DUMBO (Dir: Tim Burton, 2019).

DUMBO (Dir: Tim Burton, 2019).

Being of the opinion that Walt Disney’s Dumbo (Ben Sharpsteen, 1941) is one of the greatest movies ever made, I was not entirely thrilled at the prospect of a remake, in spite of my admiration for director Tim Burton. But, ever the open-minded film enthusiast, I watched it anyways!

Dumbo is, of course, the story of the circus elephant born with oversized ears who silences his naysayers when his ears provide him with the ability of flight.

The first half of Burton’s movie roughly follows the original, while the second half continues Dumbo’s story after the events of the first movie, chronicling his tenure as the star attraction of an early amusement park and a daring rescue attempt of his imprisoned mother.

Predictably it is the first half which suffers most in comparison with the original. While the original movie runs little more than an hour, its basic story is retold here in about 40 minutes. The result of which is the narrative beats all fall a little off the mark. For example, Dumbo’s ability to fly is established within the first 20 minutes of the movie, rather than at the climax. The introduction of an antagonist who is swiftly dispensed with roughly halfway through is also slightly jarring.

Absent are the crows and Timothy Mouse, replaced by elephant wrangler Colin Farrell and his children Nico Parker and Finley Hobbins. The relationship between Dumbo and his only friend Timothy is sorely missed and as a result the emotional core of the movie seems sadly lacking. The tragic-comic original contains both moments of great joy and great sadness, while this Dumbo is content to coast along without reaching such emotional depths.

That said, being a Burton production it looks fabulous and has an appealing cast including a neat turn from Danny DeVito as the circus ringmaster. The Climactic rescue attempt does have some genuine moments of excitement.

By all means watch and enjoy Tim Burton’s Dumbo, especially it’s superior second half. Just don’t expect it to soar to the same thrilling heights as Walt Disney’s masterful original.

Read a longer, more in-depth version of this review on my blog: jinglebonesmovietime.blogspot.com

Movie number 60: DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp (Bob Hathcock, 1990).

Inspired by Carl Barks’ Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck comics from the 1940s to 1960s, Disney’s DuckTales was a weekday animation series that premiered on US TV in 1987. The show proved a massive hit with audiences and critics, running 4 seasons and 100 episodes and spawned the 1990 theatrical feature film DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp.

The long form adventure stories of Barks formed the basis of many DuckTales episodes and would seem ideally suited to feature length adaptation. However for DuckTales the Movie an original story was created that drew upon both Barks and the stories of the Arabian Nights.

While treasure hunting in the Middle East, Scrooge McDuck and his nephews, accompanied by pilot Launchpad, housemaid’s grandaughter Webby and dubious guide Dijon stumble across a lost, sand covered pyramid in the Egyptian desert, resting place of the fabled Lost Treasure of Collie Baba. Among the riches is a seemingly worthless lamp which Scrooge discards but is rescued by Webby. Dijon, meanwhile, is in the employ of evil sorcerer Merlock who steals the treasure, minus the lamp and sends Scrooge home empty handed. On arriving home in Duckburg, Webby and the nephews discover the lamp contains a magical genie and before long Merlock and Dijon are back to secure the lamp for the sorcerer who wishes to use it for his evil doings.

The Barks-esq opening scenes of DuckTales are easily the movie’s best. The story lags somewhat in the Duckburg bound middle act but is back on form for an exciting climax drawn from the Arabian Nights and similar in execution to Disney’s own contemporarily produced adaptation of Aladdin (Ron Clements and John Musker, 1992).

The animation, while perhaps a step down from the classic Disney features is a notch up from the TV series and the voice work, particularly Alan Young as Scrooge and Christopher Lloyd as Merlock is excellent.

Underperforming slightly at the box office, there was to be no feature length sequel. The DuckTales franchise continued for a number of years, fittingly, in comic book form and was successfully rebooted for TV in 2017.

While DuckTales the Movie is not quite the adventure that Carl Barks aficionados may have hoped for, it is still an exciting, well executed fun movie. Treasure of the Lost Lamp is, indeed, a gem.

Movie number 64: There Ain’t No Justice (Pen Tennyson, 1939).

A lightweight drama from Ealing’s early years, There Ain’t No Justice stars Jimmy Hanley as mechanic turned boxer Tommy Mutch. After a promising start to his career Mutch quits fighting on learning his bouts are fixed. He later returns to the ring in order to pay a family debt but refuses to take a dive as demanded by a corrupt manager.

Hanley made a career from playing amiable types but is woefully miscast here. As a fighter he is unconvincing in both his physicality and his performance. This unfortunate casting is detrimental to an already dramatically weak picture. It is further hampered by the broad ‘cockerney geezer’ stereotypes of the supporting characters.

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock’s former Assistant Director Pen Tennyson, it is for the most part, not up to the standard of even Hitchcock’s weakest efforts. However, one scene depicting an attempted suicide displays a brilliant use of editing to create tension and is so good it feels like it belongs in a different film. This sequence alone makes the movie worth watching.

