Joe Bordeaux Movies

The last of RKO's Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers vehicles, The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle is also the least typical. At their best playing carefree characters in gossamer-thin musical comedy plotlines, Fred and Ginger seem slightly ill at ease cast as the real-life dancing team of Vernon and Irene Castle. The stripped-to-essentials storyline boils down to novice dancer Irene (Rogers) convincing vaudeville comic Vernon (Astaire) to give up slapstick in favor of "classy" ballroom dancing. With the help of agent Edna May Oliver, the Castles hit their peak of fame and fortune in the immediate pre-World War I years. When Vernon is called to arms, Irene stays behind in the US, making patriotic movie serials to aid the war effort. Vernon is killed in a training accident, leaving a tearful Irene to carry on alone. To soften the shock of Astaire's on-screen death (it still packs a jolt when seen today), RKO inserted a closing "dream" dancing sequence, with a spectral Vernon and Irene waltzing off into the heavens. The film's production was hampered by the on-set presence of the real Irene Castle, whose insistence upon accuracy at all costs drove everyone to distraction--especially Ginger Rogers, who felt as though she was being treated like a marionette rather than an actress. In one respect, Mrs. Castle had good reason to be so autocratic. Walter, the "severest critic servant" character played by Walter Brennan, was in reality a black man. RKO was nervous about depicting a strong, equal-footing friendship between the white Castles and their black retainer, so a Caucasian actor was hired for the role. Mrs. Castle was understandably incensed by this alteration, and for the rest of her days chastised RKO for its cowardice. As it turned out, it probably wouldn't have mattered if Walter had been black, white, Chicano or Siamese; The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle was a financial bust, losing $50,000 at the box office. Perhaps as a result, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers would not team up again for another ten years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Working on the theory that the only thing funnier than Laurel and Hardy is two sets of Laurel and Hardys, Our Relations milks its central mistaken-identity situation for all it's worth. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy are two solid citizens, happily married and highly respected in their community. One morning, Hardy receives a letter from his mother, containing an old photo of himself and Laurel with their twin brothers, Alf Laurel and Bert Hardy. Mamma also reveals that Alf and Bert turned out to be "bad lads" and ran off to sea, and that reportedly they'd been hanged for taking part in a mutiny. "Isn't that calamitous!" remarks Hardy, who conspires with Laurel to hide the facts about their no-good brothers from their wives. Meanwhile, in another part of town, the S.S. Periwinkle pulls into port. Among the crew members are the selfsame Alf and Bert, who have decided to entrust their pal Fin (James Finlayson) with their month's salary. Fin has promised to invest the dough so that the boys will become millionaires "before you can say Jack Robinson". Alf and Bert are then summoned to the cabin of their captain (Sidney Toler), who orders them to pick up a valuable package for him, then meet him later at Denker's Beer Garden. While waiting for the captain at Denker's, Alf and Bert are captivated by a pair of waterfront floozies, Alice (Iris Adrian) and Lily (Lona Andre). Talked into buying the girls a huge meal for which they haven't the necessary funds, Alf and Bert decide to go back to Fin and reclaim their money, leaving the contents of the captain's package-a valuable pearl ring-with tough waiter Joe Groagan (Alan Hale) as security. Later, Laurel and Hardy take their wives Betty (Betty Healy) and Daphne (Daphne Pollard) to lunch-and, inevitably, they end up at Denker's Beer Garden, where the equally inevitable mix-ups begin to occur. Things snowball from bad to worse before both sets of twins, an angry captain, a disgruntled Fin, the wives, the floozies, a genial drunk (Arthur Housman) and a brace of smooth gangsters (Ralf Harolde and Noel Madison) all converge at the upscale Pirate Club. Several slapstick complications later, Laurel and Hardy are captured by the gangsters, who threaten to dump the boys in the river with their feet encased in cement if they don't cough up the pearl ring. Alf and Bert come to the rescue, and all is well, at least until the film's boffo punchline. Based on W.W. Jacobs' short story The Money Box, Our Relations is perhaps the most plot-heavy of Laurel and Hardy's features for Hal Roach Studios. It is also one of their funniest, as well as their most lavishly produced. The film was officially listed as "A Stan Laurel Production"-as if Laurel hadn't been the prime creative force behind all of the team's previous films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on Frederick Hazlett Brennan's play Battleship Gertie, Miss Pacific Fleet is short and snappy "gobs and gals" affair. At the urging of gold-digging showgirls Gloria Foy (Joan Blondell) and Mae O'Brien (Glenda Farrell), goofy promoter Augustus Frietag (Hugh Herbert) comes up with a "Miss Pacific Fleet" contest, with each 10-cent purchase at a seaside amusement park representing one vote. Hundreds of sailors participate in the voting process, including Kewpie Wiggins (Allen Jenkins), who hopes that his "goil" Gloria will emerge the winner -- whereupon she and Mae will confiscate the money collected and skeedaddle to New York. Naturally, there are a few snags in this scheme, especially when the girls both fall for handsome marine sergeant Tom Foster (Warren Hull). Marie Wilson pilfers most of the film with her standard dizzy-dame routine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Buck Jones took a break from his cowboy duties to play a speedway driver in this highly implausible but fast-paced action melodrama from Columbia Pictures. Jones plays Bill Toomey, a mechanic promising a fatally injured driver (Pat O'Malley) to care for his crippled son Buddy (Mickey Rooney). Through his girlfriend, automobile manufacturing heiress Peggy Preston (Loretta Sayers, Bill becomes a driver himself and is the favorite to win a $5000 purse, enough money to pay for an operation that will enable Buddy to walk. But the race is sabotaged by Tom Carlis (Wallace MacDonald), Old Man Preston's (William Walling) crooked business manager, who is secretly working for the competition. Bill is framed for the accident but nevertheless manages to secure a job as a policeman. In that capacity, he is able to track down the real culprits behind the fix, win the Big Race and help restore Buddy to perfect health. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The Butcher Boy is the first film that Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle made for his own production company after leaving Mack Sennett, and it's also the first time Buster Keaton ever appears on screen. Arbuckle plays a butcher boy working in a general store; Keaton is one of the customers. The two of them get an amazing amount of comic mileage out of a mere nickel's worth of molasses ... and they did it all in the first take. There's more to the film, of course -- Arbuckle performs some handy knife tricks and dons his usual drag gear when his honey Josephine Stevens gets shipped off to a girls' finishing school. But the real story here is the teaming of two of the greatest comics of the silent era. Arbuckle and Keaton look amazingly comfortable together for a first-time pairing. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Keystone Comedies is a collection of silent film shorts produced by the legendary Mack Sennett. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

