The beautiful Lila Lee is the chief attraction in this independent offering which also caters for the fans of James Kirkwood and John Elliott. The story tends to out-stay its welcome, but it does come to a satisfactory conclusion.
Unfortunately, although it is supposed to run only 63 fast-paced minutes, the Grapevine DVD actually runs much longer than that because it was printed up from a 16mm print that managed to squeeze the movie into two standard but bulging reels. Reel number one has come to grief, alas. The movie is all still there but the sprocket holes of reel one are in such poor condition that the picture slips, time and time again.
"How often does the picture come to a stand-still?" You ask. I'd like to reply, "Every second!" But of course the Grapevine DVD isn't nearly as bad as that, and it's only the first reel that has this problem. So I'd like to say, "Only two hundred times!" But that too is maybe an exaggeration. The movie comes to a slight stand-still probably not more than a hundred times, and maybe slightly less than that. True, it was supposed to run only 63 minutes, but to me, it seemed more like 163!
Now for the movie itself. "The Million Dollar Mystery" is an independent film and it does tend to look a bit cheap, even though it presents us with a rather complicated plot. What with the stand- stills and all, I gave up trying to follow it. Obviously made on a small budget, I found the story both confused and over-"talkative"!
If it wasn't for the lovely heroine, played by the charismatic Lila Lee, I would have given the movie up long before its actual conclusion. The photography is good and it was very nice to see a tinted print, but the flick was obviously made on a small budget. It has far too many speech titles and very little action.
Unfortunately, although it is supposed to run only 63 fast-paced minutes, the Grapevine DVD actually runs much longer than that because it was printed up from a 16mm print that managed to squeeze the movie into two standard but bulging reels. Reel number one has come to grief, alas. The movie is all still there but the sprocket holes of reel one are in such poor condition that the picture slips, time and time again.
"How often does the picture come to a stand-still?" You ask. I'd like to reply, "Every second!" But of course the Grapevine DVD isn't nearly as bad as that, and it's only the first reel that has this problem. So I'd like to say, "Only two hundred times!" But that too is maybe an exaggeration. The movie comes to a slight stand-still probably not more than a hundred times, and maybe slightly less than that. True, it was supposed to run only 63 minutes, but to me, it seemed more like 163!
Now for the movie itself. "The Million Dollar Mystery" is an independent film and it does tend to look a bit cheap, even though it presents us with a rather complicated plot. What with the stand- stills and all, I gave up trying to follow it. Obviously made on a small budget, I found the story both confused and over-"talkative"!
If it wasn't for the lovely heroine, played by the charismatic Lila Lee, I would have given the movie up long before its actual conclusion. The photography is good and it was very nice to see a tinted print, but the flick was obviously made on a small budget. It has far too many speech titles and very little action.
