"Strangers on a Train" - Novel by Patricia Highsmith

 

While searching for books to read, I came upon the name of Patricia Highsmith. Highsmith is best remembered for her 1950 psychological thriller, Strangers on a Train which was adapted to film in 1951 by director Alfred Hitchcock. I was familiar with Hitchcock's film and decided to put Highsmith's novel into the queue.

Having read just the first few pages, I became aware that Hitchcock had made changes in the story when bringing it to the screen. In the film, the story takes place in the Northeast corridor, between Washington, D.C. and New York while the novel begins in Texas. In the novel, Guy Haines is an architect - in the film, Haines is an amateur tennis star. In the novel, the other "stranger on the train" is named Charles Anthony Bruno later changed to Bruno Anthony in the Hitchcock version.

Before finishing the novel, I located the film online.

The changes in the film become more dramatic. I'm not going to give spoilers to the novel, except to say it is very different from the movie......completely unexpected.

I'll be moving on to other novels by Patricia Highsmith in the days ahead.

Tarzan and the Green Goddess

 

Upon finishing Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez, I immediately began reading one of his earlier novels, In Evil Hour. We're told very early in the book that the story begins on October 4th - the feast day of St. Frances of Assisi - although we're not told the year, or the location of the events, for that matter. However, it's apparent that the story takes place in a small town somewhere in Latin America.

It begins with a character called "The Pastor" being murdered by one César Montero. After the arrest of Montero and the funeral of "The Pastor", the local priest, Father Ángel informs the owner of the movie house that it would not be appropriate to show a movie on the night of a funeral taking place in the town. Márquez tells us that the movie was Tarzan and the Green Goddess.

Naturally, I had to look online to find a copy of the movie. According to imdb.com, the movie was initially released in 1935 as a serial, The New Adventures of Tarzan, later to be edited in 1938 into a feature film. Fortunately for me, the movie is only slightly longer than an hour. Although the plot is standard for a serial of that era, the film is a bit strange, even for 1935.

In the film, Tarzan spends part of the time in his Lord Greystoke persona. For reasons that are never quite clear, Tarzan is in Guatemala, rather than Africa. He is part of an expedition that has set out to retrieve a lost Mayan idol called the Green Goddess. Just as we aren’t told how Tarzan came to Guatemala, we’re also not told how there came to be lions, giraffes, elephants, rhinos, and chimpanzees in the Central American country either.

The bizarre scenes continue to the end when Tarzan and his companions, George, Ula Vale, and Maj. Martling arrive at Greystoke Mansion. According to the Tarzan stories, Greystoke Mansion is located in Britain, but the costumes worn by Tarzan and his friends, as well as the locals living around Greystoke appear to be Germanic.......leading us to believe the mansion is in Germany, Austria or somewhere thereabouts.

I have to wonder why Márquez made the point of giving us the name of this film. It’s certainly not a classic movie.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold - Toshikazu Kawaguchi

A few months ago, when I was reading a wide selection of novels dealing with Time Travel, I was unaware of Toshikazu Kawaguchi and his two time travel books - Before the Coffee Gets Cold and Tales From The Cafe (Before The Coffee Gets Cold Book 2) . Had I been familiar with these two back then, the two would have certainly made my list......perhaps even my my top ten.

The summary from the wikipedia page for the first novel does a very good job describing that novel -

In a narrow back alley in Tokyo lies a café called Funiculi Funicula. In the café, customers have the opportunity to travel back to a time of their choosing, as long as they follow a long list of rules. There is only one seat in the café that allows time travel; the seat is only available when the ghost that usually occupies it goes for a toilet break; once back in time, customers can't leave the seat; the only people in the past who can be met are people who have visited the café; whatever happens in the past, the present won't change; and, most importantly, the customer has to return to the present before their cup of coffee goes cold.
The novel follows the stories of the café staff, notably barista Kazu, and four different customers. The first, a businesswoman named Fumiko, tries to repair her relationship with her boyfriend after he left the country for a job in the United States. The second, a nurse named Kohtake, tries to find a letter her Alzheimer-stricken husband wrote. The third, a bar owner named Hirai, tries to talk to her sister whom she's been avoiding. The fourth, one of the café co-owners named Kei, tries to go to the future to talk to her unborn daughter.

