redwood highway is a 2013 american independent drama film directed by gary lundgren , produced by james twyman , and written by lundgren and twyman .

the film stars shirley knight and tom skerritt .

redwood highway ( film )

redwood highway is an indie film starring shirley knight as an intrepid grandmother who walks 60 + miles along the redwood highway to get from her retirement home to her granddaughter’s wedding on the oregon coast .
tom skerritt and shirley knight with director gary lundgren on the set of redwood highway .
redwood highway is a delightful and inspiring film . i completely recommend it . it’s available on netflix and amazon prime .
director gary lundgren with actresses michelle lombardo and shirley knight on the set of redwood highway .
and i began the long journey toward bringing redwood highway to life . looking back , it was
exactly five years ago , our cast and crew was running all over southern oregon together shooting redwood highway . thanks for the memories .
friday , may 23rd , 2014 meet the crew of redwood highway * location : varsity theater , 166 e . main st . , ashland < map >
monterey media announced today the acquisition of u . s . and canada rights to “no god , no master , ” “redwood highway” and “a farewell to fools . ”
monday , may 26th , 2014 meet the local cast of redwood highway * * location : varsity theater , 166 e . main st . , ashland < map >
made in southern oregon and starring two - time academy award nominee shirley knight and screen legend tom skerritt , redwood highway is receiving positive reviews from variety , the hollywood reporter , and others , confirming what festival audiences experienced during its award - winning festival run over the past year : redwood highway is a solid piece of filmmaking with strong performances , writing and direction .
“redwood highway” starring oscar nominee shirley knight and tom skerritt is a family - themed tale on seventy - five year old marie’s ( knight ) decision to walk the 100 mile highway - long trip to her granddaughter’s wedding that along way forces her to confront physical obstacles as well as the lingering troubles of her past . “red wood highway” will release theatrically in april 2014 .
several years ago gary lundgren and i began the long journey toward bringing redwood highway to life . looking back , it was one of the best experiences of my life . i wrote this song to be the end credit roll for the film , and though it was later recorded by the amazing laura veers , it ' s still worth sharing . to everyone who made redwood highway such a great movie , thanks for the memories . including jeff pevar for producing the song .
after winning several best film awards at indie festivals , “redwood highway” is getting its share of attention in hollywood , and the director and producers of the film have strong reason to believe their film might start a whole movement , as it focuses attention on the largest , most underserved audience in the world – people over 50 . for decades boomers and senior citizens have been largely ignored by the film industry , but now that they represent the largest demographic in the country , their time has finally come .
“i saw “redwood highway” at a film festival and i think it’s an important film for everyone to see , in every generation , ” ashland resident jan sneider - brown , 76 , said . “it’s a film about a strong senior protagonist who overcomes great odds to heal her life , and a journey familiar to what many seniors encounter in their own quest to heal . it’s about the human journey more than just one person . ”
sofat and the southern oregon industry hope that 2012 is merely the start of another busy decade of filmmaking , and is already working hard to springboard the results and ramifications of night moves and redwood highway into future filmmaking activity .
solid acting overcomes a lack of dynamic tension in this family - friendly film .
bringing together the creative streams of film , television , and media in oregon .
get an insider’s view of the documentary film process and hear from two inspiring documentary filmmakers who have been challenging ideas and opening minds through the power of film .
gary kout is the founder and executive director of southern oregon film and television and a producer on redwood highway , as well as having worked on four other feature films in southern oregon . he was the production supervisor on the 2011 academy award - winning animated feature rango , starring johnny depp , and has line - produced over 100 national commercials .
one of the best experiences of my life . i wrote this song to be the end credit roll for the film , and though it was later recorded by the amazing laura veers , it ' s still worth sharing . to everyone who made redwood highway such a great movie , thanks for the memories . including jeff pevar for producing the song .
night moves stars jesse eisenberg , dakota fanning and peter sarsgaard and was shot entirely in southern oregon in the late fall of 2012 . the film won the grand prix at the deauville film festival and was nominated for a golden lion at the venice film festival .
this suspenseful and character - driven , slow - burn thriller is written and directed by gary lundgren ( calvin marshall , redwood highway ) , and was beautifully shot on the majestic oregon coast by award - winning cinematographer patrick neary . michelle lombardo and danforth comins co - star .
“it’s hard to believe that 45 % of the population would be ignored at the box office , ” james twyman , the producer and co - screenwriter of “redwood highway” said . “today most films are made for people under twenty - five . interest in storydriven films with a protagonist over the age of sixty are rare . the reason is simple – the executives who are making decisions don’t believe older people go to the movies in big enough numbers . we intend to change that with “redwood highway” . ” twyman has launched ageless cinema to make films specifically to meet that need .
“calvin marshall” was filmed entirely in southern oregon in the winter of 2007 . the filmmakers took full advantage of the strong crew and cast available in the region . many sofam members were employed on the film . the film enjoyed a successful festival run , premiering at the austin film festival in october , 2009 , and ending with a sold - out showing at the ashland independent film festival in april 2010 . the film is now being released in select theaters across the country .
most impressive is the lead performance of knight , as noted by stephen farber in his review in the hollywood reporter : “it is always satisfying when a fine actor gets a chance to be rediscovered . [ shirley knight ] relishes her return to the limelight in “redwood highway” , and audiences will be delighted by her warm , stirring performance . ”
a perfectly fine walkabout through the scenic roadways and nearby woods of southern oregon , “redwood highway” delivers in high spirits and fine thesping what it lacks in dynamic tension and narrative consistency . anchored by a warm , full - bodied turn by septuagenarian shirley knight as a spunky but troubled retirement - home resident , and backed by fine support from [ … ]
“redwood highway was a thrill to make and so we’re excited for audiences to experience the beauty of southern oregon and fall in love with these characters , ” gary lundgren , the director and co - screenwriter said . “our entire cast and crew is proud to have a theatrical release around the country and we’re grateful for the enthusiastic responses so far . ”
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a week of special screenings of “calvin marshall” followed by a discussion and q & a with the film’s local cast and crew .
for more information on the film , including trailers , behind - the - scenes footage , and a theatrical dates , please visit urltoken .
a distant distaff cousin to such oldster - on - a - mission road movies as the straight story and nebraska , gary lundgren ' s redwood highway offers shirley knight as a woman determined to walk the 80 miles to her estranged granddaughter ' s seaside wedding . sincere and bolstered by lovely oregon scenery but often rather dull , the picture would do well to secure a family - cable berth after what is sure to be a quick theatrical run .
the sofam film insider screenings are recurring events bringing professional filmmakers together with local audiences and filmmakers to explore what it takes to make a movie .
the film features an all - star cast : george clooney , matt damon , cate blanchett , bill murray , john goodman , bob balaban .
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…
bennett left the franchise before the sixth film and finished his long and distinguished career back in media . he is now a resident of ashland , oregon .
once veera and mahabir are in love , the film suddenly finds itself without apparent options , and its metaphorical highway becomes something of a dirt road through the woods on a foggy evening . the ultimate resolution becomes fairly inevitable at a certain point , however much one might wish it to not happen . the last few minutes of
highway
are very awkward , especially in contrast to the lyrical sweep of the previous hour and a half or so , and lead to an extremely muddled final image , which suffers in contrast to the clarity of the rest of the piece . and so it ends , and too bad .
© 2008 - southern oregon film and media | po box 1265 , ashland , or 97520 | ( 877 ) 434 - 5676 ( i film so ) | sofam @ urltoken sofam is not responsible for the content on websites that are linked to from this site . some content might be considered offensive or not be age appropriate .
get an insider’s view of how an independent movie gets made , how you can attract recognizable talent , and how to make a high - quality film on an indie budget .
there ' s rarely a way to compliment a director for trying without it seeming both condescending and like foreshadowing a lengthy exegesis of their film ' s failure . but it is important to note that imtiaz ali is not some run - of - the - mill hack , and that when he goes awry , it ' s from having tried something interesting that didn ' t work , rather than trotting out shopworn banalities . there ' s a lot to like in ali ' s latest ,
highway ,
which is a gorgeously assembled , ambitious piece of work , although it doesn ' t coalesce into a holistically successful film .
