Monthly Archives: December 2021

Lovin’ the Ladies (1930)

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Lovin’ the Ladies
Directed by Melville W. Brown
Written by J. Walter Rubin from a play by William Le Baron
1930/US
RKO Radio Pictures
IMDb page
First viewing/Amazon Prime rental

There are many harsh lessons to be learned from the gambling experience, but the harshest one of all is the difference between having Fun and being Smart. — Hunter S. Thompson

Sometimes watching a silly drawing room comedy is just what the doctor ordered.

New York City is one big party for the young and wealthy. After a conversation about the fickleness of love, Jimmy Farnsworth bets his equally wealthy friends that he can get any two people engaged within a month. It just so happens that electrician Peter Darby (Richard Dix) has been called in to fix something. Darby is self-educated, making him the smartest man in the room. He agrees, on the condition that he will receive half the $5,000 bet.

Jimmy selects wallflower/intellect Betty as the other half of his dream pair. Unfortunately for Jimmy, neither of his players is exactly cooperative. Much mayhem and misunderstanding ensue.

I had a really good time watching this. Kept me laughing – sometimes at just how ridiculous it is.

2021 In Review and New to Me Favorites

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I can’t lie, 2021 was a hard year with my husband’s second heart attack and my brother’s stroke.  My viewing for this year began in mid-1973 and ended in mid-1978 before taking a long leap backward into pre-Code films.  I have no idea when I will get back to the 1970s.  Whenever the urge strikes I suppose.  It’s easy and comforting to watch these old films.  I watched around 189 films during the year.

I saw many great films.  Since I’ve been seeking out classic movies for a long time, many of the best were re-watches.  Still there were many gems that were new to me. I have pondered why there are not more Hollywood films on these lists.   My explanation is that I was going out to the movie theater a lot at that time so I had already seen the best Hollywood films from these years.  This is in chronological order until we get into a couple of films from the 20’s

The Wicker Man (1973) – directed by Robin Hardy

Scenes from a Marriage (1974) – directed by Ingmar Bergman

Swept Away (1974) – directed by Lina Wertmuller

Alice in the Cities (1974) – directed by Wim Wenders

Barry Lyndon (1975) – directed by Stanley Kubrick

Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven  (1975) – directed by Ranier Werner Fassbinder

The Story of Adele H. (1975) – directed by Francois Truffaut

Cria Cuervos  (1975) – directed by Victor Erice

KIngs of the Road (1976) – directed by Wim Wenders

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)- directed by John Cassavetes

A Special Day (1977) – directed by Ettore Scola

Eraserhead (1977) – directed by David Lynch

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) – directed by Philip Kaufman

Lucky Star (1929) – directed by Frank Borzage

Wings (1927) – William Wellman

7th Heaven (1927) – directed by Frank Borzage

I’m behind on my review writing.  Since watching Lovin’ the Ladies, I have watched People on Sunday (1930); M (1931); The Cuckoos (1930); Madam Satan (1930); and The Public Enemy (1931).

Wishing one and all a 2022 filled with peace, love, understanding, health, happiness, and prosperity.

 

The Front Page (1931)

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The Front Page
Directed by Lewis Milestone
Written by Bartlett Cormack from a play by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur
1931/US
The Caddo Company (Lewis Milestone’s production)
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/YouTube

Walter Burns: We’ll kick over the whole city hall like an apple cart. We’ll get the Mayor and Hartman against the wall. We’ll put one administration out and another one in. Why, this isn’t a newspaper story, it’s a career! And you stand there belly-achin’ about some girl.

 

The oh-so-versatile Lewis Milestone gives us a rapid-fire comedy almost the equal of Howard Hawks’s remake.

In this version of the story, Walter Burns (Adolphe Menjou) is a ruthless crusading newspaper editor and Hildy Johnson (Pat O’Brien) is his ace reporter who wants to quit the business and marry a nice girl.

The story takes place on one day and night in a newsroom where reporters are waiting to cover the execution of Earl Williams.  Williams is an anarchist and the sheriff and Mayor know his execution will give them a boost in the upcoming election.  The reporters are up to their usual cynical doings while they wait.

But eventually Williams escapes and is hidden by Hildy.  Now he’s interested and it is relatively easy for Walter to manipulate him into staying and covering the big story.  His fiancee and future mother-in-law are not amused.

The wisecracks and gags get more pointed as the plot progresses.  With so many great 30’s character actors including Edward Everett Horton, Frank McHugh, and Slim Summerville and with Mae Clarke as the only person that believes in Williams’s innocence.

