tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336951618302437812.post994042077215012378..comments2023-12-03T20:20:54.683-05:00Comments on Scared Silly: Classic Hollywood Horror-Comedies: HIDE AND SHRIEK (1938)Paul Castigliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00311677339576296386noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336951618302437812.post-86680414537668262712011-08-31T18:38:32.932-04:002011-08-31T18:38:32.932-04:00@Bob - It's not that I dislike "Hide &...@Bob - It's not that I dislike "Hide & Shriek," it's just that there were so many Our Gang/Little Rascals horror-comedy shorts that I have a hard time NOT comparing "Shriek" to earlier, better entries. And when I do compare it seems that more thought often went into the others. As mentioned in my review, the "we gotta' retrieve those notes" scenario in "Spooky Hooky" has a little more resonance for me as it's a more likely scenario than the one presented in "Shriek" which seems more random and arbitrary.<br /><br />@Mr. On - wow, you paint a wild picture. I wonder if any of that was intentional and how much is coincidental? I never did watch "Twin Peaks" - a bit much for my brain to handle - I prefer the more self-contained stories than storylines that spread out over several TV seasons. But perhaps someday I'll take a look. In the meantime, thanks for your kind words about the review. One of the reasons I post reviews infrequently (in addition to my bear of a schedule) is that they take time. I do purposely try to make them in-depth and meaty and I hope that they are worth the wait. :)Paul Castigliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00311677339576296386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336951618302437812.post-90530265926292223962011-08-31T10:52:24.068-04:002011-08-31T10:52:24.068-04:00Prof. P,
Your synopsis and review of this is proba...Prof. P,<br />Your synopsis and review of this is probably the only time I can remember such an in-depth analysis of basically what is considered just a throwaway comedy short in the waning days of the Hal Roach Studios' output.<br />Well done! <br />The influence of the "Our Gang"/"Little Rascals" shorts over other pop culture is immeasurable as it would take a book series of several volumes to list them all in detail, but in particular the films of David Lynch seem to echo many of the themes and images to an uncanny degree.<br />The last episodes of his satire on the soap opera genre, "TWIN PEAKS" had more than its share, i.e., "The Miss Twin Peaks" beauty pageant stage show (complete with rowdy audience!) being the "Flory Dory Girls" from "Our Gang Follies Of 1936" (which also had a "skeleton danse macabre"), to whet our appetite for the creepy, eerie, kooky, mysterious and spooky goings on in the series' finale, Kyle MacLachlan's "FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper" being the 1990-1991 <br />stand-in for Alfalfa's “Detektive X-10 Sooper Slooth.”<br />The whole business of Agent Cooper choosing the correct portal from the "Red Room", whether it be the curtained door to good "White Lodge", or the malevolent "Black Lodge", seems to have been suggested by this,<br />"The voice implores the kids to “choose” a door that will lead to safety or doom.", except here it's not a disembodied voice but "The Man From Another Place" (Mike Anderson) who seems to be in a similar role such as Angelo Rossitto would've played in the 1930's & '40s — had there of course been a David Lynch in those days!<br />The attempt by Agent Cooper in flight for his life to go from room-to-room seeming endless and transcendental, all the while encountering impish, fiendish doppelgängers of the other "TWIN PEAKS" characters, emitting blood-curdling shrieks (backwards!) with clouded dead eyes, is an update of the “string of fright gags”, "Bogeyman" (called "BOB" in the TV series), and the seemingly futile attempt of Porky & Buckwheat trying to run away on the treadmill/floor — even the drapery and curtains are similar!<br />Suggest you watch the last two episodes of "TWIN PEAKS" again, 21 & 22, to see for yourself just exactly what the...?<br />Oh, there's lots more.<br />Over & OutMr. Onhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00271233652945547790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336951618302437812.post-15974767568641579372011-08-31T06:48:47.470-04:002011-08-31T06:48:47.470-04:00I have to disagree with you on this one, Paul. Thi...I have to disagree with you on this one, Paul. This is one of my favorites, but maybe because I liked it so much when I was a kid. I especially liked the giant eye, with working lids, at the entrance to the clubhouse.<br /><br />I do want to second your praise for Maltin's "Our Gang" book. It is truly amazing and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in these films.<br /><br />Coincidentally, my sister-in-law just gave me a public domain one-disc collection of some of the Our Gang silents for my birthday, which is really getting me excited to have a complete official release of the silents. I had heard rumors that this was in the works several years ago, but have heard nothing since. Do you know anything about that? They did show some nice prints on TCM a while back during the Hal Roach festival, which continue to take up space on my DVR.Bob Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03325867398066254117noreply@blogger.com