Laboring to Entertain?

Let's break from the news cycle this holiday weekend and watch some old movies and a few fun shorts and cartoons. It's pick and choose what interests you. Only the most serious movie buff will have seen all of the films, and the shorts will be new for almost everyone. Have great holiday and enjoy a movie or two over the week. You might want to start your viewing with a cartoon or short.

Let's start with a vintage cartoon...
Walt Disney's The Old Mill (1937)

Here's some general foreground of this film. During this time, Walt was very busy making Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. However, in order to create special effects in Snow White in the way Walt envisioned them, the animators had to run tests. They had to see if these effects were even possible and they wanted to see the audiences reactions.
Walt wanted Snow White to be as lifelike as possible so the audience would observe the movie as a live action film rather then a cartoon. Unfortunately, animation is in 2D so Walt and his staff came up with a solution called "The Multiplane Camera" which gave animation a 3D effect. Different uses of lightning, color, and realism in animals was experimented in this film.
Walt won an Oscar for this film and totally deserved it.

I'll pair that with a 1937 Hitchcock film Young and Innocent aka The Girl Was Young (1937)

"Young and Innocent", released in the US as "The Girl Was Young" is a 1937 British crime thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, based on the 1936 novel "A Shilling for Candles" by Josephine Tey.
Storyline:
An actress is murdered by her estranged husband, who is jealous of all of her young boyfriends. The next day, writer Robert Tisdall (who happens to be one such boyfriend) discovers her body on the beach. He runs to call the police, however, two witnesses think that he is the escaping murderer. Robert is arrested, but owing to a mix-up at the courthouse, he escapes and goes on the run with a Police Constable's daughter Erica, determined to prove his innocence.
Main Cast:
Nova Pilbeam, Derrick De Marney, Percy Marmont, Edward Rigby, Mary Clare
Hitchcock's cameo:
Alfred Hitchcock's cameo is a signature occurrence in most of his films. He can be seen outside the courthouse, holding a camera, at 14 minutes into the film.

One more cartoon from Disney. Disney Fantasia, Mother nature to music of Hans Zimmer

From the blip below the clip... I only recently watched this movie for the first time and realised what a great piece of art it is especially this scene..so I re edited it to the great music of Hans Zimmer.

How about another Hitchcock from 1936? Sabotage - Alfred Hitchcock (1936)

A ring of saboteurs is causing havoc in London with a series of explosive terrorist attacks. Karl Verloc (Oscar Homolka) is part of the group, but he maintains a cover as a kind movie theater owner. His wife (Sylvia Sidney) is beginning to suspect something, though, and so is Scotland Yard Detective Sgt. Ted Spencer (John Loder). What neither of them know, however, is that Verloc uses his wife's little brother (Desmond Tester) to deliver the bombs in film canisters.

Oscar Winner ~ Short film about love and passage of time | Father and Daughter - by M. Dudok de Wit

A father bids farewell to his young daughter; she grows up longing for his return.

Here's one of the few 4 star pictures on today's menu. Odd Man Out (1947)

Johnny McQueen, leader of a clandestine Irish organization, has been hiding in the house of Kathleen and her mother, planning a hold-up that will provide his group with the funds needed to continue its activities. During the hold-up, things go sour: Johnny is wounded, cannot make it back to the hideout, and disappears in the back-alleys of Belfast. Immediately, a large-scale man-hunt is launched, and the city is tightly covered by the constabulary, whose chief is intent on capturing Johnny and the other members of the gang. Kathleen sets out in search of Johnny

CGI 3D Animated Shorts : "LAST DAY OF WAR" - by Dima Fedotov. A sad dystopian future.

The last war broke out. All the people are dead, but the machines continue dutifully to follow orders. The automatic base machines begin fueling and charging the weapons of last surviving bomber preparing it to drop bombs on the dead enemy city. This happens until the last echo of mankind subsides completely. Then comes a new era in which there is no place for us.

From the future to the past...a French revolution spy adventure.
Reign of Terror | Robert Cummings | Richard Basehart | Full Restored Action Movie in HD!