“redwood highway” follows the character of marie vaughn ( shirley knight ) who decides to sneak away from the senior community where she lives in grants pass , and walk over 80 miles to the coast to attend her granddaughter’s wedding . along the way she must confront the demons of her past , including haunting memories of her former husband . marie meets characters like a kind woodworker expertly played by tom skerritt , and a helpful bar owner played by michelle lombardo . overcoming both odds and blisters , marie proves that you’re never too old to have a great adventure , and heal your life .
redwood highway follows the character of marie vaughn ( shirley knight ) who decides to sneak away from the senior community where she lives in grants pass , and walk over 80 miles to the coast to attend her granddaughter’s wedding . along the way she must confront the demons of her past , including haunting memories of her former husband . marie meets characters like a kind woodworker expertly played by tom skerritt , and a helpful bar owner played by michelle lombardo . overcoming both odds and blisters , marie proves that you’re never too old to have a great adventure , and heal your life .
the mission of sofam is to promote and strengthen the development of film , video , and multimedia production in southern oregon and to serve as the voice of those industries in the region .
for , whatever else can be said about it in terms of it working or not working ,
highway
is a kind of film there should be more of : an impeccable display of craft , with both a brain and heart , that tries something new . its peaks are wonderful ; the one among which not yet mentioned being
pataka gudhi ,
the song immediately post - interval , the proverbial
good a . r . rahman song ,
which textually coincides perfectly with veera ' s first realization of her complete freedom from her stultifying home life . if not for the film ' s tendency to drift off into the ether to the complete loss of all its momentum and purpose , and for the horribly awkward conclusion ,
highway
might be a very good movie indeed . instead , it ' s an inconsistent , if intermittently splendorous , work . there are , to be perfectly clear , far worse things in life .
southern oregon film and television ( or sofat for short ) , the membership - based local professional association and de - facto film commission for the region , assisted both productions . sofat provided strong recommendations about the filmmakers to local public agencies and private businesses , which helped to acquire locations , smooth the various permit processes , and perpetuate the already pro - filming attitude in southern oregon .
with crashing waves along the coast and soaring redwood trees blanketing miles of uncrowded parkland , this is one of california’s most spectacular regions . the largest city , eureka , is roughly a 5 - hour drive north of san francisco—but what a drive : see lush wine country , charming hamlets , spouting whales , and breathtaking sunsets .
he was asked to help reboot the star trek feature film franchise after the first film met with some dissatisfaction at paramount studios . after reviewing all of the original series shows , he conceived of the continuation of the “space seed” episode , an idea which became star trek ii : the wrath of khan . following the critical and box - office success of that film , bennett stayed at the producing helm for the next 4 films . he also wrote star trek iii , co - wrote star trek iv and star trek v . as sharp eye will also spot him among the cast in iii and v .
the fourth feature film based on the star trek science fiction media series , it completes the story begun in star trek ii : the wrath of khan and continued in star trek iii : the search for spock . leonard nimoy directed the film . nicholas meyer , writer and director of the wrath of khan , and harve bennett wrote the final version of the script . principal photography started on february 24 , 1986 , with many real locations used as stand - ins for locations around san francisco . effects house industrial light & magic assisted in postproduction chores , including the creation of animatronic whales . composer leonard rosenman wrote the film’s score .
the american riviera rolls out the red carpet for this glittering event , which brings a - list actors , directors , producers , and others from the film industry to this beautiful central coast city . . . .
marie is my kind of woman . fit , bold , and not in need of anybody’s permission . marie may a bit too mad at the world as the film begins , but she isn’t too rigid to change .
here’s a film festival with an entertaining twist—it’s got music videos too . this long - running weeklong event , presented at downtown’s nokia theatre / l . a . live complex , includes a diverse mix of . . .
night moves , the latest film from critically - acclaimed director kelly reichardt , was the first film to roll cameras . reichardt’s last two films , wendy and lucy and meek’s cutoff , were both multiple award nominees and winners at major festivals . continuing her preference for filming in oregon thanks to its wide range of locations , film - friendly environment , experienced crews , and competitive incentives , reichardt and longtime screenwriting partner jonathan raymond set their latest story of eco - terrorism in the small communities and beautiful landscapes of southern oregon . the movie stars jesse eisenberg ( the social network ) , dakota fanning ( the twilight series ) and peter sarsgaard ( an education ) .
gary kout , a producer on the film and the executive director of southern oregon film and television , is very proud of the level of work coming out of southern oregon . “the high - level skills of the local crew , the brilliance of our local actors , the beauty of our locations and the film - friendly attitude in southern oregon , all contribute to a robust and growing environment for making all types of media , not the least of which are theatrical quality feature films . ” in fact , those attributes of the local industry helped propel ashland to the # 2 top town spot on moviemaker magazine’s best places to live and work as a moviemaker 2014 list .
in this narrow strip of coastal hills and valleys , discover romantic towns , including carmel by the sea , historic monterey , and elegant santa barbara , nicknamed ' the american riviera . ' the region’s classic drive along highway one , linking san francisco to los angeles , visits big sur , hearst castle , wine country , and kick back surf towns .
tom skerritt is a favorite of mine . i’ve loved him since way back in the days of picket fences , an unforgettable show with an unforgettable cast . he has a small part in this film , but it’s nice to see him .
thanks to our familiarity with the local industry , director gary lundgren , my fellow producer james twyman , and i cast several local actors , many of whom perform with the acclaimed oregon shakespeare festival and have strong hollywood film and tv credits .
i suppose i didn’t really need to point out that this 2014 film was an indie production . can you imagine that a hollywood production would star shirley knight in a leading role ( despite the fact that she absolutely kills in this part ) ?
i love tom skerritt . i wish he ' d had a larger roll in the film . the main character reminded me of my mother , a little lost with her roll in life now that she ' s older in age and . . .
the voyage home’s humor and unconventional story was well received by critics , fans of the series and the general audience . it was financially successful , earning $ 133 million worldwide . the film earned four academy award nominations , for best cinematography , best effects , best music and best sound .
to leave off on a higher note than the film itself does ,
highway
has a number of virtues . anil mehta ' s cinematography is absolutely gorgeous , with some sublime panoramic shots once veera and mahabir get to himachal pradesh in northern india . and , as for veera and mahabir , alia bhatt and randeep hooda give passionate if slightly raw ( especially in bhatt ' s case ) performances . their chemistry is terrific , even if the continuity from scene to scene flags a bit in places . when they ' re at their best , though , the two leads are a delight to watch , and bhatt in particular should have a long career ahead of her if she continues to get good parts in interesting films .
the film industry has always been a tough nut to crack , but this seemed like a new strain of disillusionment . as their professor , i felt powerless in my ability to encourage them about an industry that had imploded . but then i discovered from my academic colleagues that the problem was much more widespread and not restricted to filmmaking or the arts . we’re talking about a generation that experienced the trauma of 9 / 11 as children . this and other injustices had seemed to give them an innate sense of mistrust when it came to the adults running our country , let alone the film industry .
david raines is a film sound designer and re - recording mixer based in los angles . mr raines has recently contributed to the sound of patriots day ( peter berg ) , the november man ( roger donaldson ) , stonehearst asylum ( brad anderson ) as well as bythe sea and unbroken ( angelina jolie ) .
harve bennett began his involvement with entertainment in radio and transitioned to film through a degree at the ucla films school . his first many years were as a tv executive for abc and screen gems , where he was involved with such productions as “the mod squad” , “the seix million dollar man” and “the bionic woman . ”
black road is also a genre film that is meant to be as entertaining as it is unsettling . and i hope that in its own small way it shows that an ideal government would go out of its way to meet its people in the trenches and work tirelessly to foster financial stability and meaningful work in their communities .
other veteran actors , like tom skerritt and james le gros ( “drugstore cowboy” , “justice” ) , received similar high praise in this and other reviews and fill in the spaces wonderfully , while newer faces like zena grey ( “house” ) and michelle lombardo ( “californication” ) bring nuanced performances and texture that helps the film turn the corner from fun to profound .
the film offers frequent flashbacks to marie ' s own wedding day and visions of her long - dead husband , suggesting she is carrying a weight of nostalgia that needs to be left somewhere along the road . but the script does little with the theme and lundgren ' s execution is clumsy , failing to support what is clearly meant to be a showcase role for knight .
after world war ii , film noir came along with its jaded protagonists trying to survive in a dark world . black road was inspired by a similar kind of desperation . for too many in this country , the american dream is an oasis that fades away as we race towards it . as an ex - military cyborg , dylan has all the potential in the world , but he ends up an outcast scrambling to survive in a new society that over - promises and under - delivers .
southern oregon has been the backdrop for many feature films , starting all the way back in 1914 with grace’s visit to the rogue valley . though generally an uncommon event , a strong flurry of filming began in 2000 with at least one independent film being shot every year in the area . then in 2010 , filmmaking came to a screeching halt with no films being made , and in 2011 there were only two micro - indies with budgets in the $ 100 , 000 range or less .
song of the new earth is a lyrical documentary about one man’s quest to integrate modern science and ancient mysticism through the transformative power of music and sound . the film , from director ward serrill ( the heart of the game ) , editor eric frith ( eden ) , producers betsy chasse ( what the bleep do we know ! ? ) and sophie jane mortimer , features the life journey of renowned sound healer , psychotherapist and modern day mystic tom kenyon from a young aspiring nashville musician to an internationally revered sound alchemist .
combine the glitz of hollywood , top movies from around the world , and some of the best celebrity spotting anywhere , and it’s easy to understand why california’s film festivals draw serious cinefiles and casual fans alike . some of california’s festivals let you get a jump on the pre - oscar buzz with premieres and screenings of soon - to - be contending films—plus appearances by stars and leading directors . plus they’re set in star locations , like palm springs and santa barbara , so there’s plenty to do before and after you go to the movies .
