Brooks Benedict – MRQE

Lost at the Front

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 04:00:00 +0000

George Sidney and Charlie Murray are “Cohen and Kelly” in everything but name in this wartime farce. Shipped to Russia during the 1919 civil war between the Bolsheviks and the Royalists, American soldiers Krauss (Sidney) and Muldoon (Murray) waste no time commiserating with the local female population. Trying to sneak back to their own lines, our heroes disguise themselves as peasant girls, leading to a hilarious tete-a-tete with a pair of amorous Russian officers. Several other “Charley’s Aunt” complications are in store for Krauss and Muldoon before they attempt to end the war with a bomb-detonation device of Krauss’ invention. Lost at the Front was directed by Del Lord, future helmsman of dozens of Three Stooges comedies.

Derelict

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Two rival seamen fight for both a promotion to a captaincy in their shipping line and the attentions of a Havana saloon singer. Sparks fly as they both try to out do each other in obtaining what they know their opposite is after. In the end they will need to work together in order to save the day.

Hot Money

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 04:00:00 +0000

A thief on the run dumps some hot money in Thelma and Patsy’s lap.

Brother Can You Spare a Dime

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Period music, film clips and newsreel footage combined into a visual exploration of the American entertainment industry during the Great Depression.

Three’s a Crowd

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Harry, The Odd Fellow, is a tenement worker who lives alone in a shack alongside a warehouse and longs for the companionship of a wife and children like other men. One day he spies a pretty girl in his telescope and sends her by carrier pigeon a note that, alas, is received by the wrong party. The Girl marries and, poverty-striken, leaves her husband during a snowstorm. Harry takes her in, and minutes later her child is born. He works like a slave for the mother and child, pretending they are his own. Meanwhile, the husband finds her and comes to the shack on Christmas Eve as Harry is preparing to play Santa Claus. Not realizing the unhappiness she is causing him, The Girl thanks him profusely and leaves with her husband. Overcome, Harry sits overnight on the doorstep and the next morning is found frozen stiff except for his eyes–with amusing results.

Tramp, Tramp, Tramp

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 04:00:00 +0000

A poor cobbler’s son enters a $25,000 cross-country hiking contest sponsored by the footwear company that has nearly bankrupted his father. He also has fallen in love with the girl on the company’s billboards, the competition’s daughter, and her sweet inspiration keeps him tramping along.

Together Again

Sat, 30 Aug 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Anne Crandall is the mayor of a small town in Vermont. Her deceased husband had been the mayor for years and when he died, she was left to carry on and to raise his daughter from his first marriage. She lives with the daughter, her father-in-law and a housekeeper. In the town square, there was a statue of her late husband and every year since his death, they have an anniversary celebration there. This year during a thunderstorm, the statue is hit by lightning and the head falls off. The daughter insists that a new statue be erected instead of patching the old one. Mayor Crandall is sent to New York to interview the prospective sculptor, George Corday.

The Dancing Masters

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 04:00:00 +0000

The Dancing Masters is a 1943 Laurel and Hardy feature film. The plot involves the team running a ballet school, and getting involved with an inventor. A young Robert Mitchum has an uncredited cameo role as a fraudulent insurance salesman.

Street of Chance

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 04:00:00 +0000

‘Natural’ Davis (William Powell) is a respected gambler who follows a ruthless code of honor with those who cheat against him. His wife, Alma (Kay Francis), wants to divorce him because of his addiction and lifestyle, but they agree on a reconciliation and second honeymoon together and ‘Natural’ promises to give up gambling. However, his plans change when his brother, ‘Babe’ (Regis Toomey), arrives in town looking to score big, and ‘Natural’ has to devise a plan quickly to put him off gambling forever.

Sons of the Desert

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Ollie and Stan deceive their wives into thinking they are taking a medically necessary cruise when they are really going to a lodge convention.