Monthly Archives: March 2013

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938

Posted on March 23, 2013 | 3 comments

The Adventures of Robin Hood
Directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley
1938/USA
Warner Bros. Pictures
#114 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Second Viewing
IMDb users say 8.0/10; I say 9.0/10

Lady Marian Fitzswalter: Why, you speak treason!
Robin Hood: Fluently.

There are times that call for uncomplicated entertainment where virtue triumphs and true love prospers. The Great Depression was such a time. I would submit that the 2010’s are another, which may account for the current popularity of Superhero comic book fare. Since I prefer my films without explosions, graphic violence or CGI, The Adventures of Robin Hood is where I want to turn when I’m looking for an action pick-me-up.

True Love

Whatever his personal life, in 1938 Errol Flynn was the embodiment of swashbuckling, wise-cracking virtue and perfect for playing Robin Hood as the merriest of the Merry Men. We meet him as he is rescuing poacher Much from summary execution by the coldly cruel Sir Guy of Gisbourne (Basil Rathbone). However, his grand entrance is shortly afterward when he arrives at a banquet hosted by Prince John (Claude Raines) and deposits the poached deer before the prince. This is followed by a classic fight scene in which Robin fights off at least 20 Norman foes single handed with sword, arrows, and sheer derring-do.

adventuresofrobinhood with deer

Robin first sets eyes on the beautiful Lady Marian, intelligently played by the lovely Olivia de Havilland, at the banquet. As a Norman, she at first despises this Saxon upstart but learns to respect and then love him for his loyalty to her guardian King Richard and his goodness to the downtrodden. Robin is appropriately chivalric throughout. In fact, a tenant of the oath taken by the Merry Men is to protect all women whether Norman or Saxon.

Three villains – Melville Cooper, Basil Rathbone, and Claude Raines

The supporting cast is a roster of some of the most familiar faces in ’30’s Hollywood. Each villain has his own consistent attributes from Claude Raines’s cynical, snide Prince John, to Melville Cooper’s cowardly Sheriff of Nottingham. Basil Rathbone contributes his expert swordsmanship to the fabulous sword duel with Robin that closes the film. Then we have the good guys. It is hard to imagine a more perfect crew than Alan Hale as Little John, Eugene Pallette as Friar Tuck, Patric Knowles as Will Scarlet, and Herbert Mundin as Much. Una O’Conner hams it up as Marian’s loyal lady’s maid Bess.

Adventures of Robin Hood Climactic Duel

The bright glittering costumes and sets may not present an accurate picture of the Middle Ages but they do contribute to the storybook feeling of the piece. Those who are looking for a gritty, nuanced portrayal of the Robin Hood legend would do better elsewhere. Those viewers who are out for a good time can stop right here for 102 minutes of unadulterated fun.

Clip – The Archery Tournament

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Posted in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, 1938

Tagged 1930s, 1938, Curtiz, Hollywood

The Scarlet Empress

Posted on March 23, 2013 | 2 comments

The Scarlet Empress
Directed by Josef von Sternberg
1934/USA
Paramount Pictures
Multiple viewings

Grand Duke Peter: I want to play with my toys!

The Scarlet Empress is Josef von Sternberg’s interpretation of the rise of Catherine the Great. The plot is basically the same as in the London Pictures production reviewed here previously but the characters are quite different. Marlene Dietrich plays Catherine as a wide-eyed innocent for the first half of the movie (this was quite a stretch!) then as a sly dominatrix after she produces an heir to the throne. Sam Jaffe must have been told to throw caution to the wind in coming up with his imbecilic Grand Duke Peter. Louise Dresser plays Empress Elizabeth as a kind of Mid-Western fish wife having a very bad day. Â Finally, there is the lantern-jawed, wooden John Lodge as Catherine’s erstwhile love interest.