this is an interesting film that illustrates a growing problem in america between children and parents . the challenging question is : is it too soon for mother to give up her independence , even if she may not be as safe at home ? the director touchingly proves that the elderly can continue to make a contribution to society , and they often understand youth more than their children do . it does move a bit slowly at some points , but never so much that i was tempted not to watch . a 4 . 5 would be a more fair rating than a 4 .
producer sophie jane mortimer worked in the world of non - profit marketing and communications in the uk before joining woody creek pictures as a producer . she co - produced something in the water , a short film about the seattle music scene which was aired nationally on pbs and idea man , for vulcan productions , a series of short films to promote paul allen’s memoir . she is currently producing catching fire , a documentary about fuel efficient cookstoves that are saving lives and forests in africa and treestory , a documentary about humanity’s relationship to trees . song of the new earth is her first feature documentary .
get an insider’s view of the independent film process from one of the indie world’s most prolific and creatively successful producers . neil kopp has produced all manner of content from music videos to commercials to features , including all of the critically acclaimed films by kelly reichardt : old joy , wendy and lucy , and meek’s cutoff . he also was a producer on paranoid park directed by gus van sant . and he’s an oregonian ! neil and his fellow producers were nominated for the cassavettes award at the 2007 independent spirit awards for old joy , and was also awarded the producers award at the 2008 independent spirit awards .
kelly is a senior at southern oregon university and will graduate with a degree in emerging media and digital arts , with an emphasis in video production . she is very interested in all the encompassing arts as well , including drawing , photography and even dance . over the past few years , she has been writing , directing and producing her own short films for various classes and having a great fun focusing on satirical shorts . she is in charge of “transcribing” in which she gets to sort through all the important audio for the film . she will also help with initial editing as well as being a camera assistant to our two cinematographers . she’s ecstatic to be working with some amazingly talented people on the 5 women : 4 season’s crew .
oneal latimore has a passion for understanding and documenting complex and esoteric subject matter , to bring experiences to a wider audience . so naturally , when he heard about this project he had an immediate interest both academically and personally . this film allows him to utilize the diverse array of studies that have been a part of his academic journey ; and also fulfills his need for wild environments for his ongoing spiritual journey . oneal completed his undergraduate degrees from southern oregon university ; graduating with honors ( cum laude , ) in anthropology and emerging media and digital arts , as well as a minor in education . his academic background has provided him with a unique foundation and perspective that continually contributes to his growth as a visual anthropologist , cinematographer , and educator .
about jana carole jana carole is currently a staff screen story analyst for columbia pictures , a division of sony pictures , and has analyzed thousands of scripts in her near 3 decade career . she started in the theater industry as a stage manager at the oregon shakespeare festival before moving down to hollywood . she worked as a producer’s assistant for tv movies , as development assistant and story analyst for guber - peters entertainment , and as a researcher and story editor for columbia pictures . she taught story development and criticism at ucla and been president of the story analysts union . she also works as a professional photographer . in between all of that , she has been active in non - profits as chair of the ashland schools foundation and ashland high arts advocates , and screens films for the ashland independent film festival .
that’s really all there is to the story . michael and the family send out the police to try to find the wanderer , but she manages to elude them on back roads . along the way , marie encounters a variety of people who supply some diversion . the most engaging episode recounts her flirtation with a widower , played expertly by tom skerritt . she also receives aid from a bartender ( michelle lombardo ) , and gets to enjoy some female solidarity with the other patrons . when she stops at the desolate motel where she spent her honeymoon , she runs into a threat from some menacing druggies , but this melodramatic episode is out of keeping with the rest of the film . in addition , a few dreamy flashbacks to marie’s early life are a little too truncated and cryptic to add much heft to the present - day story .
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“no god , no master” starring oscar nominee david strathairn , follows u . s . bureau of investigation agent william flynn ( starthairn ) as he investigates a 1919 anti - democratic anarchist bombing campaign against prominent politicians and businessmen . “no god , no master” is set to debut theatrically spring 2014 .
“a farewell to fools” starring oscar nominees gerard depardieu and harvey keitel follows the unique story of a world war ii - era romanian village as it collectively endeavors to pressure a village madman ipu ( depardieu ) into claiming responsibility for the death of a german soldier in order to avoid a village - wide massacre by the nazis . shoreline and monterey have planned to assemble a spring 2014 theatrical release .
eric kohn and anne thompson discuss their favorite films of the year so far . they also debate several new releases and share some streaming recommendations .
in an episode dedicated to the show within the show , “glow” illustrates its grand capacity for storytelling , and the very good tv podcast breaks down how .
rules weren’t meant to be broken when it comes to tv episode lengths , but these 10 examples — introduced on the very good tv podcast — are clear exceptions .
after studying under cinematographer ed lachman , shevaun mizrahi forged her own unique filmmaking path with its own set of rules .
the actress and director both love the genre , but as they told indiewire , they also knew it needed to be retrofitted to tell the true story of catherine weldon and sitting bull .
lane and schoenbrun discuss how her interest in morgellons disease patients ( “the pain of others” ) and his exploration of the slenderman myth ( “a self - induced hallucination” ) led them to make archival films from youtubes .
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screen veteran shirley knight sinks her teeth into one of the best roles of her career . twitter
fortunately , knight is always front and center , and she manages to be alternately feisty , astringent , stubborn and wonderfully open to experience . although the actress may have lost the youthful radiance that enhanced her performances in sweet bird of youth , the group and the rain people , she still exudes charisma . le gros is another underused , undervalued actor who delivers a subtle , multifaceted portrayal . in fact , almost all of the performances achieve perfect pitch . this is a tribute to lundgren’s direction , and he also makes excellent use of the serene oregon locations . one scene in which a deer wanders into marie’s makeshift camp is particularly delicate and haunting . the musical score by john morgan askew works smoothly without ever overpowering the story .
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marie vaughn ( shirley knight ) hates living in her retirement home . she fights with her son michael ( james le gros ) about it constantly . when her granddaughter naomi ( zena grey ) uninvites her to her wedding because she’s such a negative old biddy , marie decides to go to the wedding to spite everyone . and she’s going to get there on her own two legs .
she starts trekking across oregon’s beautiful countryside and along the way meets people who treat her like an old friend such as pete ( tom skerritt ) and stacia ( michelle lombardo ) . they help her with first aid , places to sleep and offers of rides . she refuses the rides .
marie spends several nights camping in the woods , one night sleeping in a treehouse pete built , and one night sleeping in stacia’s house after beating everyone at pool in stacia’s bar .
her son has every cop in oregon out scouring the country looking for her . she eludes them all without even trying .
in addition to the friendly folks who encourage her along the way , she also runs afoul of a couple of meth heads who want to steal all her money . that scene was the only scary moment in the trek to the coast .
through it all she’s dealing with memories of a lost love from long ago , a sailor named tommy . there are parallels between her relationship with tommy and her granddaughter’s upcoming wedding on the beach . marie thinks she sees her tommy several times and even has imaginary conversations with him .
she makes it , of course , that’s completely predictable , but she does it with panache , and comes out at the end a wiser woman .
you ' ll find lots of stories there that aren ' t on this blog ! come visit .
with : shirley knight , james le gros , zena grey , michelle lombardo , sam daly , barret o’brien , danforth comins , catherine e . coulson , j . p . phillips , geoff whitman , douglas rowe , tom skerritt .
we meet marie ( knight ) in motion , perambulating through the opening credits roll . she’s trying to avoid her son ( le gros , “justified , ” “scotland , pa . ” ) , who’s visiting the facility to which he’s engineered her relocation ( though given her feistiness and his mellow vibe , it’s a bit unclear how he managed the feat ) . he’s intent on convincing her to attend the wedding of her granddaughter , naomi ( zena gray , “house” ) , which she opposes , haunted by a history she doesn’t want visited on the kid . still , considering her misgivings seem to revolve around having been the young bride of a doomed soldier , and that naomi’s intended is the drummer in a band , it’s tough to follow the throughline . but no matter : marie’s shoes are made for walking , and knight accomplishes this with verve and empathy .
deciding to attend the wedding on her own terms , she sneaks out the front door of the retirement home , determined to face her demons while retracing her steps 80 miles to the same windswept beach where her past and naomi’s future seem destined to collide , depending on your tolerance for extended symbolism . at various stages in her days - long journey , marie discovers she needs the help of strangers , including a kindly sheriff ( barret o’brien ) , a kindly crafts shop owner ( skerritt ) and a kindly barmaid ( michelle lombardo ) . luckily , most of those she meets are fairly well versed in medicine .
the plot is predictable and ill formed , even as traveling with marie is a delight . and the second unit certainly makes the most of her journey , highlighting the autumnal glory of the titular oregon landscape and the rugged beauty of the pacific coast .
