Jumpin' for Joby: Jobyna Ralston Watch-fest

[donnie]

This was an enjoyable comedy. For a long time it didn't seem like there was much advancement in the plot, however; the film seemed to mostly focus on mailman related shenanigans for a large chunk of the time and things didn't pick up until after the dance.

It's interesting you mention that. I thought that too, and I've noticed this actually seems to be a characteristic of many silent comedy feature films across the board. Even in the carefully made Harold Lloyd features, it seems to take awhile for the plot to really get going. If this was a pattern they deliberately followed, I wonder why? (This may be true of some dramas and shorts, too, but I can't think of any specific examples offhand.)

[BettyLouSpence]

Speaking of Harold Lloyd...

Here's our fourth and final film of the watch-fest: The Freshman (1925), in which Jobyna is Harold's leading lady.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AMTvRX7E7Ak

We'll have until next Monday night, August 3, to watch.

[Kitty]

I just watched Special Delivery. This film does not disappoint, and it is interesting throughout! The fact that it was an Eddie Cantor film was interesting to me, as I'd never seen him act. There's a cute song he performed called I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter which I love, and I was excited to watch him in a silent. I'd also never seen William Powell in a silent, so that was also a plus. There were a lot of funny parts and lines in this, which makes it an enjoyable film. I'd recommend this.

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Since this upload has no score, open a new window for this link to Eddie Cantor's other silent film, Kid Boots (1926), and play it while watching Special Delivery; the score actually matches up with this pretty decently.
The visual quality is also, uh... not the best, to put it gently.

That link directs to the Special Delivery entry again, but I found the video you were talking about. Thanks for the head's up. The quality, as you said, is not great, but it's still watchable.

“It was four o”clock all over town except at Woolworth’s—where it was still five to ten.”

I actually didn't understand this at first. After I read your comment, I came to this realization. I didn't know that Woolworth's was actually a five-and-dime store. Was this a Walmart type store? I used to think it was more upscale.... though I'd venture to guess that the quality was better than today's Walmart quality. This all being said, comes to the question: Have you ever been in a Woolworth's? If so, what was it like? What was the atmosphere like? I wish I could have had the chance to be in one. It always breaks my heart to hear about hundred-plus year old companies being run into the ground by corporations that took over later.

I did not understand the “postal secret service” thing at all.

I didn't really get that part, either. After his father telling him he couldn't come home, and after being on his own for three years, why would he even want to live in his father's house again? His father surely would have rules contrary to the way of life Eddie's been living for the past three years. I'd think it would be pretty hard to go back.

A lot of the early going consisted of a series of gags for the very young Cantor.

He was so dreamy to me in this!

And did Cantor remind anyone else of Keaton sometimes? Physically and in terms of movements and style, I thought there was a strong resemblance at times (only at times). I liked especially the part with the baby and the hotdogs (that baby was one darn good actor!) and especially the part with the full size doll at the dance and the black bottom contest. I got a real kick out of that.

Yes, I definitely got a Keaton vibe in this for sure! Re: hotdog part - Watching the baby closely, she really did not seem to be really crying at all, and seemed to know exactly what she was doing. I wondered if she was a lot older than she looked in the baby clothes. Either this is the case, or the director and editors were extremely talented. The doll thing was odd - Did I miss something? I thought he'd asked her to be his date at the mailmen's ball. Why was she dancing with someone else? The doll looked incredibly lifelike with the film quality that we were watching, too. Sometimes I expected her to move. Also - What kind of weird prize is that??!?
I did like that he wasn't afraid to make her jealous. Eddie wasn't a flim-flam kinda man. I like when I see the characters being strong instead of grovelling at the girl's feet. This element is also apparent in the fact that Eddie was the first one to attack when he realized Powell was the gangster. He wasn't afraid at all.

At the end, though, after seeing her fiancé exposed, she seemed strangely lacking in reaction. (And her willingness to be engaged to her new boss so quickly was also a little puzzling. Oh, by the way, I'm marrying my boss on board a ship to South America tomorrow. Hope you don't mind. Hmmm...)

So, about her character - I thought Eddie and Madge liked each other? This is apparent when he asks her to go to the ball with him and she says "I'll go anywhere with you." Well, if she was so attached to him, why would she neglect to tell him that she had quit the cafe. She knew he came every day looking for her... I thought that was weird and cold. I also thought she was going to marry her boss on the boat, but she states that he hadn't bought her anything since they'd been married. This was before they'd boarded the boat and while they were packing. (Oh, and by the way, was that coat $300? or $3 dollars? Are beans pennies or dollars? but really, that coat was hideous.) I am chalking up her readiness to marry William Powell to the fact that he was successful - I think that was very important to women in that day. Listening to early radio shows, they put a lot of emphasis on whether the man their daughters date are successful or penniless.