The French Revolution, 1794. The Marquis de Lafayette asks Charles D'Aubigny to infiltrate the Jacobin Party to overthrow Maximilian Robespierre, who, after gaining supreme power and establishing a reign of terror ruled by death, now intends to become the dictator of France.

Danny Boy Future Shorts

Dir: Marek Skrobecki / Poland & Switzerland / 2010
A young poet falls in love. A city awaits a drama to unfold. Headless aimless people with a choice to join them or live alone.

And here's a head trip film based on Kafka to go with the headless people in the previous clip.
The Trial | Full Classic Action Movie in HD | Anthony Perkins | Orson Welles

The "Kafkaïenne" sense of this production can be seen in this French film created in English, principally shot in Yugoslavia with many dozens of native extras, based on the writings in German of a native Czech author...
Josef K wakes up in the morning and finds the police in his room. They tell him that he is on trial but nobody tells him what he is accused of. In order to find out about the reason of this accusation and to protest his innocence, he tries to look behind the facade of the judicial system. But since this remains fruitless, there seems to be no chance for him to escape from this Kafkaesque nightmare.
1962,
Director: Orson Welles
Writers: Pierre Cholot, Franz Kafka, Orson Welles,
Stars: Anthony Perkins, Arnoldo Foà, Jess Hahn

Rooted

Two trees fall in love but unfortunately they can't hold each other.

To Be or Not to Be | Full Classic Comedy War Movie in HD 1942

During the Nazi occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy.
Director: Ernst Lubitsch,
Writers: Melchior Lengyel, Edwin Justus Mayer, Ernst Lubitsch,
Stars: Carole Lombard, Jack Benny, Robert Stack

UMBRELLA | Oscar® Qualified and Award- Winning CGI Animated Short Film

Inspired by true events and filled with messages of empathy and hope, Umbrella follows Joseph's story, a boy who lives in an orphanage and dreams of having a yellow Umbrella.
2021 Oscar® Qualified Animated Short Film - Created and Produced in Brazil

Mirage (1965) Gregory Peck, Diane Baker - Mystery, Thriller
You'll have to watch this one from YT.

Peck is an amnesiac in New York who traces his past back into the middle of a murder plot. Although the two leading players, Peck and Diane Baker, are shown up by their supporting cast, this remains one of the better thrillers of the '60s (adapted from a novel by Howard Fast). The harsh b & w photography, the various levels of reality, and the use of urban landscape, all contribute to the feeling of unease, building up an atmosphere that is perhaps better than the mechanics of the plot.

CGI **Multi-Award Winning** Animated Shorts : "Ascension" - by Ascension le Film

In an exercise of frustration at the beginning of the 20th century, two climbers carry a statue of the Virgin to the top of a mountain. Ascension is a multi award-winning graduation movie, done at Supinfocom Arles in 2013 by Thomas Bourdis, Martin de Coudenhove, Caroline Domergue, Colin Laubry and Florian Vecchione. The music has been composed by Seth Stewart.

Let's look at another completely different Peck film. A western, The Gunfighter
The Gunfighter (1950) Gregory Peck, Helen Westcott

Gunfighter Jimmie Ringo is tired of killing and wants to see his wife and son, who live under another name in Cayenne. On the way he has to reach for his Colt again, the three brothers of the killed follow him. In Cayenne, his arrival at the Palace-Bar is the center of attention. The young Hunt Bromley wants to provoke him, Ringo initially tricked him. Jimmie talks to his wife. When the three brothers arrive, they are put in jail.

CGI Animated Short Film HD "The Kinematograph " by Tomasz Bagiński

Francis is an inventor. His invention is supposed to change the world. He forgot about one thing: dreams always cost too much. He is focused only on himself and his work and realizes the gravity of the situation only when it is too late.
Tomasz Bagiński director and creative producer.
Born in Białystok in 1976. Dropped out of college where he studied architecture to pursue animation direction. In 1997, he joined Platige Image where he currently serves as a creative director. Directed over 100 ads, game cinematics, animated shorts, and worked on multiple artistic projects.