knight manages to run the gamut of marie’s emotions , often with the slightest of changes in expression : the momentary hurt of being old and invisible to the young ; the frustration at needing the help of others ; the joy of her surroundings ; the realization of her greatest mistake and of her chance for deliverance . skerritt is a calming influence in a role he can play practically in his sleep ( and the sculptures in his crafts shop , credited to kevin christman , are pretty cool ) . lombardo ( “californication” ) , in a less vampy part , is luminous just the same . as the lone unsavory character marie meets , sam daly is quickly dispatched to allow for more walking .
reviewed online , los angeles , april 14 , 2014 . mpaa rating : pg - 13 . running time : 90 min .
production : a monterey media release of an ageless cinema presentation of a james twyman production in association with elsewhere films and joma films . produced by twyman , gary kout . executive producers , guy mommaerts , chiyo mommaerts , karen kozleski . co - producer , anne lundgren .
crew : directed , edited by gary lundgren . screenplay , lundgren , james twyman . camera ( color , hd ) , patrick neary ; music , john morgan askew ; production designer , dave marshall ; costume designer , claudia everett ; sound , kent romney ; re - recording mixers , jim fitzpatrick , david raines ; associate producer , shelly heyward ; casting , christine sheaks
with : shirley knight , james le gros , zena grey , michelle lombardo , sam daly , barret o’brien , danforth comins , catherine e . coulson , j . p . phillips , geoff whitman , douglas rowe , tom skerritt .
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basically the story of a man forced to finally see the injustice around him . riley’s movie is designed to do the same thing to you . …
roger ebert ' s speech on empathy for the
11th hour
series on april 9th , 1994 , being republished here in honor of his birthday june 18 .
roger ebert was born on this day in 1942 , and died a little over five years ago . i owe a good part of my success…
a look back at robert zemeckis ' half - animated classic , who framed roger rabbit , on its 30 - year anniversary .
a tribute to the late tab hunter , a gay matinee idol and hollywood trailblazer .
it opens with veera ( alia bhatt ) , convincing her fiancé to take her for a drive to escape their all - consuming wedding preparations . the fiancé , under duress , complies , and per his fears about straying too far from the house at night , when they stop at a gas station , veera is abducted by masked bandits making an escape . when her abductors find out who she is—the daughter of an extremely rich and influential man—the leader of the group panics and mahabir ( randeep hooda ) , veera ' s initial abductor , takes her and sets out on his own to ransom her , seething with anger at the ruling classes . and yet , from this decidedly unpromising starting point , romance first buds and then flowers between veera and mahabir .
it ' s to ali ' s credit that he controls the tone and pace to such a degree that the romance feels organic , rather than a screenwriter ' s contrivance . veera finds , in fairly short order , that being held hostage by a band of quasi - radical bandits is actually less constricting than upper - class bourgeois life . her ease with the bandits throws them all for a bit of a loop , and gradually chips away at mahabir ' s monolithic , humorless exterior and before he knows it , he ' s taken with her incongruous pleasantness , and he begins to see her as a young woman rather than a symbol of the hated plutocracy .
an interview with terry gilliam , director of
the man who killed don quixote .
the ebert club is our hand - picked selection of content for ebert fans . you will receive a weekly newsletter full of movie - related tidbits , articles , trailers , even the occasional streamable movie . club members also get access to our members - only section on urltoken
set in the autonomous , rebel state of jefferson in 2029 , this futuristic thriller stars sam daly ( the office , daly show ) as cyborg drifter dylan grant – a failed military experiment . he’s 100 % human but is assisted by his artificial intelligence implant , “clyde” ( voiced by andrew wilson ) . aimless and broke , dylan urges clyde to help him find work and a new beginning on the reckless but “free” jefferson coast .
after saving a mysterious woman’s life outside a night club , dylan is sucked into her dark world becoming her lover and accomplice . going against clyde’s wishes , dylan and lisa ( leilani sarelle ) plot to negotiate a financial settlement with her maniacal ex - husband sterling ( simon templeman ) – a tech tycoon who’s developing unregulated warfare technologies and testing ( on unsuspecting subjects ) the hypnotic , addictive properties of the black root plant he grows on his private compound . if only dylan can keep lisa and sterling from killing each other , he may just walk away with a small fortune and a new life – with or without clyde’s help .
in the fall of 2013 , i wrote the first draft of black road while teaching a screenwriting course in the evenings . the idea was that such an arrangement might improve both disciplines . the writing turned out to be as difficult as ever , and the students’ frustration over their career of choice was especially palpable that term . i imagined their filmmaking future looming ahead like an endless , black road . they were upset about the economy and the job market – and they craved assurance that they would land on their feet .
it was this kind of wariness that my story’s main character gradually inhabited in my writing process . dylan was already a cast - off drifter , but now he was charged with something more potent than apathy . he was anxious and bursting with pent - up anger . and he was determined to finally seize control and make something of his life .
black road is a character driven mash up of classical noir conventions in a futuristic land of opportunity . if the libertarians ever get a petri dish like the state of jefferson , i have to wonder if their ideological fantasies will inadvertently create a kind of paradise for some and new lows of evil and abuse for others . like founding father james madison once said , “if men were angels , no government would be necessary . ”
living in a retirement community , estranged from her family , marie decides to journey 80 miles on foot to attend her granddaughter ' s wedding . along the way , she discovers that you ' re never too old to learn something about life & yourself .
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a woman in an assisted living center likes taking very long walks . after a terrible argument with her son and granddaughter , over her granddaughter ' s decision to marry young , the old gal finds herself estranged . she swears that she will take revenge on her daughter by refusing to attend the wedding . she regrets the ultimatum and , in an impulsive move , she loads up a backpack and begins a long walk to the wedding . its a couple days ' worth of walking and she is never far from her own first love . like an odyssey , each experience she has enlightens her , and the viewer . to understand that junction between the fear that one ' s own experience will be repeated , and the hope that one ' s granddaughter will enjoy the happiness in an early marriage that her grandmother was denied , that is the internal walk this old woman takes . plus she spends the night in a tree house with tom skerritt . lovely scenery , a simple story , and a nice way to spend 90 minutes .
this movie is charming and very well done as well as a feel good story . shirley knight is perfect as the displaced senior moved from all her familiar places and friends into an assisted living environment where she didn ' t want to be . her family lived a good distance from her home and moved her to be closer and more able to help her when needed . good intentions can be the road to ruin . when she runs away from the assisted living development the real story begins . the area where this movie was filmed is some of the most beautiful country in oregon . the movie is worth seeing for the scenery alone . i loved the area and the story was very sweet . don ' t miss this movie if you like a good story with very good people in it .
nice movie . i ' ve experienced people wanting to help me when i ' ve been in awkward spots so i know these moments can happen . i ' ve been privileged to see some lovely country but never any of oregon so this movie is as close as i ' ll ever be and i ' m happy the cinematography was so brilliant . the movie does start a bit slow so be patient , but the pace is nice . any faster and the self - discovery couldn ' t have occurred as the journey turns out to be not only geographic but of herself .
this was a thoughtful in depth and beautiful movie for the solitude mind of growing mature ! thinking of the memories , that keep you pushing forward only to pull strength from them . marie was bamboozled by her son to move away from her loving surroundings of bend , oregon , to be closer to him because it was time - consuming to visit her , marie walked daily keeping her strength and endurance up , trying to take her mind off where she was stabled . her granddaughter is to wed an older man in the brookings , oregon area and marie was a tad ticked off . . . . in apology and spite this incredible and spirited woman ties up those hiking boots ( keen , more than likely ) and takes off on an 80 mile glorious scenic journey of the oregon coast , new friendships , and beautiful haunting memories ~ grand movie for all ages of maturity !
this was a feel good movie that was a light and easy way to spend an evening . the plot is pretty simple , and a lot of it is left up to your imagination of what is going on in her thoughts and what exactly is happening with the visions of ' thomas , ' who i believe was her husband that had passed on many years ago . the story was uplifting to see all the good people she meets along the way - and it was great the way she dealt the the scary meth head druggie guy that was trying to rob her ! i can see the allure of a long walk to help you think about life , especially since marie ' s has changed so much in recent years with her being moved from her hometown to the retirement community ( which most of us would happily move into with the pool , breakfast buffet , fireplaces in the rooms , and hot tub ! ) overall , it was a nice movie that was clean and entertaining . while it would be safe for the whole family , i think the movie is more aimed toward adults , as some of the issues are deep and i am not sure a child would really understand . the movie also had a lot of beautiful scenery of oregon , so that ' s a plus as well .


i 'll never heil again is the 56th short subject released by columbia pictures in 1941 starring american slapstick comedy team the three stooges ( moe howard , larry fine and curly howard ) .

the comedians released 190 short films for the studio between 1934 and 1959 .

