Joy Girl!: Olive Borden Watchfest

[Kitty]

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Tell It to a Policeman

Questions:

What did he put in the chocolates?

I rewound that a few times, and couldn't figure it out. I thought it was a box of his own medals, but the answer has to be a drug of some kind.
Edit: Someone posted this picture of a contemporary review on IMDb. I was sort of right!

Screenshot_20210216-004440.jpg (287.36 KiB) Viewed 2636 times

I still hate that they didn't circle around to close the scene out at the end. I mean, if he was dreaming, he'd have to be on the floor by now. He could be halfway to dead for all we know, hallucinating a weird slapstick merriment.

What was the turntable thing he spun around on?

I don't remember that. Do you have a timestamp?

What exactly is happening in the closeups beginning ~16:40?

I tried to figure it out, but unfortunately I have no answer for you. Seems like a weird scene.

By the way, do you like that look with the hat pulled right down to the eyes that seemed to be popular in women’s styles of that era? I think it can be very attractive.

I think it's very cute!

Good Morning, Nurse
(Where does that title come from? Did I miss something?)

I wondered that, too, and I figured it was some kind of expression like "Hellooooo Nurse!" I have no sources sites for this assumption, though.

Edit: I did some digging, and it seems that we missed the first few minutes of the film. This is from Moving Picture World.

Screenshot_20210216-010815.jpg (196.85 KiB) Viewed 2631 times

[BettyLouSpence]

Finally have access to some Internet...

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Tell It To A Policeman:

This was an okay short. I agree that some gags went on for a bit long (the paper on the foot), but I liked the zany chase at the end. Again, not much for Olive to do here; she's barely in the film as a gun moll. I thought maybe it was a problem on my end when the music suddenly cut halfway through

What was the turntable thing he spun around on?

I don't remember that. Do you have a timestamp?

YouTube is lagging so hard for me at the moment, so I can't even search for it... but anyway, I've seen a very similar contraption in two other silents: It (1927) and Speedy (1929), where it's a Coney Island ride that Clara Bow and Antonio Moreno, and Harold Lloyd and Ann Christy, respectively, go on. In It it's called "The Social Mixer" (I don't think it was explicitly named in Speedy).

By the way, do you like that look with the hat pulled right down to the eyes that seemed to be popular in women’s styles of that era? I think it can be very attractive.

I do! It's a very attractive way of framing the face, though long hair bunched up could disrupt the silhouette—Jobyna Ralston seemed to manage it fine, however, in Power of the Press, where her hair was still relatively long.

Good Morning, Nurse:

Finally! A short where Olive has more to sink her teeth into. I liked all the supporting players in this, a really fun short where a camping trip with the wife's in-laws goes awry, though the baby served as more of a prop than anything. I got a good laugh when after stacking the boxes up in such an absurdly precarious manner, Ralph tumbles with Olive... straight onto the tent where her mother was preparing the pie An aside: I really liked Olive's outfit in this—very smart looking.

(Where does that title come from? Did I miss something?)

Yeah, I was wondering that, too. I figured maybe something related to nursing would show up at some point, or maybe someone receives an injury they have to go to the hospital for, but as the short went on it was apparent that nothing of the sort happened.

[donnie]

Further comments:

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Edit: Someone posted this picture of a contemporary review on IMDb. I was sort of right!
Screenshot_20210216-004440.jpg

Thanks for clearing that up about the tobacco. That makes sense.

I still hate that they didn't circle around to close the scene out at the end. I mean, if he was dreaming, he'd have to be on the floor by now. He could be halfway to dead for all we know, hallucinating a weird slapstick merriment.

Not sure what you mean…?

I don't remember that. Do you have a timestamp?

I've seen a very similar contraption in two other silents: It (1927) and Speedy (1929), where it's a Coney Island ride that Clara Bow and Antonio Moreno, and Harold Lloyd and Ann Christy, respectively, go on. In It it's called "The Social Mixer" (I don't think it was explicitly named in Speedy).

