Scooby-Doo! in Arabian Nights (1994)

 Finally, we have reached the end of the classic Scooby era. The final bow for Don Messick as Scooby. Casey Kasem would only voice Shaggy one more time before a prolonged absence.

Scooby-Doo! in Arabian Nights (1994) **/*****

Scooby Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf (1988)

Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Wolf (1988) **/***** 

 Okay, first things first, this is easily the worst produced Scooby movie on the technical side of things. It's one of two Superstar 10 movies that were created using an early form of "Digital Ink and Paint", it was then transferred to a 1" Videotape master. Meaning there are no film elements to remaster or restore. The movie only exists in the pre-hd broadcast standard of the day. 

The Blu-Ray is a mixed bag at best, it's a passable upscale, but nowhere as vibrant as the previous 2 movies in the series. If you grew up in the Pre-HD broadcast era, this might be a nice nostalgic blast from the past. The presentation took me back to my childhood in the 90's, it looks a lot like a vintage broadcast from the day. 

The other major problem is that the audio is really quiet and muffled at times. 

 Now that we have covered the disc, the movie itself is easily one of the worst Scooby movies on the production side of things. The animation is cheap, obviously looped and nowhere as refined as it should be. It looks terrible and shows why Hanna-Barbera only tested this method briefly. It's cheap and looks cheap. The editing is terrible as well. The colors are dull, and it's quite rightfully considered one of the weakest entries in the franchise. It reminds me of early flash animation. 

 Without further ado, let's dig into this movie with Scooby Doo.

Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School (1988)

 Scoob-Doo and the Ghoul School (1988) 3/5 Stars

One of my favorite title cards of all time

The second Scooby installment in the Hanna-Barbera's Superstars 10 syndicated movie package starts us off on a dark and stormy night with Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy in a van heading to their new job as gym teachers. Nothing out of the usual, except Scooby gets distracted by the opening credits of the movie, 

"Raggy! Rook! Righting!" 

"Writing?, don't you mean lightning?" 

"Ruh uh" 

Then the credits introduce the cast, with Scooby first, who then shifts the focus over to Shaggy, who says "Not while I'm driving" and pushes it away. 

Scooby Doo meets the Boo Brothers (1987)

Scooby Doo meets the Boo Brothers (1987) 3/5 stars. 

 The trio of Scooby, Shaggy, and Scrappy headline their first entry in the Superstar 10 series and the second movie overall in the series. It's also notable for being the first feature length movie in the Scooby Doo in the franchise

My viewing copy is the recently released blu-ray edition included in the Warner Archive Superstars 10 box set. Each movie is available separately, however you would end up paying anywhere from 2x-4x more than if you purchased the set. 

One last note: The images contained in this and all other reviews are sourced from various Wikis and are not meant to be representative of the Blu-Rays. The sites used for this review are Scoobypedia (one of my favorite resources) and the Animated Character Database. 

Okay... now on to the review

 

Scooby Ges Hollywood

Scooby Goes Hollywood (1979) 3/5 stars

The first feature length animated special for the undisputed face of the legendary Hanna-Barbera animation studios, is an interesting exploration of the tropes that make the both the eponymous canine and franchise so enduring and endearing.

The Shadow of the Eagle (1932) Chapter 1: The Carnival Mystery

 John Wayne's very first serial features him as a stunt pilot working for a a rundown carnival run by a WWI veteran who's fallen on hard times.

As the chapter one begins the sheriff is in the middle of informing the owner of the carnival, Nathan Gregory, that he is shutting them down for non payment of bills owed. 

John Wayne rushes in at this point with good news that he just made $100 dollars to do a mysterious stunt. Which is the nearly exact amount needed to keep the carnival open, 

Jumping ahead a bit, Duke and his love interest, who's also Gregory's daughter, go up the plane where Jean (The daughter) does her act as the wing walker/ parachutist and jumps out of the plane. Leaving Duke writes a message in the sky that he was to write.

This message sets things into motion as we find out that Gregory was WWI vet who was shot down by friendly fire, it also spooks some businessmen who are working out the details for a new plant on their lot into action to get the bottom of the message. meanwhile All of this is being monitored by the duo of Bud Osbourne and the legendary Yakima Canutt who's interest in this has yet to be revealed. Meanwhile a shadowy issues commands via phone.

A few chases and fights later we are back at the carnival where things reach an exciting climax ending this chapter with a poorly animated plane trying to set the tents on fire.

Pretty good first chapter for a serial, gets you invested in it and hooks you to come back next week. I give it 7/10. It would be higher but the primitive and poorly done effects for the plane are hysterical, even for then time.