i ' ll never heil again

watch i ' ll never heil again . divx in entertainment | view more free videos online at urltoken
l ' ll never heil again is the fifty - sixth columbia pictures short subject starring the three stooges .
i ' ll never heil again - wikipedia . i ' ll never heil again is the 5 . columbia pictures in 1 . americanslapstick comedy team the three stooges ( moe howard , larry fine and curly howard ) . the comedians released 1 . at the estate of king herman the 6 .
i ' ll never heil again is a part of the colorized stooges film , as a part of the dvd collection entitled hapless half - wits .
the title of the short parodies the song title
i ' ll never smile again
, written by ruth lowe in 1940 .
reaching between the lines : moe somehow did this with an eye poke in
false alarms
, and his shaving brush in
i ' ll never heil again
.
“…i guess we’ll never know . it’s like a kind of torture to have to watch the show ! ”
the three stooges in one of their world war ii - era shorts , this one involving the fascist dictator of moronica , in
i ' ll never heil again
( 1941 ) .
i ' ll never heil again is the 56th short subject starring american slapstick comedy team the three stooges . the trio made a total of 190 shorts for columbia pictures between 1934 and 1959 .
the short 1941 three stoges film
i ' ll never heil again ,
which also lampooned nazi germany , was twice banned by argentine president juan peron , whose sympathies lay with the axis powers .
the three stooges in i ' ll never heil again ( columbia , 1941 ) . one sheet ( 27
x 41
) . this hilarious short has the three stooges taking on the dictat… | pinteres…
any other stooge :
i ' ll make a note of it .
king herman the 6⅞ is a caricature of kaiser wilhelm ii in his appearance and especially his hobby of chopping wood .
i ' ll never heil again
was released 5 weeks and 2 days after the real wilhelm ii died in exile .
back in 2007 , i took a trip to vietnam . upon leaving , i swore i’d never go back . the only way i’ll give this place a second chance is if i meet a girl who really wants to go to vietnam or if some business trip takes me .
i ' ll never heil again premiered in argentina in february 1942 ( along with the other south american countries ) , but it was banned during the governments of juan perón ( 1945–1955 , 1973–1974 ) because perón was a sympathizer of the nazi doctrine .
this is a pool game , not a blitzkreig . . . i think i ' ll invade you !
( moe )
there’s been a lot of serious subject matter recounted here , so i’ll close with a humorous , light - hearted anecdote . during the filming of i’ll never heil again , moe’s daughter celebrated her birthday . not wanting to be late or miss it , he left the set in full costume , complete with black tape moustache . the lapd received several calls reporting hitler speeding through hollywood running red lights .
in january , 1940 , the stooges came out with
you nazty spy ,
beating chaplin by nine months . in july , 1941 , they released
i ' ll never heil again ,
a more pointed jab at hitler . at that time , making hitler look bad was highly controversial .
several years ago , there was a question about renaldo working in a couple of columbia shorts with the three stooges . he may have portrayed a japanese envoy in i ' ll never heil again ( columbia , 1941 ) as well as a bullfight announcer in what ' s the matador ? ( columbia , 1942 ) . three stooges researcher brent seguine came to the rescue and advised that renaldo never appeared with the zany trio . brent adds that the short - statured ' japanese envoy ' in i ' ll never heil again was played by nick arno ( 5 ' 4
tall ) and paul ellis is the ' announcer ' in what ' s the matador ? .
indeed . i greatly enjoyed this disc . i hope the second is just as good .
poland in mid - september , and the countries had treaties of economic assistance and cooperated in military research . however , just one month before i ' ll never heil again was released , germany invaded the soviet union . king herman the 6 . three years after this short was released , there really was such an attempt to kill hitler .
most of this review has concerned you nazty spy ! , so i’ll add a few interesting tidbits on i’ll never heil again . the 56 th short , produced , directed , and written by the same cast . a soviet union representative is present at moe’s conference of his “axel powers . ” a month before the july 11 , 1941 release germany invaded the soviet union . during the reigns of juan peron in argentina ( 1945 - 1955 , 1973 - 1974 ) , nazi sympathizer peron banned the short .
earlier today , at the gym , i was looking for the new episode of hollywood babble - on on the smodcast network to help make my intense cardio workout more bearable . what i learned when i listened was so exciting , i burned a hundred more calories than i usually do .
production notes . it begins with moe hailstone firmly ensconced as the hitler - like dictator of moronica . curly howard plays field marshal herring ( a parody of hermann g . larry plays minister of propaganda pebble ( a combination parody of joseph goebbels and to some extent also foreign minister joachim von ribbentrop ) . i ' ll never heil again was the first short to be filmed in 1 . filmed on april 1 .
i ' ll never heil again was the first sequel in the stooge film canon . it begins , unlike you nazty spy ! , with moe hailstone firmly ensconced as the hitler - like dictator of moronica . curly howard plays field marshal herring ( a parody of hermann göring ) , who has so many medals that he wears them on both the front and back of his coat . larry plays minister of propaganda pebble .
there’s references made to the beer hall putsch of 1923 as a way to oust the king in you nazty spy ! in i’ll never heil again , king herman 6 7 / 8 is a spoof of kaiser wilhelm ii , including his famous hobby of chopping wood . there’s also a plan to leave a bomb in moe’s conference room , and three years later this actually took place in an unsuccessful attempt to kill hitler .
i write . i create . it ' s that simple , yet so much more complex . view all posts by drew martin
i don’t want to do that because if you haven’t figured it how important mel brooks is , i can only assume you’ve never seen a mel brooks film . but for those of you who have , this one’s for you !
in 1940 , the hays code censored american films . it discouraged or flat out prohibited political statements and messages along with satire . regardless of who or what a film dealt with , the code called for everyone to receive “fair” treatment . short subjects didn’t receive the same attention from censors as feature films . this practice enabled you nazty spy ! and i’ll never heil again to turn out the way they did , as chaplin’s the great dictator kept running afoul of the censors .
in 1943 . in both shorts , curly and larry again take the roles of his henchmen .
i ' ll wipe out greece !
wait a minute . . . . chissolini tried it , and look what happened !
( larry and curly )
i write . i create . it ' s that simple , yet so much more complex . poetry , fiction , non - fiction , reviews .
honorable mention : moving body features of which the bearer is unaware : the hump in young frankenstein ( “what hump ? ” ) and the mole in robin hood ( “i have a mole ? ! ) . i’ll let you find those on your own , kiddos .
you ' ll find some additional information and photos of duncan renaldo on the cisco kid page on the old corral .
i believe this content is extremely offensive and should be removed from the site .
i ' ll never heil again is the only ( semi - ) sequel in the stooge film canon . the movie begins , unlike you nazty spy ! , with moe hailstone ( moe howard ) firmly ensconced as the hitler - like dictator of moronica . curly howard plays field marshall herring ( a dig at hermann göring ) , who has so many medals , that he wears them on both the front and back of his coat . larry fine plays minister of propaganda pebble ( a dig at joseph goebbels and to some extent also foreign minister joachim von ribbentrop ) .
i just can ' t do the curly shuffle ,
solomon says . then he pauses and his face brightens :
but i can do this .
the soviet union may have easily been considered a
silent partner
of the axis . it was never a signatory to the pact of steel ( the original
axis pact
) , and obviously inimical to the anti - comintern pact . yet its relationships with nazi germany were – at least at the surface – if anything more friendly than either country ' s with the us . the ussr had joined germany ' s september 1 , 1939 invasion of poland in mid - september , and the countries had treaties of economic assistance and cooperated in military research . however , less than two weeks after i ' ll never heil again was released , their relationship changed drastically when germany declared war on the ussr .
i think i ' ll invade you !
roflmao ! slightly better than you nazty spy ! in my opinion , but still not a real classic . i do think this does a fairly good job of combining political satire and slapstick , definitely better than its predecesor . the one big fault is the map being onscreen for nearly two minutes . rating : 8 / 10
i was probably like most other young guys . . . i loved the three stooges . every time one of their shorts came on television , i ' d be there howling away and becoming more - and - more hyper until it was over and i could go outside to play and let some steam off . for as many stooge shorts i have seen - i never remember seeing the one that eddie deezen has written about . his article is very fascinating ! i watched a little of the video on neatorama ' s site , and noticed that the stooges appear so much shorter than the others in the film . was that some sort of gimmick to make them seem even more vulnerable and funny ? thanks eddie !
we now hear the axis partners , chizzilini , and the bay of rum saying betwixt themselves as they are now in their little huddle : {
we ' ll get the world from those dictators , we ' ll fight them for it
} .
larry : ( after receiving an eye poke ) i can ' t see ! i can ' t see ! moe : what ' s the matter ? larry : ( smugly ) i ' ve got my eyes closed . ( gets slapped by moe )
chizzilini is now somewhat standing up and regaining conscienceness and his balance as we now see field marshal herring kicking the world and is hittin chizzilini hard on his coconut causing him to fall once again to the floor and is again totally knocked out .
it’s no secret that brooks constantly makes fools of nazis . as a jewish man and a ww2 vet , he has said that he has made it his life’s goal to ridicule hitler and the nazi ideology so much that it can never be taken seriously again .
