"Old Films, Young Eyes," A Modern Moron Book Review

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Films are an effective way of teaching young people about the past in an entertaining way, Simone O. Elias said, the author of "Old Films, Young Eyes." 

Elias shares her impressive and enlightening knowledge of Pre-Code Hollywood, which began in 1930, the same year sound on film became mainstream. Luring ladies such as Clara Bow and Ginger Rodgers embraced the tangibles of life while ignoring the Christian critique of their time. Bow and Rodgers blind sided the censors with lurid and lascivious story-lines in their movies.  

Elias, like myself is a fan of Clara Bow and Ginger Rodgers, both pictured above, Bow on the left and Rodgers on the right. Elias writes detailed information on the two. She also reviews two of their Pre-Code flicks and why vintage films remain relevant.   

Bow's silent features have held the test of time such as "Capital Punishment," "The Plastic Age," "Hula," "Wings," "My Ladie of Whims," "Black Oxen," and "It." These movies merely tinge the surface of Bow's immortal personality and allure on and off the screen. In 1925 or 26,' Bow appeared or starred in more than two dozen feature films.  

"I'm gest a woiken' a gol," Bow said to journalist's in the 1920s. 

Prior to Clara Bow, women's sexuality in the movies was non-existent. This was the B.C era of Hollywood; Before Clara. I got the B.C. reference from David Stenn's book "Running Wild," the biography of Clara Bow. 

The clever and sometimes crazed plots detailing free sex, and indulgent vices have withstood the test of time. Elias, the 15-year-old author of this book reviewed 1932s "Call Her Savage," starring Clara Bow, arguably the inspiration for Betty Boop. Bow was a dominant box office draw during the Roaring Twenties. Betty Boop was created in 1930 and in July, 1934, her garter was forced to disappear and her skirt was drawn closer to the knees. 

Thou shall not show women in scanties or lingerie was just one of the many things written into Hollywood law midway into 1934, officially ending the fabulous four year run of the Pre-Code flicks. Ridged rules were literally written biblically, such as the above. 

These old films are objectifying, yet liberating for women, Elias said. Elias is correct, many early 1930s films portrayed women as independent, smart, sly and sexy. 

Anna May Wong, as pictured in "Old films, Young Eyes." 

In "Call Her Savage," Bow is seen in a diaphanous blouse without a bra, and Ginger Rodgers is a teenaged flirt who drinks in 1934s "Finishing School Girls." Bow, nor Rodgers is punished for their sins upon the ending of these movies, a big no-no for films made after July, 1934.   

Elias reviewed "Finishing School Girls," starring Ginger Rodgers. Rodgers portrays a smart young woman, free from the uptight expectations of society. She acts and behaves on her own terms, Elias said. 

"Old Films Young Eyes" is so much more then what I've said. Elias not only reviews "Call Her Savage" and "Finishing School Girls " in detail, she also mentions an array of many more Pre-Code flicks and talks about 1960s films, her personal life, politics and so much more. 

From 1890 to the 1920s there were more female film makers then there are today. Elias writes in-depthly about the screen-writers and directors, Alice Guy Blache,' Lois Weber and Frances Marion. Alice Guy Blache' made the first ever film to tell a story, 1896s "The Cabbage Fairy." Until I read this book, I thought the inaugural story telling film was 1903s "The Great Train Robbery." Blache' was also the first female to operate and control her own movie studio, Solax Studios in New Jersey. 

Films before "The Cabbage Fairy" were mostly magicians, disappearing acts and dancing. Alice Guy Blache said women can master every technicality of the art of movie making...Acting, painting, music and literature. Women have long held their place among the most successful workers...Scores of women are not found among the most successful creators of photo drama offerings. This is an actual quote from Moving Picture World in 1914.   

Years before 1920, writer and director Lois Weber made feature films such as "Where are My Children?," "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle," "The Blot," and "Hop, the Devil's Brew." Weber addressed the need and political controversy over birth control, voting rights and poverty in her films. She also showcased the ills of alcohol and drug addiction more than a 100 years ago in her films. 

Screen-writer Frances Marion was the highest paid writer in Hollywood for decades. She wrote more than a 130 movies, including films with Shirley Temple, Marion Davies and Greta Garbo. 

The great grand uncle of Simone was black listed by Hollywood. Like Simone, he was Jewish. She details how black and Jewish actors, screenwriters, directors and musicians were black listed by Hollywood in the mid 20th century. "Old Films, Young Eyes" is laden with a bevy of enlightening information. 