It’s amazing how little of the story needed to be changed when Hildy’s sex was changed. If you like His Girl Friday (1940), you will probably enjoy this.

The Front Page was nominated for Oscars in the categories of Best Picture; Best Actor (Menjou) and Best Director

 

Sin Takes a Holiday (1930)

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Sin Takes a Holiday
Directed by Paul L. Stein
Written by Horace Jackson; story by Robert Milton and Dorothy Cairns
1930/US
Pathe Exchange
IMDb page
First viewing/YouTube

Reggie Durant: It’s curious how attractive a girl can be on a honeymoon – without a husband.

Entertaining if slight pre-Code love triangle.

Gaylord Stanton (Kenneth MacKenna) is a divorce attorney who mingles with the “in-crowd” in New York City.  He and his friends all have active love lives.  Gaylord avoids commitment by sticking to married ladies.  When his latest fling’s husband files for divorce and names him correspondent, he knows he is in grave danger of getting caught.  So he decides to marry his secretary in name only and send her off to Europe.  Sylvia Brenner (Constance Bennett) is a plain Jane (read she is gorgeous but wears business attire and little make-up).  She is also secretly in love with Gaylord.  She agrees to the arrangement in exchange for a new wardrobe and money.

Gaylord’s friend Reggie Durant (Basil Rathbone) takes an annual trip to Paris where he can indulge in affairs with a definite expiration date.  He and Sylvia meet on the voyage over.  She has now morphed into a sophisticated glamor girl and Reggie is smitten.  Eventually, he proposes.  At about this time, Sylvia is called home to prove her existence.  And that she does indeed.

It’s a real pre-Code kind of a plot with plenty of glamor, spectacular gowns, and art deco sets. My favorite part was seeing Rathbone as a love interest for a change of pace. It’s the kind of movie you surely don’t need to seek out but if the period and plot appeals, I doubt you will be disappointed.

Happy Holidays!

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Wheeler and Woolsey get Thelma Todd for Christmas.  Hope the day has brought you many good things!

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Since I last posted I have watched “Sin Takes a Holiday” (1930); “The Front Page” (1930); and “Lovin’ the Ladies” (1930).  Will review briefly later.  Yesterday my husband and I watched A Christmas Carol (1951) and A Christmas Story (1983).

The Docks of New York (1928)

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The Docks of New York
Directed by Josef von Sternberg
Written by Jules Furthman from “The Dock Walloper” by John Monk Saunders
1928/USA
Paramount Pictures
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/YouTube
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Bill Roberts: Are you goin’ to let me have a good time in my own quiet way, or must I take this place apart?

Von Sternberg and company turn a night on the waterfront into a beautiful, if grimy, fairy tale.

Bill Roberts (George Bancroft) is a big burly hard-drinking hard-loving stoker on a steamship. He has just one night in port in New York.  Mae (Betty Compson) is a sad and delicate beauty who makes her living in the dives on the wharf. On his way to his favorite dive, George sees Mae jump in the river and rescues her.  He drinks and fights and tries to cheer her up in the bar.

He’s not having much success in brightening her spirits so he hits on the idea of marrying her.  Will the events of the night change their lives forever or will the dawn bring only giant hangovers?

Everything about this movie is superb, starting with the acting through the beautiful cinematography filled with deep shadows and fog.  It’s an unusual love story which I highly recommend.

Little Caesar (1931)

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Little Caesar
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy
Written by Francis Edward Faragoh based on a novel by W.R. Burnett
1931/US
Warner Bros.
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime rental
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Caesar Enrico Bandello: You can dish it out, but you got so you can’t take it no more.

Edward G. Robinson lights up the screen every time he appears in this gangland classic.

We meet Caesar Enrico Bandello (“Rico”; soon to become Little Caesar) (Robinson) as he is robbing a gas station somewhere in the sticks.  Shots ring out and it is clear he has used his constant companion so as to leave no witnesses.  His friend and sidekick Joe Massara has been his accomplice.  Rico and Joe talk things over and Rico figures he is ready for the big city and the big time.  The city attracts Joe too, but he’d rather hit the big time as a dancer, a profession Rico scorns.

Rico applies for a position in Sam Vittori’s (Stanley Fields) gang.  He is hired though Sam has been told by the Big Boy (Sidney Blackmer) to cool it with the killings and Rico is clearly trigger happy.  The first job Rico goes out on is to rob the patrons of the Peacock Club, where Joe now has a dance act with girlfriend Olga (Glenda Farrell).  Joe is forced by Rico to participate.  He is aghast when Rico blasts the Crime Commissioner.