Dietrich as the virginal Princess Sophia

My descriptionsmay lead you to believe that I did not enjoy the film but au contraire! Â By all objective measures it is very bad indeed but thisÂ kind of high camp that is endlessly watchable. The art design alone is simply so delirously over the top that it is not to be missed. The wedding banquet table, alone, is a breathtaking mixture of the pornographic and the sinister.

scarlet empress net

And then there is the photography. Von Sternberg must have had Dietrich shot through every kind of sheer fabric he could get his hands on. It’s as if he went completely off the rails in some kind of masochistic frenzy of adoration. My favorite costume is Catherine’s negliigee, which is a see-through black number over a hoop skirt topped off with a black feather bodice. Â The Scarlet Empress really cannot be adequately described; it must be experienced.

It was hard to select among the many bizaare images available from this film! Here we have an example of the decor when Peter uses a giant hand drill to spy on his Aunt Elizabeth’s bed chamber.

Although the film was not released until after the effective date of the enforcement of the Production Code on July 1, 1934, Joe Breen was clearly nowhere to be found when this hit the streets on September 15, 1934. Â It was condemned by the Catholic Legion of Decency as “morally objectionable.”

Patented Dietrich cold stare

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Posted in 1934

My Favorite Films of 1933

Posted on March 21, 2013 | 3 comments

I just completed watching 63 films that were released in 1933. A complete list, with reviews, can be found here: http://www.imdb.com/list/LPudKpTiH0A/ . It was tough to limit myself to just 10 favorites!

1. Gold Diggers of 1933 (Mervyn LeRoy) — This movie captured my heart the first time I heard Ginger Rogers singing “We’re in the Money” in Pig Latin and I’m still loopy for it decades later.

Clip – “We’re in the Money”

2. The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (Fritz Lang) — I love the atmosphere of dread Lang creates in this movie and the wonderful performance by Oscar Wernicke as the crass but clever inspector Lohmann.

Clip – Intro in the counterfeiting press

3. Zero for Conduct (Jean Vigo) — This highly inventive short film is full of youthful anarchic energy and surrealist touches.

Clip – Dormitory rebellion/pillow fight

4. King Kong (Marien C. Cooper) — The granddaddy of all special effects films and still pretty amazing.

Re-release trailer

5. Design for Living (Ernst Lubitsch) This sly comedy about a menage a trois could only have been made in pre-Code Hollywood. The Ben Hecht screenplay sparkles as bright as the acting and direction.

Criterion DVD – Three Reasons

6. 42nd Street (Lloyd Bacon) — Warner Bros. backstage musical bliss.

Clip – “I’m Young and Healthy”

7. Japanese Girls at the Harbor (Hiroshi Shimizu) — The absolutely poetic outdoor shots of Yokohama were a revelation in this, my introduction to director Shimizu.

8. Dinner at Eight (George Cukor) — All the actors, including both the Barrymore brothers, do themselves proud but my favorite parts feature Jean Harlow and Wallace Beery as a bickering couple.

Clip – Jean Harlow and Wallace Beery argue

9. Counsellor at Law (William Wyler) — Truly the best performance I have seen by John Barrymore and the wisecracks fly around the law office about as fast as in The Front Page.

10. The Invisible Man (James Whale) — Claude Rains makes an unforgettable US film debut as the title character with his resonant voice. James Whale again shows his deft hand at mixing wit with violence and doing justice to both

Trailer

Just missed the Top 10: The Mayor of Hell, Little Women, Woman of Tokyo, Lady for a Day, Morning Glory and Sons of the Desert.

List of Shame (movies I wish I had seen): Alice in Wonderland, Ecstasy, Libelei, The Story of Temple Drake, Madame Bovary, Tugboat Annie, etc.

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Posted in Top Ten Lists

Tagged 1930s, 1933

Twentieth Century

Posted on March 19, 2013 | 2 comments

Twentieth Century
Directed by Howard Hawks
1934/USA
Columbia Pictures Corporation
Second Viewing

Oscar Jaffe worms his way into Lily Garland’s Heart

Theater empresario and master manipulator Oscar Jaffe (John Barrymore) discovers lingerie model Mildred Plotka (Carole Lombard), changes her name to Lily Garland, and bullies her into stardom. They become lovers but his posturing and possessiveness finally drive her away to Hollywood. They meet again on the Twentieth Century Limited, which is taking Oscar from Chicago to New York after a flop and Lily from Hollywood to New York where she has signed to work with another director. The fireworks continue on the train as Oscar seizes on Lily as his last chance to get the financing he needs to save his theater.

