Friday, November 24, 2017

Thursday, Nov. 23 - Thank You, Mr. Moto & Once in a Lifetime

Thank You, Mr. Moto (1937)

Mr Moto competes with a gang of ruthless treasure-hunters for possession of seven scrolls which, when brought together, form a map which reveals the location of the tomb of Genghis Khan, reputed to contain fabulous treasure. Moto already has one scroll, but the rest are owned by Prince Chung and his mother, who consider it a sacred duty to their ancestors to protect the scrolls and the secret of the Khan's tomb.

Once in a Lifetime (1932)

The immense success of The Jazz Singer, the first all-talking picture, results in the cancellation of a booking for three song-and-dance vaudeville performers: Jerry Hyland, May Daniels and George Lewis. Jerry, convinced that talkies are the future, decides they will head to Hollywood to break into the fledgling movie industry before others get the same notion. May comes up with the idea to open a school of elocution to teach actors how to speak on film. On the train there, May encounters an old friend, Helen Hobart, an influential, nationally syndicated columnist. She offers to put them in touch with Herman Glogauer, the head of a major movie studio. George is smitten with another passenger, aspiring young actress Susan Walker.

They discover the movie world to be an eccentric place. George is unexpectedly appointed by Glogauer as supervisor of production, allowing him to promote Susan's career. Despite his incompetence (or rather because of it), his first picture turns out to be an critical and commercial smash hit, and Susan becomes a star.

Later, a very persuasive salesman gets George to buy 2000 airplanes, which causes Glogauer to fire him. However, air movies become very popular, and George has inadvertently cornered the market. The other studios are desperate to get airplanes from Glogauer at any price, and George is once again considered a genius.

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