we now see field marshal herring running for his life once again as he is being chased by the thoroughly demented dictator hailstone .
now i don’t know if it’s just him cutting off the word “necessary” that’s what’s so funny about this , or the fact that it’s delivered by an eccentric old german man determined to be right , but it doesn’t matter , i giggle every time . i like the silliness .
dubbed - in lines when mr . ix - nay says ã¢â‚¬å
may we be struck down on this spot ! ã¢â‚¬ , his mouth isn ' t moving . the same thing when moe says ã¢â‚¬å
we must study this map very carefullyã¢â‚¬ and when curly says ã¢â‚¬å
i ' ll hit that 13 ball so hard , it ' ll fly in a million pieces ! ã¢â‚¬
debate all you want if to be or not to be should be considered a mel brooks film , but because the essential idea and comedy is extremely brooks - like , i’ll count it . in the 1968 version of the producers , the hippy version of hitler played by lorenzo st . dubois ( aka lsd to his friends ) has a “heil , baby” moment , with the same idea of making fun of hitler .
xraffle : - - - quote from : metaldams on september 24 , 2008 , 07 : 07 : 17 pm - - - you guys can tell diane if she pm ' s you one more time , she ' s banned . - - - end quote - - - i blocked her so i won ' t be hearing from her again . anyways , sorry for getting this thread off - topic again . we shouldn ' t let this mess interfere with this interesting subject .
the law firm of dewey , cheatem and howe , ( president i . fleeceum ) among others .
curly joe derita , larry fine and moe howard in the three stooges ' last feature ,
the outlaws is coming
( 1965 ) . in an interview excerpted in
the three stooges scrapbook ,
derita said he enjoyed working with the team but added ,
i don ' t think the stooges were funny . i ' m not putting you on , i ' m telling the truth - they were physical , but they just didn ' t have any humor about them . take , for instance , laurel and hardy . i can watch their films and i still laugh at them and maybe i ' ve seen them four or five times before . . . . i was with the stooges for 12 years and it was a very pleasant association but i just don ' t think they were funny .
: in the 2012 movie , the stooges never left the orphanage until they were adults and had no knowledge of things like iphones , facebook and twitter .
a tragic inversion of the trope occurs midway through half - wits holiday when curly walks off camera and is never seen nor referenced again , even during the short ' s climactic pie fight . this is due to curly suffering his stoke between scenes and the decision being made to complete the short without him .
curly : hey wait a minute , that ' s a real one ! i ' m no fool .
thought bubble : a rare live - action one in i can hardly wait , while curly is dreaming .
impressions : this short reminds me of half - shot shooters , but that short was better . sometimes it isn’t about having a foil , but having a good one . the ending scene is one we’ll see again to close another short . for anyone who’s seen dr . strangelove or : how i learned to stop worrying and love the bomb it might conjure memories of a famous scene . that’s a great film , this short isn’t .
in both you nazty spy ! and the follow up i’ll never heil again , the stooges keep the same roles in spoofing various high ranking nazis . moe howard is moe hailstone , dictator of moronika in the role of hitler . in the follow up , he even dons a black tape moustache for the entire short . in the original , he wears one once applying it by “accident . ” larry fine is minister of propaganda pebble and affects a limp to accurately capture his nazi counterpart joseph goebbels . curly howard , in an army uniform with medals decorating both front and back , is field marshal herring . a lampoon of hermann goring . the jewish stooges inserted yiddish words or phrases as inside jokes for jewish audience members who understood the language . even more irony as jewish actors play nazi leaders and have them speak yiddish .
as the axis partners , the bay of rum , were fighting with dictator hailstone , chizzilini was standing there giving the hitler salute three times as he was saying ' heil ' , after each one .
turkey , which he represents , was never a member of the axis , and remained carefully neutral throughout much of world war ii . but turkey was the center of the ottoman empire , which was a major part of the central powers in world war i , as was the german empire . it was never a signatory to the pact of steel ( the original . yet its relationships with nazi germany were . the ussr had joined germany ' s september 1 , 1 .
in some sans serif typefaces , the uppercase letter i , ' i ' may be difficult to distinguish from the lowercase letter l , ' l ' , the vertical bar character ' . in serifed typefaces , the capital form of the .
what i’m writing about right now is the jokes that are perhaps recycled , because , well , they’re funny so why not use it again ? or maybe they’re used as less apparent nod to previous films . either way , here are my arbitrarily ranked top 5 reused gags in mel brooks’ movies…
you either love it or hate it ,
solomon responded .
it ' s like the stooges .
in unison , everyone on the room said ,
i love the stooges ,
or
i hate the stooges .
do you have anything on tonight ?
no , not a thing .
you ' ll catch cold .
[ rowrff ! ] ( mary ainslee & curly )
all hail his brilliant light ! never will he be overthrown . like mountains and sea . his bloodline immortal and pure . all hail britannia ! so let his wisdom guide our way .
a later curly - era short has the boys kissing and hugging a trio of women . at one point , larry pauses , looks directly at the camera and exclaims ,
this i like — and i get paid for it , too !
once again we turn to high anxiety . i almost forgot about this one , but as i was going back to watch the probing camera bit , i rediscovered a great bit of silly word play at 15 : 25 , when brooks’ character , dr . richard thorndyke is reconnecting with his old mentor professor lillolman . they’re discussing thorndyke’s mental state and that he may be suffering from a condition called high anxiety ( oh , they said it ! ) . lillolman insists that he helps thorndyke overcome this with psychoanalysis starting the following day . then this gem happens :
the great dictator ,
a 1940 film by charlie chaplin that ' s a thinly veiled mockery of adolf hitler , was , not surprisingly , never permitted to be shown in nazi germany .
the interview
may not be much of a film , but then again , it doesn ' t take much to put a hollywood movie on one or more countries ' blacklists .
a sequel to you nazty spy , with the three stooges again poking fun at the axis leaders of world war two . directed by jules white , who made so many stooges ' shorts .
step forth , seek glory ! hoist your swords high into the clouds . hail britannia ! our emperor stands astride this world . he ' ll vanquish every foe ! his truth and justice shine so bright .
false reassurance : in
rumpus in the harem
, larry is afraid that the villain , a dreaded cutthroat , will cut his throat . moe says it ' ll just look like he has two mouths .
i ate what ? : a running gag had the characters , whether a stooge or a supporter , to drink brown paint instead of coffee .
screw this , i ' m outta here : a lot of episodes end with the stooges fleeing in the commotion caused by their latest escapades .
this isn ' t something i talk about a lot . i rarely put it on my resume ,
solomon says . ( he furthered his renegade image in february by appearing on
60 minutes
and criticizing the university of arizona for not requiring professors to teach more . )
another curly classic ! as much as i love
you natzy spy !
i think i like this one just a bit more . this is a great blend of slapstick , one liners and excellent political satire . i love the pool game antics , curly removing moe ' s hitler mustache
give me back my personality !
and the whole meeting with the axis partners is just hilarious , esp when the fight it out over the globe . it was sureal seeing the stooges die and their heads stuffed and mounted on the king ' s trophy wall ! a truly awesome stooge short .
trademark favorite food : burnt toast and a rotten egg :
i ' ve got a tapeworm and it ' s good enough for him .
it’s no secret that i love mel brooks . i spend every january , starting on new year’s day watching his movies all month long . i call it “mel brooksuary” ( which inspired our very own sean to try his own “denzel marchington” ) . i could spend this entire blog telling you why brooks is a brilliant filmmaker that turned the parody genre into an art form . i could tell you about how he was a ww2 vet that diffused landmines and blasted the nazis with pop music just to piss them off , or how he’s one of eleven people to ever egot , or how he belongs to an elite group of renowned comedy writers that all wrote your show of shows together ( including carl reiner , neil simon , and mel tolkin ) .
: curly , again . he ' d usually say this in response to a question moe asked , and moe would either just be annoyed and ignore it , or in some cases , slap curly . example :
in
oil ' s well that ends well ,
joe besser silently mouths the words
i hate him
after moe is mean to him .
many minor characters have ones related to their profession . for example , the dentist in all the world ' s a stooge is named i . yankum .
possibly inspired by a real - life incident : when moe tried to teach shemp how to drive , shemp crashed the car through the glass storefront of a barbershop . shemp was too terrified to ever try driving again .
we see this gag again in history of the world , part 1 , in the ancient rome vignette . as comicus and his friends escape caesar’s palace after a bad stand up show , they follow miriam to safety . at 40 : 30 , she says to them , “now hurry ! walk this way . ” she sashays off like a girly girl , and comicus , josephus , and swiftus sashay with as much feminine attitude as the vestal virgin . again , it’s silly , it’s a throwaway gag , but damnit , gregory hines is amazing , and i adore this moment in the movie .
paper - thin disguise : this trope is quite commonplace in stooges ' shorts . in one , the boys end up cooking / catering at a party for a judge who wants to send them up the river . moe :
oh , he ' ll never recognize us in these outfits !