My favorite parts of the book entailed her talking about Clara Bow and Ginger Rodger. Simone mentions several Pre-Code flicks I've seen multiple times. 

"Gold Diggers of 1933" is a Pre-Code cliche' of women's bodies, drinking, gold diggers and portly men in three piece suits and dance numbers existing only to show off women's legs and women hanging out in their underwear half the time, and my favorite, women tricking men to get money and status, Elias said. She describes this movie with aplomb detail. Ginger Rodgers has an amazing voice and sings brilliantly in Latin, the song "We're in the Money." Pictured below is Joan Blondell, my favorite Pre-Code babe. Joan Blondell and Ginger Rodgers were sensational and funny as showgirls in"Gold Diggers of 1933".

 

The Book, "Old Films, Young Eyes," is only a year old and refueled my fascination for these films. Claudette Colbert, pictured below was another lady of lure who pushed the skin bearing envelopes in mainstream movies. Some people collect vintage cars, I collect vintage movies, especially Pre-Code films.

 

I own a geekish amount of Clara Bow and Joan Blondell DVDs, along with several other starlets from nearly a century ago and because of "Old Films, Young Eyes," I will aquire some Colbert movies I've never heard of before I read this book, particularly "The Wiser Sex" and "Man of Manhattan."  

Thank you so much Simone, this afternoon read I took weeks to finish was amazing. Four and a half stars easy for this 2024 book. Instagram; @teeneagegoldenage and teenagegoldenagebook. Bravo Simone, not even old enough to drive, yet your wisdom far surpasses mine.

"Being a teenager means being hopeful, cynical, ambitious and risky, Elias said. 

Mark Izzy Schurr

 

 

   

 

  

 

"Big Business Girl," A Modern Moron Movie Review

 

Loretta Young, the star of 1931s "Big Business Girl" is alluring and enlightening, and confirms what Simone O. Elias and myself already knew about Pre-Code Hollywood; it showcased women as whimsical and determined. 

Fifteen-year-old Simone O. Elias, the author of "Old Films, Young Eyes," said women of the Pre-Code era portrayed females as smart and geared for success, not her wording, but I clearly understood her amazing point. Hopefully, I give Elias the justice she deserves when I write her book review.

The Pre-Code era was brief, but brilliant. These vintage flicks ran from 1930-1934. These movies, including "Big Business Girl" contain timeless and potent subject matter. 

"Big Business Girl" is not some lame boy and girl love each other tale. Young decides to move to New York without her beau upon her college graduation in business. He wants to go with her, but she convinces him to go to Paris to pursue his career in music. When their both successful, they'll get married is her plan. He reluctantly agrees to her terms, and the long distance realationship begins. 

She's determined to get work in the field she acquired in college to pay off her $2,000 student loan. Her lover dropped out of college to play music. What happens is movie magic, or at least a film that has withstood the test of time. Dreaming youthful hearts journeying for their passions. 

Four stars easy for "Big Bisness Girl," a movie which solidifies Loretta Young as an iconic actress. 

Mark Izzy Schurr   

    

"Apes And Monkeys," A Modern Moron Book Review

 

If you have read this book, you'd know approximately how many species of monkeys there are and the exact number of of apes, chimpanzees, gibbons, the smallest of apes, orangutans and the largest of the apes, the gorilla which is bigger than the largest monkey, the baboon. The monkey family has approximately 130 different species.  

Apes, monkeys and people are primates. Humans, like the apes and monkeys have thumbs large brains and eyes positioned on the front of our heads and we all have social lives.

   

This book has details on the endangered species of various types of the 130 or so different breeds of monkeys and the people working to save these amazing creatures. 

Some types of monkeys make various types of footwear to protect their feet from thorns and other hazards of the jungle and wooded areas of Africa and parts of Asia. 

This book was written by John Grassy. He acquired his facts from Colleen M. McCann, PhD Wildlife Conservation Society. 

This 1997 book is great for readers of all ages, and the pictures are fantastic, four and a half stars easy for this book. 

Mark Izzy Schurr

"Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess," A Modern Moron Book Review

 

A Little Libraires gem, "Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess," and if you read this book, you'll learn advanced strategies, or at least know what an interposition move is, and which is the best one to use in various sceneries. 

Personally, I rummage through the book, and set up my chess pieces from various games laden throughout the book and play myself. 

This book is for those who don't know a single thing about chess and for those who play in tournaments, and as stated in the book, you'll learn how to play winning chess, but not as good as Bobby Fischer.

"Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess" tells the reader how to mate in some situations but in most cases he doesn't, he makes the reader think for themselves. Most of the time, Fisher has lay-outs from real championship games and other situations and simply poses the question; can white mate? Can black mate? What's the first move for white or black to begin the mating process. Can white / black mate in one move in this set-up? 

Fischer won his first United States Chess Championship when he was 14-years-old, and after winning that game in 1957, known as The Game of the Century, he went on to win or draw every single match he was in for the next four years.

Four and a half stars easy for this Little Libraies gem.

Mark Izzy Schurr 

 

  

"Drive-In Dream Girls..." A Modern Moron Book Review

 

"Clara Bow Running Wild," A Modern Moron Book Review

Once upon a time mainstream movies were silent and its mega stars included Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford, when sexuality in film was nonexistent for all intensive purposes. (Picture on the left of the book is also of Bow, who many say inspired the creation of the iconic Betty Boop in 1930.)

 Hollywood's B.C. films lacked the jubilant sexiness of youth, these were the years Before Clara. Bravo to David Stenn for B.C.ing Bow, blasphemous or not. Clara brought sex to American cinema in the early 1920s. 

Bow was born on July 29, 1905. Her movie idol was Mary Pickford and very soon in her life, she aspired to be a movie star. Winning the Fame and Fortune Contest at 16 ignited the flames of her explosive career, riddled with praise and harsh accusations about her personal life. Before she was 18, she appeared in her first movie in 1922, and by 1927, she was Hollywood's "It" girl who also starred in that years movie "It," written by Elinor Glyn.

"It," the quality possessed by some which draws all others with its magnetic force. With "It" you win all men if you are a woman-and all women if you are a man. "It' can be a quality of the mind as well as a physical attraction, Elinor Glyn said. 

Having read "Clara Bow Running Wild," I now want to read the 1907 book, "Three Weeks," by Glyn. It's an erotic romance empowering women. 

"Clara Bow Running Wild" is the reason I've seen 13 of Bow's silent films and five of her sound Pre-Code movies. I've watched 11 of the 13 silents multiple times, their solid stories, complete with today's lurid and lascivious storylines. Not nearly as blatant and and graphic as today's flicks, but it's all implied and complete with crime, violence, boozing, drugging, fornication and murder. 

The crazed  mixture of vices amid the human spirit were showcased in the nearly five dozen flicks Bow starred or appeared in. Clara Bow depicted female promiscuity with aplomb and humor. Bow was clever, sly, and delightfully devious on the big screen and officially deemed the "It" girl by Elinor Glyn. 

Bow was a pioneering actress who infuriated some and infatuated many. I've lost count of how many times I've watched "True to the Navy," and "Call Her Savage," Pre-Code gems. 

"She naturally walks away with every scene she's in, she's marvelous, she has everything," Gary Cooper said.    

If you want to know what Clara Bow said about Cooper's baby maker, read the book. 

"...Running Wild" details her bedroom antics in her own words and those of others without being pornographic. Incidentally, her sex life is a blip of the many things this book covers. 

"If you can't be good, be careful", Bow said. 

The 1928 movie "Three Week Ends," based on the book, "Three Weeks" was basically a disaster. Not because of Bow. She lights everyone up with her mere presence. She approached her role with gusto and professionalism in "Three Week Ends," but she could not cover for a plot that was as skimpy as her wardrobe, she said. 

In 1925, Bow made 16 feature films. "I'm jest a woikin goil," Bow said in her native Brooklyn tongue. 

Bow is chunky and spunky as a boxer in 1928s "Rough House Rosie," another missing movie. 

As of 1985, all of her 1928 movies are nowhere to be found. To this day missing silent films are found in attacks, salt mines and mis labeled studio vaults. "Three Week Ends" and "Rough House Rosie," are still MIA, along with two dozen more of her features. For nearly 12 years Bow starred or appeared in 56 feature films, 11 were sound movies. 

The least Hollywood could do is remaster her silents such as "Hula," "The Plastic Age," "Black Oxen," "Capital Punishment," and all five of the sound films I own including "True to the Navy," and "Call Her Savage." 

I must admit, the remastered silents of 1927s "It," "Wings," and my Blue-Ray of "Children of Divorce," are amazing. Surprisingly, "Children of Divorce" was subpar at the box office upon its original release, despite the presence of Gary Cooper and Clara bow. It's a four star flick for me.

