfectly suited to the picture. 

The complete album is available on Youtube. Just click on the link below to enjoy: 

The Trouble with Angels Original Soundtrack

Track Listing

Main Title

Welcome to St. Francis

Warning #1

Dirty Dishes

Changing Seasons

Snow Birds

Silent Sunday

True Feelings

A Pot of Tea

Angels We Have Heard on High

The Sewing Circle

Future Plans

Sad Sunday

Graduation

Rachel Says Goodbye

End Title

Top Picks: Main Title, Welcome to St. Francis, Snow Birds, Rachel Says Goodbye

The Impossibly Difficult Name that Movie Game

Here's an important-looking man doing important-looking work... at least, some may think so. It depends on how much money you have riding in the 7th.

As always, if you are not familiar with the rules to the Impossibly Difficult Name that Movie game or the prize, click here!

You Never Can Tell (1951)

There's something about the comedies of the early 1950s that I find so likeable. Even when they have silly and incredulous plots, they are entertaining. You Never Can Tell is one of those films with an amusing yet decidedly implausible plot. In fact, it was publicized as "A Picture for People Who Think They've Seen Everything!" 

You may have heard of a man turning into a dog, but this film is about a dog turning into a man. Dick Powell stars as the reincarnated dog who continues to munch on kibbles and scratch behind his ear while in human form.

Powell plays Rex Shepard, a man who was known as "King" during his life on earth as a German Shepherd. King inherited millions from his eccentric owner and then was poisoned in order to clear the way for Ms. Ellen Hathaway (Peggy Dow) to be the next in line to inherit. 

When King goes to the Beastatory - the afterlife of animals - he requests to return to Earth to avenge his murder and clear his mistress Ellen of suspicion. Hence, private detective Rex Shepard suddenly appears along with his private secretary Goldie (Joyce Holden), who was formerly "Golden Harvest," a prize-winning racehorse. While the two-legged Palamino spends some time visiting her filly friends, Rex sets off to investigate his own murder and, in the process, falls in love with Ellen. 

You Never Can Tell sounds ridiculous and yet it is really an amiable bit of whimsy that's doggone addictive. The script - by David Chandler - is brimming over with canine quips and the casting is spot-on. Charles Drake plays a seemingly great guy and is re-united with his Harvey co-star Peggy Dow, while Albert Sharpe (of Darby O'Gill and the Little People) has an amusing role as Ellen's sea captain uncle. Also in the cast is Frank Nelson as a police chief. 

From the Archives: About Face (1952)

                     

This is a lovely behind-the-scenes photo of Gordon MacRae, Phyllis Kirk, and Dick Wesson on the set of About Face (1952), a Technicolor remake of the classic Brother Rat.

From the Archives is our latest series of posts where we share photos from the Silverbanks Pictures collection. Some of these may have been sold in the past, and others may still be available for purchase at our eBay store: http://stores.ebay.com/Silverbanks-Pictures

The Reptile (1966)

Hammer Studios was the king of horror film studios in the 1960s and they offered something deliciously frightful for all appetites. 

If blood-sucking vampires, ferocious werewolves, or linen-wrapped dead people aren't your cup of tea, then The Reptile, a scrumptious bit of gothic horror from the year 1966, may wet your lips. 

In this tale, Captain Harry Spalding (Ray Barrett) and his wife Valerie (Jennifer Daniel) come to England from India due to the sudden death of Harry's brother Charles.  They want to live in the cottage that Charles left behind, but the village folk warn them against it. In fact, most of the villagers are downright hostile to the couple, except for local pub owner Tom Bailey (Michael Ripper). 

Neighboring the cottage is the mansion of Dr. Franklin (Noel Willman) and his daughter Anna (Jacqueline Pierce), a young woman who is frightened of her father. Shortly after the Spaldings' arrival, a villager dies mysteriously with bite marks on the back of his neck and foam pouring from his mouth. Harry believes his brother may have died the same way and thinks Dr. Franklin is hiding the truth about his death. 