Upon reading the first in the series, I immediately began reading the second book. A third book in the series, Before Your Memory Fades , is due for release in November, 2022.

In 2018, the novel was adapted to film as Kōhī ga samenai uchi ni (title translated to Cafe Funiculi Funicula ). I found the film on a Russian website - ok.ru - fortunately, with English subtitles. Watching it is definitely on my to do list.

A Fistful of Yojimbo

Yesterday afternoon, I saw a Clint Eastwood meme showing photos of how he looked at different ages. This meme brought to my mind one of Eastwood's earliest films from 1964 - A Fistful of Dollars . It's been maybe two years since I watched the film online and I thought I'd watch it again.

I located a copy at Daily Motion; I enjoyed watching it again, even though there are quite a few ad breaks.

During one of those commercial breaks, I opened the wikipedia page for the film where I learned that the film was an unofficial remake of the Akira Kurosawa film, Yojimbo . After a quick search, I located a copy of that film at archive.org. The film is widely regarded as one of the best films by Kurosawa and one of the greatest films ever made.

There is a link to it above, and I highly recommend it. I'd also suggest that anyone who hasn't watched the Eastwood film recently to watch it again before viewing the Japanese film. Of course, there are slight differences - due to the fact that one takes place in Japan during the 1860s, while the other is set in a small town on the Mexico–United States border. None the less, Sergio Leone kept much of the original story (after a fashion).

Like A Fistful of Dollars , Yojimbo spawned 2 sequels - Sanjuro and Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo . These two films are also located on the archive.org website. I'll be watching both soon.

I think it should be safe to say that the rest of the Yojimbo trilogy won't resemble the last two films in the Dollar trilogy.

Murder at the Gallop - After the Funeral

In the early 1960's, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer produced four films featuring Miss Marple, with Margaret Rutherford playing the lead in each film. The four films are, Murder, She Said - Murder at the Gallop - Murder Most Foul - and Murder Ahoy!. These films are only loosely based on Agatha Christie's books.

Murder, She Said is said to be based on 4.50 from Paddington. I'll put that film in the queue for a later date.

I'll also address Murder Most Foul- and Murder Ahoy! later as well. Murder at the Gallop is supposed to be based on Christie's After the Funeral and as I had just finished reading that novel, I went online to OK.RU to watch the film.

I've read that Agatha Christie didn't very often care for the film adaptations of her work - I'm sure that would have been especially true with Murder at the Gallop. I knew it would be disappointing when I had discovered that the film had replaced Hercule Poirot with Miss Marple. That was a big mistake. Very little of the novel's plot remains in the movie......pretty much unrecognizable.

As if to add further insult, Margaret Rutherford was the worst Miss Marple ever to make in to the screen. I have absolutely nothing good to say about Murder at the Gallop. I'm having difficulties imagining how the other 3 films in the series can be any worse. Avoid this film like COVID.

Evil Under the Sun

Having finished And Then There Were None a few days ago, I consulted the The Agatha Christie Bibliography to see which of her novels I needed to download and add to my Kindle. The next three, in order were Sad Cypress - One, Two, Buckle My Shoe and Evil Under the Sun . Thankfully, all three books featured Hercule Poirot and were quick, enjoyable reads.

Evil Under the Sun is the more famous of the three - I recall watching the 1982 film version starring Peter Ustinov, although I had forgotten many of the details. I found the movie at OK.RU and decided to watch it again before continuing on with my reading of Christie novels.

The film is reasonably faithful to the novel and I enjoyed watching it. Of course, film producers always seem to want to deviate from whatever book they've adapted. I don't really understand the point of changing a few characters or making alterations in the plot. Fortunately, the killer(s) remained the same.

Following Evil Under the Sun , the next in line is the 1941 mystery novel, N or M? . I wasn't enthusiastic about starting that particular book. The two main characters are Tommy and Tuppence and I haven't cared for any story in which they appeared. Added to that, the story is a World War II spy novel. I much prefer the old murder mystery.

I've gone ahead and started N or M? and honestly, I don't really care for it. I'll finish it, however, as I don't want to leave out any Agatha Christie novel I'm able to download.

And Then There Were None

Continuing in my quest to read the novels and short story collections of Agatha Christie, I've just finished reading And Then There Were None . Originally published in the U.K. in 1939 with the absolutely inappropriate title Ten Little Niggers , it has also appeared under a third name - Ten Little Indians . All three titles make reference to a children's counting song, which serves as a major element of the plot. In the edition I've just read, the song is given as Ten little Soldiers .

