Daily Archives: March 2, 2014

Made for Each Other
Directed by John Cromwell
Written by Jo Swerling suggested by a story by Rose Franken
1939/USA
Selznick International Pictures
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Jane: Are you a man or a mouse?

John Horace ‘Johnny’ Mason: A mouse![/box]

This starts out well and the two stars are superb as always but unfortunately it descends into preposterous melodrama half way through.

Fledgling attorney John Mason (James Stewart) meets Jane (Carole Lombard) on a business trip and marries her before he returns to the office.  This does not sit well with his boss Judge Doolittle (Charles Coburn), whose daughter he has been dating, or his mother (Lucile Watson).  Mother comes to live with the young couple and family strife, career reversals, and a new baby mean married life is not a bed of roses.  Then the baby gets pneumonia and only a serum which must be flown cross country during a terrible storm can save him.

This movie was rescued for me by its outstanding cast, all of whom did well with the sometimes treacly material.  That said, I see no reason to revisit this.

Clip – credits and opening

Way Down South
Directed by Leslie Goodwins and Bernard Vorhaus
Written by Clarence Muse and Langston Hughes
1939/USA
Sol Lesser Productions
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] Tagline: HELP YOURSELF TO HAPPINESS! HERE’S A WHOLE SHOW-FULL! [/box]

This is primarily notable for its screenplay by Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes and filmmaker/composer Clarence Muse (“When It’s Sleepytime Down South”).  It also introduced me to boy soprano child star Bobby Breen.

The story is set in the antebellum South.  Timothy Reid, Sr. is a benevolent slaveholder who treats his slaves humanely and has never sold one.  Timothy Jr. (Breen) feels that they are his friends.  Reid’s accountant, the corrupt Martin Dill, harangues Reid for not running his plantation as a business.  Then Reid dies and Dill is named executor.  He promptly decides to sell off most of the “excess” slaves.  Young Timothy escapes with his confidant Uncle Caton (Muse) to New Orleans where they take shelter at a hotel/restaurant run by Jacques Bouton (Alan Mowbray) and Timothy desperately tries to protect Uncle Caton and forestall the sale.

The story is just OK and Breen is none too convincing as an actor but the singing by him and by the Hall Johnson Choir (Green Pastures, Cabin in the Sky) is glorious.  I was kind of surprised that these screenwriters chose to depict contented slaves but I suppose the times may have demanded that tack.

Victor Young was nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring for this film.

Songs from the film set so still photographs