( apparently , just wearing a white jacket and chef ' s hat renders you totally unrecognizable . ) in another western - themed short , curly masquerades as a justice of the peace , but is not recognized by christine mcintyre until he lifts the tiny ( and i mean tiny ) little toupee off his head , points at his face , and mugs .
impressions : i don’t think the title has anything to do with this short . if it does , i don’t understand . regardless , this is an enjoyable short . first the stooges fail at one business and moe sings a catchy jingle , then they go into a business they have no business being in due to a misunderstanding .
we now see field marshal herring looking at dictator hailstone with a wicked look on his face as he has now stuck his tongue out at him once again and has reached over and pulled off his moustache in a state of madness .
impressions : a sentimental short , and i’m not a fan of those . vernon dent is back in this one . this time he’s aligned with the stooges instead of being on the receiving end as their foil . not that this is uninspired as much as i didn’t like it . this was a hard one for me to watch .
i study their world war ii - era shorts as propaganda films ,
he says .
that carries a lot more weight than looking at belly poking .
however , this joke first appeared in to be or not to be ( 1893 ) at 9 : 20 into the movie . this movie is not as well - known as say blazing saddles and it was not written or directed by mel brooks . it does star him , alongside his beloved wife and mrs . robinson herself , anne bancroft . it’s set in poland at the time of the nazi invasion , and mel and anne play actors who , among other things , satirize modern politics . mel , playing fredrick bronski , has a sketch called “naughty nazis” in which he plays hitler . as he enters , everyone says , “heil hitler ! ” and he calls back , “heil myself ! ” and the audience in the movie laughs along with the audience at home . again , simple humor , but sharp and it plays on the bravado that is expected in a dictator .
surrounded by idiots : moe . possibly the trope namer , though moe usually said
i ' m surrounded by morons
instead . played with because moe was an idiot too .
and the last time that we see this joke is , once again , robin hood : men in tights . robin has just been arrested after the archery contest , and marian offers herself to the sheriff of rottingham in order to prevent robin from begin hanged . the sheriff still takes robin away at 1 : 41 : 42 and says again , “walk this way . ” he swishes his hair and walks away with pomp and arrogance . robin and the guards shrug to each other and follow , mocking his attitude .
hitler , he sneaks in another yiddish sexual semi - obscene expression in
in pupik gehabt habit ,
which translates to
i ' ve had it in the belly button .
black comedy : happens occasionally , such as in an ache in every stake when moe tells larry to fill a cake with gas to make it look bigger . larry misinterprets the command ,
take the gas pipe ,
to mean he himself should suck on the gas pipe . moe , naturally , gets annoyed and ends his scolding with ,
i ' ll kill you later . personally !
larry actually looks scared ; he believes moe might actually do it !
we all know that the best of the best in comedy are bound to reuse a joke or two , and mel brooks is no stranger to that . when there’s a sight gag , a play on words , or just a fun bit of music that works , one can be expected to maybe use it again . now i’m not talking about a deliberate , self - referential callback to an earlier film , like “it’s good to the king” from history of the world , part 1 and mentioned in spaceballs , robin hood : men in tights , and as a lyric in “king of broadway” in the producers musical , or “a black sheriff ? ” from blazing saddles , referenced again in robin hood . those are easy .
flower pot drop : curly ends up on the receiving end of one in
nutty but nice
, apparently as a result of someone becoming annoyed with his yodeling . he ' s reluctant to yodel again afterwards , fearing something bigger might be in store for him .
impressions : “hey , this fish looks like moe . ” i think i might enjoy this short more than most people . don’t confuse this with the 1945 feature film rockin’ in the rockies starring the stooges , but often it is . that film is on the “lost treasures” volume included in the ultimate collection . this is enjoyable from start to finish with the fishing scene as the highlight .
the “heil myself” line is most prominently remembered from the producers ( 2005 ) because it’s a whole damn song in the hitler musical . of course , in this case it’s roger debris , replacing the author / actor franz liebkind , playing hitler and being as flamboyantly gay as possible . it’s a delightful , traditional broadway jam , with lyrics like
the
bey of rum
character ' s presence in the comedy short may refer to the historical sultanate of rûm , which occupied much of asia minor for nearly three centuries in the middle ages . turkey , which he represents , was never a member of the axis , and remained carefully neutral throughout much of world war ii . but turkey was the center of the ottoman empire , which was a major part of the central powers in world war i , as was the german empire .
metaldams : - - - quote from : xraffle on september 24 , 2008 , 06 : 43 : 33 pm - - - she ' s sending me pms as well . i just got another ridiculous one from her now . she wants to refrain from posting but yet she pms every member to annoy them . i ' m so infuriated right now that i ' ve added her to my block list . what the hell has gotten into her ? - - - end quote - - - you guys can tell diane if she pm ' s you one more time , she ' s banned .
chizzilini to the axis partners and the bay of rum : ( as chizzilini is reading the manifesto and is saying in a serious tone of voice ) :
i personally thinks this is fantastico .
oh , good ,
replied curly ,
i just love blintzes , especially with sour krieg .
blintzes with sour cream is a popular ashkenazi jewish dish ( all the stooges were ashkenzai jews ) .
obviously evil : the villains of the ww2 - shorts , who were usually japanese spies , fifth columnists and nazis . even the ones who didn ' t think it was a good idea to run around in full uniform on american soil , still walked around doing the heil hitler salute in broad daylight , and one nazi spy in particular wore a giant iron cross medallion .
disorder in the court introduces a gun as evidence . curly is told to try to pull the incredibly rusty trigger , after being told
never fear , it ' s not loaded .
after one harmless click , he then accidentally shoots off the baliff ' s toupee when his finger gets stuck in the trigger guard .
xraffle : - - - quote from : justin t on september 24 , 2008 , 11 : 18 : 26 am - - - that angry post was bad enough but the pm ' s she sends to culrysdame were even worse and totally uncalled for . thanks for posting that for us . - - - end quote - - - she ' s sending me pms as well . i just got another ridiculous one from her now . she wants to refrain from posting but yet she pms every member to annoy them . i ' m so infuriated right now that i ' ve added her to my block list . what the hell has gotten into her ?
the major
axle
partners shown in the conference room sequence are parodies of the major axis powers of the time—with one and a half exceptions . turkey was never a member of the axis , and in the event , remained carefully neutral throughout much of world war ii . ( however , turkey was the center of the ottoman empire , which was a major part of the central powers in world war i . germany was also part of the central powers . ) the soviet union , on the other hand , although never a signatory to the pact of steel ( and , obviously , inimical to the anti - comintern pact ) could be , due to its friendly relations with germany up until june 22 , 1941 , considered a
silent partner
of the axis with its previous co - invasion of poland after germany on september 1 , in mid - september 1939 .
this was actually a large part of what made the stooges likeable . they ' re all incredibly stupid jerks ( moe just happens to be the biggest one ) , but underneath it , they never display any malice to anyone . not even toward their antagonists , until they start actively doing something incredibly underhanded or hurting someone helpless .
impressions : when i said it would be difficult to choose a favorite stooge short , my mistake . this is my favorite stooge short . while several can compete and come close , this one always comes out on top . this short is a satire of nazi germany with moe in the role of adolph hitler . this short has so many historical film firsts and is important not only to the history of american film , but america in general i can’t possibly list them all here . i think in fact this short warrants its own review . in a way it reminds me of another famous satire film by another famous comedy team , the marx brothers duck soup .
we hear dictator hailstone saying to the minister of propaganda and field marshal herring as they are in their little huddle : {
we ' ll fight them for it and the winner get the world ; ' heekata , heefa , heefa , feef , feef , fife , fife , hukabada , hukabada , tryketda , henka !
} .
poisoned chalice switcheroo : used in multiple shorts . in one notable instance , shemp and the villainess take turns distracting each other and swapping their wine glasses . the villainess , however , simply taps the glasses together when it ' s her turn , causing shemp to swap the glasses around again and give himself the poison .
not quite as good as you nazty spy - i guess moe ' s resemblance to adolf was too close not to milk for a couple of shorts . all ' comedy map ' scenes in stooge shorts go on way too long ; the map scene in this one is the worst yet ( the camera just stares at that map for over a minute ! ) . also , curly joking about bombing hospitals & orphanages is weirdly . . . . weird - it ' s humor from an area that the stooges usually steered clear of . ( the world the stooges inhabit may be populated with gangsters and bad - tempered cops , but it ' s innocent of genocide and civilian bombing - nobody ' s that evil . ) on the other hand , some of the slapstick is great and never heil is from their all - time peak period , the early 40s , so there ' s lots of pluses offsetting the few minuses . but nazty spy was funnier .
mr . amscray to king herman the 6 and 7 / 8 ' s : ( as mr . amscray is looking at king herman the 6 and 7 / 8 ' s in pride and accomplishment as he is saying to him in a happy and respectful tone of voice ) :
you are again our king !
in this satire of the nazis the stooges are paperhangers in the country of moronica . when evil cabinet ministers overthrow the king , they decide to make moe the new ruler as he ' ll be stupid enough to follow their orders . moe becomes dictator , curly is a field marshal and larry becomes minister of propaganda . after successfully preventi . . .
mr . amscray to mr . umpchay : ( as he is now nodding his head at him as he is saying to him in a happy and agreeable tone of voice ) :
i shall be delighted , mr . umpchay !
a handful for an eye : in
studio stoops
, done to a henchman by shemp with ashtray sand after getting grabbed and asked ,
who ' re you ?