It’s starting around 8:55 or so: https://youtu.be/BuZcFlkeO5M?t=535
That must have been a popular “ride” of the time, then. I wonder how many concussions it brought about? A similar thing (except larger) also appears in a short with Keaton, Arbuckle, and Al St. John, where it’s used inside an auto garage. Can’t remember the name of the short, but Fatty washes a car revolving on it.

[Edit: I did some digging, and it seems that we missed the first few minutes of the film. This is from Moving Picture World.

Yeah, I thought it looked like we were starting in the middle of something. That’s too bad—I’d like to see the whole thing. I wonder if the whole first reel is missing. Thanks for the research!

I thought maybe it was a problem on my end when the music suddenly cut halfway through

I thought the same thing. But no, it wasn’t the weather.

[Kitty]

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I still hate that they didn't circle around to close the scene out at the end. I mean, if he was dreaming, he'd have to be on the floor by now. He could be halfway to dead for all we know, hallucinating a weird slapstick merriment.

Not sure what you mean…?

Reading the synopsis, it seems that I misunderstood the whole thing, thinking it was some kind of hallucinatory dream after he ate what I thought was some kind of drug that he put in the chocolate box.

[donnie]

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Reading the synopsis, it seems that I misunderstood the whole thing, thinking it was some kind of hallucinatory dream after he ate what I thought was some kind of drug that he put in the chocolate box

Yeah, I think it's just showing his dizziness after swallowing a bunch of tobacco. (And if you ever tried tobacco as a kid, that's a pretty good depiction of the way you feel. )

[BettyLouSpence]

We're on our third week and first feature film of the watchfest: 3 Bad Men (1926) with George O'Brien. We'll have until next Monday, February 22 to watch.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wa1HjvcULH4

[donnie]

Just finished 3 Bad Men. Well, if you've not watched it yet, you're in for a treat!

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This was a really, really well-made film. I figured it would be after I saw that it was directed by John Ford. There was absolutely a master evident here in the handling of the characterization, the development of the story line, and the pacing. And also the shots—some telling closeups interspersed at just the right moments along with some unique and very picturesque and poetic shots of the area and the action. He really knew how to capitalize on all of his assets to produce a good film.

The flow of powerful imagery around the fire scene was particularly impressive. And the following death scene of Millie was very moving, especially when she stroked the grieving Bull's hair, and then when he returned to find her dead and picking her up, gently rocked her like a baby. And how about that closeup of Hunter after the question, "Who is the man?" !!

I would actually have liked to see a little more development in the storyline about the history of the relation between brother and sister—but the film is already over an hour and a half long, which was a pretty long feature back in those days. By the way, that actress who plays Millie reminds me so much of somebody else, but I can't bring up who it is...

The land rush scene (which must have cost a lot of money!) was very impressive. I can't imagine the directorial strategic planning and visualization that must have taken. (Safety tip: It's a good idea to do a preventative check on those wagon wheels every so often. Also, if repair of said wheels should become necessary, ensure safety of family members. )

As to the characters, the three "bad" men became increasingly endearing characters throughout and were really the centerpiece of this drama. Looking back at it, it's kind of amazing how they were gradually transformed from slightly menacing but nondescript crooks at the beginning, and then to kind of likable, and then to very likable, and finally to the heroes of the story who sacrificed their lives for others. (I'm kind of reminded of the great Bret Harte story The Outcasts of Poker Flat, in that regard.) The camaraderie among the three was really the best part of the picture to me.

Lou Tellegan was great as the odd-looking and reptilian Layne Hunter ( I like that spelling with the y). And those incredible flashing eyes! George O'Brien was rather plain vanilla as Dan, I thought, but I guess that was needed as a contrast to Bull and his "pardners." Phyllis Haver was delightful in her brief role as Lily.

As for Olive, I can see from this why she was a popular actress. She was very attractive and had an engaging and charming screen presence. I got the impression that, with a part of greater complexity, she could really have shown her acting prowess, but she did succeed at bringing intricacy and interest to what could have been just a standard ingenue role. (Or was Millie really the resident ingenue?) Of course, Ford may have had something to do with that, too.

