Stubs - Hell's Heroes

Hell’s Heroes (1929) Starring Charles Bickford, Raymond Hatton, Fred Kohler Directed by William Wyler Screenplay by Tom Reed and C. Gardner Sullivan. Based on the novel The Three Godfathers by Peter B. Kyne (New York, 1913). Produced by Carl Laemmle. Run Time: 78 min USA. Black and White Western, Christmas

You might not think of a film with the theme of redemption at Christmas to be called Hell’s Heroes, but the first sound film based on Peter B. Kyne’s novel The Three Godfathers is called just that. While this might be the first sound film, it is not the first or the last to be based on the novel. Even before there was a novel, there was a short story "Broncho Billy and the Baby," by Kyne published in The Saturday Evening Post in 1910. This served as the basis of an Essanay short film of the same name in 1915.

The novel, first published in The Saturday Evening Post in 1912, was bought by Bluebird Photoplay and made into the film The Three Godfathers (1916) co-starring Harry Carey. The story was remade as Marked Men (1919), directed by John Ford and again co-starring Harry Carey.

Hell’s Heroes was shot on location in the Mojave Desert, in and around the town of Bodie, California, and  utilized much of the town's main street and included both exterior and interior footage of the Bodie Bank, which burned in 1932, and Methodist Church. The film opened in New York on the week of December 27, 1929 and went into wide release on January 5, 1930. The film print for Hell's Heroes was fully restored by The Film Foundation; an organization founded in 1990 by director Martin Scorsese.

Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion

Alongside the release of Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two in 2012, there came the release of a companion game on the 3DS known as Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion (Power of Illusion), which takes more inspiration from the long-running Castle of Illusion series of Disney games in terms of gameplay and story. While I was aware of the Epic Mickey console games when they came out, Power of Illusion was one that I wasn’t really aware of until I was looking into actually playing the games, though I was fortunate to not have too much trouble finding a copy at the time. Around the time I first experienced the console duology, I decided to give the 3DS game a try, only to give up close to the end due to a sudden difficulty spike in the third act. Though I had meant to revisit the game someday, the release of Epic Mickey: Rebrushed motivated me to do so sooner than I might have otherwise, this time going in with the intent to be more prepared for the late game. After finally beating the game, I can say that putting in that extra effort on my last playthrough was worth it in the end.

Stubs - A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

 

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973) voices by Bill Melendez, Todd Barbee, Stephen Shea, Hilary Momberger, Robin Kohn, Christopher DeFaria, Jimmy Ahrens, Robin Reed. Directed by Bill Melendez, Phil Roman. Teleplay by Charles M. Schulz. Based on Peanuts Created by Charles M. Schulz Run time: 25 minutes. Color, USA. Animated. Holiday, TV Special 

There are some TV specials that are perennials. For many people, the holiday specials based on Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts comic strip are something to watch annually. The tradition started with A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), followed by It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966). Seven years later, Schulz tackled Thanksgiving with A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. The special first aired on CBS on November 20, 1973, two days before the holiday.

Please, Touch The Artwork 2

With hidden object games being a fairly saturated genre, it can take a lot to try and stand out. One such game that I had recently come across is Please, Touch The Artwork 2, a game by former Hitman dev Thomas Waterzooi made around the art of Belgian artist James Ensor. While I had not played the original Please, Touch The Artwork game, the presentation and it being free led me to download and play it, which proved to be a short, yet worthwhile experience.

Stubs - Bombshell

Bombshell (1933) Starring Jean Harlow, Lee Tracy, Frank Morgan, Franchot Tone, Pat O'Brien. Directed by Victor Fleming. Produced by Hunt Stromberg. Screenplay by John Lee Mahin, Jules Furthman. Based on the unproduced play Bombshell by Caroline Francke and Mack Crane. Run time: 98 minutes Black & White. USA Pre-Code, Romantic Comedy

It’s rare that an actor will play a character that so closely seems to mirror their own lives. While not a biography, much of Bombshell seems to be based, at least in part, on the life of its star, Jean Harlow.