The Reptile is one of Hammer Studio's more tamer productions and, like The Gorgon (1964), most of the film builds up to the creature-revealing climax, which in this case is a - surprise! - reptile. This climax would have been much more exciting if the title of the film, and the poster, did not give away the ending. 

In spite of its tameness, The Reptile is engrossing and well worth a watch, if only to soak in all that wonderful gothic atmosphere that Hammer productions were so good at creating. 

The cast were all capable actors (both Noel Willman and Jennifer Daniel may look familiar from Kiss of the Vampire), the music is fittingly eerie, and the color palette is marvelous. The cottage that the Spaldings stay in, as well as Dr. Franklyn's manor across the lawn, reminded me of Cherry Cottage and Cavor's home in First Men in the Moon but these were different filming locations. The Reptile was filmed in and around Windsor in Berkshire next door to Bray Studios, where the picture was made. 

The Reptile is currently available on DVD as well as on Blu-Ray. 

Roku and Tubi Picks for October

With Halloween coming up, most of the Roku apps have a bevy of frightful films on their roster for the month of October, some of which we will highlight below. But even if scary movies aren't your cup of tea, there are a delightful array of mysteries, sci-fi films and television series available this month.... plus, a couple of great comedies. So, check them out! 

Also of note: If you click on the Roku Live TV Guide you will find a huge list of channels to browse. The "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" channel not only plays episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents throughout the day, but also shows two Hitchcock classics each evening, one at 8pm EST and another around 10pm EST. 

One of the other channels through Roku's Live TV Guide listing is the "Universal Monsters" channel which plays 1930s-1980s Universal horror films throughout the day and then -for the month of October- airs back-to-back episodes of The Munsters starting from 6pm EST. Our family has been enjoying these each evening...followed by the Hitchcock film showing at 8pm.

Lastly, one great mystery to watch this month: Murder, She Said (1961) starring Margaret Rutherford is available for free through the Kanopy app.

Tubi TV 

(Also available for viewing at tubitv.com) 

Nosferatu (1922)

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

Gunga Din (1938)

The Mark of Zorro (1940)

Cottage to Let (1941)

Pride of the Yankees (1942)

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

Notorious (1946)

Bicycle Thieves (1948)

Strangers on a Train (1950)

The Third Man (1950)

The Thing (1951)

Room for One More (1952)

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)

The Long, Long Trailer (1954)

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)

Them! (1954)

Autumn Leaves (1956)

The Bad Seed (1956)

Curse of the Demon (1957)

Around the World in 80 Days (1958)

Auntie Mame (1958)

South Pacific (1958)

Some Like it Hot (1959)

The Mummy (1959)

Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960)

To Kill a Mockingbird (1961)

The Music Man (1962)

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)

The Haunting (1963)

The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964)

TV Series

The Addams Family (on Roku and Pluto)

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (on Roku and Peacock)

Doctor Who - Classics

Gilligan's Island

The Munsters

Thriller

Twilight Zone

Tom and Jerry Collection (also available on the MeTV Toons channel)

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour: Don't Look Behind You (1962)

In 1962, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour premiered, expanding on the popular half-hour thriller series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Like its predecessor, each episode opened with an introduction from the Master of Suspense himself Mr. Hitchcock, who teased his audience about the story to follow. 

"Don't Look Behind You" was only the second episode in this new hour-long format and, unfortunately, it played out like a half-hour episode stretched to fit the new timeslot. 

The episode, based on a novel by Samuel Rogers, was about a crazed killer who stalked the woods at night murdering young women in the college town of Woodside. One evening, Daphne (Vera Miles) decides to take a chance and crosses the woods as a shortcut to get to a dinner party - she makes it out alive but knows for certain that someone was following her close behind. At the party, arriving shortly later, is her fiancé Harold (Jeffrey Hunter), a psychology professor who looks a bit bedraggled. Also arriving late is Dave (Dick Sargaent) a science teacher who has a crush on Daphne. Another admirer of hers is Edwin (Alf Kjellin), a pianist who has a bent towards the morbid. 