. his reply ?
i ' m the sandman .
ha ! horny men are funny . and i love that essentially the same joke plays out in a completely different way , proving that context is everything in comedy . keep that insight for the next time your anecdotes fall flat at a party .
butt monkey : the worst things would usually happen to curly . then again , contrary to the public perception of the stooges , moe often seemed to get the worst of the beatings , mostly due to accidents caused by himself or larry and curly ' s stupidity , and he ' d then take it out on them whether it was their fault or not .
bottomless magazines : played with in
three pests in a mess
. curly hits a bolt action rifle against the wall and it fires . he hits the rifle against the wall a second time and it fires again . bolt action rifles only fire one shot at a time ; one must use the bolt to eject the empty cartridge and load in another bullet .
it was here i swear : should a short have some sort of paranormal or mystery theme , curly and shemp will usually be the first to come across something frightening , which conveniently disappears when moe gets involved . moe will eventually witness it himself , however .
phil krasne was the key figure in resurrecting cisco yet again , this time at united artists . renaldo came back to the role , shaving off his mustache , and made the first clean - shaven cisco a do - gooder rather than a carefree bandit . leo carrillo ( 1881 - 1961 ) , who had already had a long career in films , became the new and best - known pancho .
as in
you nazty spy
, the comedic focus is more on the verbal than the physical , but the boys are again up to the task . again , the satire cuts sharply , making for a good combination of wicked chuckles and belly laughs . the axis summit was a howler , especially the rhumba scene and curly ' s attempts to smoke the water pipe . watch for a young duncan ( cisco kid ) renaldo playing the
japanese
envoy . also noteworthy was the underrated mary ainslee , as princess gilda / seeress of roebuck ; although she is usually not mentioned in the same breath as christine mcintyre or dorothy appleby , mary avoids the inevitable comparisons with a fine performance ( it ' s doesn ' t hurt that she also stacks up well in the looks dept . ) .
sony says it will distribute
the interview
someday , and when it does , we ' ll see which members of the axis of evil forbid it from being shown within their borders . in the meantime , here are a few of the more notable instances of films being banned for their political content , courtesy of the jones media center at dartmouth college , hunter duesing of letterboxd and other astute observers , as noted below :
princess gilda to mr . amscray : ( as she is now holding the ' loaded billiard ball ' and is looking at him with a really devious look as she is saying to him in a really nasty tone of voice ) :
i won ' t fail , amscray !
where we see the lovely princess gilda , king herman the 6 and 7 / 8 ' s , mr . amscray , mr . ixnay , and mr . umpchay all with joyful smiles on theri faces as they are now getting positive proof that dictator moe hailstone and his henchmen will never return and rule the country of moronika . we see the king ' s trophy wall with the following different trophy heads mounted on different shapes of boards .
princess gilda ; { seeress of roebuck } to dictator hailstone : ( as she is standing by him with a really mischievous look on her face as she is saying to him in a really wicked tone of voice ) :
very bad news , i feel your axis partners plan treturey .
all just a dream : most of
i can hardly wait
, though the audience is shown that it ' s curly ' s dream when it starts in a thought bubble .
heavenly daze
, and its stock footage reworking ,
bedlam in paradise
, are examples featuring shemp .
pretty good follow - up to
you nazty spy !
its very funny and ridiculous that moe , larry , and curly play a football game with that stupid globe against the others because they want it . the only short i have ever seen when one of the stooges was smoking something other than tobacco .
suspiciously similar substitute : three actually — joe , then curly - joe , and finally emil . joe and curly joe were curly subs and larry was replaced by emil ( whose stage name was to have been harry . ) curly - replacing - shemp - replacing - curly was an aversion since shemp and curly were fundamentally different characters . the two joes were subversions as well , as they had their own style and never tried to parody curly , despite looking like him .
work off the debt : in the short
oily to bed , oily to rise
, the stooges accidentally damage a farmer ' s saws ; he orders them to work for him until they can pay for new saws . however , in the next scene , they aren ' t shown doing said work and are back out wandering the countryside . it ' s never established if they did work off their debt or ran off when the farmer wasn ' t looking .
minister of propaganda to dictator hailstone : ( as he is standing there with his hands on his waist and has a wicked look on his face as he is saying to him in an evil tone of voice ) :
as minister of propaganda , i want to report that the people . . . . . .
then in 1993 , this joke was reused in robin hood : men in tights , on a significantly less relevant level . in fact it’s not relevant to the genre or source material at all . at 23 : 12 , it starts again with an exterior shot , but this time of a castle , and we hear maid marian for the first time singing a cheesy song about searching for her love . it zooms in closer for a bit , then cuts again to an exterior shot of the closed stained glass windows on marian’s balcony , coming in even closer to the window . then it cuts away to marian in the bath brushing her hair and singing some more , and then right at 23 : 58 , you hear glass shatter and marian turns to see a camera has broken through her window . probably the best part about this is that she acknowledges it , looks confused for a split second then goes back to hopefully singing .
. . . after several previous failed attempts to find him in the 1930 california census , i hit pay dirt . by varying spellings of his name i found him listed as duncan renalds , possibly a writing error by the census official . his age is given as 25 , as it should be , and it says he was married at age 20 but by 1930 was divorced . his occupation is listed as ' actor / motion pictures ' . he was living at 1737 north whitley ave . , los angeles , as were many other unrelated people . i assume this was a hotel or large boarding house . he was paying $ 100 per month rent , pretty hefty for the depression . best of all , he told the census taker he was born in new jersey , and that one parent was also born in new jersey and the other in spain . of course , he may have fibbed but if not , his jailing on immigration charges would seem to have been a bogus conviction .
fast - paced gag - laden satire among the stooges finest . has anyone mentioned the part where curly says to camera
they ' re nuts !
in ref . to moe and larry ? cracked me up ! extra kudos to only pool game in a three stooges film . darn , i can ' t think of a signature !
any resemblance . . . a short opens with a disclaimer that says something like
any resemblance between the characters in this picture and any persons , living or dead , is a miracle .
also used in : you nazty spy ! · back from the front · i ' m a monkey ' s uncle · don ' t throw that knife
you nazty spy is a brilliant film & i take nothing away from it when i say this one is better . the map bit goes too long but that ' s why we have fast forward buttons . favorite parts : larry & curly ' s goosestep when entering moe ' s office , the wild & hilarious turkey keep away from moe & of course the ending fight over hailstone ' s world . jules , felix , & clyde deserve a uniform for putting together such a great short . those stooges ain ' t bad either . did we take the dykes of holland ? sotainly ! and the van dykes of amsterdam , the up - dykes of rotterdam , and the hunchback of notre dame !
when you think about it , the stooges goofing on hitler in the 1940 ' s the way they did was pretty ballsy to say the least . . . especially with moe being jewish . i ' m sure it went over with hitler like a lead zepplin ( no rock band pun intended ) . great piece eddie . your posts are awesome !
one episode wonder : jerks of all trades , a 1949 tv show that never went past the pilot stage . columbia had stipulated in the stooges ' contract that they were not to perform in a tv series that could compete with their short subjects , and threatened to cancel their contract and sue them if they tried to sell the show . as a compromise , columbia sold a package of 30 shorts to abc ( the network the pilot was intended for ) , making it the first time the shorts would air on television .
france , spain , the united kingdom , finland and germany banned
battleship potemkin ,
a celebrated but
rabble rousing
silent film from the fledgling soviet union , in the years between world war i and world war ii for fear it would incite marxist revolution . as it happens , their problems came from the opposite end of the ideological spectrum .
mr . ixnay to king herman the 6 and 7 / 8 ' s : ( as mr . ixnay is saying to him in a really gleeful tone of voice as he has a mischievous and happy smile on his face as he is saying to the king in a joyful tone of voice ) :
i ' m positive , your majesty , look !
princess gilda to mr . umpchay : ( as she is standing there looking at him with a really devious look on her face as she is saying to him in a really evil tone of voice ) :
don ' t worry umpchay , when i get through giving hailstone an astrology session , he won ' t know which end his axis is standing on !
king herman the 6 and 7 / 8 ' s to the axis partners : ( as the king is now looking at mr . amscray , mr , ixnay , and mr . umpchay with a wicked look on his face as he is saying to them in a mad and evil tone of voice ) :
you betrayed me once , how can i believe you now ?