I was very impressed with the score. The guitar theme at the beginning seemed a wee bit on the too "modern" side, maybe, but it turned out to be an innovative and highly successful score that really complemented the action. I thought some of the spare and quirky piano passages were especially effective such as here. (Olive was particularly pretty in that scene, by the way.) I also loved the chords where the minister shows up . And also on that link, notice shortly afterwards, the minimalist repeated alternate note /chord as Millie gets the rejection from Hunter. (It takes genius to think of something that simple. )

This was a good one all round, and I'm not usually that prone to Westerns. Hope you liked it, too!

PS, As usual, I have some questions about the plot which I'll bring up later, but I've written quite enough for now.

[BettyLouSpence]

My thoughts on 3 Bad Men. This is up there as one of my favorite silents!

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Wow! Where to begin? The cinematography was great. Besides the beautiful shots of the wide open prairie, the bustling town, and the frenzy of the race for gold, there were so many memorable scenes of the characters in action that made for such great snapshots. Bull Stanley and his men riding up over the hill in silhouette at 10:30 comes to mind, as does the later, very brief one at 17:00 of Bull standing, then confidently aiming his gun at Lee before she looks up at him ("By golly—he's a woman!" ).

On that note, there's also some great titles in this. The short sarcastic words traded between Dan and Lee at their first meeting was funny, and also some great ones that, to put it simply, are just plain bad-ass: "Well pardners—I guess us three ole sharpshooters is together for the last reunion." Coupled with the shot at 1:15:40 and the twang of the guitar? Perfection.

Yeah, compared to Bull and the gang, O'Malley was pretty vanilla as the good guy cowpoke; didn't help that his get up is exactly what I'd imagine the stereotypical Western hero to wear I also really liked Tom Santschi's performance here as Bull Stanley. I actually didn't realize Phyllis Haver was in this film, so it was a pleasant surprise seeing her pop up as a saloon girl! This is especially cool because she's in the next film in the watchfest as well

It's really nice to finally see Olive in a feature, and with an important role to boot. She has an inherent vivacity and 'freshness' in her performance, like Phyllis and also like Clara Bow. But the difference is that in Olive's case, I sense some more restraint and poise, even an elegance of sorts, though I wonder how much that has to do with the character she's portraying; she is the daughter of a wealthy Southern gentleman, after all. Btw, the Western get-up reslly suits her I was almost disappointed everytime she returned to wearing dresses.

Okay, can we talk about that ending?! It was so well done, and so poignant, showing the redemption of the 3 bad men through self sacrifice ("Adios, amigos." ). Another thing about the ending was the length, which I think was perfect. I didn't feel like anything was rushed (coughsome-certain-early-talkies-come-to-mindcough), and each of our three, beloved hombres got their proper send offs. I liked the time skip in the very last scenes on Lee and Dan's homestead, with the imagery of Bull and the gang watching over the O'Malleys, just as promised. By the way, Dan and Lee seemed awfully nonchalant about their infant son playing with that revolver

Question: how the heck did no one hear Bull shoot the pitcher out of Mike's hand at 30:15 (outside the tent, Lee is with a woman and holding a baby as though nothing's happened), yet when the prospector is shot in his own tent by one of Sheriff Hunter's cronies later on in the film the entire camp is awakened?

...By the way, that actress who plays Millie reminds me so much of somebody else, but I can't bring up who it is...

The actress is Priscilla Bonner, which was another surprise to me as I've seen her in another silent before. I've never seen her as a brunette, but I noticed her face looked familiar and then recognized her flighty mannerisms straight away.

The land rush scene (which must have cost a lot of money!) was very impressive. I can't imagine the directorial strategic planning and visualization that must have taken. (Safety tip: It's a good idea to do a preventative check on those wagon wheels every so often. Also, if repair of said wheels should become necessary, ensure safety of family members. )

Yeah, the coordination there was totally nuts. What was the planning for that like? They would've needed some good megaphones for that scene.

