SILENT MOVIE AND A NOT SO SILENT - SILENT ACTOR

Young Buster - pre alcohol addiction

The latest films that I watched are “kinda” connected but...not really.  One is a silent film and the other(s) are sound films starring a silent actor.  The actor is Buster Keaton and the collection is, well, “The Buster Keaton Collection.”

Older - "making ends meet" Buster

In the 1940’s, after sound films had taken over, Keaton’s career had hit the skids and he had hit the bottle.  Divorced, broke, struggling with alcohol Columbia took him in to make movies.  Well, not feature films but “Columbia’s Selected Shorts!”  So what you got were 10 movies averaging about 20 minutes each starring about the same group of actors.  Filmed over 3 or 4 days these films were quickie little movies probably shown between the “Bugs Bunny Cartoon” and the “Newsreel” at the local double feature.

Notice "Columbia Short Subject Presentation" - still Buster is over the title...

When Keaton was in his hey-day he directed himself in some wonderful feature films.  To be relegated to these ensemble pieces with little or no control – it must have been heartbreaking.  But...if you’ve got debts to pay and kids to feed – you got to do what you got to do.

Are the films any good?  Well, in a word...no.  Slapped together, most of the films don’t have the poignancy or the artistry of what Keaton created in the 1920’s.  Typically the films would end up with just slapstick gag after slapstick gag:  “You fall down here.  You go there and fall down.  Then everyone falls down.”

But...in a few...the genius still surfaced.  There were moments – nods to his film “Cops” and one film used the same “high angle” as Harold Lloyd’s film “Safety Last.”  But, sadly – as beautiful as some of the set-ups and gags were, on a whole they weren’t very funny.

Older, sadder Buster...

After the 10 shorts there’s a short documentary about the films and even these Keaton experts say that they’re not very good and they, too, point out some moments where you can see the genius but then, as quickly, it goes back into the mediocre hole when someone falls down.  I feel sorry for anyone who purchased the set of films only to watch the documentary first to hear the people talk down these Columbia shorts that they just bought.

Diggin' that font...

The second film I watched was the movie “Foolish Wives.”  Directed by, and starring, Erich Von Stroheim – the title cards talk about how this film was, originally, 23 reels or something and that it has been painstakingly restored.  I thought:  “How long IS this?”  2 hours and 23 minutes.  Sigh.  Do I really want to watch a 2.5 hour long silent film?  You see – with most of my films I watch at work, I watch while I play on my phone so I never devote 100% of my time watching the movie – just listening to it.  Piano music is great for 2.5 hours but I DO have to see the title cards and the dialogue cards.

The story?  Well Erich plays a Russian Prince (or something) hanging out with his “cousins” in Monte Carlo.  They’re actually thieves who are living the highlife by passing off counterfeit bills.  By day their the most proper dignitaries one could imagine.  By night they’re trying their best to score some cold hard cash.  There isn’t a redeeming quality amongst them.

"Cousin"

Erich soon sets his sights on a young (23?) year-old American woman who is visiting Monte Carlo with her much older husband.  They’re rich Americans and Erich sees an easy score.

Before you can say “rapscallion” – Erich has infiltrated this couple and has offered to be their tour guide.  She, and others, fall under is monocled trap has he takes her to events, shows her that he can shoot doves and sweeps her off her feet.  Meanwhile his “Cousins” are flirting with other men.

Flirtin' with the Rich American woman...

Late in the film we find out a couple things...  Thing 1.  the counterfeiter they’ve been using lives in the slums and has a sickly daughter.  Thing 2.  There’s a maid in the house who has worked there twenty years who, at some point, was proposed to by Erich.  Erich has promised to marry her and she keeps waiting for him to do good on his promise.  He promises her again, saying that his “Russian paperwork is being held up.”

Would you trust this guy?  Oh, and monocles are badass.

On a fateful night at the Casino Erich encourages Ms. American to bet her cash at the roulette wheel and she wins.  Knowing that she has a bunch of cash, he entices the woman back to his place.  When she arrives the spurned maid, as best as I can say it, goes a little nutso.

"Hell hath no fury like...(you know the rest)"

To tell you how it ends would ruin what is actually a pretty great film.  Sadly, there are some gaps from the missing reels so things do get kind of “herky jerky” in terms of plots and plotting.  Where the film really shined, though, is in its cinematography.  There are some set-ups that are amazing in terms of lights, lighting, dust, angles and so-on.  Stroheim was really on his game as a film-maker, even though you really REALLY hated his character.  One scene late in the film when the American woman realizes she has wronged a gentleman is heartbreaking.

Foolish wife?  More like foolish American husband to let her wife be seduced by such a evil monocle wearing man...

The title “Foolish Wives” comes from a book the American woman is reading entitled “Foolish Wives” written by Erich Von Stroheim.

So in one corner you have Keaton at the end of his career doing slap-dash unfunny “comedy shorts” and on the other hand you have a great film-maker like Stroheim at the beginning of his career and showing some amazing skills as both an actor AND film-maker.

TOTALLY badass...

Made in America - my New Reality TV Show

MY IDEA FOR A REALITY TELEVISION SHOW

I got a belt for Christmas.  It’s a nice belt.  Purchased at Costco.  I needed a belt and it probably cost something like $14.99 or something.

After I opened the belt I took a close look at it.  It’s a “Kirkland Signature” brand made with Italian Full Grain Leather Upper and Full Grain Leather Lining.  It was also made in China.  Italian leather sent to China to make a belt sold in America?  Seems like a bit of a long path to take.  But then “Italian Leather” might be a brand name like “Corinthian Leather” when there is no such place as “Corinth” that produces leather – but there IS a place called Italy and, I’m sure, there are some cows there...