According to the wikipedia article linked to above, the novel is the world's best selling mystery with over 100 million copies sold and one of the top selling books of all time.

The ten people brought to the island are alleged by the mysterious "Mr. Owen" to have committed murders that have gone unpunished. Mr. Owen intends to rectify that.

Upon finishing the novel, I watched the 1945 film version at ok.ru. Without giving away any secrets, I want to compare the film version to the 1939 novel.

In many ways, the film follows the novel, although there are differences. In the film, the character Tony Marston is no longer English, but is a Russian prince, Nikita Starloff. The character Justice Wargrave was changed to Judge Francis J. Quincannon while the retired World War I hero, General MacArthur is given the new name, Gen. Sir John Mandrake. I suppose the General's name was changed in respect for Gen. Douglas MacArthur who played a prominent place in the news of 1945.

Among the better known stars of the film were Barry Fitzgerald as Judge Quincannon and Walter Huston as Dr. Armstrong.

In the novel, all ten of the individuals brought to Soldier Island are guilty. However, in the film, two of the people brought to Indian Island are innocent and manage to escape, thereby giving the film a "happy ending" which isn't in the novel. The mysterious "Mr. Owen" is the same person in the film and the novel, although the film version of his comeuppance is less complicated than it was in the book.

Wonderwall

 

In 1968, George Harrison released his debut solo album, Wonderwall Music  - the soundtrack to the film, Wonderwall.

This particular album was both the first solo musical project by any of the Beatles, and the first LP released by Apple Records.

Being a 16 year old George Harrison fan, I purchased a copy of the album. I dare say that I know of no one else among my friends or acquaintances who did likewise, and even though I was the ultimate Harrison fan, I found the LP a bit bizarre. That's saying quite a lot coming from someone who was also a big fan of the Mothers of Invention.

There were parts of the album that the then 16 year old could appreciate. I truly wanted to see the film.....thinking it may help me further appreciate the work. Unfortunately, I was living in a small town in Georgia - north of Atlanta and just south of Chattanooga TN - so obviously I was never going to have an opportunity to see the film.

I was thinking of the film and soundtrack yesterday and decided to see if the film was available online. I found the film at the ok.ru website and watched it for the first time last night.

Needless to say, the film simply drips of 60's psychedelia.

I'm going to have to give the film a very positive rating. The music - while bizarre and disconnected as an LP - suits the film perfectly. The film and the soundtrack belong together as a complete unit. One part cannot be fully appreciated without the other. Anyone interested in the culture of the late 1960's should give the film the once over.

Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus

 

Back in April, during the early days of the COVID pandemic, like many others, I thought it was an appropriate time to reread Albert Camus' The Plague . Finishing the novel, I was still in the mood for dystopian, plague novels to read. After searching the web, I came upon The Last Man. This particular novel was written by the author of Frankenstein - Mary Shelley.

According to the wikipedia article, The Last Man was first published in 1826 whereupon it received terrible reviews. " Individual reviewers labelled the book 'sickening', criticised [sic] its 'stupid cruelties', and called the author's imagination 'diseased'."

The novel would not be reprinted until 1965, when it received better treatment.

I downloaded the novel from Project Gutenberg and transferred it to my Kindle. Sadly, I did not finish reading the novel. In spite of a fairly decent review in wikipedia, the novel was boring and a bit tedious. The novel did put Mary Shelley in my head, and I thought I might reread Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus this year. I put the novel in the queue.

I had just finished reading four novels (and a short story) by Yukio Mishima with plans to return to the tetralogy, The Sea of Fertility sometime in 2021, and I thought now would be the time to go in a different direction. I began rereading Frankenstein.

Since 2011, I've kept a record of the books I've read. According to my list posted in January, 2012, I last read Frankenstein in 2011. I even posted a review in September 17, 2011. I wrote:

I was sure that I'd read the book years ago, but as soon as opened the file, I knew right away that I hadn't after all. Since downloading the book, I've been reading a few pages every evening. The story starts slowly.......I was all set to proclaim the novel "cheesy"; had I written a review after getting to the death of Victor Frankenstein's brother, William, I would have given the book a very low rating. I'm further along now and it's getting better (though the monster's narrative of the De Lacey family was a bit tedious at times).