I was very impressed with the score. The guitar theme at the beginning seemed a wee bit on the too "modern" side, maybe, but it turned out to be an innovative and highly successful score that really complemented the action. I thought some of the spare and quirky piano passages were especially effective such as here. (Olive was particularly pretty in that scene, by the way.) I also loved the chords where the minister shows up . And also on that link, notice shortly afterwards, the minimalist repeated alternate note /chord as Millie gets the rejection from Hunter. (It takes genius to think of something that simple. )

Great breakdown! I loved the music. Whenever the guitar popped up I was reminded of the music in Red Dead Redemption 2. My dad actually called from the other room to ask, "Are you playing Red Dead Redemption?" Actually, a lot of the film reminded me of the game, especially the ending, with that old trope of the outlaw finding redemption through his death.

[donnie]

Responses:

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I’m so glad you enjoyed this one! I thought you would.

Outstanding points about the cinematography.

Yeah, compared to Bull and the gang, O'Malley was pretty vanilla as the good guy cowpoke; didn't help that his get up is exactly what I'd imagine the stereotypical Western hero to wear

Yeah! That's one of the things that I noticed without realizing I had noticed it until you mentioned it. [Lessee...does that make sense?] It looks too 1950's kid's westerns-Roy Rogers-ish.

Since you bring up the subject of costuming, that was another unusually good element of this film, come to think of it (well, with the exception of Dan). Hunter's tight Spanish-style coat and broad brim (ironically white) hat somehow reflected his inner diabolical nature. (Not sure how.) And Millie's plain but feminine dress seemed to reflect her simple goodness and trusting innocence. The three bad mens' hats somehow defined their character and made them distinctive. And then you mentioned Olive's Western getup.

It's really nice to finally see Olive in a feature, and with an important role to boot. She has an inherent vivacity and 'freshness' in her performance, like Phyllis and also like Clara Bow. But the difference is that in Olive's case, I sense some more restraint and poise, even an elegance of sorts…

Perfect description!

Okay, can we talk about that ending?! It was so well done, and so poignant, showing the redemption of the 3 bad men through self sacrifice ("Adios, amigos." ). Another thing about the ending was the length, which I think was perfect. I didn't feel like anything was rushed (coughsome-certain-early-talkies-come-to-mindcough), and each of our three, beloved hombres got their proper send offs.

Yes, the ending was extremely well done—though I did wonder about the logistics of why they were splitting up and essentially (as they well knew) leaving each man to perish. I guess that was to create a greater delay than would have happened if the three had made a stand together? But, yes, aside from whether it made strategic sense (and I guess it did), the events of that lengthy ending did fall into place to make a really satisfying conclusion.

I liked the time skip in the very last scenes on Lee and Dan's homestead, with the imagery of Bull and the gang watching over the O'Malleys, just as promised.

Yes, that was very poignant. This kind of put me in mind of that last scene from The Iron Mask (1929) where the Douglas Fairbanks character is fatally stabbed and joins the other Musketeers in the clouds. (I haven’t actually seen that film, just that ending bit in the last of the Hollywood series. I think you’ve seen that, too?)

By the way, Dan and Lee seemed awfully nonchalant about their infant son playing with that revolver

Yikes!! What a cringe-worthy moment that was.

It seems this here territory warn't no place for young'uns.

Question: how the heck did no one hear Bull shoot the pitcher out of Mike's hand at 30:15 (outside the tent, Lee is with a woman and holding a baby as though nothing's happened), yet when the prospector is shot in his own tent by one of Sheriff Hunter's cronies later on in the film the entire camp is awakened?

Good question. I didn’t pick up on that.

The actress is Priscilla Bonner, which was another surprise to me as I've seen her in another silent before. I've never seen her as a brunette, but I noticed her face looked familiar and then recognized her flighty mannerisms straight away.

Has she been in anything else we’ve seen? Something about her facial expressions and mannerisms seems especially familiar here. By the way, Hunter didn’t waste any words there, did he? Just forced the window shut. He could have at least said, “Yeah, yeah, we’ll see about that later.” Not even a W. C. Fields-ian "Go away, kid, ya bother me." At any rate, she was very affecting in this role, and a pretty actress, especially in profile, like in her last scene with Bull.

What was the planning for that like? They would've needed some good megaphones for that scene.

That must have been almost as much of a feat as coordinating the battle scenes in Birth of a Nation. Maybe even more so, since the whole thing was in motion at once, in effect. (Reminds me of a remark Yehudi Menuhin made about conducting an orchestra, about how much more challenging it is to be precise with something fluid than with something static.)

