This fellow's wife has died before the start of the film, and he's not too happy about it, which makes a change from romcoms about awful men being saddled with wifes they don't much like.

Uh-oh. The widower's friend and his five-year old daughter invited themselves to come live with him to help him deal with his loss and we've immediately cut to the daughter at, shall we say, marryin' age.

I was up for "sad old widower learns to love again, precocious child involved in some way" but I do not wish for who he learns to love to be the precocious child he has been raising like a daughter for fifteen years.

Oh, right, the War.

"That's my father."

Oh, I see, she's falling for Son of Widower, and, I assume, they'll be who Widower learns to Love Again through.

Hold on, it's not Son of Widower, it's Son of... Widower's Long-Dead Mortal Enemy.

It's a good thing this is a Blu-Ray rip and not some 480p shit I had to grab from a Russian site or I might get confused about these dual roles.

They make a whole thing of how much Daughter of Widower's Friend looks exactly like Dead Wife, but, I mean, well, yes, they're both played by Norma Shearer! It's not even identical cousins, they're not even related!

The Widower's Mortal Enemy is the Widower's mortal enemy because he's the fellow who shot Dead Wife -- on their wedding day.

To be fair, you can see why she doesn't want Friend's Daughter to have anything to do with Mortal Enemy's Son.

Obviously, 1933, but "oh no the boy has to go to the war" is just not something I find very relatable.

after a short shot of snow outside a window, during which the War happens, Son of Mortal Enemy does not appear to have come back from the War

oh, there he is, on the late train, paralysed below the hip

The Widower dies in the middle of a chess game basically immediately after letting go of the hate he still felt, or something like that, as the punchline to a running gag where he keeps falling asleep in the middle of chess games.

Tonight's film, movie #7! Ripped from the headlines, it's 1932 Best Picture nominee "I Am A Fugitive From a Chain Gang."

...Finally, one I feel like I can safely assume is exactly what it says on the tin.

Not got a word to say about it, but this is pretty good.

(I think this is the earliest I've seen the pan-across-a-map for a travel montage, though I think that originates in serials, not here.)

this whole chain gang business seems absolutely wretched and inhumane, so good thing the US stopped doing it in the fifties-- reintroduced in some states in 1995? a thing today? what the fuck?

Nearly halfway through, and only now is the wrongfully convicted-for-robbery WW1 vet with PTSD actually making his escape from the chain gang.

hahaha

tv isn't a thing yet so the "emergency broadcast, watch out for this escaped convict" thing is delivered by a cop who happens to sit down in the same barber shop as him

I feel like in 1922 an escaped prisoner could probably just change their haircut and move to a new town and nobody would ever find them.

"They promised me a pardon if I came back for 90 days."

sigh
sigh
siiiiiiigh

"Jim, they refused to pardon you."

siiiiiiiiiiiiigh

this is honestly a good movie, which is still a rarity, 28 films into this

i understand that "maybe 5 of the 28 films i've seen of this list of over 500 films are actually good" makes keeping going the act of somewhat of a fool, and yet

> "maybe 5 of these are good"

uhh,
* All Quiet on the Western Front
* Skippy
* The Champ
* I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang

are the only ones I would sincerely recommend

And "All Quiet" and "Fugitive" really only if you're into the kind of thing they are, which is, like, social commentary reacting to WW1

‪Anyway, prisons! Are fucked up!‬

Tonight's film, #8! 1932 Best Picture nominee "A Farewell to Arms."

* Probably another one about the War.
* Directed by Frank Borzage, whose previously nominated films sucked eggs.

god, ww1 soldiers, stop being horny

can the hays code kick in already

oh, this is 1932, Hays Code gets strictly enforced starting mid-'34

not long now

Hays Code sucks, obviously, but it's interesting history, and I'm curious if I'll be able to tell

it's all just

this movie has a scene where the main guy just touches and talks to a sex worker's bare feet for a while

her face is never seen, and a couple minutes later he confuses another pair of feet for hers -- the owner of those feet is the woman he's now having a big romance with

"how I met your mother? well, kids--"

not entirely sure how you make bombing a town look this boring, but by gum, they did it

film as a medium comes a long way from 1927 to 1932 -- genuinely, incredible progess, any film made in 1932 would have wowed a 1927 audience -- but Frank Borzage still can't make me give a shit

ironically, people who die young always take fucking ages to die in these movies

"Hard to believe I've been shot on my wedding day! Unlikely to make it to the wedding night! Quick, someone take notes!"

I forgot to thread, but movie #9 in #MovieThread is "Toy Story." https://beepboop.one/@Alexis/104722204163664976

Movie #10: I think Tarantino probably sucks, but people won't shut up about him, so I'm heading out to go see the first half of Kill Bill in the cinema.

Well, that's all a bit much, innit.

Movie #11: I've got 2019's "The Assistant" on -- trying to clear out some stuff from early in the pandemic.

God, what a relentless, crushing slog. Which I imagine is the point! As such, success? (Cripes, oh cripes.)

This isn't going to end with her burning down the building, but I sure wish it would!!

Movie #12: This spring's "Underwater," because I'll watch Kristen Stewart fight a Cthulhu, sure.

I'm *pretty* sure that's what it's about, anyway.

I wish this had more jokes, but if the TJ Miller character is any indication, perhaps this has Too Many Jokes already?

Kristen Stewart is terrific, obviously. The rest of the movie also exists.

Tonight's movie, #13, "An American Pickle."

Seth Rogen is watchable enough, and I love a pickle, I assume that averages out to something I'll enjoy.

@Alexis@beepboop.one welcome to the united states where we have absolutely totally abolished slave labor yep that's a thing we did look it's right there in the history books

@InspectorCaracal "Yes, I got rid of my gun," says man planning to make trip to gun store to buy gun this very afternoon.

@InspectorCaracal siiiiiigh

@Alexis@beepboop.one more like "yes i've gotten rid of all my guns, where guns means rifles and i've still got a room full of revolvers"

@Alexis Then and now!

@Alexis@beepboop.one have not seen kill bill but sounds about right

@Alexis is it bad that I just wanted to respond "funniest shit i've ever seen"

(I apologize if you don't know the meme)

@The_T and then he turns into a tired sigh

@Alexis idgi

@Alexis I don't think these are real movies. I think you're pulling an elaborate prank.

@kurt One where the girl from Twilight fights Cthulhu? Ridiculous.