Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "The Christmas Party" is a black-and-white sound film from 1931, so it has its 85th anniversary this year already. The star here is Jackie Cooper and this was made the very same year he got his Oscar nomination, but all kinds of big names from that era have little cameos too, such as Clark Gable for example. Check out the cast list for everybody who shows up in these 9 minutes. Unfortunately, in terms of content, it is not too great, but that should not come as a surprise. Watching other people party and celebrate is nothing too exciting if you are just the audience. I personally also wondered why they celebrated Christmas as I thought it was mostly a family event, but I guess company celebrations were already a thing back then and there were many kids to join Cooper celebrating. The final message from Cooper to us is nice, but it does not make up for the boredom from before. I have to give this one a thumbs down.

Neil Doyle MGM may have called itself the studio with "more stars than there are in heaven," but this little short with JACKIE COOPER as the centerpiece of attention as a child star, surrounded by the studio's impressive list of contract players, features a lot of "stars" that today's fans are totally unfamiliar with. That studio slogan was only appropriate when we talk of MGM during the '40s and '50s.Sure, people will recognize the lovely Norma Shearer, Clark Gable, Wallace Beery and Jimmy Durante, but are unlikely to know who's who when Anita Page, Reginald Denny, Marion Davies, Charlotte Greenwood and Polly Moran arrive for Cooper's studio birthday bash.Nevertheless, it's an amusing slice of film history and guaranteed to satisfy the nostalgic feeling a lot of us have for the pre-Golden Years at Metro.

tedg The studios had to keep the screens filled of all the theaters they owned, so the studio- related short was a staple of sorts. It had to fill time, be mildly entertaining, and somehow showcase or advertise the studio.The point was to remind the audience that MGM in this case had most of the stars, so coming to this particular theater every week was a good bet.This was a seasonal edition and it is interesting in a way. It "folds" the notion of stars serving the audience with the same stars graciously serving unruly kids. The idea is clever, especially for 1931 when the folding notion was so young.There's some mild entertainment value in seeing scenes that obviously were ad-libbed. Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

Ron Oliver This hard-to-find little film was MGM's Christmas Short Subject for 1931 and it's a lot of fun for old movie buffs.The plot (Jackie Cooper wants to give a Christmas dinner to his neighborhood pals and his friends at the studio lend a hand) is a mere contrivance to show as many of MGM's top talent as possible in 9 minutes. Norma Shearer - as Thalberg's wife she was Queen of the Lot - gets the most screen time. The enjoyment is in trying to put the correct moniker to all the others as they appear - most for only a few seconds.In order of their appearance, here is a complete listing of the uncredited celebrities: Jackie Cooper, Norma Shearer, Jimmy Durante (dressed as Santa), Marie Dressler, Wallace Beery, Polly Moran, Reginald Denny, Clark Gable, Charlotte Greenwood, Lionel Barrymore, Leila Hyams, Cliff Edwards, Ramon Novarro, Marion Davies, and Anita Page.***************************Often overlooked or neglected today, the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents, both in front & behind the camera. The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film, something akin to writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel. Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material, short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios' feature films.