Still – this seemed a bit of a stretch.  Italian leather sent to China to make belts shipped to the U.S. to be sold in Costco Stores.  For $14.99.

Looks!  It's a Costco that is neither in Italy or in China.

A few years ago when we were visiting Milton-Freewater, Oregon, we took a day trip down to Pendleton, Oregon and visited the Pendleton factory.  I assumed we’d show up and be shown to a walk-way over many workers huddled at sewing machines making high quality shirts.  Nope.  About the only thing the actual Pendleton factory makes any more are over-priced blankets.  It appeared to me as we wandered around the gift shop/clothing store that everything was made overseas.  It also appeared to me that everything was overpriced.  Not really that fascinating of a factory trip.

Nice blankie!  Made in the U.S.?  Mmmmmmmmaybe...

In the summer of 2013 there was a verbal out-cry to raise the minimum wage from $7.50 an hour to $15.00.  Most of this out-cry came from the fast food industry.  A quick study was made that if McDonalds doubled the wages for every worker – INCLUDING the CEO, so everyone in the company...the price of a Big Mac would raise up $.68.  That’s it.  When Obamacare was being implemented, the owner of Papa John’s pizza said he’d have to raise the price of a pizza by $.25 to cover the cost of providing healthcare to his workers.  The guy owns a mansion with elevators for his cars and it has a moat and a golf-course...I think he could raise the price by two-bits.  Or, you know, make one or two less million dollars a year and have a very healthy crew making pizza.

Underground garages for my many cars for me?  Yes.

Healthcare for you?  No.

But that’s the rub.  Or that’s the argument.  We can’t pay people what they’re worth.  Or we can’t make goods in America because the cost would be too prohibitive.  That $1.99 Big Mac would become $2.70.  That $14.99 belt would suddenly be $19.99.  This blog, though, isn’t about livable wages and marketing and manufacturing, it’s about the idea that has been drilled into our collective heads that we CAN’T make things in America and charge the same amount as we can make things in China.

If I was every President (and I don’t plan to be), I would challenge the three biggest fast food chains:  McDonalds, Burger King and Wendy’s to make all their kid toys in America.  Hell, if Jack-in-the-Box decided to provide “Made in America” toys in their kid meals, and advertised it as such (and charged .18 more a meal) – you would quickly see their sales skyrocket – I’ll bet.  And you’d quickly see the big three do the same thing.  “Be American!  Buy American!” would be the motto again and, before you know it, an old factory in Detroit will be retrofitted to make the latest Disney plastic toy that will get lost in the seat cushions of the family minivan before it makes it home.  But...it would be putting Americans to work.  It would be providing money into the system.  It would be, what’s the word, uh.....good.  Yes, that’s the word:  good.

NOT made in America.

Definitely made in America.

As Americans, though, this is continually drilled into our head.  Trust me...I love to shop at the Dollar Tree where I know that 98% of it is made in China.  But I honestly believe one thing:  If corporate greed wasn’t so out-of-control, companies could make their items here in a America with Union workers and it wouldn’t cost the American buyer one cent more.  The only reason, THE ONLY REASON, I believe that Costco makes an Italian Leather China Made belt is that it’s less expensive to make and they make more profit off of it.  And I love Costco and their structure and their CEO.

Let’s give an example.  $14.99 belt.  Manufactured for $1.00 in China with Italian Leather.  Shipping cost is minimal both to the U.S. and to the stores.  But for the sake of argument let’s add another $1.00 on top of that.  $2.00 belt sold for $15.00.  $13.00 profit.  Now let’s shift that to America.  Manufactured for $3.00 in America with Union workers and American Leather...shipping and blah blah blah – add another $2.00.  Total cost to manufacture in America?  $5.00.  Now Costco has a choice.  Raise the price of the belt to $18.00 to continue their $13.00 profit or keep the price at $14.99 and lower their profit margin down to $9.99.

Even Furbies are amassing to be made in America.

Every company deserves to make a profit.  Even non-profits.  But I’m tired of the smoke and mirrors that companies create so they can make shirts in unsafe factories and then plead that they only do it for the “good of the consumer.”  Sorry, I call BS on that.  They do it for THEIR profit margin, not for the consumer.  And if the reality was clear, even if the price rose, it would probably go up a whole .50 or .68 cents like a Big Mac.

Where does the reality show come in?  Called “Made in America” I would love to see a large corporation (say Costco) transfer their belt making to an American company.  The show would start out showing how much it actually costs to make, ship and market their belts and the price ($2.00) and what their profit margin is ($13.00).  Then it would show a company man pricing out American based belt manufacturers and see if they can meet or beat that price.  I would assume not.  But the show would go on to get into the details as Mr. Costco works with the company and suppliers – all American based to try and get that margin to the same margin as China.  And the people hired to make these belts would be highly paid, Union labor, not “under the table” eight-year-olds from Tanzania.  It would go into all the details of taxes, U.S. labor restrictions, code enforcements – all the things that we in America like to see dealt with – while also seeing if, IF Mr. Costco can lower the price to the same in China.  If he can’t, he can’t!  That’s fine.  But why is it we’re NOT seeing this?  I still think the reality is clear.  If these Italian-China belts can be made and shipped and it costs $2.  That in America we could do the same thing and they’d be made and shipped for $5 or maybe $4, or maybe even $2.

That’s my reality show.  “Made in America – The search for the American Worker” and blow the cover off the continual drum beat of:  “We can’t make it in America – too many restrictions, too much government influence, too expensive, Unions cost too much, too many taxes, etc.”  - If any of that is true, then show it!  But I bet we’d all be surprised.

Of course I was actually made in Japan.