Let's do another western. Pursued | Teresa Wright | Robert Mitchum | Full Classic Western Movie in HD

Pursued - A boy haunted by nightmares about the night his entire family was murdered is brought up by a neighboring family in the 1880s. He falls for his lovely adoptive sister but his nasty adoptive brother and mysterious uncle want him dead - 1947.
Director: Raoul Walsh,
Writer: Niven Busch,
Stars: Teresa Wright, Robert Mitchum, Judith Anderson

Widdershins | Animated short film by Simon Biggs Sort of a steam powered punk cartoon...

The life of a pampered gentleman is seamlessly automated by machines, but his orderly existence is thrown into chaos when he chooses to pursue a free-spirited woman, against the advice of his robot butler. Director - Simon Biggs, 2018

Berlin Express | Merle Oberon | Robert Ryan | Charles Korvin | Full Restored Movie in HD! 1948

Berlin Express - Robert Ryan leads a group of Allied agents fighting an underground Nazi group in post-war Europe. 1948,
Director: Jacques Tourneur,
Writers: Harold Medford, Curt Siodmak,
Stars: Merle Oberon, Robert Ryan, Charles Korvin

Alternative Math | Short Film

A well meaning math teacher finds herself trumped by a post-fact America. The era of woke math may be around the corner...

Suddenly (1954) Frank Sinatra | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

In the city of Suddenly, three gangsters trap the Benson family in their own house, on the top of a hill nearby the railroad station, with the intention of killing the president of the USA.
Director: Lewis Allen
Writer: Richard Sale
Stars: Frank Sinatra, Sterling Hayden, James Gleason

Dinner for few | Animated short film by Nassos Vakalis Is it a cat eat pig world?

During dinner, "the system" feeds the few who consume all the resources while the rest survive on scraps. Inevitably, the struggle for what remains leads to catastrophic change. The offspring of this transition turns out not to be a sign of hope, but the spitting image of the parents.

And to round out to an even dozen films, another four star film,
M (1931) English Version, Fritz Lang, Peter Lorre, Ellen Widmann

Peter Lorre stars as serial killer Hans Beckert in Fritz Lang's harrowing masterwork M, a suspenseful panorama of private madness and public hysteria that to this day remains the blueprint for the psychological thriller. In Germany, Hans Beckert is an unknown killer of girls. He whistles Edvard Grieg's 'In The Hall of the Mountain King' while attracting the little girls for death. The police force pressed by the Minister give its best effort trying unsuccessfully to arrest the serial killer. The organized crime has great losses due to the intense search and siege of the police and decides to chase the murderer, with the support of the beggars association. They catch Hans and briefly judge him.
Director: Fritz Lang
Stars: Peter Lorre, Ellen Widmann, Inge Landgut

A couple more common films as options:
1st another Fritz Lang class struggle film, Metropolis (1927) full movie

One of my favorites, The African Queen
The African Queen - At the start of the First World War, in the middle of Africa’s nowhere, a gin soaked riverboat captain is persuaded by a strong-willed missionary to go down river and face-off a German warship.
1951. Director: John Huston
Writers: C.S. Forester, James Agee, John Huston,
Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley

Another great Hitchcock movie, The 39 Steps.
A man in London tries to help a counterespionage agent. But when the agent is killed and the man stands accused, he must go on the run to both save himself and also stop a spy ring which is trying to steal top secret information.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writers: John Buchan (adapted from the novel by), Charles Bennett (adaptation)
Stars: Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Lucie Mannheim
The 39 Steps is a 1935 British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll. Very loosely based on the 1915 adventure novel The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan, the film is about an everyman civilian in London, Richard Hannay, who becomes caught up in preventing an organization of spies called the 39 Steps from stealing British military secrets. After being mistakenly accused of the murder of a counter-espionage agent, Hannay goes on the run to Scotland with an attractive woman in the hopes of stopping the spy ring and clearing his name.
Filmmaker and actor Orson Welles referred to the film as a "masterpiece". Screenwriter Robert Towne remarked, "It’s not much of an exaggeration to say that all contemporary escapist entertainment begins with The 39 Steps.

I guess that should be enough choices for everyone to find at least one film which interests them. Of course this is an open thread and all topics are welcome in the comments. I've heard a few commentaries about the "dark Brandon" speech that were interesting. So share what's on your mind from movie tips to the news. Have a great holiday.