I also did not expect the Harold Lloyd-style wild chase at the end. The firetruck ladder shenanigans also reminded me a lot of Sennett comedies.

I don't like when films do this. It's just there to fluff up the time, and rarely adds anything to it. And why is there always a train involved?

Hey, did you guys realize that this was actually directed by Roscoe Arbuckle under a pseudonym? Interesting!!

I was curious about the sleuth part, and decided to find the review by Moving Picture World. Here it is: It seems that they are a family of self-proclaimed sleuths that work in the Post Office. I didn't get that idea, which makes me wonder if there are a couple minutes missing.
https://archive.org/details/movingpictu ... 8/mode/2up

[BettyLouSpence]

Some responses:

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That link directs to the Special Delivery entry again, but I found the video you were talking about. Thanks for the head's up. The quality, as you said, is not great, but it's still watchable.

*facepalm* Can't believe I didn't realize that

..I wondered if she was a lot older than she looked in the baby clothes...

That was my guess, too.

...I also thought she was going to marry her boss on the boat, but she states that he hadn't bought her anything since they'd been married. This was before they'd boarded the boat and while they were packing...

I don't think that was Madge at all, but the boss's actual wife. Madge was always at the dock sitting on her trunk.

Hey, did you guys realize that this was actually directed by Roscoe Arbuckle under a pseudonym? Interesting!!

I had forgotten to mention that! I know that his pseudonym was William B. Goodrich (as in, "will be good").

[Kitty]

I watched The Freshman. My comments are going to be all over the place, because I'm thinking of things as they come to mind.

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I'm sure this is great for some, but it just made me angry for most of the film. Most of the people in the movie were idiots, and it is tiresome to me when near everything that happens in a show or movie is something that would never happen in real life. The one redeeming quality was Jobyna. She shines, especially in the part where Harold comes to the realization that everyone has been laughing at him the entire time. She portrays the adoring lover extremely well. Her acting actually brought tears to my eyes, and finally a human quality appears in the film. I think everyone else in the whole film is just so mean. He's not the only new guy at the school, and the film makes it appear as if he is. Where are all the other 'freshmen' in the school; surely not everyone in the whole school would think he's stupid? At first, I'd thought that he'd won their hearts when he made that speech in the beginning and bought them all ice cream. He'd worked so hard to get that money, and it was all thrown away in those first few days, although I guess it's a good thing, in hindsight, since he might not have met Joby if he hadn't.

The football scene was weird. This film portrays college football as so chaotic. I'm hoping that this is just a "Hooray for Hollywood" type portrayal, and 1920s college football wasn't really like this. Also, how'd he get that college yearbook if he hadn't attended yet? I liked the poster on his door for the fictional film College Hero. I'd like to know where that ended up. I noticed a picture of George Washington on his wall, too. Was this really a thing that people did back then? Put up pictures of dead presidents? I always think it's funny when I see this in the decor of old film.

The whole atmosphere of the film was strange. Since none of this would ever really happen, it took me out of the film entirely in some parts. I found myself imagining that Harold had jumped into an alternate world where everything confused him, and everyone inside this alternate world didn't even notice he was an actual, living person with feelings.

The part with the dizzy tailor was especially strange. What was the reason that Harold decided to go to the tailor six minutes before the party? Aren't these things that you do a couple weeks in advance? He should have just been picking it up, not getting it sewed.

Of course, the real star of the show, as always, is the little tiny kitty who gets saved from the rafters. Poor little kitty went through a lot to star in this feature. I thought it was a nice touch to have the kitten and mommy kitty following the crowd at the end of the scene where they're going out for ice cream.

This was extremely well received when it came out. Here are a few interesting reviews/articles.

https://archive.org/details/movpicwor76 ... e+freshman

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https://archive.org/details/movpicwor76 ... 1/mode/2up

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https://archive.org/details/movpicwor76 ... 9/mode/2up

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[Kitty]

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...I also thought she was going to marry her boss on the boat, but she states that he hadn't bought her anything since they'd been married. This was before they'd boarded the boat and while they were packing...

I don't think that was Madge at all, but the boss's actual wife. Madge was always at the dock sitting on her trunk.