Honestly, as I began this reread, I had forgotten most of what I'd read nine years ago. Reading the novel this 2nd time, I don't believe I can be as generous with my review as I had been in 2011. The novel just drags on and on. It could stand a severe editing. It would work better with 140 pages rather than 280. Frankenstein's traveling to Scotland to create a mate for the monster seems a waste of time. Shelley could have left the story in Switzerland, saving a lot of unnecessary chatter. The same can be said for her dragging the story to the North Pole.

The iconic 1931 film adaptation did well to drastically change the story.

Yukio Mishima's Dark Side

 

After writing mostly positive reviews on the work of Yukio Mishima , I want to write of those areas of Mishima's life and actions which I find most disturbing.

I've already mentioned the uncomfortable elements found in his second novel, Confessions of a Mask, concerning homosexuality and sadomasochism. 

I recently watched the 1985 American biographical drama film based on his life and work - Mishima - A Life In Four Chapters - which uses portions of Confessions of a Mask as a description of Mishima's early life, while the novel, Runaway Horses and Mishima's short film, Yûkoku (Patriotism - The Rite of Love and Death) were used for describing his later life and as an explanation, of sorts, for the end drama of his life.

Mishima had formed his own private army, which he planned to use in a coup d'etat. On November 25, 1970, Mishima and four members of his army attempted to take over a military base in central Tokyo. They barricaded the office of commandant Kanetoshi Mashita and tied the commandant to his chair. With a written manifesto and a banner listing his demands, Mishima stepped out onto the balcony outside the commandant's office to address the soldiers.

The soldiers were not receptive to Mishima's manifesto.

After finishing his speech, Mishima went back into the office and committed seppuku (harakiri).

Mishima had planned his suicide for at least a year. He had often mentioned that he would die after completing The Decay of the Angel, the final novel in his The Sea of Fertility tetralogy. The novel was completed just before his suicide.

The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea - the Film.

In spite of the location and setting being very different, the plot of the 1976 film, The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea doesn't stray too terribly far from the novel by Yukio Mishima. Being made in 1976, I can understand why the film's producers may have felt that having the film take place in England - with well known actors - rather than in Japan, may have been a better move from a commercial viewpoint. Personally, I would rather the film adaptation take place in Japan, with Japanese actors.

I could very well cope with English subtitles.

I didn't care for Kris Kristofferson in the film. I never found him to be a credible actor, and his eye makeup in this film was too distracting for me.

The film version wasn't bad  but I don't know if I would have gone on to read the novel had I seen the film first. To me, the novel compares favorably to one of my favorite novels - Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. This film, however, certainly doesn't rate as one of my favorite films.

Goldfinger (Novel)

In February of this year I discovered that I could watch some of the early James Bond movies, starring Sean Connery, on OK.RU. I found the first five films - Dr, No - From Russia With Love - Goldfinger - Thunderball and You Only Live Twice. Unfortunately, the last one is dubbed into Russian and I haven't found an English version available.

Not long after that, I learned that the entire Ian Fleming catalogue of Bond novels were in the pubic domain in Canada and available for download at fadedpage.com..

At the time, I had planned on reading all 15 in the series, but stopped after reading #5 - Dr. No.

I didn't mention it in either of my blogs at the time, but in April, Honor Blackman , who played Pussy Galore in the film version of Goldfinger passed away. Of course we all remember the passing of Sean Connery in November.

With the passing of those two stars, I wanted to pick up where I left off with my reading of Ian Fleming, with the novel, Goldfinger.

One thing struck me as odd was that in the novel (which was written in 1958) the Goldfinger character feels the need to explain to Bond (and the readers of the novel) what Karate is. I had no idea that that particular form of martial arts was so new to the West. I was only six in 1958 and would not have been aware of that fact.

There are a number of differences between the novel and the film. It seemed to me that the characters of Jill Masterson and her sister Tilly were more prominent in the novel compared to their roles in the film and the character Pussy Galore, who was a major part of the film, seem superfluous to me in the novel. It was also a puzzle to me why Fleming should have her character be lesbian in the novel. Her only purpose seemed to be as a way of showing Bond to be the ultimate lady-killer by his seducing a lesbian.

Some may wish to read the novel, so I won't give spoilers, but to me, the ending of the film holds together much better the the ending in the novel.

