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Still image from Mexican Malarkey in Movie Makers, Dec. 1949, 452.

Date produced: 1949

Filmmaker(s):

Cal Duncan

Languages:

English

Length:

1300 ft

Format:

16mm

Colour:

Kodachrome

Sound Notes:

Silent

Sound:

With music on disc.

Awards/Recognition:

ACL Ten Best 1949

Description:

"It takes Cal Duncan 1300 feet of 16mm. color film to tell a pair of politely uninterested guests how he caught a sailfish off Acapulco — but the effort, as exemplified in Mexican Malarkey, is decidedly worth it. Mr. Duncan's running gag, climaxed by a truly comic finish right out of the funny papers, is the flashback technique developed to a high and satisfying order. His Mexican footage itself is no less effective. The robust and hearty producer has an artist's eye for fresh viewpoints, a dramatist's instinct for revealing action. His sequence on Mexico's traditional Sunday bullfight, always a difficult assignment, is outstanding. Mexican Malarkey is a refreshing variation on an increasing wellworn theme." Movie Makers, Dec. 1949, 454.

Resources:

Mentioned in Leo J. Heffernan's article "Transitions for the Travelog" (Movie Makers, July 1950, 252, 270-271) as an example of effective usage of the flashback technique.

Locations:

  • Acapulco, Mexico (Filming)

Subjects:

Genre:

Form:

Screenings:

  • Screened by the 8-16 Home Movie Makers Club of Kansas City in 1949: Kansas City, MO
  • Screened by the Hartford Cinema Club in 1950: Hartford, CT
  • Screened by the Brooklyn Amateur Cine Club in 1950: Brooklyn, N.Y.
  • Screened by the Kansas City Amateur Movie Makers in 1950: Kansas City, MO
  • Screened by the Vailsburg Cine Club in 1952: Newark, N.J.

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