That explains why he says he's going to return it and then puts it in the suitcase, after all. Madge is wearing the coat at the end on the boat. Thanks for clearing that up.

[donnie]

I just watched Special Delivery. This film does not disappoint, and it is interesting throughout!...

Glad you enjoyed it!

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Have you ever been in a Woolworth's? If so, what was it like? What was the atmosphere like? I wish I could have had the chance to be in one.

I don't think I was ever actually in a Woolworth's. (I thought for a minute I had, but I believe that was Roses, another 5&10 chain.) I think there may have been still some around in this general area as late as the '90's. I know they were well-known for their lunch counters, and that's where some of the famous civil rights protests occurred back in the 60's. My impression is that it was probably like a smaller but definitely nicer Walmart (although probably not selling things like a lot of clothing, automotive supplies, appliances, etc., as a Walmart does.)

It always breaks my heart to hear about hundred-plus year old companies being run into the ground by corporations that took over later.

Yes! And that seems to be happening so often these days, and also the demise of major oldline companies for economic reasons. It really bothered me a lot to see Sears go down; that's a major part of American history. And now, looks like JC Penney is gone, and a lot of others as a result of the pandemic, I'm sure. Also Kmart, pretty much (though we still have our special Kmart Christmas music, thanks to you! )

Watching the baby closely, she really did not seem to be really crying at all, and seemed to know exactly what she was doing. I wondered if she was a lot older than she looked in the baby clothes. Either this is the case, or the director and editors were extremely talented.

Yes, I wondered along with you and BettyLou whether that was not actually an older child, somehow. Something weird there!

Did I miss something? I thought he'd asked her to be his date at the mailmen's ball. Why was she dancing with someone else?

I assumed someone had cut in. And then she appeared jealous of Eddie and the doll. Why?—assuming she was to be married to the boss shortly?

So, about her character - I thought Eddie and Madge liked each other? This is apparent when he asks her to go to the ball with him and she says "I'll go anywhere with you." Well, if she was so attached to him, why would she neglect to tell him that she had quit the cafe. She knew he came every day looking for her... I thought that was weird and cold. I also thought she was going to marry her boss on the boat, but she states that he hadn't bought her anything since they'd been married. This was before they'd boarded the boat and while they were packing.

I think maybe the script writer could have done a little tweaking with some aspects of the plot, here.

I was curious about the sleuth part, and decided to find the review by Moving Picture World. Here it is: It seems that they are a family of self-proclaimed sleuths that work in the Post Office. I didn't get that idea, which makes me wonder if there are a couple minutes missing.

Yeah, that still doesn't make a lot of sense, does it? See last comment.

[Kitty]

I meant to add in my original review of Special Delivery the observation of the hat that Madge wore when she worked in the cafe. I wonder what the deal was with the wings on the hat? Nurses of the era also wore wings on their hats. The Flying Nun also wore wings on her hat, though that was in the 60s. It's definitely cute, but I wonder why the wings were even a thing.

[donnie]

I meant to add in my original review of Special Delivery the observation of the hat that Madge wore when she worked in the cafe. I wonder what the deal was with the wings on the hat? Nurses of the era also wore wings on their hats. The Flying Nun also wore wings on her hat, though that was in the 60s. It's definitely cute, but I wonder why the wings were even a thing.

The cafe she was working in was called the "Dutch Lunch", and they had the waitresses wear those because that hat is a part of the traditional Dutch women's costume. (I don't know if she had to wear wooden shoes or not. )

[Kitty]

I meant to add in my original review of Special Delivery the observation of the hat that Madge wore when she worked in the cafe. I wonder what the deal was with the wings on the hat? Nurses of the era also wore wings on their hats. The Flying Nun also wore wings on her hat, though that was in the 60s. It's definitely cute, but I wonder why the wings were even a thing.

The cafe she was working in was called the "Dutch Lunch", and they had the waitresses wear those because that hat is a part of the traditional Dutch women's costume. (I don't know if she had to wear wooden shoes or not. )

Ohhh!!! Thanks for that explanation. That would be a nice silent film trivia question, "What was the name of the café that Eddie frequents in the 1927 film Special Delivery with Eddie Cantor and Jobyna Ralston?"

Hey, guys, I just found an interesting little tidbit about the baby in the film! She was Tiny Doll, who was actually part of the Doll Family. From Wikipedia:
"The Doll Family was an American quartet of sibling entertainers with dwarfism from Stolpen, Germany."
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Doll_Family

Oh, and also, Daisy Earles was part of that family, who may be best known as Frieda from the 1932 Tod Browning film Freaks.