Harold comes up with the brilliant idea of using Daphne as bait so he can catch the killer himself and throughout the episode we are supposed to wonder whether the lunatic is Harold himself, Dave, or Edwin, all of whom happen to be in the woods the same night Daphne is walking through it. All three men look crazy but Harold seems to be the most dangerous and one cannot help but wonder how Daphne can be so blind as to not realize it. 

"Pain is only a secret name for pleasure, my darling"

The wonderful director John Brahm (The Lodger, Hangover Square) directed "Don't Look Behind You" and, while the scenes through the woods are atmospheric, the episode as a whole is a letdown. This could have been a tense thriller with nail-biting "who can the killer be?" ending, but instead it is so obvious that most of the episode fails to build any tension. Jeffrey Hunter's character of Harold should have been a sympathetic intelligent man whom Daphne relies on, this would have given her plausible reason for staying in Woodside with a killer on the loose and would have made the ending have more of that Hitchcockian-twist. 

"Don't Look Behind You" features one of the best introductions of any of the Alfred Hitchcock episodes with Vera Miles walking in a flowing white dress down a secluded dark wooded shortcut, but overall, it just fails to stir up the shivers like any decent Alfred Hitchcock episode should. Nevertheless, Vera Miles gives a wonderful performance as the innocent victim and there is a cast of familiar faces including Abraham Sofaer (Elephant Walk), Madge Kennedy, and Ralph Roberts (Bells are Ringing).

Film Albums: Alfred Hitchcock Presents Ghost Stories for Young People

Halloween is fast approaching and what better time of the year to listen to ghost stories then the autumn season, when the leaves begin to change color and there is a cold nip in the air. There are plenty of ghost stories from radio programs of the olden days, but if you want a taste of something different, have a listen to Alfred Hitchcock Presents Ghost Stories for Young People. 

This LP was released in 1962 by Golden Records and features "tales of spooks, hobgoblins and spirits hauntingly introduced by the master of the unexpected". Six chilling short stories are narrated by John Allen who has a marvelously smooth voice. Unlike most ghost stories aired on the radio, which average 25-30 minutes in length, these tales are a mere 5-10 minutes each.... just enough time to give you a little fright before heading to slumberland.

The complete album is available on Youtube. Just click on the link below to enjoy: 

Alfred Hitchcock Presents Ghost Stories for Young People

Track Listing

Introduction

The Haunted and the Haunters

The Magician

Johnny Takes a Dare

The Open Window

The Helpful Hitchhiker

Jimmy Takes Vanishing Lessons

Top Picks: The Haunted and the Haunters, The Magician, The Open Window

Rewind Review: The Witch's Tale Radio Series (1931-1938)

"Draw up to the fire and gaze into the embers as I tell you a hearty tale that will boil your blood..."

Old Nancy the witch knew how to tell a good ghost yarn. At over 107 years old ( and aging fast ) she certainly had plenty of years to practice her art of story-telling. Each week, for seven years, she gathered her listeners close to her via radio waves and cackled tales of mystery and horror to send chills running up their spine. 

The old "Witch of Salem", as she was affectionately called, played host of The Witch's Hour, one of New York's most beloved horror programs, between May 21, 1931 and June 13, 1938 on WOR, the Mutual Radio Network. The series was created by Alonzo Deen Cole who not only wrote and directed each episode but also provided the sounds of Old Nancy's cat Satan. His wife Marie O'Flynn also took part acting in many of the episodes as the female lead. 

Originally stage-actress Adelaine Fitz-Allen voiced old Nancy but after she passed on at the age of 79 she was replaced by 13-year old Miriam Wolfe....who did just as good a job!

What made The Witch's Hour so engrossing was the clever story lines and the quality of the programs. Each episode was well-acted and utilized convincing sound effects that gave the series its extra dose of creepiness. 

Unfortunately, only about 50 episodes of the program still exist today since many of the original recordings, which were performed live during broadcast, were destroyed by Cole in 1961. All of the surviving episodes could be heard at the Relic Radio website or through Old Time Radio. 

Since today is Halloween and tonight is the witching hour, be sure to tune into some of these programs, and for a sample, here for your listening pleasure are....