However, the film is really based on an unproduced play, Bombshell, by Caroline Francke and Mack Crane. It was in a story conference at MGM that the idea to make the play into a comedy was born.  Screenwriter John Lee Mahin had the inspiration to turn the tale into a comedy, ­ an idea seized by Fleming when he realized Bow's story was ripe for satire. "She used to be my girl," Fleming explained. "You'd go to her house, and there'd be a beautiful Oriental rug with coffee stains...and her father would come in drunk, and her secretary was stealing from her."

Sheepy: A Short Adventure

While I don’t actively seek out modern games with pixelated art styles, I am still willing to give them a chance if the art and gameplay styles appeal to me. One such game is Sheepy: A Short Adventure, which I came across in my Steam recommendations and decided to download since it was free. After going through the short experience for myself, I found myself wondering how a game of such quality could possibly have been free.

Stubs - The Cat's Meow

The Cat’s Meow (2002) Starring Kirsten Dunst, Cary Elwes, Edward Herrmann, Eddie Izzard, Joanna Lumley. Directed by Peter Bogdanovich. Screenplay by Steven Peros. Based on a play by Steven Peros. Produced by Kim Bieber, Carol Lewis, Dieter Meyer, Julie Baines. Run time: 112 Minutes. Color. United States, Germany, United Kingdom Mystery, Comedy, Drama, Historical

It almost sounds like a movie, film pioneer Thomas Ince, actress Marion Davies, fellow filmmaker Charlie Chaplin, British writer Elinor Glyn, gossip columnist Louella Parsons, and actress Margaret Livingston take a weekend cruise aboard William Randolph Hearst’s yacht Oneida to celebrate Ince’s birthday. However, the guest of honor dies onboard or soon afterward, depending on who’s story you believe. How did Ince die?

Epic Mickey: Rebrushed (PS5)

After Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two and its companion game, Power of Illusion, failed to meets sales expectations in 2012, the Epic Mickey franchise was shelved, cancelling the in-development Epic Donald along with it. This development also led to the character of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, who was reacquired from Universal just for this series and reintroduced to a new generation of fans, to be relegated mostly to cameos in other Disney works, including a cancelled Disney+ series, until the company suddenly started paying more attention to him around his entry into the public domain. 12 years later, both the Epic Mickey franchise and Oswald were given a second chance with the announcement of a remake of the original game for modern platforms, dubbed Epic Mickey: Rebrushed (Rebrushed). As someone who enjoyed the original, this announcement got me excited, and I had faith in Purple Lamp as the developer due to their work on SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated. As someone who became an Oswald the Lucky Rabbit fan as a result of the original game, I was further surprised when I noticed that, according to the back of the box, Rebrushed is an official Oswald the Lucky Rabbit product.

 

A small, but interesting bit of branding.

Due to the proximity of its release to my birthday, I received the PS5 version of Rebrushed as a gift, at which point I felt hyped enough to play it as soon as possible, and found it to meet my expectations and more.

Stubs - The Man with Two Faces

The Man with Two Faces (1934) Starring: Edward G. Robinson, Mary Astor, Ricardo Cortez, Mae Clarke, Louis Calhern. Directed by Archie Mayo. Screenplay by Tom Reed and Niven Busch. Based on the play The Dark Tower by George S. Kaufman and Alexander Woollcott, produced by Sam H. Harris Theatrical Enterprises, Inc. (New York, 25 Nov 1933). USA Black and White. Run time: 72 minutes. Drama.

Films based on plays are nothing new. The Dark Tower is a mystery drama by George S. Kaufman and Alexander Woollcott, first produced in 1933. The play ran at the Morosco Theatre in New York from November 25, 1933 until January 1934.

The film version, entitled at various times: The Strange Case of Mr. Chautard, Dark Victory and The Dark Tower, was in production from March 5 until April 4, 1934.