Movie-Mania (1937)

You won't be disappointed!

Powerful

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Movie-Mania (1937) *** (out of 4) Vitaphone short has Vaudeville performer Dave Apollon playing a know-it-all director who is making a new film that doesn't sit well with one man. Apollon gets to do various things including singing, dancing and playing the mandolin and it's clear he has talent but looking at his credits on IMDb you'll see he had a very short career in Hollywood. I always love catching this type of short on Turner Classic Movies because you get to see a part of history that is all but forgotten. I especially like catching these Vaudeville acts because most of them are very talented yet their level of success in Hollywood is usually very mixed. I'm not sure why this guy never caught on but this short does provide a lot of entertainment in its 20-minutes. The film starts off trying to tell what some would consider a story but then cuts loose and joins the musical category.

I saw this odd little two-reel Vitaphone short from the late 30s on Turner Classic Movies last night and thought it was quite interesting. It's basically a bunch of musical numbers connected by Dave Apollon and his orchestra.The opening gypsy sequence had Mr. Apollon doing a virtuoso performance on the mandolin, along with some serious tap dancing by others. It was followed by a so-so Mexican number. There was another sequence with a tap-dancing midget woman who was very good, if somewhat unusual, followed by a final dance sequence with a woman who looked ravishing in a shiny dress. The musical numbers were quite elaborate for a Vitaphone short. Movie Mania isn't exactly Singing in the Rain in terms of quality and budget, but a nice little film that classic-movie buffs would probably enjoy watching.

Competent musicians, slightly below average vaudeville comedy, dancing is barely mediocre except for the male tap dancer who is fun to watch for the first minute, but then you can't wait for him to be done.It's good to hear a steel guitar used as prominently as it is in this short.Appolon's mandolin playing is pretty good and worth watching.The characters around Appolon could just as well have been cardboard cutouts, especially the band which has no life whatsoever.Appolon's native Russian accent is so cheesy, you almost think he's doing some kind of schtick rather than actually having an accent.Bottom line: If it's on and nothing else is, give it 20 minutes of your time.

It is not so odd that I have seen this short, as I'm always curious about the old one or two-reelers, and used to catch some back in the late 1940's and early 1950's in my neighborhood movie houses. Hence I immediately bought the laser-disc box sets when they were issued (I think they go for $500 now or some such ridiculous price). Movie Mania is on Vitaphone Shorts: A 70th Anniversay Celebration, a/k/a Cavalcade of Vitaphone Shorts Volume 2 (MGM/UA ML 105220).Anyway, to get to the point: it is always strange to see an old-timer one has never heard of, when it is evident from the setting that he had a following back in the day. One assumes that if you've heard of Eddie Cantor, Pete Smith, and a few dozen others, you know the lay of the land. But people like Dave Appolon keep popping up. (One of my laser shorts collections has an extended one-man slapstick vaudeville act done by a man so obnoxious, not to mention unfunny, that it's hard to believe he would be invited for dinner, let alone cut a swath in show biz.) Can't say I like Mr. Appolon. He is clearly master of his instrument, the mandolin, which puts me in mind of one of my friend's favorite put-downs: "it's like being the world's best accordianist". Of course, I don't want to sound or even be a philistine; all music is good, right? Then there's Appolon's personality; he projects himself as an imperious Russian. Just how large was his following? Not worth researching, to me. Now compare a team unknown today: Olson and Johnson. Geniuses who anticipated all the fancy post-modern doo-dads that wow the college circuit -- just catch Hellzapoppin.