Daily Archives: May 1, 2013

The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Posted on May 1, 2013 | 4 comments

The Bride of Frankenstein
Directed by James Whale
1934/USA
Universal Pictures
Repeated viewing
#92 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

[box] The Monster: Alone: bad. Friend: good![/box]

Neither Frankenstein nor his Monster were killed at the end of Frankenstein. The Monster is only looking for a friend but meets with terror everywhere he turns. Is the solution to build him a Bride from dead body parts? The nutty Dr. Pretorius thinks so! With Boris Karloff as the Monster, Colin Clive as Frankenstein, Valerie Hobson as Elizabeth, Ernest Thesinger as Dr. Pretorius, Dwight Frye as miscellaneous ghouls, and Una O’Connor as Minnie.

I may be in the minority in preferring the 1931 original to this sequel. This one is just a little bit too arch for me and the original didn’t have all that shreeking by Una O’Connor. That said, Karloff is wonderful despite the ill-advised decision to have him speak, the lighting and sets are atmospheric, and the special effects are first-rate for their time. I can have fun every time I come back to this classic.

Re-release trailer

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Posted in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, 1935, Movie Reviews

Tagged 1930s, 1935, Hollywood, Whale

Carnival in Flanders (1935)

Posted on May 1, 2013 | 2 comments

Carnival in Flanders (“La Kermesse héroïque”)
Directed by Jacques Feyder
1935/France/Germany
Films Sonores Tobis
First viewing

[box] “In this regard, the most hateful film is unarguably La Kermesse héroïque because everything in it is incomplete, its boldness is attenuated; it is reasonable, measured, its doors are half-open, the paths are sketched and only sketched; everything in it is pleasant and perfect.” — Francois Truffaut, The Films in My Life[/box]

A village in 17th Century Flanders in preparing for a carnival. Into the midst of this comes a contingent of occupying Spanish troops, who want to be housed for the night. The Burgermeister and other men, fearing rape and pillage, decide to lay low with the Burgermeister pretending to have died. The women, led by the Burgermeister’s wife, decide the proper course is to welcome the Spaniards with open arms. A bawdy good time is had by all.

A whole Flemish town was built in suburban Paris as the setting for this farce and it is certainly quite a spectacle. You can see Feyder’s inspiration from the paintings of Brueghels, who is a character in the film, in many of the crowd scenes. The acting is first-rate. I particularly liked Louis Jouvet as the crooked Spanish priest.

This was the kind of costume production that the French New Wave was rebelling against. It is now possible to enjoy both kinds of films and “pleasant and perfect” is sometimes just what the doctor ordered.

2 Comments

Posted in Movie Reviews

The Bank Dick (1940)

Posted on May 1, 2013 | 2 comments

The Bank Dick
Directed by Edward F. Cline
1940/USA
Universal Pictures
Repeat viewing
#140 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

[box]Mrs. Hermisillo Brunch: [about Sousé] He makes me sick!

Elsie Mae Adele Brunch Sousé: Shall I bounce a rock off his head?

Agatha Sousé: Respect your father, darling. What kind of a rock?[/box]

Well, it’s time for another random film from the List and the Random Number Generator awarded me another chance at W.C. Fields! Fields is Egbert Sousé (that’s SooSAY with an accent grave on the é), who supports his household consisting of mother-in-law, wife, and little daughter, all of whom hate him, by entering slogan contests or something. He has an older daughter Myrtle (Una Merkel), who is engaged to Og Oggilby who works at the bank. Sousé keeps regular business hours at the Black Pussy Saloon. His life gets more exciting when he falls into jobs as a film director and then as a bank guard and when he counsels Og to embezzle money to invest in a goldmine. With Shemp Howard as the bartender and Franklin Pangborn as a bank examiner.

This might be my favorite W.C. Fields film. There is not too much slapstick and some genuinely funny lines. The romance of the daughter is very cute (I love Una Merkel!) and there is a good car chase at the end.