Category Archives: Movie Reviews

The Lion Has Wings
Directed by Adrian Brunel, Brian Desmond Hurst and Michael Powell
Written by Adrian Brunel, Ian Dalrymple, and E.V.H. Emmett
1939/UK
London Film Productions
First viewing/Streaming on Hulu Plus

[box] We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender. — Winston Churchill [/box]

It’s not always great filmmaking but I have a special place in my heart for all Allied WWII propaganda.  This, made at the very start of the war, served as a kind of template for later British propaganda with its cameos by British stars.

The film begins with a cinematographic essay on the blessings of British life after the last war and how “one man” (Hitler) has set out to destroy these.  An emphasis is placed on the morality of the British side, including its determination to destroy only military targets. This is followed by the main sequence that shows how prepared the RAF is to defend the homeland.  We get reenactments of various bombing runs to Germany and anti-aircraft maneuvers at home.  The movie is peppered with a slight story showing the domestic life of a British couple (Ralph Richardson and Merle Oberon).  She is a nurse and he is an RAF officer.  Out of nowhere, we also get a clip from Fire Over England showing Flora Robson as Queen Elizabeth giving her “I have the heart of a king, and a King of England too” speech.

I find this stuff fascinating.  It’s not bad for something that was apparently dashed out in the first days of the war.  If you are looking for accomplished filmmaking or subtlety, it’s probably wise to look elsewhere.

Clip – Merle Oberon – not particularly representative of whole

Ninotchka
Directed by Ernst Lubitsch
Written by Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett, and Walter Reisch based on a story by Melchior Lengyel
1938/USA
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Repeat viewing/ Netflix rental
#136 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

[box] Ninotchka: Why should you carry other people’s bags?

Porter: Well, that’s my business.

Madame. Ninotchka: That’s no business. That’s social injustice.

Porter: That depends on the tip.[/box]

As might be expected from its pedigree, this is a movie filled with great one-liners and the Lubitsch touch.

Three bumbling Soviet Trade Commission officials are in Paris seeking to sell the fabulous diamond jewelry confiscated from Countess Swana.  They can hardly wait to check themselves into the Royal Suite of the fanciest hotel in town and start living the high life.   Swana, who now lives in Paris, finds out about their mission and sends Leon (Melvyn Douglas) to try to recover the jewels or sue if he cannot.

When little progress is made in selling the jewels, the Soviets send no-nonsense Ninotchka (Greta Garbo) to check up on the boys.  At first she seems ideally suited for the job.  Then she meets Leon and all bets are off.

I really enjoyed this.  I’ve always liked the guys that could make me laugh so I understand Ninotchka completely.  I’m still not completely sold on Garbo as an actress or a comedienne but the banter is so good that it didn’t matter much.

Ninotchka received four Academy Award nominations, those for Best Picture, Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Original Story, and Best Screenplay.

Trailer

1939 was a very bad year for humanity but a great year for Hollywood movies.

Some of the most beloved films ever made were released in 1939, including Gone With the Wind, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Ninotchka, Stagecoach, The Wizard of Oz and Wuthering Heights. In France, both Marcel Carné’s Daybreak (aka Le Jour Se Lève) and Jean Renoir’s The Rules of the Game were released. Other major classic films in 1939 included Beau Geste, Dark Victory, Destry Rides Again, Love Affair, Only Angels Have Wings, Gunga Din, Midnight, Of Mice and Men, The Women, Young Mr. Lincoln, and many more.

In other entertainment news, television was formally introduced at the New York World’s Fair in Queens where The Radio Corporation of America (RCA) unveiled a display of its first TV sets for sale to the American public and CBS began broadcasting.  After his momentous radio adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds on Halloween night 1938, Orson signed an unprecedented contract with RKO Pictures in 1939. It was a two-year, two-picture contract as producer-director-writer-actor, in which Welles reserved complete control over all aspects of two productions of his own choosing, including “final cut,” as long as he remained within the studio-approved schedule and budget.

In U.S. news, African-American singer Marian Anderson performed before 75,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., after having been denied the use both of Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution, and of a public high school by the federally controlled District of Columbia.  On September 5, President Roosevelt declared U.S. neutrality in World War II.  Albert Einstein wrote to the President about developing the atomic bomb using uranium. This leads to the creation of the Manhattan Project.

Lou Gehrig gave his last public speech, following a diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In it, he says, “Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”  This would be memorably re-enacted in The Pride of the Yankees (1942).   Nylon stockings went on sale for the first time anywhere in Wilmington, Delaware.

The Spanish Civil War ended when Francisco Franco assumed power in March.  On August 23, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed between Germany and the Soviet Union, a neutrality treaty that also agreed to division of spheres of influence (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, eastern Poland and Bessarabia (today Moldova), north-east province of Romania to the Soviet Union; Lithuania and western Poland to Germany).

World War II began when Germany and the Soviet Union attacked Poland and Britain, France, India, Australia and new Zealand declared war on Germany on September 3rd.   On November 30, Soviet forces attacked Finland and reached the Mannerheim Line, starting the Winter War.

Montage of stills from Oscar-Winning films of 1939

Montage of stills from all 1939 films nominated for Oscars

Room Service
Directed by William A. Seiter
Written by Morry Ryskind from the play by John Murray and Allen Boretz
1938/USA
RKO Radio Pictures
First viewing/Warner Archives DVD

[box] Hilda Manny: If I don’t come back you’ll know it’s good news. Gordon Miller: And if you do come back bring four bottles of poison.[/box]

It’s pretty bad when the producers feel compelled to add another comedian to a Marx Brothers movie and this is a pretty bad movie.

Gordon Miller (Groucho Marx) is trying to put on a Broadway show together with his sidekicks Binelli (Chico) and Faker (Harpo).  His entourage and the entire company are seriously behind on the rent at a New York hotel.  They struggle to elude both starvation and the hotel manager (Donald MacBride).  With Lucille Ball and Ann Miller.

There is entirely too much talking in this picture.  In the Marx Brothers defense, they are funnier than Donald MacBride with his repeated “Jumping Butterballs!” schtick.  I wonder if that’s where they got the name for the turkey …

Clip

And on that note, I conclude my 1938 viewing.

Rage of Paris
Directed by Henry Koster
Written by Bruce Manning and Felix Jackson
1938/USA
Universal Pictures
First viewing/Streaming on Internet Archive

[box] The trouble with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. is that he likes everything he sees – and he sees everything. — Clemence Dane[/box]

This is a pleasant enough romantic comedy.

Nicole (Danielle Darrieux) is down on her luck and can’t find work.  Her friend Gloria (Helen Broderick) tells her the thing for her to do is marry a rich man.  Gloria gets her pal head waiter Mike (Mischa Auer) to finance a swanky hotel room and clothes and Nicole pretends to be from high Parisian society.  Nicole sets her cap for wealthy Bill Duncan (Louis Hayward), but his friend Jim Trevor (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) sees through her and tries to stop the match.

This is not bad and has the distinction of being one of Danielle Darrieux’s very few performances in a Hollywood movie.  The 21-year-old actress is absolutely charming and handles the dialogue well.

Photo montage with stills of Danielle Darrieux set to Darrieux singing “Premier rendez-vous” (“First Date”)