Tennyson directed two further, more distinguished movies: The Proud Valley (1940) and Convoy (1940), both at Ealing. He was tragically killed in a plane crash in 1941, ending a career which showed much early promise.

Released the same year as the pugilist classic Golden Boy (Rouben Mamoulian), There Ain’t No Justice is nowhere near as good a movie. Indeed, it’s not very good at all. It lacks the authenticity to appeal to boxing fans and the dramatic impetuous to appeal to movie fans. Worth a look for Ealing completists or for any admirers of Mr Hanley but markedly less rewarding for casual viewers.

Movie number 68: Who Done It? (Basil Deardon, 1956).

Who Done It? is a late period Ealing comedy starring popular TV comic Benny Hill, directed and written by Ealing stalwarts Basil Deardon and TEB 'Tibby' Clarke, respectively.

Hill stars as Hugo Dill, a disillusioned ice show sweeper with an obsession for pulp detective fiction. After winning £100 in a detective magazine competition Dill sets himself up as a private investigator. He duly becomes entangled with political saboteurs whom he unwittingly aides in an assassination attempt. Meanwhile becoming romantically involved with aspiring showgirl and strongwoman Belinda Lee.

Yes, the plot is ridiculous. But, more importantly, it is funny. It is certainly slapstick of the broadest kind, but those expecting Hill's brand of saucy (some would argue sexist) seaside postcard humour will be disappointed; this is purely innocent stuff and the better for it. Even the burgeoning romance between Hill and Lee is a rather chaste affair.

Basil Dearden was one of the most prolific Ealing directors, although perhaps not the obvious choice for Who Done It? Helmer of the acclaimed dramas The Captive Heart (1946) and The Blue Lamp (1950), he rarely turned his hand to comedy and one would assume it was not his forte but for the excellent League of Gentleman (1960), produced by Ealing head Michael Balcon a year after the studio's demise. 'Tibby' Clarke on the other hand had proved himself an excellent comedy writer as scenarist of the bone fide Ealing classics Hue and Cry (Charles Crichton, 1947) Passport to Pimlico (Henry Cornelius, 1949) and The Lavender Hill Mob (Charles Crichton, 1951). Who Done It? doesn't rank among Clarke's best work but is nonetheless highly acceptable second tier work from a screenwriter who rarely wrote a bad script.

Who Done It? in no way represents the best of the Ealing Studios, yet neither is it the failure that its relative obscurity would suggest. It is well worth seeking out, especially for fans of vintage British cinema. Read an unedited version of this review and reviews of other classic Ealing Studios films on my new blog jinglebonesmovietime.blogspot.com

Movie number 65: The Silent Passenger (Reginald Denham, 1935).

Dorothy L Sayers’ amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey makes his big screen debut in this original story, written by Sayers with screenwriter Basil Mason.

When a man in wrongly accused of murdering his philandering wife’s lover Lord Peter Wimsey steps in to prove his innocence. The action largely takes place on board train from London to Dover and benefits from location shot on actual stations.

Made three years before another great train bound mystery, The Lady Vanishes (Alfred Hitchcock, 1938), The Silent Passenger pales in comparison to the later movie. Yet this slightly creaky thriller actually surpasses its obvious ‘B’ movie origins and really isn’t bad at all. Admittedly, it’s not much of a mystery as the audience know the identity of the murderer from the outset. But its climactic chase through a locomotive repair shop and into the pathway of an oncoming train is genuinely exciting. Peter Haddon hams it up nicely as Wimsey and it has its share of humorous moments as well as minor thrills. It is no classic by any means, but does have an old fashioned charm nonetheless.

THE HORSE IN THE GRAY FLANNEL SUIT (Norman Tokar, 1968).

Based on Eric Hatch’s book The Year of the Horse, Walt Disney Productions’ The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit is a lighthearted comedy set in the world of showjumping.

Madison Avenue advertising executive Fred Bolton (Dean Jones) has just 24 hours to appease a client and save a valuable account. He hits upon the idea of sponsoring showhorse Aspercel - named for his client’s brand of indigestion tablets - which his shy daughter will hopefully ride to glory.

Jones, in his 5th film for Disney is an amiable leading man. Diane Baker is equally likeable as his romantic interest. In her sole movie credit Ellen Janov impresses as Bolton’s daughter, while Disney regulars Kurt Russell and Norman Grabowski appear in smaller roles.

Yet despite this quality cast the movie is something of a disappointment.

To describe The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit as a gentle comedy would be an understatement. There are plenty of mild chuckles but few big laughs in a movie that canters rather than gallops to the finishing line. Even its climax at a critical International Horse Show event fails to generate much excitement.

It seems a little redundant to be over critical of The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit. It is well meaning and completely inoffensive yet also predictable and slightly dull. At just shy of 2 hours it is also about 20 minutes too long. In fact it is only the game playing of the appealing cast that saves it.

If you’ve seriously nothing better to do it will while away a couple of hours. Horse lovers will undoubtedly enjoy the equine aspect but, to be honest, it is no champion.

Check out my blog jinglebonesmovietime.blogspot.com for more reviews of vintage Disney classics!