FIVE EERIE CLASSICS 

The Haunted Crossroads ( 1933 ) 

An invisible woman has stabbed a policeman in the back at an isolated crossroads. A stabbing like this has happened before, and will soon happen again.

 
Graveyard Mansion ( 1934 ) 

Two brothers inherit a suspicious old house in Louisiana and meet a beautiful woman who's been dead for one hundred years! Are there vampires within the mansion? A ghost perhaps?

The Wonderful Bottle ( 1934 ) 

A couple of young American lads in Argentina meet an old Spaniard who sells them a magic bottle that grants its owners every wish. That bottle was made by the devil and anyone who owns it must get rid of it before he dies or he will burn in hell’s fire forever!

The Devil Mask ( 1935 ) 

A wife is concerned about her husband's disrespect of African ways and so asks a witch doctor to boom on the drums a ceremonial chant to keep the devil away during the trip back to England.

The Priest of Sekhet ( 1936 ) 

A young British archaeologist becomes trapped in an ancient tomb, along with a dead priest from ancient Egypt. After his rescue, the archaeologist undergoes a strange change of character.

This is a Rewind Review post dating from Halloween 2016. 

The Impossibly Difficult Name that Movie Game

Look at these two happy bakers! They are looking on the sweet-side of life while they are busy decorating wedding cakes. This is an extra-impossibly difficult scene to recognize unless the film this screenshot is from is one of your favorites. 

As always, if you are not familiar with the rules to the Impossibly Difficult Name that Movie game or the prize, click here!

From the Archives: Son of Frankenstein (1939)

Boris Karloff as the famous "Monster" from the Frankenstein films (in this photo, The Son of Frankenstein). The make-up for all of the early Frankenstein movies was done by Jack Pierce, whom you could read more about in our previous articles here. 

From the Archives is our latest series of posts where we share photos from the Silverbanks Pictures collection. Some of these may have been sold in the past, and others may still be available for purchase at our eBay store: http://stores.ebay.com/Silverbanks-Pictures

British Pathé: The Highland Games (1969)

The hills are alive with the smell of heather and the sounds of bagpipes during the week of the Highland Games in Braemar, Scotland. This British Pathé newsreel shows footage of the event from the 1969 games. The annual Scottish sport ceremony was sponsored by the Royal Highland Society and gathered dignitaries from throughout Scotland - even the British monarch and her children attended this event since they lived in nearby Balmoral castle. 

This traditional test of "men who really are men" included cannon ball tossing, log throwing, tug-of-war games, hammer throwing, and highland jig dancing. Of course, the Queen handed out the prizes to the winners which made them all the more proud to be Scotsmen. 

Ready to watch The Highland Games? Simply click on the link below: 

The Highland Games (1969) - 1:44 minutes 

Similar British Pathé newsreels:

Highland Games (1957) - 2:47 minutes

Braemar Gathering - In Colour (1957) - 3:44 minutes

Braeman Games aka Braemar Gathering ( 1968 ) - 2:08 minutes

Paganini Strikes Again (1977) - A CFF Film

We are continuing our coverage of Children's Film Foundation (CFF) films with Paganini Strikes Again, a rare mystery/adventure from 1977. The "Paganini" in the title refers to Mike (Andrew Bowen) and his friend Bill (Philip Bliss) who are both violin students. On their way to music class, they get stuck in the elevator of a small building and from their viewpoint are only able to see work boots of a man running up a flight of stairs. They later find out that a robbery had taken place and realize that this was the robber escaping. 

Inspector Mainwaring (John Arnatt) of the London police does not believe their shoe clue is enough to begin a search and so the boys decide to play detectives themselves and hunt down the man with the boots. Unbeknownst to them, he happens to be the uncle of one of their classmates. 

Paganini Strikes Again cannot really be classified as a mystery because everything is shown to the audience. The robbery is evident, and it is clear that Raddings (Dudley Sutton) is the criminal. However, watching the boys track him down is entertaining and for light Saturday afternoon juvenile fare (which this was intended to be) Paganini Strikes Again is pleasant enough. It doesn't rank as one of the best CFF films, nor the worst. 

