
Another neat thing about the movie is its old Los Angeles locations. There are many interesting spots, but one of my favorites featured a place near the Los Angeles shipyard (I believe) that had gigantic stacks of old trolley train cars. It's one of those things in a movie that is not only a sight to behold and a unique backdrop, but also something that made me go and look up when the public transit in Los Angeles changed as to put all these cars out of service.
One way that I know that I'm really syncing with a film is when I start to fantasize about programming it at some repertory theater somewhere. THE LITTLEST HOBO absolutely had that kind of effect on me. It's just the kind of movie that you watch and immediately want to share with other people. I wanted to show it to my daughter right away and I also started to think about what film (or films) I'd program with it as a double bill if I ever had the chance. The first thing that came to mind was another old favorite of mine, THE LITTLE FUGITIVE. That film features a little boy lost in the Coney Island section of New York for a day and I feel like it would line up well with THE LITTLEST HOBO. Anyway, this movie is delightful and will certainly be among my favorite discoveries of 2016.
You can buy this DVD here:
http://amzn.to/1P2ifMg
Warner Archive posted a short clip of the film here:
https://www.facebook.com/warnerarchive/videos/10153882494831563/
GENERAL SPANKY(1936; Gordon Douglas/Fred C. Newmeyer)

Here's a quick clip from the movie:
https://www.facebook.com/warnerarchive/videos/10153882519476563/
GENERAL SPANKY can be purchased on DVD here:
http://amzn.to/23yOFHS
TWO GUYS FROM MILWAUKEE (1946; David Butler)
A Balkan prince (Dennis Morgan) ditches out on his handlers whilst in New York City to try to find a more "authentic" experience. He quickly befriends a local cabbie (Jack Carson) who gets him authentically drunk on boilermakers whilst enjoying the local cuisine (hamburgers). The prince stays at the cabbie's place and things blow-up a bit as he is declared missing/kidnapped in the city and he finds himself falling for the cabbie's girl. I.A.L. ("Izzy) Diamond helps with the script on this lovely little twist on a "Prince and the Pauper" kinda tale. The movie has the feel of a 2nd tier (but still quite enjoyable) Billy Wilder farce and certainly Diamond (who worked with Billy Wilder a lot) had something to do with that. It also features a moment which oddly plays into the idea of "going viral" and fame brought about by YouTube and so forth. Of course this moment deals with radio as that was the broadcast medium of the time, but I found it an interesting commentary on the here and now. Warner Archive also released the follow-up film TWO GUYS FROM TEXAS as well.
http://amzn.to/1QxCNi8
TWO GUYS FROM TEXAS here:
http://amzn.to/20yhguE
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