3.0 out of 5 stars
Of cult interest, Jun 13 2000
This review is from: Republic Picture Story 1935-65 (VHS Tape)
This documentary on the Republic movie studio reveals that they released few classics, or if they did, they aren't mentioned here. Republic was only a small operation formed in 1935 yet it managed to stay productive until 1959 when it was wiped out by the advent of TV. It thrived in the 30's and 40's when it's major output was weekly serials featuring Dick Tracy and The Lone Ranger, and westerns starring singing cowboys like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. These films were indicative of the studio's limitations since they were made on a shoe-string budget, generally with time for only one take. The pompous narrator, who sounds like he's calling a baseball game, tells us that because of their success, the studio was able to create minatures that "the major studios envied". Hmm. Since a film could be made so easily it allowed for experimentation and also tended to attract people who no-one else wanted. Republic promoted the bumpkin Judy Canova and other obscure vaudeville performers, gave a career to Czech ice skater Vera Hruba Ralston, and dabbled in propaganda pieces like The Red Menace. Orson Welles made a black and white Macbeth in 1948 which the studio spent months re-dubbing since he had insisted on authentic Scottish accents, which they found to be inaudible. Nicholas Ray directed Joan Crawford in the sado-masochistic Johnny Guitar in 1954. John Wayne made 33 films at Republic, including John Ford's The Quiet Man, which is shown in lush colour. This documentary is perverse in the way it tends to skip over known titles and performers and dwell on the little known. Uncovering material is one thing, but giving undue attention to mediocrity is quite another.
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