OCTOBER 2023 ROUND-UP

  • 2.11.23


TOTAL FILMS SEEN IN OCTOBER: 5 
(see the film posters at the bottom of the post, arranged in watching order) 

NEW-TO-ME: 5 (1 feature & 4 shorts) 

REWATCHES: 0 

SEEN ON THE BIG SCREEN: 0 

SILENT FILMS: 0 

ANIMATION: 4 (0 features & 4 shorts) 

HORROR FILMS: 4 (0 features & 4 shorts)

Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren in El Cid

I started the month with the intention to watch a good deal of classic films, with a focus on horror films. At the beginning of the month I had a nice holiday with my two sisters and brother-in-law in Peñíscola. Then a serious health problem of one of my sisters (I have three) turned our world upside down and I lost my appetite for watching the classics. I had already intended to start watching Korean dramas again because I wanted to watch Moving. So I did. And after that I felt more compelled to keep watching K-dramas and I watched Something About 1% and Your House Helper. I also started Strong Woman Do Bong-soon which I haven't finished yet. 

I reset my goal at 300 classic films for this year. I'm currently at 270. Though it's still doable, I somehow feel I won't make it. Also, who cares? So what if I end up the year with, for example, 280 films watched instead of 300 or more? 

Anyway, I didn't manage to spend a lot of time in the land of classic films in October. Yet the only feature film I watched, El Cid, had a very long runtime. The other 4 'films' were extremely short. 

So without further ado ... 

Let's go to the 5 films watched this October, listed in watching order! 

NOTE: Read notes with caution as they might contain spoilers; with ratings going from ½ to ★★★★★ and watched date.


THE MAD DOCTOR (Walt Disney Productions, 1933) is a 7-minute black-and-white short which I watched for Spooktober. It was genuine fun with Mickey Mouse (pictured) following an abducted Pluto into the laboratory of the Mad Doctor. It's the familiar trope of the scientist going mad and trying to execute his crazy plans, this time intending to put Pluto's head on a beheaded chicken. David Hand directed. ★★★★ / 03.10.2023


Another animation short for Spooktober, with a runtime of 9 minutes. SWING YOU SINNERS! (Fleischer Studios/ Paramount, 1930) is not as good as the positive ratings and reviews online had let me believe. I didn't particularly like the drawings and some parts went on for far too long. This is from the same maker as Betty Boop. Apparently Bimbo (pictured) is her boyfriend. Dave Fleischer directed. ★★★ / 03.10.2023


It cost me several weeks to watch the epic film EL CID (Samuel Bronston Productions/ Dear Film/ Allied Artists Pictures, 1961) with a runtime of 182 minutes which I fortunately finished today. This had never been high on my watchlist and the reason I prioritised it was because of my holiday in Peñíscola. The cinematography by Robert Krasker and the location shooting in Spain are the best things about this film. The leads Charlton Heston (right) and Sophia Loren (left) reportedly disliked each other off-screen and some of their scenes together were not convincing at all but there were also moments that they displayed notable chemistry. Safe to say that I will never watch this again. Anthony Mann directed. ★★★ / 15.10.2023


BETTY BOOP'S HALLOWE'EN PARTY (Fleischer Studios, 1933) is a 7-minute short which I watched primarily for its very short runtime and because of the Halloween month. It has Betty Boop (pictured) host a Halloween party and some of it was fun (the decorating part). But overall it didn't excite me much. Directed by Dave Fleischer. ★★½ / 30.10.2023


SPOOKS (Celebrity Productions/ Ub Iwerks Studio, 1931) is another short for Spooktober where Flip the Frog (who doesn't look like a frog, left) finds himself in a house haunted by skeletons. It's only 8 minutes short and I was mildly entertained but I was happy it was over. Directed by Ub Iwerks. ★★ / 31.10.2023

I'll post some screenshots (taken by me) of El Cid below where you can see Peñíscola beach and the castle in the background. 


And this is what Peñíscola beach and castle look like today (photos taken by me on my holiday). 


Here is the breakdown in decades of the 5 watched films:

1900s - 0
1910s - 0
1920s - 0
1930s - 4
1940s - 0
1950s - 0
1960s - 1

See you with the next round-up!

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