Both Bowen and Bliss do a good job of acting as the young musician detectives. Bowen had done some acting previously (Bachelor Father) and would later appear in the television series Grange Hill. Dudley Sutton (Lovejoy), a veteran of British television, plays one of his usual nasty criminal roles. Arnatt is good as the Inspector, Patrick Jordan plays a detective, and Julia Dawn Cole has a small part as the sister of one of the boys. 

Paganini Strikes Again is currently not available on DVD or on Youtube, but check every once in a while as it may appear again. 

The Impossibly Difficult Name that Movie Game

 

It's that time of the month again.... stumping time! Here we have a clever scene (at least, we think so) featuring a man in a convertible. No hints, just a picture. Remember this movie? 

As always, if you are not familiar with the rules to the Impossibly Difficult Name that Movie game or the prize, click here!

GAME OVER. 

Congratulations to Betty for correctly identifying this screenshot from Good Neighbor Sam (1964) starring Jack Lemmon and Romy Schneider. In this scene, this unknown actor is being filmed for a Hertz television commercial and has just been "dropped" into the driver's seat. 

Film Albums: The Avengers Album

This month's film album is actually a compact disc album and it's an oldie and a goodie: The Avengers by the London Studio Orchestra. The cover states in big letters that it also includes themes from Dr. Strangelove, First Men in the Moon, etc... but Laurie Johnson's name is in small print at the bottom. The album really should have been called "The Music of Laurie Johnson" because it features a lovely sampling of some of his most popular themes. 

This was a Varese Sarabande release (VCD 47270) that implements songs from one of its Soundtrack Series LP releases from 1982 titled The Avengers. 

Of course, "The Avengers" theme is the highlight of the album but you don't want to miss hearing "The Joker" theme from the famous Emma Peel episode, or the lovely romance theme from "First Men in the Moon." The themes to "Hedda" and "Captain Kronos" are also worth listening to. 

Click here to listen to the album in full on Youtube. 

Track Listing

The Avengers - Suite

Theme 

Pandora

The Joker

The New Avengers - Suite

Theme 

Cat Amongst the Pigeons

Obsession

Tale of the Big Why

Dr. Strangelove

The Bomb Run

First Men in the Moon

Title

Moonscape and Descent

The Selenites

Trek to the Giant Doors

Monster Caterpillar

Eclipse and Staircase

Escape of the Sphere

End Title

Hedda - Suite

Title

Hedda and Thea

Judge Brack

Hedda and Lovborg

The Manuscript

Death and End Title

Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter

Title

Death Duel

Top Picks: The Avengers, The Joker, First Men in the Moon main title, Hedda main title.

From the Archives: The Princess and the Pirate (1944)

In this still from The Princess and the Pirate (1944), Bob Hope is in the company of dangerous pirates and knows it! What he doesn't know yet is how to get out of the sticky situation that he is in... but he'll think of something. He always does! 

From the Archives is our latest series of posts where we share photos from the Silverbanks Pictures collection. Some of these may have been sold in the past, and others may still be available for purchase at our eBay store: http://stores.ebay.com/Silverbanks-Pictures

The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975)

Them thar kiddies are armed and dangerous. They're loaded with winsome ways and beguiling smiles. Why, one glance at them can drive a man.... to marriage? For Mr. Donovan (Bill Bixby), that's exactly what happened. 

Mr. Russell Donovan was just passing through the town of Quake City enjoying a game of poker, when he volunteered to pick up some valuables that was coming in on the next stagecoach for an old acquaintance . Those "valuables" turned out to be three children: Bobby (Clay O'Brien), Clovis (Brad Savage), and Celia (Stacy Manning), and his old acquaintance was nowhere to be found. 

Judge McCoy (Harry Morgan) was of the mind that since Mr. Donovan accepted a down-payment for the valuables, they are rightly his. After numerous attempts to pawn of the youngens fail, Mr. Donovan reluctantly becomes a family man, but the townsfolk suddenly want to adopt the children after the little ones strike gold in an old derelict mine belonging to them. If Mr. Donovan wants to safeguard the children and their fortune, he better "find himself a wife" (the judge declares) and so Mr. Donovan grasps at a last straw and proposes marriage to one of the few single women in town, the rough and tumbled "Dusty" Clydesdale (Susan Clark).

