Whether Bronwyn was happy to be watching a movie with me and her big sister, or whether she was just happy to not be cooped up in her bassinet, I can't really say. What I do know is both my girls enjoyed watching this Abbott and Costello flick. The change from sepia to colour didn't phase either of them, and they didn't really make any kind of comment about it. Bronwyn was happy with me bouncing her on my knee while Erini was taking in the whole picture on her usual stool in front of me. We started watching it in the early evening, and we were all starting to drift at one point. I was tempted for a moment to turn it off, and call it a night, but after a brief pause and a drink of water, we were all good to the end. Older movies don't bore me, it's just a matter of staying awake after this hectic winter day. Pushing people out of snowdrifts is tough work.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Abbott and Costello are quite the pair on screen, and I was quite impressed with the physical humour of Lou Costello. He just took everything that came at him and kept going for more! After awhile, I started to wonder if he was acting, or just hurting himself. Either way, it was absurdly funny.
The story is simple enough, loosely following the fable of Jack and the Beanstalk. Costello plays Jack while Abbott plays the swindling Butcher who buys Jack's cow for five magic beans. Jack's mother who must be a very loving mother because she doesn't berate him at all for getting mere beans for their last valuable possession. An overnight growth, spurred by a fairly decent animation sequence, prods the production onward and upwards to the sky where the giant who has been terrorizing the town and stealing all sorts of produce, cattle (ie. Jack's cow, Henry), and the betrothed Prince and Princess.
The Prince and Princess are quite the pair, since they haven't met each other, but are both acquainted with Jack. The marriage has been arranged in a motion to save the failing economic state of Jack's village due to the constant pillaging of the giant. Jack helps with some matchmaking, and everything goes well. The reveal was a bit of a jolt for me, but everything works out in the end. It is a 50's comedy after all!
Erini had two favourite parts, or she's very in tune with her sister. This because when I asked Erini what her favourite part was, she told me, "When everyone is running around and chasing each other," then immediately following she added, "Bronwyn's favourite part was all the horses!"
There were a couple special features on the disc: A few Scene-It? style questions, and a biography section. I didn't bother with them as it was time to get Erini off to bed, and I didn't find the quiz questions until I put the DVD back in it's case.
Upon review of the list that I posted last week, I see that the only production I have not yet watched with my daughter is Brigadoon. I'm not sure if I should commit myself to a daily schedule of movies, but I can say this much, I'm going to focus on musicals for the next week. Also, I purchased a copy of 1001 Movies You Have to See Before You Die, so I'll be using that as a reference for movies to screen with my daughter.
I won't say which will appear on which day, but here's a list of the selections I have made for the coming week:
Brigadoon, The Sound of Music (with a run time of 174 min, that'll probably be next Saturday), The King and I, Meet Me In St. Louis, State Fair, Annie Get Your Gun, and maybe Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Although if I found Hello Dolly! I'm sure she's watch that, thanks to Pixar.
No comments:
Post a Comment