The Comic Critic Reviews "Northwest Passage"

Northwest Passage is one of the lesser-known great Epic pictures. Its budget was larger than the previously more costly epic, Ben-Hur. They would have spent more money, but the studio pulled in the reins. Northwest Passage was based on the book written by Kenneth Roberts in the ‘30s. It competed strongly with “Gone with the Wind” for the best-seller slot, but never managed to dethrone “Gone with the Wind.” MGM decided to cash in on the book’s popularity. Originally two movies were planned. The first movie, or “Book 1,” would cover Rogers’ Rangers’ various skirmishes at the time of the French and Indian war. “Book 2” would cover Rogers’ Rangers as they searched for the Northwest Passage. Kenneth Roberts accurately portrayed the thoughts and feelings of the settlers towards the Indians. It’s not pretty in the book and it’s not pretty on the screen. Even by 1940s’ standards, the racist stereotypes in Northwest Passage were a bit over the top. Roberts thought the fix was in for not making a sequel because one key character to both stories was left out of the movie. He was also very unhappy with how the movie was adapted. Maybe the fix was in, or maybe it became clear to MGM that Northwest Passage was not going to have a strong enough return to merit a second movie. Regardless, what we have is a grand epic that is an embarrassment to the populace that would like to think of itself as culturally sensitive—and a misleading title because the only mention of the Northwest Passage is at the end of the movie. So, if you can stand a grand Hollywood epic which depicts a massacre of Indians in outrageous Technicolor, this is the film for you.

The Comic Critic Reviews "The Thief of Bagdad"

"The Thief of Bagdad" was thirty years old the first time I saw it on television as a little kid. Both color and blue screen technology were relatively new technologies for the moving picture industry. The studios were bound and determined to get their money’s worth from the cost of the color film, so they painted everything in bright brilliant colors. Where else would you see a sultan’s palace that is bright pink? Sails on boats, the colors of the rainbow? Glorious grand vistas, extravagant fabrics, everywhere it is color, color, color! And the hats! I’d never seen such an array of turbans and fezzes in my entire life. I didn’t realize how much an impact those fezzes had on me until I watched it again a few days ago. A couple of years ago, I started a group in Tacoma called The CLAW. We decided that we would wear fezzes. I hunted the Internet until I found just the right shape and color for our fezzes. I was astonished to see that all of the fezzes in the film were the same shape and color as those that The CLAW uses. And this film did more than have a profound effect on just me. When you watch Disney’s “Aladdin,” you will find a lot of influences, starting with the character of Jaffar. If the actor who plays Jaffar looks familiar, it is because he was also in “Casablanca.” Unfortunately, his amazingly brilliant eyes were captured in color only in this film. Thankfully, they get several close-ups. This whimsical colorful fantasy with all of its strange creatures and characters captured my pre-pubescent heart. I guess it never let go. And it remains one of my all-time top-ten favorites.