Walt Disney Studios released The Apple Dumpling Gang in 1975, when most of the theaters were showing movies filled with violence and not many laughs. However, Disney knew what families wanted to see and this comedy-western struck gold. The picture reaped in nearly $32 million in box-office receipts and became the 11th top-grossing film of the year*. 

What made the film so entertaining was the featured comedy duo of Don Knotts and Tim Conway. This was their first pairing and the characters of Amos and Theodore ("dumb and dumber") were a boot-fit for this team. Theodore (Tim Conway) had accidentally shot Frank Stillwell (Slim Pickens) of The Stillwell Gang in the leg and so he and Amos (Don Knotts) decide to strike out on their own as the newly dubbed "Hashknife Outfit". They wanted to leave a trail of crime in every town they passed but all they were leaving was a mess. Now the giant gold nugget that the children find is sitting on display at the local bank and Amos and Theodore have their eye on stealing it!

Like most of the scripts for Walt Disney films, there are multiple stories going on at once, all of which intersect and conclude nicely during the finale. The Apple Dumpling Gang was written by Don Tait who had just started with the Walt Disney Studios in 1972 when he wrote Snowball Express. He went on to write many more scripts for the studio, including the sequel to this film, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (1979), which also featured Don Knotts and Tim Conway. 

Bill Bixby gives a wonderful performance (as usual) as Mr. Donovan and Susan Clark is entertaining as Dusty, but the children are the real scene-stealers. Clay O'Brien has long been a favorite of mine ever since I watched him on Saturday morning showings of The Whiz Kid series, where he played Alvin's friend Shooie. All of the children were well-cast, as were the character actors which also included David Wayne and John McGiver. 

Director Norman Tokar (Leave it to Beaver) kept the action and the entertainment at a steady pace and The Apple Dumpling Gang never becomes dull or tiresome...even after multiple viewings. The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again is equally entertaining. In fact, it is one of those rare sequels that is actually better than the original because most of the story centers on Amos and Theodore instead of Mr. Donovan and the children, and who could pass up more of Knotts and Conway?

* Based on the website The Numbers. 

Film Albums: Songs from Annette and other Walt Disney Serials

Every once in a while you come across a gem of an album that you never even knew existed. This one caught my attention because Annette Funicello was on the cover but then I saw the subtitle "and other Walt Disney serials" and my heart skipped a beat. This album is actually just an updated release of Disney's "Songs from the Mickey Mouse Club Serials" album (another one I never knew existed) but with the inclusion of Annette's music from her latest serial Annette. If you enjoy Walt Disney serials then that one is well worth watching. 

This album features songs from some of the popular Mickey Mouse Club members including Tim Considine, David Stollery, Darlene, and Annette, as well as tunes performed by the Walt Disney studio chorus. In my own humble opinion, these are the best ones on the album. There is a ripping version of "Pieces of Eight", the theme song to The Hardy Boys - The Mystery of Applegate Treasure; a lilting tune called "Moochie" (about Moochie, of course); a rosing version of The Boys of the Western Sea, the theme from a rare serial about Norwegian fishermen; and "Annette" performed by Jimmie Dodd. 

Click here to listen to the album in full on Youtube. 

Track Listing

Side One

How Will I Know My Love

Annette

Meetin' at the Malt Shop

Buckwheat Cakes

Hap-Happy Snowman

Pieces of Eight

What I Want to Be Theme

Side Two:

Don't Jump to Conclusions

Theme from Spin and Marty

Triple R Song

Uncle Dan

Moochie

The Boys of the Western Sea

Top Picks: Annette, Pieces of Eight, Meetin' at the Malt Shop, Theme from Spin and Marty, Moochie

Rewind Review: William Holden in "Dear Ruth" (1947)

When most people think of William Holden and the parts he played, they think of gritty characters such as Sheers (The Bridge on the River Kwai) and Pike Bishop (The Wild Bunch), or military men like Major Ferris (The 7th Dawn) and Lt. Col. Black (The Proud and the Profane), or even perhaps businessmen such as MacDonald Walling (Executive Suite); but very few think of him as "that handsome and pleasant young star of light-hearted comedies". Yet, that is exactly how one movie-goer dubbed him in a 1940s fan magazine. 

