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It's the Old Army Game
The Old Army Game

USA 1926
produced by
William LeBaron (associate) for Famous Players/Paramount
directed by A. Edward Sutherland
starring W.C. Fields, Louise Brooks, Blanche Ring, William Gaxton, Mary Foy, Mickey Bennett, Josephine Dunn, Jack Luden, George Currie
screenplay by Thomas J. Geraghty, J. Clarkson Miller, based on the play The Comic Supplement by W.C. Fields, J.P. McElvoy, adaptation by William LeBaron

silent

review by
Mike Haberfelner

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Elmer Prettywillie (W.C. Fields) is a drugist in a small town who lives with his nagging sister and her annoying kid, and who's hopelessly in love with his young employee Mildred (Louise Brooks), who knows about his feelings but doesn't respong accordingly. Eventually, she falls hopelessly in love with a travelling realty salesman, Parker (William Gaxton), and persuades Elmer to let him set up shop in his drug store. Elmer is not too pleased about the competition, but he also could never deny Mildred anything - and soon enough, the drug store has healthy business from all the landbuyers, and Elmer also gets a fair share of the income from the land deals. Then though it is found out that the company Parker is working for is a fraudulent operation, and he even gets arrested. Elmer now sees himself facing the demands of those who have been duped by the company, and he goes to New York to settle things with the company, only to find out it has already been closed down, but losing his car in the process. While Elmer was away though, Parker has been released from prison, has made all the money his clients have lost and a tidy profit as well, returned the money to them, and now as they all are rich and celebrate Elmer as a hero.

 

My main point of critique concerning this film is an unfair one I readily admit - but let's face it, this film should have been a sound feature, a choice that was simply not available in 1926 though. Point is, there are many comedy setpieces in this film - W.C. Fields trying to put out a fire in a cigar box, having a picnic with his family, wrecking his car in the New York streets, but most prominently at all trying to sleep on his porch with the neighbourhood noises constantly waking him up - that almost demand sound. And let's face it, so does W.C. Fields as an actor as such, in silent films he always seems a bit empty while in talking pictures, his voice, his oneliners, his unique speech patterns give his characters depth. Of course, the fact that It's the Old Army Game was later remade (with sound) as It's a Gift, one of Fields' funniest films, proves me right, doesn't it?

That said, It's the Old Army Game is still an ok silent comedy. Sure, it's no masterpiece and its narrative structure is terribly episodic, but the setpieces in themselves are rather amusing - and that alone is much better than nothing, isn't it?

 

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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In times of uncertainty of a possible zombie outbreak, a woman has to decide between two men - only one of them's one of the undead.

 

There's No Such Thing as Zombies
starring
Luana Ribeira, Rudy Barrow and Rami Hilmi
special appearances by
Debra Lamb and Lynn Lowry

 

directed by
Eddie Bammeke

written by
Michael Haberfelner

produced by
Michael Haberfelner, Luana Ribeira and Eddie Bammeke

 

now streaming at

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Robots and rats,
demons and potholes,
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love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

is all of that.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to
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a collection of short stories and mini-plays
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from the post-apocalyptic
to the weirdly romantic,
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the twisted mind of
screenwriter and film reviewer
Michael Haberfelner.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

the new anthology by
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