Oscar Jaffe: I’m offering you a last chance to become immortal.
Lily Garland, aka Mildred Plotka: Then I’ve decided to stay mortal with responsible management.

This early screwball comedy, written by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, is a lot of fun. Barrymore is especially good as the totally phony and ultra-flamboyant producer. Carole Lombard starts out sane and builds to a fever pitch of diva-itis after her character becomes a Hollywood star. Roscoe Karns and Walter Connelly are excellent as Oscar’s assistants.

When we get the two characters emoting at full blast on the train, the histrionics can go straight over the top but, even in those scenes, there is the wry humor of the assistants to enjoy. Separately both Barrymore and Lombard are hilarious. I can imagine that John Barrymore had a grand time sending up theatrical producers. I loved those crazy chalk marks on the floor and the whole concept of putting on the Passion Play on Broadway complete with camels and an ibis.

Clip – “Anathema, child of Satan!

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Posted in 1934

Tagged 1930s, 1934, Hawks, Hollywood

Street Without End

Posted on March 18, 2013 | Leave a comment

Street Without End (“Kagirinaki hodô”)
Directed by Mikio Naruse
1934/Japan
Shochiku Company
First Viewing

Hikaru: Don’t you see how I’m suffering?
Sugiko: I don’t think suffering is enough.

Sugiko works as a waitress in a Tokyo tea room. It looks like the world is her oyster. She has just received a proposal from her boyfriend and an offer from a movie studio for work as an actress. Then a rich young man hits her with his car. She loses her boyfriend due to a misunderstanding but the driver is falling for her. Can true love conquer the objections of his snobbish aristocratic family?

Street Without End 2

Naruse really hit his stride in this, his final silent film. I liked the way I was kept off guard with where the plot was taking me. It all felt very fresh. The film is bracketed with shots of life on a busy downtown Tokyo Street, which were an enjoyable slice of history. It’s a bit melodramatic but excellent nonetheless.

The complete film was available on YouTube as of May 23, 2020.

My Favorite Films of 1929

Posted on March 17, 2013 | 6 comments

I watched 21 films for 1929. You can find the complete list with reviews here: http://www.imdb.com/list/8EJ4UrbiwEA/ . These were my ten favorites.

1. Man with a Movie Camera (Dziga Vertov)

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. I love the inventiveness and energy of this city symphony.

The city awakens

2. The Cocoanuts (Robert Florey and Joseph Santley)

The Marx Brothers made me laugh right out of the box! But where did they get those chorus girls for “The Monkey Doodle-Do”?

3. Pandora’s Box (G. W. Pabst)

Two words: Louise Brooks.

Clip

4. Piccadilly (E.A. DuPont)

Three words: Anna May Wong. Actually, this is a masterfully directed film as well with some standout choreography of large groups of people.

Gorgeous photography in pub/dance hall

5. Hallelujah! (King Vidor)

There is a sincerity in the portrayal of simple country folk that transcends any stereotyping in this all-black musical. And the singing, from spirituals to blues to Tin Pan Alley, can’t be beat.

Clip – Chick’s song and dance in the gambling joint

6. The Great Gabbo (James Cruze)

Erich von Stroheim is fantastic as an egocentric ventriloquist whose personality is slowly splitting between a persona who cannot relate to others and the kind and funny puppet who does his engaging with the world. The story is good enough to forgive the film’s ludicrous musical numbers.

Highlights

7. Asphalt (Joe May)

This late German silent was a complete delight to me, from its amusing beginning to its melodramatic end. I drank in the gorgeous expressionist lighting and super-stylish design.

Excerpt – seduction

8. Diary of a Lost Girl (G. W. Pabst)

Worth seeing just for the natural performance of the fabulous Louise Brooks as the lost girl.

Clips set to “Dear Diary” by Pink (I love this video!)

9. The Love Parade (Ernst Lubitsch)

These Pre-Code Lubitsch musicals are hard to beat when one is looking for a good time.

Clip – “My Love Parade”

10. Applause (Rouben Mamoulian)

The movie’s claim to fame is the fluidity with which Mamoulian uses the camera in this very early sound film. Helen Morgan is also simply fantastic as a worn-out burlesque star.