Merton of the Movies

In addition to binge watching Netflix, I've been watching quite a few pre-code Hollywood films that are available for viewing on the Internet - if you're willing to put forth a wee bit of effort.

My favorite star at the moment is Joan Blondell. I hadn't realized until recently, that Blondell had appeared in so many films with James Cagney.

One film, which does not include Cagney, is a wonderful comedy from 1932, Make Me a Star. The film also stars Stuart Erwin. Erwin is an actor whom I've enjoyed watching in a number of films, although I honestly never knew his name until a few days ago.

Blondell and Erwin are wonderful in this film. I enjoyed the movie so much, that I immediately began a web search on what I could learn about it.

The movie is based on a 1922 comic novel by Harry Leon Wilson, Merton of the Movies. The description of the novel on wikipedia follows below:

"Small-town bumpkin Merton Gill fantasizes about joining the glamorous world of silent films, and takes a correspondence school course in acting. He travels to Hollywood, where he is disillusioned by the foibles of his screen idols. He is befriended by comedienne and stuntwoman Flips Montague, who helps him land a bit part, which he bungles so badly with his comically inept acting that the studio is inspired to use him for comedy. Gill becomes a comedy star, delivering lines that he thinks are serious straight drama."

After watching the Blondell/Erwin film, I downloaded the novel as a mobi from Project Gutenberg. I'm currently reading the novel. I can recommend it as well.

One thing I can't recommend, however, is the 1947 film, Merton of the Movies starring Red Skelton and Virginia O'Brien. Skelton does passably well in his part, but I did not like O'Brien at all. She doesn't hold a candle to Joan Blondell. Sadly, the plot deviates from the original.

Again, find the novel on Project Gutenberg - locate the Blondell/Erwin film online, but pass on the Red Skelton version.

Rest In Peace, Mr. Bond

 

I noted in February, that I had discovered the first four James Bond films at ok.ru. In addition to watching the four films, I also went to fadedpage.com to download copies of Ian Fleming's Bond novels. It had been my intention to read all 15 in the series, but so far, I've only read the first five.

It stands as a testament to Sean Connery that even when I read the Bond novels, I see him as James Bond.

Like millions of others, I've been a fan of Sean Connery for most of my life. I can remember the first time I saw a James Bond film. It was in 1965. Goldfinger had just recently been released, and I was almost 13. My oldest cousin, who was 18 at the time, took his younger brother, myself and my younger brother to a triple feature of the three Bond films being shown at a local drive-in theater in Atlanta.

The three films were shown in the order they were released - Dr. No, From Russia With Love and Goldfinger. This was my first time seeing a Bond film, and I was especially looking forward to seeing Goldfinger......it was the latest one at the time, so it had to be the best.

1965 was a long, long time ago and things have certainly changed. In those days, kids weren't allowed to stay up all hours of the night and by the time Goldfinger started, it was way past my normal bedtime. As near as I can recall from those fifty-five years ago, I fell asleep in the back of my cousin's car before the final movie started.

It would be years before I was finally able to watch Goldfinger.

(Note - this post was simultaneously published on one of my other blogs. It is being posted here in order that I may link to it on Facebook.)

Three Versions of the Same Movie......

In 1933, Warner Brothers released the film The Mayor of Hell starring James Cagney.

The "Hell" referred to is a reform school run by a "brutal, heartless warden and his thuggish guards". Cagney takes over as deputy commissioner and reforms the reform school. Of course, things don't run smoothly, but Cagney succeeds in the end.

Evidently, Warner Brothers thought this was a winning formula for a movie and remade the film in 1938 as Crime School with Humphrey Bogart and the Dead End Kids. The plot isn't exactly the same - there are minor differences. Still, Bogart takes over and reforms the reform school. Interesting to note, one actor played in both films - George Offerman Jr.

In 1939, Warner Brothers wanted to make the movie once again - Hell's Kitchen.

The Dead End Kids return in this version with Crane Wilbur getting credit for writing the 2nd and 3rd versions. Versions 2 and 3 also have same producer and director.

Hell's Kitchen more closely follows the plot of the first film. However, the lead actor taking over to reform the school (Stanley Fields) is not romantically involved with the leading lady, as Cagney and Bogart were in their film versions. In Hell's Kitchen the romantic lead is taken over by a young Ronald Reagan who plays the nephew of Fields' character. 

