Screen Snapshots Series 10 No. 2: Like Peeking into a 1930s Garbage Can

If you are the kind of person who likes digging through old boxes at a garage sale just to see who people used to be, you might like this. It is not a movie, really. It is more like a window that has been left open for ten minutes in 1930.

If you need a plot or characters that actually do something, you are going to hate this. It is just people standing around and pretending to be normal while a camera stares at them.

I found myself staring at the background more than the 'stars.' Everything looks so dusty and real.

The narrator has that voice that sounds like he is trying to sell you a used car while underwater. It is that early sound era crackle that makes everything feel haunted.

The Vibes are Weird

There is a bit where they show some actors at a polo match or maybe a golf course. They look like they would rather be anywhere else, honestly.

It reminded me of the energy in Youth to Youth but without the actual story. Just the 'youth' part, I guess, but with more expensive hats.

I noticed one guy in the back of a shot just staring directly into the lens for way too long. It is creepy if you think about it too much. He is looking at us from a hundred years ago.

Most of these people are totally forgotten now. It makes the whole thing feel a bit ghostly and sad, but in a cool way.

Like, you see some people who might have been in The Scarlet Car or something similar just hanging out. They are not 'on' yet. They are just people with weird eyebrows.

Technical Messiness

• The editing is pretty jumpy.
• It is like the person cutting the film just got tired and stopped in the middle.
• One lady is wearing a hat that looks like a literal bird nest. I could not stop looking at it.

Why did everyone in 1930 look like they were forty years old? Even the young ones have this heavy look to their faces.

It is a weirdly personal experience watching this. You are seeing a version of Hollywood that was already dying when they filmed it.

The silent era was ending, and you can feel the awkwardness of the new microphones. They do not really know where to stand or how loud to talk.

Some of the shots are actually blurry. It feels like someone’s home movies that got accidentally released to theaters by mistake.

I liked the part where they showed the studio gates. It looks like a factory for dreams, but mostly just a factory.

Anyway, it is short. You can watch it while waiting for your toast to pop up.

If you want something with more 'pizazz' or actual stunts, maybe go watch Speeding Through instead. This is more for the dreamers and the people who like old photos.

"Look at those stars! They're just like us, except they've been dead for decades."

I kept thinking about how many of these people probably had no idea they would be on a computer screen in 2024. Or whatever year this is. They just wanted to finish the shot and go get a drink.

It is a time capsule. A messy, slightly boring, fascinating little scrap of film. I am glad it still exists, even if it does not really 'do' anything.