Opening – keep your eyes on that moving camera

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Posted in Top Ten Lists

Maniac (1934)

Posted on March 17, 2013 | Leave a comment

Maniac
Directed by Dwain Esper
USA, 1934
Roadshow Attractions
First Viewing

Dr. Meirschultz admires his heart.

When he isn’t busy being a maniac, Dr. Meirschultz conducts experiments aimed at raising the dead. His idiot assistant, Don Maxwell, apparently owes the doctor plenty for taking him in after he flopped as an impersonator on the vaudeville circuit. When the doctor suggests that Maxwell shoot himself so that he can be an experimental subject, Maxwell shoots the doctor instead. He then makes himself up as the doctor and assumes his personality, becoming a maniac himself. In the meantime, we see various young women bare their breasts (I suspect this was the raison d’etre for the film), a man does a astoundingly bad tranformation to a monster, and Maxwell eats a “cat’s eyeball”. There are several “educational” intertitles with clinical descriptions of mental illnesses. Clearly, nobody planned to have this thing passed by the Hayes Office.

Buckley (after getting hypo of adrenaline): Oh! Stealing through my body! Creeping though my veins! Pouring in my blood! Oh, DARTS OF FIRE IN MY BRAIN! STABBING ME! I CAN’T STAND IT! I WON’T!

At 56 minutes, I had at least 5 LOL moments so I count this as a success on the bad movie front. I often wonder if the people involved really knew how bad these things were and were playing up the cheese factor. The acting is just so over the top here that it’s hard to think the actors weren’t trying for that effect!

Transformation scene

My Top 10 for 1930

Posted on March 16, 2013 | 2 comments

I saw 26 movies that were released in 1930 and these were my 10 favorites. The complete list with my reviews is available here: http://www.imdb.com/list/gHnKv0802xI/ .

1. The Blue Angel (Josef von Sternberg)

This masterfully told story of how a pompous and proud professor is slowly brought low by his infatuation with a free-spirited music hall singer made Marlene Dietrich a star but I always come back for Emil Jannings.

Marlene Dietrich sings “Falling in Love Again”

2. All Quiet on the Western Front (Lewis Milestone)

The horrors of war told from the perspective of the enemy in what is still one of the most moving anti-war films ever made.

Re-release trailer

3. Á propos de Nice (Jean Vigo)

I love the way Jean Vigo’s films are so full of life and this city symphony is no exception.

Clip

4. City Girl (F. W. Murnau)

I had not heard of this film before beginning my review of 1930. Now I think it is the near equal of F.W. Murnau’s Sunrise</em.. I wonder if those shots in the fields inspired Days of Heaven.

Gorgeous tracking shot of lovers running through wheat fields

5. Under the Roofs of Paris (René Clair)

Another captivating musical souffle from René Clair. I am crazy about these.

6. Hell’s Angels (Howard Hughes)

The flight and battle scenes are simply fantastic, especially when you consider the technology of the time.

Clip – “You fools!”

7. Animal Crackers (Victor Heerman)

The Marx Brothers make me laugh.

“Hello, I Must Be Going/Hurray for Captain Spaulding”

8. Salt for Svanetia (Mikhail Kalatozov)

Propaganda “documentary” about how the Bolsheviks rescue a Georgian village from ïgnorance and salt depravation by building a road. The cinematography is so beautiful that I forgave it everything.

Clip

9. Anna Christie (Clarence Brown)

Garbo gives a fine performance in her first talkie but my favorite performance was by Marie Dressler as her father’s boozy pal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8Rvqm5XR7E

the whiskey scene

10. Walk Cheerfully (Yasujiro Ozu)

A gentle early comedy by one of my favorite directors with an uncharacteristic gangland backdrop.

Excerpt

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Posted in Top Ten Lists

The Rise of Catherine the Great

Posted on March 16, 2013 | Leave a comment

The Rise of Catherine the Great
Directed by Paul Czinner
UK, 1934
London Films Production
First viewing

Catherine: “I am a woman like your mother and your sisters. I know that it is a bad wife who leaves her husband because he has been cruel. But it is a good mother who will fight everyone to save her children. You are my children. I come to you as the mother of all Russia.”