William "Bill" Holden was indeed a handsome and pleasant young star during his days as a Paramount contract player, starring in such comedies as Those Were the Days (1940), Meet the Stewarts (1942), The Fleet's In (1942), and The Remarkable Andrew (1942). After his marriage to Brenda Marshall in 1941, he even gained a reputation as being a devoted family man. It was not until he was cast as Joe Gillis, the ambitious screenwriter, in Sunset Boulevard (1950) that he received recognition for his dramatic acting ability. 

One of the best of his "handsome and pleasant young man" portrayals was that of Lieutenant Bill Seacroft in Paramount's Dear Ruth, released in 1947. 

Norman Krasna's "Dear Ruth" was one of the funniest comedies to hit the stage in the years following World War II. There wasn't a theater in America that wasn't putting on their own version of "Dear Ruth" at the time. John Dall had starred in a successful Broadway performance of the play (it ran for 20 months); Guy Madison and Diana Lynn were raising the roof in a performance at the newly-created La Jolla Playhouse in California (founded by Gregory Peck); and William Talman, who would later find fame as District Attorney Hamilton Burger on the Perry Mason television series, also starred in a successful run of "Dear Ruth" in New York. It wasn't surprising then, that Hollywood would snag the opportunity to replicate its success on film. 

Dear Ruth centered around the Wilkins family, primarily their teenage daughter Miriam ( Mona Freeman ). Believing it to be her patriotic duty to support the morale of soldiers overseas, she begins writing letters to an Air Force lieutenant, Bill Secroft (William Holden), signing them with her older sister's name - Ruth. As might be expected, when the airman gets his leave he decides to make a surprise visit to meet the girl he has fallen in love with through her letters. Ruth (Joan Caulfield), surprised and unaware of Miriam's military pen-pal, decides to play along with the charade only until the soldier's leave is up, much to the chagrin of her fiance (Billy De Wolfe). Only it becomes apparent that Bill's intentions are marriage, and Ruth finds she does not want to brush off the soldier after all. 

Director William Russell kept the cast busy throughout handling one comedic situation after another in the film. Edward Arnold and the inimitable Billy De Wolfe stole all the scenes, but it was William Holden who really shined as the bewildered airman. 

At first, Bill Seacroft strikes audiences as a rather brash fellow, walking into the Wilkins household unannounced and boldly declaring to Ruth's father his intentions to marry his daughter...without even having met her. Once he does meet her, we see that it was just nervousness that made him so bold. All those hours spent in a bomber over Germany with only Ruth on his mind...it was a long awaited first-meeting finally coming true for him. To find that the girl he thought so much about was even more lovely in person would naturally make him puff his feathers. 

Seacroft was a part that suited William Holden to a tee (in real life he served in the Air Force during WWII as a lieutenant) and he brought an innocence to the role that made audiences, just like Ruth, feel sorry for him and yet love and admire him at the same time. 

The film's success with the movie public left it wide open for a sequel and it arrived, albeit two years late, in the equally amusing Dear Wife (1949) with, thankfully, the complete cast intact. This film focused on Bill and his father-in-law, Judge Wilkins (Edward Arnold), vying for a Senatorial seat. 

If William Holden's roles in comedies are unfamiliar to you, then I would highly recommend viewing Dear Ruth and Dear Wife. Both of these films showcase Holden in top form and at his most endearing. 

From the Archives: The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin (1967)

Arabella Flagg (Suzanne Pleshette) performs as The Boston Belle in a San Francisco saloon in Walt Disney's The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin (1967). 

From the Archives is our latest series of posts where we share photos from the Silverbanks Pictures collection. Some of these may have been sold in the past, and others may still be available for purchase at our eBay store: http://stores.ebay.com/Silverbanks-Pictures