In Charlie Chaplin's 21st Keystone film, Chaplin is the prop man and general factotum at a vaudeville house. The artists arrive backstage as Chaplin swigs beer from a pitcher, refusing to share with his elderly, hunchbacked assistant, whom he mistreats throughout. The headliners are the Goo-Goo Sisters, with whom Chaplin flirts outrageously, while hiding his beer in his roomy pants, only to be undone when he bends to pick up one of the ladies' purses. Garlico the Strong Man and his assistant arrive, and Chaplin must struggle to load in his heavy props trunk and the trunks of the other acts. He shifts his burden to his assistant, making him carry the heavy trunk on his back, while Chaplin carries a hat box. After an argument over dressing rooms, the show begins before a rowdy audience which includes Keystone boss Mack Sennett in his "Rube" character. Chaplin messes up the acts, going onstage, dropping scenery backdrops at the wrong time and fighting with his assistant all the while. When the strong man's assistant is accidentally knocked out during the fighting, Chaplin takes her place, disrupting Garlico's act by ripping a piece of cloth behind his back as he lifts each weight, making him think that it's his costume that has ripped. When the infuriated Garlico attacks Chaplin, a melee breaks out which ends with Chaplin grabbing a fire hose and soaking actors, scenery and audience alike, anticipating similar gags in the subsequent films, A Night in the Show and A King in New York. ~ Phil Posner, All Movie Guide

Mabel Normand wrote, directed and starred in Charlie Chaplin's 10th film for Keystone. After disagreements with the directors of his previous films, Sennett assigned him to Normand, but Chaplin was chomping at the bit to direct his own films so for this film at least, the Chaplin/Normand relationship was not any better. It is another Keystone that takes advantage of a public event, an auto race, for background. Chaplin plays the motorcycle-riding villain of the film, dressed in frock coat and top hat (similar to his costume in his first film, Making a Living). Mabel's boyfriend, Harry McCoy, is a racecar driver who comes to Mabel's house to take her to the racetrack, but they argue because Harry won't let Mabel drive. Charlie comes along on his bike and offers Mabel a ride, which she accepts to make Harry jealous. When the cycle hits a bump, Mabel is thrown off and lands in a puddle, unnoticed by Charlie who goes on talking. Harry comes to her aid, they reconcile, and he lets her drive the racecar. Charlie, having noticed Mabel's absence, finds them together and tries to win her back, but is rejected. He decides to ruin Harry's chances of winning the race, beginning with puncturing one of the tires on his car. Later Charlie and his henchmen kidnap Harry and tie him up in a shed, forcing Mabel to drive in the race. Determined to stop Mabel from winning, Charlie and his men soak the track with water and throw bombs at the car, but Mabel's driving skills prevail and she wins the race, much to the chagrin of Charlie who, in a fit of rage, blows himself and his henchmen up with their last remaining bomb. ~ Phil Posner, All Movie Guide

This Keystone comedy, Charlie Chaplin's 33rd, is the first feature-length comedy ever made and contributed to making Chaplin and his co-star Marie Dressler major stars. Chaplin plays a con artist (not the Tramp) who talks Tillie, an innocent country lass, into taking her father's savings and running off to the city with him. Once there, he re-establishes his affair with the beautiful Mabel Normand, abandoning Tillie, who must begin working at a restaurant, while Charlie and Mabel spend her father's money for new clothes. Meanwhile, Tillie's millionaire uncle is reported to have died in a mountain-climbing accident. When the opportunistic Charlie learns that Tillie has just inherited three million dollars, he immediately rushes over to propose. She joyfully accepts, but is suspicious when she learns of her inheritance. Later, at a wedding gala at Tillie's new mansion where Normand has begun working as a maid, Charlie sneaks off for a little tete-a-tete with the latter. Trouble erupts when Dressler catches them smooching. Suddenly all the slapstick craziness for which director Mack Sennett is famous erupts as Tillie grabs a pistol and begins chasing Charlie and Mabel, firing randomly. Just as the wayward Charlie is to be strangled to death, the "late" uncle suddenly appears and ejects all the celebrants. Charlie and Mabel, chased by Tillie, race out of the ruined mansion to a pier where they are followed by the ubiquitous Keystone Kops whom the uncle has summoned. Tillie ends up in the drink, and when rescued after numerous attempts, she rejects Charlie while consoling Mabel, saying, "He ain't no good to neither of us," as the Kops drag Charlie away. ~ Phil Posner, All Movie Guide