 

 

Early Bogart

Last night, I watched two films featuring Humphrey Bogart from early in his career - from 1937  San Quentin  and  Swing Your Lady from 1938.

Starring with Bogart in San Quentin was Pat O'Brien and Ann Sheridan. This film is your run of the mill Bogart film from the late 30's - with Bogart as a tough guy who has trouble with the law. No surprises.

Of the two, I preferred Swing Your Lady although I'm sure to be the only person who thinks that way. 

According to wikipedia, Bogart considered his performance in the film the worst of his career and Swing Your Lady was listed in the 1978 book The Fifty Worst Films of All Time. 

It's not the sort of film you'd expect to see Bogart in. In some ways, the film brings to mind the Harold Lloyd film,  The Milky Way. Not exactly a screwball comedy.....but close. 

 

The film features Frank McHugh, Penny Singleton (with black hair), Allen Jenkins and Ronald Reagan in one of his earliest films.

 

Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo

Between 1945 and 1948, Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo starred together in four Goldwyn films: Wonder Man (1945)-The Kid from Brooklyn(1946)-The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty (1947) and A Song Is Born(1948). I recently viewed the four films at ok.ru .

In the first film, Danny Kaye plays the dual roles of estranged "super-identical twins", the loud and zany Buster Dingle (AKA Buzzy Bellew), and the quiet, studious Edwin Dingle. Buster is witness to a murder by mob boss "Ten Grand" Jackson (played by Steve Cochran) and is in turn murdered by two killers hired by Jackson - Chimp and Torso.

Buster, who is now a ghost, supernaturally contacts brother Edwin and convinces him to pose as the deceased twin in order to bring his murderers to justice.

Mayo plays the love interest of Edwin, while Buster's girlfriend is played by Vera-Ellen. It seemed a bit odd to me to see Virginia Mayo receive billing over Vera-Ellen as the latter was, to my mind, the superior actress and entertainer.

In their second film, Kaye and Mayo are again joined by Vera-Ellen and Steve Cochran. The Kid from Brooklyn was a remake of a 1936 film starring Harold Lloyd - The Milky Way. Other than having musical numbers, Kaye's remake isn't very different than Lloyd's film. Lionel Stander plays the role of "Spider" Schultz in both versions of the movie.
 In my opinion, The Milky Way is the funnier of the two.

The third film, The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty is the best of the four films. It is,coincidentally the only one of the four to not co-star Steve Cochran. We also see a return of Fay Bainter who played socialite Mrs. E. Winthrop LeMoyne in The Kid from Brooklyn .

A Song Is Born was the least successful of the four. This was probably due to the fact that Danny Kaye did not perform a single musical number. This was odd, considering that "music" played such a central part of the film.
A Song Is Born was a remake of a film starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck, Ball of Fire.  Both versions feature Mary Field in the role of Miss Totten, the financial backer of the encyclopedia. The film is another example of the remake not living up to the original.

In a strange bit of Hollywood coincidences, Benny Goodman and a member of his quartet, Lionel Hampton played significant parts in A Song Is Born while drummer for the quartet, Gene Krupa was conspicuous by his absence from the movie. Krupa, however had been featured prominently in the Cooper/Stanwyck film.

Robots in Stalin's Soviet Union

In preparation for a recent post on Karel Čapek's Robots I learned of a 1935 Soviet science fiction film entitled Loss of Sensation. Although the film is in no way based on the play by Karel Čapek, but rather a Ukrainian novel "Iron Riot" by Volodimir Vladko, the robots in the film have "R.U.R." stamped upon their chests. This is the film's only reference to the play. Calling the machines "robots" and the use of "R.U.R." shows just how influential the play was from the beginning.

The film is in the public domain and can be seen on Youtube with English subtitles.

The film was made during Stalin's time and I was curious to see what was permitted. There is no mention of the country where the story takes place, though obviously it is not the Soviet Union. The villains in the film are the capitalists and their flunkies in the military. Naturally, the heroes in the film are the proletariat workers.

The most bizarre aspect in the film, from my point of view is the way in which the robots' creator, Jim Ripple, controls them. They were designed to be controlled by sound, and at one point Ripple plays the saxophone to make the robots dance.

Although there are English subtitles, I found it helpful to refer back to the wikipedia article while watching the film.