Old Hickory

Old Hickory (1940)

*** (out of 4)

Warner short came a year after DeMille's THE BUCCANEER so one would have to wonder what the point was. In this 17-minute short, Andrew Jackson (Hugh Sothern) has just won the Battle of New Orleans and is about to have a party to celebrate. If that seems like a too brief summery then that's exactly what the film delivers as there's very little here in terms of plot. We don't get any battle scenes and we really don't get much of anything else except for the actors throwing around some silly dialogue and some voice-over work that moves the film along. The funny thing is that Sothern played the part of Jackson in the DeMille film so it appears Warner was just needing this in a hurry and didn't bother with too much casting time. Sothern is pretty good in the role as his stern figure and strong voice adds quite a bit. The supporting players really don't jump out at anyone. The one real benefit to the film, and the main reason to watch is, is because of the Technicolor. The rich colors really stand out and make sitting through the film a lot easier than it probably would have been without.