The ruthless Rico continues to rise in the ranks of the underworld taking over Sam’s gang and setting his sites ever higher.  He wants Joe by his side, threatening to kill him and Olga, unless he complies.  But Rico is a vain hot-head who doesn’t think things through too well.  Will hubris lead to his downfall?

It’s been awhile since I last saw this.  The big draw is Robinson’s electric performance. You can’t take your eyes off him while he is on screen.  Unfortunately, he is not always on screen and those parts are kind of ordinary.  I was surprised that there is no reference to either Prohibition or bootlegging in the film.  Iconic and recommended.

Little Caesar received an Oscar nomination for Best Writing, Adapted.

Headin’ North (1931)

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Headin’ North (1931)
Directed by John P. McCarthy
Written by John P. McCarthy
1930/USA
Trem Carr Pictures
IMDb page
First viewing/Amazon Prime rental

“Chris asks, “What are you going to stick to?”
“Mah guns, boy, mah guns,” I tell him. “That’s the Code of the West.”
― Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values

I decided to take a chance on this obscure B Western and was not disappointed.

Jim Curtis (Bob Steele) takes the heat for his father when the later embezzles funds and loans them to a gambler who promises him a “sure thing”.  But the gambler instead kills the dealer and takes off with the embezzled funds and more.  Jim escapes from jail and pursues the gambler while the marshall pursues him.

Jim is accompanied by a friend he met while hiding out at a ranch.  The two are forced to disguise themselves as entertainers to elude the law, giving themselves time to reveal hidden talents as a pretty fair song and dance team.  Of course, a Western wouldn’t be a Western without a love interest.

I had never seen anything with Bob Steele and was surprised to find that the rather slight, unassuming young man turned out to be him!  He’s a good actor and also good with his fists.

Half Shot at Sunrise (1930)

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Half Shot at Sunrise
Directed by Paul Sloane
Written by James Ashmore Creelman
1930/USA
RKO Radio Pictures
IMDb page
First viewing/YouTube

Annette Marshall: Are you married?
Tommy Turner: No, I just naturally look worried.

Another fun film from my favorite pre-Code comedy team.

Doughboys Tommy Turner (Bert Wheeler) and his inseparable buddy Gilbert Simpson (Robert Woolsey) cannot resist the charms of WWI Paris and go AWOL.  Colonel Marshall isn’t having any of this and sends the world’s most incompetent MPs on their trail.  The boys get away over and over again using the slightest of disguises.

The Colonel’s sweet sassy 16-year-old daughter Annette shows up in time to instantly fall in love with Tommy and do a fun song and dance act.  The Colonel is being relentlessly pursued by a Russian vamp to the great displeasure of his jealous wife (Edna Mae Oliver).  When the authorities finally do catch up with the boys, Annette hatches a plan to make them heros by sending them to the front lines to deliver some secret plans.

All of the story is in service of the formula which is rapid-fire jokes, some pretty racy, a couple of musical numbers, and the traditional Wheeler-Lee romance.  The film does exactly what it set out to do — provide an hour and change of fun.

There’s usually an opportunity for one or more chorus girl number in a Wheeler and Woolsey film.

Monte Carlo (1930)

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Monte Carlo
Directed by Ernst Lubitsch
Written by Ernest Vajda from a variety of source material
1930/US
Paramount Pictures
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Criterion Channel

Countess Helene Mara: oh, oh, oh, oh… ohohohoo… that feels good… oh,oh… that feels even better… you must have electricity in your hands. I’ve never felt like this before! Gorgeous!

This bit of fluff might be the least of the Lubitsch musicals but it is still charming.

Countess Helene (Jeanette MacDonald) escapes her arranged marriage to the much older Duke Otto (Claud Allister) at the last possible moment. She hopes to increase her scant finances at the gaming tables of Monte Carlo. On arrival, Count Rudolph (Jack Buchanan) tries to chat her up but she won’t give him the time of day. He decides the best way to get close to her will be to pose as a hairdresser. This works out better than might be expected.

But the casino leaves Jeanette even broker than she was before and she reconsiders marrying the Duke who has come to town in search of her.  One guess as to how this will wind up.

While the songs aren’t particularly great, the dialogue is sharp and the performances are excellent.  I’ve loved Jack Buchanan since I first saw him in The Band Wagon (1953) and Zasu Pitts was a special treat as the maid.  MacDonald is at her sexy comic best and in good voice.

Clip

Also an audio of one of the songs (not sung by one of the principals) with a photo montage