Now onto the cast... the hero is of course played by John Wayne as Craig McCoy, who needs no introduction. Seen below with Nathan Gregory (Edward Hearn) and his daughter Jean (Dorothy Gulliver)

 Nathan Gregory is played by Edward Hearn a mostly uncredited reliable player in the golden age of Hollywood. He appeared in many westerns and serials of the era. He would go on to lend Duke support in, King of the Pecos (1936). 

Jean Gregory is ably played by Dorothy Gulliver who like many actresses of the day never really found her footing and had only brief leading success in B pictures and serials. Though she did make sporadic appearances until the 70's in which she appeared in Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976). Serial fans might recognize her from The Phantom of the West (1930) starring the awesome Tom Tyler. 

Other notable cast includes

Little Billy Rhodes as Little Billy, who effectively serves as the sidekick to John Wayne in this serial. Comedy fans may recognize him from his appearance with the 3 Stooges in the shorts Men in Black (1934) and You Nazty Spy! (1940). As his name implies he was a little person with a huge personality. He's sadly mostly forgotten now, which is a shame because he's a very underrated performer. He also appeared in Wizard of Oz (1939) and the all midget western The Terror of Tiny Town (1940). 

 Bud Osbourne as Tim Moore a solid and reliable character actor who would appear in many B westerns of the of the era including those of John Wayne's earliest efforts.

And finally, Yakima Canutt. 

Probably the most legendary of the early stuntmen who pioneered many tricks of the trade. He made many films with Duke and along the way they began changing how screen fights were staged and filmed. many of their techniques are still in use. 

And this guy was the real deal, so much so that John Wayne basically copied Canutt verbatim for his screen persona. 

 

Much of Wayne's on-screen persona was copied from Canutt. The characterizations associated with Wayne - the drawling, hesitant speech and the hip-rolling walk - were pure Canutt.^[14] Said Wayne, "I spent weeks studying the way Yakima Canutt walked and talked. He was a real cowhand."^[15]

But it is not just for his association with Duke that Canutt is legendary, he coordinated stunts on many classic films such as Spartacus and performed ably as second unit director for many years. 

He deserves an entire blog to himself because a few simple paragraphs don't do the man justice. He's what Tom Cruise aspires to be. Movie buffs would be well served to look him up and see just how much of an impact he made in the industry and all his accomplishments outside of film  

                                                                                                                                                                        

 

The Range Feud (1931)

 A tale of two young lovers amidst a tale of range war, cattle rustling and double crosses, this early 30's western features appearances by a who's who of B Westerns of the day. Headlined of course by the legendary Buck Jones as a sheriff trying to keep the peace, John Wayne as his younger adopted brother, Harry Woods as an excellent sleazeball and perennial bad guy Glenn Strange in an uncredited role.

A slight western that only works on the strength of Buck Jones' presence, with a young John Wayne in a supporting weaker role as a love struck suitor who is incapable of taking care of himself, constantly requiring Buck to get him out of whatever mess. 

The basic story involves the titular range feud between two families, cattle rustling, and frame ups that land Duke in jail, where he languishes until a lynching party drags him helplessly to be hung. BUT WAIT! Buck rides in at the last minute and reveals that the slimy Woods is the culprit and all is well in the end.  

This definitely more of movie for fans of the legendary Buck Jones than for fans of the Duke. As a John Wayne movie it's extremely disappointing, but taken at face value as a Buck Jones movie it's a fun ride.

Aside from that quibble, this is well produced B western that I definitely recommend for fans of the genre or lead actor. 

This was one of the pictures Duke made as he tumbled down into poverty row stardom after the failure of his debut lead role The Big Trail (1930), which had nothing to do with him at all, but still tainted him as poison for nearly a decade. 

The other thing that derailed his career at this stage was the tyrannical Harry Cohn who falsely believed that Duke was sleeping with a starlet that Cohn himself had designs on. He kept putting Duke lower and smalls and played out his contract upon which time he spread rumors that Duke was a heavy drinker and frequently showed up drunk on sets. 

Duke never forgave Cohn for this and swore he would never make another picture for Columbia.. And he never did. Even when he became the biggest star in Hollywood and Cohn came crawling back with all sorts of enticements and tried desperately to get Duke to make a movie for his studio. 

Buck Jones remained fairly popular for the rest of his career despite his descent into lower quality pictures over the next decade. 

He made a handful of successful serials and eventually rode off into that western sunset with the Rough Riders series which teamed him up with the equally legendary Tim McCoy, with Raymond Hatton as the comedy relief partner. 

It's unknown how much longer his career would've lasted had he not died tragically as a result of club fire in the early 40's. Popular legend says he perished a hero to the last, trying desperately to save others in the fire. In the end though he was just one of the 492 victims of the Cocoanut Grove fire in Boston, MA. He passed away in the hospital Nov 30, 1942. 2 days after the fire. He was 50 years old.