Empress Elizabeth of Russia (Flora Robson) is determined that her indolent, debauched nephew Grand Duke Peter (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.) should wed a German princess. He resists this idea until he meets the lady in question (Elisabeth Bergner), who has loved him dearly since childhood. Upon their marriage, she is renamed Catherine. Sadly, Peter descends slowly into madness but Catherine stands by her man until his public humiliations become too much to bear. It is not giving too much away to say she goes on to become Catherine the Great but in this version the death of Peter is strictly against her orders. All poor Catherine was ever looking for was a little love.

“Can anyone love someone like me?”

It is impossible to watch this film without comparing it to Josef von Sternberg’s weird but wonderful The Scarlet Empress released the same year. That is definitely the superior of the two films primarily because Bergner cannot hold a candle to Marlene Dietrich.

However, if taken alone, The Rise of Catherine the Great is not half bad. Flora Robson is excellent as the randy but principled Elizabeth and, while Fairbanks, Jr. struck me as too bland at the beginning of the film, he really grew on me. Bergner, the wife of director Czinner, was a famous Austrian actress and this was her first English speaking role. She is competent but unfortunately her sometimes wide-eyed coquettishness and petite stature make her look like she’s playing dress-up in those period costumes. Speaking of costumes, they and the sets are lavish and wonderful.

Ending

My Favorite Films of 1931

Posted on March 15, 2013 | 7 comments

I saw 37 movies that were released in 1931 and these were my 10 favorites. The complete list with my reviews is available here: http://www.imdb.com/list/Fu6-KI2OuCE/

1. City Lights (Charles Chaplin) – My heart belongs to Buster Keaton but even I must admit that no one ever equalled this. The last three minutes are a master class in pure cinema.

the ending

2. M (Fritz Lang) – A masterpiece.

3. La Chienne (Jean Renoir) – I love it when I discover a new film for my non-existent all-time top 100 list and this was one. I prefer this to Lang’s remake, Scarlet Street, which I also love.

Clip

4. Frankenstein (James Whale) – Every time I see this I am moved all over again by Karloff’s sensitive performance as the Monster.

Re-release trailer

5. Marius (Alexander Korda) – The first part of Marcel Pagnol’s “Marseilles” or “Fanny” Trilogy. This is a richly human film filled with marvelous character parts and emotion. The dialogue is wonderful without being too stagey.

6. Le Million (Rene Clair) – I find Clair’s musical souffles totally enchanting and is my very favorite.

7. Comradeship (“Kameradschaft”) (G.W. Pabst)- Story of how German miners come to the rescue of their French comrades trapped underground near the border. The special effects, sound, and photography are amazing for such an early effort. Added to this are a suspenseful story and an accomplished ensemble cast.

8. The Smiling Lieutenant (Ernst Lubitsch) – How can you go wrong with a pre-Code Lubitsch musical featuring numbers such as “Jazz Up Your Lingerie”?

Claudette Colbert and Miriam Hopkins sing “Jazz Up Your Lingerie”

9. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Rouben Mamoulian) – Mamoulian always makes interesting use of his camera and I thought March deserved his Oscar.

Clip – Hyde forces Ivy to sing

10. The 3 Penny Opera (“Die 3 Groschen-Oper”)(G.W. Pabst) – I’ve read a lot of folks don’t care for this because they don’t think it does justice to the Brecht and Weill stage musical. Well I haven’t seen that and I just loved this film. The acting is fantastic and the production is so stylish that the frames could have leapt directly out of a Georg Grosz painting.

Clip – “Mack the Knife”

The last two movies were in a dead heat with the following films: Waterloo Bridge, The Front Page, Bad Girl, and Tokyo Chorus.

7 Comments

Posted in Top Ten Lists

Tagged 1930s

Monthly Archives: March 2013

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938

The Scarlet Empress

My Favorite Films of 1933

Twentieth Century

Street Without End

My Favorite Films of 1929

Maniac (1934)

My Top 10 for 1930

The Rise of Catherine the Great

My Favorite Films of 1931

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