Gene Autry.

So meta!

This is pretty wild and weird. It’s about Autry being a double, and then hi-jinx ensues (which is traditional enough), but it’s wrapped up in a movie-making thing, and then there’s horses and tricks and stuff, and it’s all very… odd…

It’s like they didn’t quite realise what the formula they were supposed to make was.

I’m enjoying this, but, you know — you can’t really call this a “good movie”. The actors are hamming it up in a very pleasing way, and the cinematography is actually kinda ambitious for this sort of thing…

It’s almost genius. If the jokes had been just a bit funnier, this might have been a cult favourite. Instead it totters on the verge of being awful in ever scene, but somehow manages to make you go “that’s not bad!” all the time.

It’s weirdly inspired, is what I’m saying.

But not actually good?

OK, in the last 15 minutes they mostly abandon the story and just show scenes from a horsey show (which looks like an actual show). And… that’s just not that much fun. But it’s kinda interesting.

The Big Show. Mack V. Wright. 1936. ⚂

Now that’s All American.

That’s Cab Calloway, so I guess this is a B movie vehicle for him. The music’s great, but the acting… oy vey…

So I hope the rest of the movies is just musical numbers and no plot.

Heh heh:

The plot races by in the first 40 minutes, and after that we get a series of musical numbers. That’s pretty much the formula for all early musicals with the only variation being whether the musical extravaganza comes before, after or in the middle of the story. In this case it was at the end, and I actually enjoyed that format. It was as if the filmmakers were telling us, “OK now that the silly plot is out of the way, here’s what you really came here for.”

I like how these sets have no ceilings.

I’ve seen one of Josh Binney’s movies before, and that was also pretty … marginal? This one is better, but the actors are really astoundingly bad here, too.

I’m digging this.

I like the tunes, but this is barely a movie at all.

Hi-De-Ho. Josh Binney. 1947. ⚂

WTF.

For some reason I thought this movie was by Cronenberg. But it’s Jarmusch! That’s a weird disconnect to have.

In any case, I don’t know why this bluray has languished on the shelves for years now…

I’m really enjoying this movie… but it sure stakes a lot on the viewer finding Adam Driver’s face fascinating.

And Driver’s a good actor! But… Fascinating? I’m not sure…

OK, I’m rolling back that comment up there slightly — I loved every minute of this movie. As is often the case with Jarmusch movies, I just couldn’t stop smiling while watching this. Jarmusch taps into a continuity of… amiable bemusement like no other director.

All the characters here were lovable (except that evil dog), and it’s all… perfect.

Paterson. Jim Jarmusch. 2016. ⚅