Great breakdown! I loved the music. Whenever the guitar popped up I was reminded of the music in Red Dead Redemption 2. My dad actually called from the other room to ask, "Are you playing Red Dead Redemption?"

Now some of my plot questions (Forgive if these are dumb. I tend to miss things sometimes. Ok, a lot of times. )

1. Bull’s reading of the letter from Millie kind of blindsided me. Huh? Then light broke. Was that out of the blue, or had the fact that they were brother and sister been brought out earlier?

2. Church burning scene: The bad guys used torches to set the wagons afire. Immediately afterwards, there are two groups of men, one with torches, one without. Only now the good guys are the ones with the torches. The baddies have no torches. What did they do, hand the torches off to the good guys just to throw viewers? If so, they succeeded. (They sure did like to ride around with torches in this movie. Even indoors.)

3. Why did Hunter direct the church to be burnt? I.e., what did he have against the minister?

4. Why is Hunter and his crew going after the “Carletons”? To steal their claim, in some way?

5. The old man who at the beginning had struck gold but was told he couldn’t profit from it as it was on Sioux land (for the moment, I guess?) What happened to him later? Was he killed? I missed that plot strand.

[BettyLouSpence]

Responses to responses:

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Hunter's tight Spanish-style coat and broad brim (ironically white) hat...

Ha! I just realized he had a white hat. Now there's sonething I didn't even notice at all

Yes, that was very poignant. This kind of put me in mind of that last scene from The Iron Mask (1929) where the Douglas Fairbanks character is fatally stabbed and joins the other Musketeers in the clouds. (I haven’t actually seen that film, just that ending bit in the last of the Hollywood series. I think you’ve seen that, too?)

Yes! I know exactly which scene you're talking about.

Has she been in anything else we’ve seen? Something about her facial expressions and mannerisms seems especially familiar here. By the way, Hunter didn’t waste any words there, did he? Just forced the window shut. He could have at least said, “Yeah, yeah, we’ll see about that later.” Not even a W. C. Fields-ian "Go away, kid, ya bother me." At any rate, she was very affecting in this role, and a pretty actress, especially in profile, like in her last scene with Bull.

I've seen her in It, where she does that exact same thing with her hands in the more dramatic scenes. Maybe you've seen the film before?

1. Bull’s reading of the letter from Millie kind of blindsided me. Huh? Then light broke. Was that out of the blue, or had the fact that they were brother and sister been brought out earlier?

No, it was only implied that they at least knew each other in some fashion when Millie recognized Bull after he first arrived in Custer.

2. Church burning scene: The bad guys used torches to set the wagons afire. Immediately afterwards, there are two groups of men, one with torches, one without. Only now the good guys are the ones with the torches. The baddies have no torches. What did they do, hand the torches off to the good guys just to throw viewers? If so, they succeeded. (They sure did like to ride around with torches in this movie. Even indoors.)

You're not alone there, I was also quite befuddled with who was who. "Okay, these are the bad guys... wait, no? Where'd they get their torches...??"

3. Why did Hunter direct the church to be burnt? I.e., what did he have against the minister?

Guess he held a grudge against the preacher for telling him that he didn't like the way he ran the town. He was already angry at the "coup" that was no doubt influenced by the preacher, and decided to just take the opportunity to get back at him personally.

By the way, I almost forgot to mention the scene where Dan is about to carry Lee out of the burning church, but they stop to gaze lovingly into each others eyes. Um, might wanna wait until after you leave the burning building and not risk smoke inhalation, guys Mike said it best in that moment: "It's gettin' stuffy in here with all this smoke and love—I'm leavin'!"

4. Why is Hunter and his crew going after the “Carletons”? To steal their claim, in some way?

That's what I figured, and that he still held a grudge after Lee rejected him earlier in the film (this guy sure holds grudges ).

5. The old man who at the beginning had struck gold but was told he couldn’t profit from it as it was on Sioux land (for the moment, I guess?) What happened to him later? Was he killed? I missed that plot strand.

He's the prospector that was shot in his tent by Hunter's henchman, and before dying gave his map of where to find gold to Lee.