Category Archives: 1941

The Lady Eve (1941)

Posted on June 2, 2014 | 4 comments

The Lady Eve
Written and Directed by Preston Sturges
1941/USA
Paramount Pictures
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental
#152 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

[box] Jean Harrington: You see, Hopsi, you don’t know very much about girls. The best ones aren’t as good as you probably think they are and the bad ones aren’t as bad. Not nearly as bad.[/box]

And Preston Sturges knocks a romantic comedy out of the park!

Charles Pike (Henry Fonda), known to his friends as Hopsi, is the heir to a vast ale fortune but it more interested in snakes than in beer.  He has been on a scientific expedition up the Amazon for a year.  When he boards the ship for home, he meets Jean Harrington (Barbara Stanwyck).  She is one of a trio of card sharks preying on rubes and immediately spots the naive Hopsi as one of them.  She seduces him to soften him up but is surprised to find herself falling in love.  The feeling is mutual.

When Hopsi gets evidence that Jean is a con artist he immediately dumps her without giving her a chance to explain.  She gets her revenge by showing up at Hopsi’s house disguised as Lady Eve Sidwich and seducing him all over again.  With the great Eugene Pallette as Hopsi’s father, Charles Coburn as Jean’s father, and William Demerest as Hopsi’s bodyguard/nanny.

 

I have watched this movie so many times that it is hard to talk about it.  What I know is that each time when the credits roll I get a warm feeling and spend the entire rest of the film grinning.  Barbara Stanwyck is at the absolute height of her beauty at age 34 and very funny.  And who knew Henry Fonda would be such a master at pratfalls!  He really was very multi-faceted for a “movie star.”  Needless to say, the dialogue kills me.

Trailer

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Posted in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, 1941, Movie Reviews

Sullivan’s Travels (1941)

Posted on June 1, 2014 | 5 comments

Sullivan’s Travels
Written and Directed by Preston Sturges
1941/USA
Paramount Pictures
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental
#156 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

 

[box] John L. Sullivan: I want this picture to be a commentary on modern conditions. Stark realism. The problems that confront the average man!

LeBrand: But with a little sex in it.[/box]

Hollywood made many good movies about making movies and this is one of the very best.

Given the state of world affairs, director John L. Sullivan is fed up with making comedies and decides to make a socially relevant film about the downtrodden called Oh, Brother Where Art Thou.  Studio executives, not wanting to lose their cash cow, point out that Sullivan knows nothing about the poor or their problems.  He recognizes the justice of this and sets off in picturesque hobo rags looking for trouble.  At first, due to the ever vigilant studio watch dogs, all he finds is his way back to Hollywood where he meets a struggling would-be actress (Veronica Lake) to share his journey.  When Sullivan sets out alone on his farewell venture to give money to the poor, however, he finds all the trouble he could ask for and much more.  With the regular Sturges stock company including William Demerest as a press agent, Eric Blore as Sullivan’s valet, Robert Grieg as his butler, and Jimmy Conlin as a prison trustee.

I adore Preston Sturges, Joel McCrea, and this movie.  It is more serious than most of Sturges’ comedies so it took me more than one viewing to fully warm up to it but now my admiration is unreserved.  Even the dead-pan Veronica Lake warms up a bit and gives probably her best performance.  This film has it all: razor-sharp dialogue; hilarious slapstick; romance; pathos; and a message.  It is truly a picture that should be on everyone’s bucket list.

Trailer

 

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Posted in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, 1941, Movie Reviews

The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941)

Posted on May 31, 2014 | 2 comments

The Devil and Daniel Webster (AKA “All That Money Can Buy”)
Directed by William Dieterle
Written by Dan Totheroth and Steven Vincent Benet based on a story by Benet
1941/USA
RKO Radio Pictures
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Jabez Stone: You promised me happiness, love, and friendship!

Mr. Scratch: Just a minute. I promised you money and all that money could buy. I don’t recall any other obligations.[/box]

This film has many virtues and is well worth seeing.  For some reason, I have never connected with it, however.

Vermont farmer Jabez Stone (James Craig) cannot seem to catch a break.  A loan shark (John Qualen) hounds him and his pig just broke his leg.  In frustration, Stone says he would sell his soul to the devil to get out of his situation.  Mr. Scratch (Walter Huston) promptly appears and seals the bargain – one soul in exchange for seven years of good luck.  Scratch is as good as his word.  By the time the seven years are up, Stone has a mansion, a fortune, and a pretty mistress (Simone Simon).  He is also cordially hated by all his neighbors, having become a loan shark himself, and fears for his son.  He desperately wants to get out of the bargain and Daniel Webster (Edward Arnold), the friend of the farmer, takes up the challenge.  With Ann Shirley as Stone’s wife and Jane Darwell as his mother.

