Daily Archives: August 31, 2013

Pigskin Parade (1936)

Posted on August 31, 2013 | Leave a comment

Pigskin Parade
Directed by David Butler
Written by Harry Tugent et al
1936/USA
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
First viewing

 

[box] Slug Winters: If I only had a brain.[/box]

This collegiate musical is notable chiefly for being the first feature film of 14-year-old Judy Garland.

Yale is looking for a credible opponent it can beat at its homecoming game.  The board selects the University of Texas but, by mistake, the football team at Texas State in the tiny town of Prairie is invited.

Texas’s new coach Slug Winters (Jack Haley) is straight from coaching high school.  He and his wife Betty (Patsy Kelly) arrive to find a pathetic team.  Matters get worse when their “star” player breaks his leg while being coached by Betty.  But the couple discovers a natural talent in the boonies and bring him and his cousin Sairy to the university.  Laughs, singing, and dancing ensue.

Judy Garland’s singing was amazing right out of the box.  Otherwise, I find Patsy Kelly terribly annoying and the story is silly and forgettable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qso0q_AlsZM

Clip – Judy Garland singing “The Texas Tornado” – age 14

 

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Winds of the Wasteland (1936)

Posted on August 31, 2013 | 2 comments

Winds of the Wasteland
Directed by Mack V. Wright
Written by Joseph F. Poland
1936/USA
Republic Pictures
First viewing

 

[box]Larry Adams: Who ever heard of sending messages over a piece of wire?[/box]

This otherwise forgettable B Western again demonstrates John Wayne’s innate star power.

The pony express is shutting its doors and rider John Blair (Wayne) must find a new line of work.  He decides to start a stagecoach line.  Evil Cal Drake sells him a stagecoach and one of his lines – which goes to a ghost town, population 2.  Not to be deterred, Blair single-handedly resurrects the town and prepares to compete with Drake in a race to win a lucrative government mail contract.  The rest should be obvious.  Plenty of fist fights and gun battles and a little humor.  No winds; no wasteland.

Among  the many actors in this who appear to be reading their lines for the first time, Wayne is completely natural.  Although I never agreed with his politics, in later years I have had to admit that the Duke definitely had something.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0ShcMtcEWs

Clip – stagecoach battle (colorized – I was able to watch in black and white)

 

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Posted in 1936, Movie Reviews