The Wishing Stone (1935) User Reviews

This is a really, really weird one....

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 24 August 2011]

I know nothing about Dave Appolon and his orchestra. All I know is that this particular Vitaphone short is WEIRD....seriously weird! It begins with Appolon and his Hispanic band members. One says something about having a wishing stone and then wishes they were back home in Mexico and WHOOSH...they are transported to Mexico! But it gets weirder. A lady in traditional Mexican garb sings and dances Mexican music...THEN, she begins singing Russian!! Suddenly, they are in Russian garb! Then, just as abruptly, they are in Hawaii making Hawaiian music! And, finally, they are back to New York! Why? I dunno...and I am sure they really didn't film any of this in these places--just in the studio.

So is it any good? Well, all I know is that Apollon played an amazingly FAST mandolin at one point--it shocked me plus it was very good. And, if you have any super-hyperactive kids, they would love it since I have NEVER seen a music video that crammed more into it and hits you with it like a machine gun! Wow...it's pretty amazing.

An Interesting Story Helps It

[Michael_Elliott · 1 May 2011]

Wishing Stone, The (1935)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Another musical short from Warner and Vitaphone actually has a pretty decent idea for a story but it just doesn't fully come together in the end. Dave Apollon and his band crash their plane into a jungle but thankfully his grandmother gave him a wishing stone. He first wishes that they're in Mexico and sure enough they're transported there where they do a music number. They then wish that they're in Hawaii and we follow them there and finally to New York. The idea of a band being "transported" from one place to another and doing music from that place was a pretty interesting idea but sadly none of the songs here are all that memorable. Most of the songs are all traditional and I don't mind that but it's just that none of them are very catchy. I think fans of this Warner series or older music in general will enjoy it enough to sit through but it's doubtful you're going to be adding any of the songs to your collection. I thought Apollon did a pretty good job with his comic timing and he was also quite charming in the part. I thought the story dealing with the stone was put to good use and I'm surprised that the studio didn't use this idea for other artists.