I think my problem with this movie may be Craig’s performance.  He overacts dreadfully and is on screen most of the tiime.  The other actors, particularly Huston and Arnold, are fantastic.  The cinematography is quite beautiful, with a stark quality.  The Oscar-winning score is also wonderful.

Bernard Herrmann won the Academy Award for his Original Score and Walter Huston was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his work  in this film.

Clip – Selling a soul

 

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Posted in 1941, Movie Reviews

Animated Short Subjects of 1941

Posted on May 30, 2014 | Leave a comment

By some miracle I was able to find all the animated shorts nominated for Academy Awards online and decided to start off 1941 with some fun and light viewing.

Lend a Paw
Directed by Clyde Geronimi
1941/USA
Walt Disney Productions
First viewing/YouTube

Pluto rescues a tiny kitten who has been thrown in a lake in a bag.  No good deed goes unpunished however and soon Mickey adopts the kitten and it starts taking over Pluto’s place and possessions.  Pluto plots revenge, egged on by the devil in his head, but his better nature eventually wins out.

This won the Oscar for Best Short Subject, Cartoons.  After seeing all of the nominees I have no quarrel with the Academy’s selection although there was some stiff competition. Pluto has gradually become my very favorite Disney character.  He is just 100% dog and they find some awfully funny things for him to get up to.  In this cartoon, we get to see his evil side, which is priceless.

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B
Directed by Walter Lantz
1941/USA
Walter Lantz Productions
First viewing/YouTube

A jazz trumpeter is drafted.  The men all hate him when he blows reveille on the bugle but he wins them over when he starts riffing with his horn.

Warning: this cartoon is full of insulting racial stereotypes and offensive caricatures.  If one puts that aside, it is actually a very well-made cartoon and uses the music wonderfully. The only version of the song I had heard before was by The Andrews Sisters.  I would love to know the band that did this version and especially the name of the fabulous trumpeter.

Hiawatha’s Rabbit Hunt
Director: Friz Freleng
1941/USA
Leon Schlesinger Studios/Warner Bros.
First viewing/Streaming on dailymotion.com

Bugs Bunny starts reading Longfellow’s poem “Hiawatha” and soon an Indian starts to hunt him with a bow and arrow.  It is always amusing to see Bugs turn the tables on his predators.

How War Came
Directed by Paul Fennell
1941/USA
Columbia Pictures Corporation
First viewing/YouTube

This is a very dry explanation of the origins of World War II.  The basic message is that the Germans and Japanese started by seeing what they could get away with and it turned out they could get away with a lot before other countries worked up the courage to stop them.

The Night Before Christmas
Directed by Joseph Barbera and William Hanna
1941/USA
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
First viewing/YouTube

Very nice Tom and Jerry cartoon with a bit of Good Will Toward Mice at the end.

Rhapsody in Rivets
Directed by Friz Freleng
1941/USA
Leon Schlesinger Studios/Warner Bros.
First viewing/Streaming on dailymotion.com

Animals acting as construction workers build a skyscraper while they “play” Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody with their tools.  Funny and a unique take on classical music.

The Rookie Bear
Directed by Rudolf Ising
1941/USA
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Rudolf Ising Productions
First viewing/YouTube

When Barney Bear gets his draft notice, he thinks he is being offered a year’s vacation. Army life is a rude awakening.

Rhythm in the Ranks
Directed by George Pal
1941/USA
Paramount Pictures
First viewing/Streaming on dailymotion.com

This was the first time I had seen George Pal’s Puppetoons in action.  I just loved this short, which is animated using “replacement-motion” of wooden figures.  This is the story of a wooden soldier who is entrusted with bringing the cannon to battle but gets distracted by an ice-skater and lets his regiment down.  It’s all very clever and really funny.

Superman
Directed by Dave Fleischer
1941/USA
Fleischer Studios
First viewing/YouTube

This was Superman’s first screen appearance.  He battles a mad scientist who is trying to destroy Metropolis with an “energy cannon” that looks like a giant laser.  The art work is awesome – very sleek and almost deco in feeling.  .

Truant Officer Donald
Directed by Jack King
1941/USA
Walt Disney Productions
Repeat viewing/YouTube

Donald Duck is my second favorite Disney character and here he is at his frustrated best. He catches Huey, Dewey and Louie swimming and tries to round them up and take them to school.  They don’t make it easy.

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Posted in 1941