Tag Archives: Comedy

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Western Wednesdays: Silly Billies (1936)

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SYNOPSIS:
The citizens of LittleTown are preparing to head off to California in search of gold, lead by Hank Bewley [Harry Woods]. Meanwhile, headed to LittleTown are Roy Banks [Bert Wheeler], assistant to dentist Dr. Philip “Painless” Pennington [Robert Woolsey] and school teacher Mary Blake [Dorothy Lee].

Once Pennington and crew arrive to LittleTown they meet up with crooked real estate magnate John Little [Richard Alexander] who promptly squeezes Pennington dry of five hundred dollars for one of the buildings in town. The trio engage in a drinking party to celebrate the success of the sale and Pennington and Banks proceed to get heavily plastered. At the same time, Blake is offered and accepts a proposition to teach on the trail west.

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Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls (2023) 

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At a large estate, a group of worshippers attend an ominous ceremony led by a cultist who they’ve watched on television for a long time. Honored to be there, most of the members are happy with the roles they are given. Onyx, on the other hand, isn’t so sure, but his role may be much more than the organizers could have ever expected. 

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The Halloween that Almost Wasn’t (1979)

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It’s surprising that “The Halloween that Almost Wasn’t” has managed to become something of a mini-cult classic over the years. It was a TV movie that was almost lost to time, and once reclaimed, has survived thanks to nostalgia. The TV movie was much before my time, so I don’t have any real sentimentality directed toward it. In either case, ”The Halloween That Almost Wasn’t” isn’t the best Halloween special, but it has its heart in the right place, even through the cheesy final scene.

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The Banana Splits in Hocus-Pocus Park (1972)

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Before they became hacking and slashing horror movie characters (?), “The Banana Splits” were a niche kids program from the seventies. They were performers dressed in animal outfits that performed original pop rock like “The Monkees” and got in to various misadventures. They’d also show various animated shorts during the program. While I was never personally a fan, “The Banana Splits” were so much more interesting than “The Monkees” ever were. Their animated Halloween special is also one of the highlights of their television life, even if you’re not a fan.

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Bugs Bunny’s Howl-O-Skreem Spooktacula (2022)

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I usually have a lot of awful to say about modern Looney Tunes, but “Looney Tunes Cartoons” has at least tried to honor the legacy of the Looney Tunes. Say what you want about Warner’s handling of the Looney Tunes library but “Bugs Bunny’s Howl-O-Skreem Spooktacula” really isn’t half bad. It’s actually a pretty decent attempt to conjure up the spirit of the classic Looney Tunes as we remember. It has its finger on the pulse of the comic timing and classic raunch we know and love about the old shorts. It’s funny that Bugs Bunny gets the title of the program since he only has one short in the end of the program, meanwhile Porky has two that he shares with his usual foils.

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Scooby-Doo and the Legend of the Vampire (2003)

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“The Legend of the Vampire” is a bittersweet occasion. As it is one of the many, many “Scooby Doo” animated movies, it is also apparently the first Scooby-Doo movie to feature Casey Kasem, Heather North, Nicole Jaffe and Frank Welker together since 1973. The gang are back together to bring what is a pretty strong and fun mixing of the usual Mystery Inc. exploits and some great rock and roll music. Once again, we see the appearance of The Hex Girls who should, by all rights, have their own animated spin off by now. Ah well, a man can dream.

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