When this book was originally released, there were no prints of 1930s, "True to the Navy." This is now one of the 18 DVDs features I have of hers. "True to the Navy" is a Pre-Code Hollywood film. She has multiple boyfriends in the film, very risque for it's time. 

When she was dating Gary Cooper in real life, she had six other boy friends including her then future husband Rex Bell who was one of the sailors in "True to the Navy." Bell knew about her wild antics, and his lack of jealously impressed her. The two married in 1931 and remained together until the mid 1940s. They spawned two sons. They remained close until his death in 1962. 

Bow sings very well in "True to the Navy." She had no training in music and she nailed the one and only song in the movie. She truly was a natural in front of the camera. 

1927 was her glory year, not only did she star in the box office sensation It.," she also co-starred in Hollywood's first film to win the academy award, "Wings." 

Clara Bow in the first best picture of the year, 1927s "Wings" 

She was the female equivalent of Charlie Sheen off the set, boozing, drugging and sexing. She was briefly committed to a mental facility in 1931 and fans and Hollywood movie mongrels were starting to black ball her. She rebounded extremely well in 1932s "Call Her Savage" despite harsh accusations of Bow participating in beastiality with dogs. Accusers point to the one scene in "Call Her Savage" in which she's affectionate with her pet dog. I own the movie, nothing what so ever to indicate animal perversion. 

She made her last movie in 1933s "Hoopla." She retired when she was 28-years-old. She immediately left Hollywood and moved to a Nevada ranch with her hubby Bell. Years before she made her last film, she felt alone and disliked the Hollywood scene. Movies no longer fascinated her and she preferred the company of children over adults. In the 1950s, she was reading several dozen books a month. Like her mother, she was a diagnosed schizophrenic and committed twice to mental facilities. The second time she was committed was in the 1950s, a mental wellness facility in Harford Connecticut for a few months.   

Her mother once put a butchers knife to her daughters throat and threatened to kill her. Her dad was an abuser of alcohol and women. He raped Clara when she was 16. Growing up, she lived in the slums of Brooklyn hiding from abusive Johns her mother brought home before she was 5-years-old. 

When she was only nine she lost her best friend Johnny in a fire. Johnny lived in the same building as her when the structure caught on fire. While Johnny was burning, Bow tried to save him by wrapping a throw rug around him. 

 The one bright spot during her childhood was her grandfather who died in front of her before her 6th birthday.   

"It's easy to cry on cue, all I have to do is think of home,"Bow said.

Movie directors have attested to this quote. The doctor who treated her for mental illness in the 1950s said her life should be told by a master of fiction and not a humble doctor such as himself. 

Mark Izzy Schurr

"Democracy or Else," A Modern Moron Book Review

 

"Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried," Winston Churchill said.  

The three writers and hosts of "Pod Save America" are not Trump supporters by any means, nor do they praise the democrat party, they present common facts with very minimal bashing of the MAGA cult.  

This is a very worthy read for anyone whose into politics, left or right, or in my case, foward, as in the Foward Party. This book really illustrates the importance of voting, no matter how futile all winning candidates seem to be. Political god Andrew Yang said if all eligible voters exercised their rights, there would be a lot of positive change in the government. The 2020 election had record turn-outs in America's history, and yet only 67 percent of the registered voters cast their ballots. 

Currently less than 30 percent of Americans believe in the presidency and eight percent of Americans believe in congress. This book has extensive and understandable details in becoming a politician yourself. I myself have as much political experience as many elected officials. Page 144 clearly states," If you've read this far you have as much political experience...

If you think your vote doesn't matter, think again. In 2000, Bush won the state of Florida by 537 votes, only one sentence in the entire book about that years so called rigged election. When JFK defeated Nixon in the 1960 election, he only won the popular vote by a 120,000. This book didn't mention that John Fetterman won his first mayoral primary in Braddock, Pennsylvania by a single vote in 2005. The 2020 election was finalized by three states which Joe Biden won by a combined 43,000 votes, so yes, your vote matters. 

This book details how to become involved in local and national politics. It's very easy to become a member of Congress for example. Fund raising is the key. Anyone whose insanely wealthy can waltz into the political spectrum and if your not rich, you just need to smooze the right people or get millions of Americans to send you money. Anyone whose extroverted and passionate about politics can become a senator, mayor, whatever, even president. This book has the vital and valid details you need. 

"Our broken political system depends too much on fund raising," one or all three authors of this book said. 

A four star politcal read. 

Mark Izzy Schurr