The NFR Project: 'The Flying Ace' (1926)

 

The Flying Ace

Dir: Richard E. Norman

Scr: Richard E. Norman

Pho: Unknown

Ed: Unknown

Premiere: 1926

65 min.

In the early 20^th century (not to mention today), Black people could not catch a break – neither legally, socially, nor culturally. Racial prejudice was the norm. The Jim Crow laws, which kept American society essentially segregated, were in full effect. On the mainstream stage and screen, Black people were portrayed as foolish, mentally challenged, or dangerous. Black artists played the “Chitlin’ Circuit” of Black-only nightclubs and theaters, under the control of the Theatre Owners Booking Association (also known as TOBA – Tough on Black Asses).

There were exceptions, such as the great Black independent filmmaker Oscar Micheaux. He and others made what were then called “race” films – movies intended solely for Black audiences. In Black movie houses, the same range of films played – adventures, romance, drama, even Westerns – but they were enacted and shot by Black artists.

Such was the case with the Norman Studios of Jacksonville, Florida. This white-owned film company made “race” films, and owner Richard Norman was dedicated to improving race relations, as well as making a profit. Norman wrote and directed the film, and a question develops – how truly can a white creator capture a Black experience?

But there is no evidence given of a colloquial Black culture that requires special representation and understanding. This film would play the same whether it was inhabited by Black or white actors – the script is strictly color-blind. The resulting effect is that we see a movie completely devoid of racial stereotyping, as it contains not a single white character. Simply put, there is no one there whose self-esteem needs bolstering by degrading someone of a different color.

The story revolves around a stolen railroad payroll, and the efforts of a resolute detective (formerly a WWI flyer, therefore the movie’s title) to recover it, as well as win the affections of the film’s heroine. The usual machinations take place, ending with the baddie kidnapping the girl and flying away with her, prompting the hero to chase and effect a death-defying mid-air rescue.

Such imaginative folderol was a staple of the films of the time. The big difference here is that, with this film, Black audiences got to experience a modicum of cultural respect.

 The NFR is one writer’s attempt to review all the films listed in the National Film Registry in chronological order. Next time: The Black Pirate.

 

 

'The Flash': Much ado about what was that again?

 

The Flash

Dir: Andy Muschietti

Scr: Christina Hodson

Pho: Henry Braham

Ed: Jason Ballantine, Paul Machliss

Premiere: June 16, 2023

144 min.

Everyone would like to go back and fix the past. That’s just what Barry Allen (the reputationally beleaguered Ezra Miller) does in his first and presumably his last stand-alone feature as the speedy superhero in The Flash.

It’s also something that’s occurred in the DC superhero-movie universe, time and time again – a second-guessing, a reconsideration of the final product through expanded “Ultimate Edition”s and directors’ cuts in an attempt to please fans, and gain additional revenue on the way.

The Flash is the next-to-last entry in the now-abandoned DC Extended Universe model of interrelated films (coming up later this year: Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom), which commenced with Man of Steel in 2013, and is popularly referred to as “the Snyderverse,” after director/producer Zach Snyder, whose vision had led the way with entries such as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League. Now James Gunn, director of the successful Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy for Marvel, and DC’s funny, gory The Suicide Squad, is in charge of things at DC studios and is planning a new series of films even as we speak.

But enough exposition. How’s the film? It’s fairly entertaining, though as is the case with many DC films, it is too long and the CGI has its weak moments. That’s too bad, because this movie really leans on incorporating (spoiler alert!) all manner of alternate time-line Batmans and Supermans into the climax, unleashing a torrent of visual effects that feels like someone trying to push all the keys and pedals of a massive pipe organ.

In the film, the Flash discovers that he can run so fast that he can travel through time (stay with me). His father is imprisoned for his mother’s death, and he wants to go back in time and prevent her murder, or at least exonerate his dad. He succeeds, but in doing so changes reality, past and present, and leaves the Earth open to destruction. He must quickly (of course) round up his own version of the Justice League to try to deal with General Zod, Superman’s Kryptonian opponent on Man of Steel, who was killed trying to conquer Earth in that film.

The movie lives or dies on the effectiveness of its central character, and Ezra Miller does a decent job in his role as the Scarlet Speedster. He handles goofy and confused quite well, but has his problems with darker emotions such as anger and sadness (beware: there is copious weeping in this movie). His work is interesting, but ultimately too lightweight for the more serious underpinnings of the story.

Ben Affleck is back at Batman. But wait! Other Batmans lurk here too, and Michael Keaton kinds of dials it in as alternative-timeline Caped Crusader, one that’s retired into a life of eccentric reclusiveness. Will Flash shake him out of his stupor? What do you think?

Michael Shannon reemerges as Zod, and is given little to do save look menacing and make pronouncements. Jeremy Irons is there in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it as Alfred, Bruce Wayne’s faithful servant.

In the end, The Flash is a moderately interesting superhero flick, a standard-gauge genre film that fills in all the blanks in the schematic of how a superhero movie is made. It tries to have fun but bogs down in its self-indulgent conclusion. For those of us who love or study superhero films, there are more questions. Will DC ever stop messing up and redoing their increasingly unsuccessful releases? Can James Gunn right the ship? Will the audience put up with it?

 

 

The NFR Project: Gus Viser and his Singing Duck

 

Theodore Case Sound Test: Gus Visser and His Singing Duck

Made May 12, 1925

1:31

The most enjoyable Registry entry so far is absolutely ridiculous. A duck sits in front of the camera on a pedestal. A man enters and picks up the duck. His face is whitened, his hair is parted in the middle and slicked down – he looks like the embodiment of an R. Crumb cartoon. While holding it in the crook of his arm, he begins to sing the popular tune “Ma! (He’s Making Eyes at Me).” Every time he gets to the word “Ma” in the song, he manipulates the duck so that it quacks.

That’s it. That’s the bit.

It’s hilarious and strange, and probably constitutes animal abuse. This act would be lost in the mists of time were it not for the efforts of the unsung chemist and inventor Theodore Case, who pioneered research into the development of synchronized sound for movies.

Case collaborated with the better-known Lee de Forest on techniques for capturing and reproducing sound on film, but split away from him after not being credited properly for his contributions. At his lab in back of his mansion in Auburn, New York, Caase filmed hundreds of experimental sound shorts. A fire destroyed most of them, but a few dozen still exist.

They are all vaudeville acts. Perhaps Case chose them in part because of their static nature, making it easier for a carefully placed microphone to pick up the sonic nuances of each performer. The otherwise-unknown Visser’s act prompts a host of questions. How did he come up with this idea? Was he a big hit? What did the duck think of all this? Did he have one special duck, or would he just pick one up in whatever town he was in? Where do Gus Visser and his singing duck stand in the grand pantheon of entertainment?

The NFR Project is one writer’s attempt to review all the films listed in the National Film Registry in chronological order. Next time: ‘The Flying Ace’.