Tetrady not as good as all the hype

Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Ortiz Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

MartinHafer This short stars Dave Apollon--a Russian-born Vaudeville performer who you would think was a famous actor and director if you believed the film. However, despite his playing the role of a know-it-all and temperamental director, he only made a very few films in his brief film career.In the film, he plays the mandolin, sings, dances and even appears in a brief scene as an usher in the movie theater,...as well as the director of this film. It is obvious that he was a pretty talented guy and he seems very self-confident and brash as well--and in many ways a lot like Eddie Cantor. However, unfortunately, Mr. Apollon was far from handsome and I am sure that despite his talents, this must have been why he never succeeded in films.The short itself is chock full of music, music and more music. If you love 1930s-style production numbers (one involving gypsies, another Latin-American dancers and another a Broadway-like review), then you'll love the film. But despite starting off with a plot, this is soon forgotten and the film has very little to recommend it other than the dancing and music. An interesting curio and that's about all.

Tim I saw this odd little two-reel Vitaphone short from the late 30s on Turner Classic Movies last night and thought it was quite interesting. It's basically a bunch of musical numbers connected by Dave Apollon and his orchestra.The opening gypsy sequence had Mr. Apollon doing a virtuoso performance on the mandolin, along with some serious tap dancing by others. It was followed by a so-so Mexican number. There was another sequence with a tap-dancing midget woman who was very good, if somewhat unusual, followed by a final dance sequence with a woman who looked ravishing in a shiny dress. The musical numbers were quite elaborate for a Vitaphone short. Movie Mania isn't exactly Singing in the Rain in terms of quality and budget, but a nice little film that classic-movie buffs would probably enjoy watching.

scrabbler Just saw this on TCM and was very impressed. Apollon was multi talented. He played the mandolin flawlessly. I am a longtime bluegrass fan and don't think I've every heard anybody play that fast without a single mistake. His tap-dancing was pretty fair, too, though we didn't get to see too much of it in this one-reeler.How do these guys not get noticed, but others with no obvious talent seem to go much further? Judging from this flick, it must have a lot to do with personality. He seems very arrogant, and I assume he was as he did not seem like much of an actor. Thanks to Ted Turner for unearthing this and so many other interesting if not classic pictures. I can almost forgive you for the whole colorization thing.

petelush It is not so odd that I have seen this short, as I'm always curious about the old one or two-reelers, and used to catch some back in the late 1940's and early 1950's in my neighborhood movie houses. Hence I immediately bought the laser-disc box sets when they were issued (I think they go for $500 now or some such ridiculous price). Movie Mania is on Vitaphone Shorts: A 70th Anniversay Celebration, a/k/a Cavalcade of Vitaphone Shorts Volume 2 (MGM/UA ML 105220).Anyway, to get to the point: it is always strange to see an old-timer one has never heard of, when it is evident from the setting that he had a following back in the day. One assumes that if you've heard of Eddie Cantor, Pete Smith, and a few dozen others, you know the lay of the land. But people like Dave Appolon keep popping up. (One of my laser shorts collections has an extended one-man slapstick vaudeville act done by a man so obnoxious, not to mention unfunny, that it's hard to believe he would be invited for dinner, let alone cut a swath in show biz.) Can't say I like Mr. Appolon. He is clearly master of his instrument, the mandolin, which puts me in mind of one of my friend's favorite put-downs: "it's like being the world's best accordianist". Of course, I don't want to sound or even be a philistine; all music is good, right? Then there's Appolon's personality; he projects himself as an imperious Russian. Just how large was his following? Not worth researching, to me. Now compare a team unknown today: Olson and Johnson. Geniuses who anticipated all the fancy post-modern doo-dads that wow the college circuit -- just catch Hellzapoppin.