Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Two Aces and the It Girl

I started a gloomy, windy day at work. We were busy all day long. For one thing, we're getting closer to the beginning of the month. For another, the weather was dreadful, cold and dank all day. It did start raining somewhere around mid-morning, and continued off and on all day. I did get lucky regarding the weather. It wasn't raining at all when I arrived at 9. When I finally got off at 5, the showers were starting to temporarily wind down. I barely got damp going home. The rain's continued off and on all night.

Finished out The Backyardigans this morning and when I got home. Hard rock provides the background for Uniqua and Pablo's venture into "Pirate Camp." Austin is their counselor, who wants to teach them how to be proper pirates. The two put what they've learned to the test when when Austin falls into the clutches of Red Boot the Pirate Ghost (Tasha).

Poor Tyrone has his own problems in "Escape From Fairy Tale Village." He's a paper moose with a very unusual route through a town filled with fantasy characters. He meets the Big Bad Wolf (Austin), the Witch (Uniqua), and the Giant (Pablo), who want him for dinner. He thinks they want to eat him...but is that really what they're after?

Moved on to Wings as I made leftover chicken stir fry for dinner. The very first Oscar for Best Picture went to this still-thrilling silent tale of romance and friendship during World War I. Small-town boy Jack (Charles "Buddy" Rogers) has eyes only for his souped-up car, those new-fangled airplanes, and pretty city girl Sylvia (Jobyna Ralston). His gal-pal Mary (Clara Bow) has the hots for him, while the richest guy in town, David (Richard Arlen) is in love with Sylvia. Sylvia loves David deeply, but doesn't know how to let Jack down. When America enters World War I, David and Jack end up in the same unit. They don't get along...until Jack knocks the tar out of David in a boxing brawl. From there on, the two are inseparable. Mary ends up in France as well as an ambulance driver. Jack and David do well, even becoming heroes...but when David is shot down and Jack makes a fatal mistake, they discover the true force of their friendship.

I can see why this won an Oscar. From thrilling real air fights done in the real air with real machines (the director, William A. Wellman, had actually flown planes in the Great War and wanted the air battles to be realistic) to the marvelous performances of the three leads, this is silent cinema at its most compelling. Special kudos to the incredibly handsome Arlen, who moved me to tears in his final moments. (And I love men who take a tiny teddy bear with them into battle as a good luck charm.)

This was just released on DVD and Blu-Ray not long ago with tinted sequences and an orchestra score. It's very much worth looking for if you want to see where many modern buddy story, war drama, and flying battle cliches came from, or are a fan of silent movies or the cast.

Oh, and it's continued raining all night. It's going hard as I type this. Sounds like it'll continue into tomorrow. I already called Dad for a ride to work.

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