Category Archives: 1927

The Jazz Singer (1927)

Posted on March 14, 2024 | 4 comments

The Jazz Singer
Directed by Alan Crosland
Written by Samson Raphaelson, Alfred A. Cohn, Jack Jarmuth
1927/US
Warner Bros.
IMDb page
First viewing/YouTube
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Opening Title Card: In every living soul, a spirit cries for expression – – perhaps this plaintive, wailing song of Jazz is, after all, the misunderstood utterance of a prayer.

Well, I waited this long to see the first talkie. It didn’t amount to much.

The Rabinowitzes have been cantors at a synagogue for four generations. The current cantor (Warner Oland) is determined that his son Jakie will follow in his footsteps. However, young Jakie sneaks off whenever he can to sing in saloons. When Dad strikes Jakie for his latest indiscretion, he runs away vowing never to return. This breaks his mother’s (Eugenie Bessemer) heart. Dad disowns Jakie.

Jakie makes it big thanks to sweetie Mary Dale (May McCoy). But just as he is headed for his first opening night on Broadway, Dad falls ill and needs to find a replacement to sing on Yom Kippur.

Most of the elements of this movie irritate the hell out of me. First, I just cannot comprehend the appeal of Al Jolson. I suppose he can carry a tune, but his delivery is completely over the top. He also seems annoyingly full of himself. I don’t think any of his songs can be called “jazz”. The story and its emphasis on long-suffering motherhood is melodramatic to the max. Just an historically important dud in my book.

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Posted in 1927

Chicago (1927)

Posted on March 13, 2024 | Leave a comment

Chicago
Directed by Frank Orson
Written by Lenore J. Coffee; titles by John W. Kraft; story by Maurine Dallas Watkins
1927/US
Cecil B. DeMille Productions
IMDb page
First viewing/YouTub

William Flynn: Cut the bull! I’m not your husband – I’m your lawyer!

This story has been remade so many times because it’s a good one.

Roxie Hart’s (Phyllis Haver) husband Amos (Victor Varconi) is totally besotted by the totally amoral gold digger. Her lover (Eugene Palette) is fed up with her, however. You don’t walk out on Roxie though and loverman winds up with a bullet in his chest. Roxie calls Amos in a panic and the poor sap is up to his ears in trouble trying to help her.

The story proper concerns Roxy’s trial, which rapidly becomes a media circus. Roxie’s lawyer is a money grubbing shyster and the prosecutor is running for public office. Our heroine loves the publicity.

This story originated in a Broadway play and was remade as Roxie Hart (1942) with Ginger Rogers and the Bob Fosse Broadway musical and movie Chicago. It’s a gritty, funny satire on the print media and the justice system that resonates to this day. The performances here are all spot on. I had not seen Varconi before and found him very appealing. I had to keep rubbing my eyes and asking myself is that really Eugene Palette? I thought the running time could have been trimmed by 20-30 minutes without harm but other than that thoroughly enjoyed the film.

Cecil B. DeMille is thought to have directed most if not all of this film. He was talked into taking his name off the credits because the story was not compatible with the message he was sending with The King of Kings released the same year.

Clip – Eugene Palette and Phyllis Haver

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Posted in 1927

My Best Girl (1927)

Posted on March 13, 2024 | Leave a comment

My Best Girl
Directed by Sam Taylor
Written by Allen McNeil, Tim Whalen, and Hope Loving from the story by Kathleen Norris
1927/US
Mary Pickford Productions/United Artists
IMDb page
First viewing/You Tub

Maggie Johnson: I love you, Joe… but I can never, never marry you.

Every romcom trope is utilized in Mary Pickford’s last silent film.

Maggie Johnson is a lowly stock room clerk in a big department store. She meets and falls in love with Joe Grant (Charles ‘Buddy’ Rogers) who is a new hire. Unbeknownst to her, Joe is actually the owner’s son and has been placed there to see how he can do incognito. Also unbeknownst to her is that his parents are eager to anxious to announce his engagement to a woman from their social set. Misunderstandings ensue.

I’m not a huge Mary Pickford fan but this is a cute film. Pickford would go on to marry Rogers after her divorce from Douglas Fairbanks in 1936.

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Posted in 1927

Underworld (1927)

Posted on March 11, 2024 | Leave a comment

Underworld
Directed by Josef von Sternberg and Arthur Rosson
Written by Charles Furthman and Robert N. Lee; story by Ben Hecht
1927/USA
Paramount Pictures
IMDb page
First viewing/YouTube

I saw this more than a week ago before I went on vacation. It started off incredibly strong.

George Bancroft plays a crime kingpin. Drunkard Clive Brook witnesses him committing a bank heist and eventually becomes Bancrofts’s friend and loyal minion. Evelyn Brent is Bancroft’s moll. Intrigue, violence, and a love triangle ensue.

I absolutely loved the first half of this movie which is nice and sordid. The last half is a bit too melodramatic for my taste. I’m always glad to see George Bancroft on a cast list and he is excellent here. Clive Brook is absolutely outstanding as the drunk but once the melodrama starts he starts overacting. I remember not liking Brook in anything before so was impressed overall. There is some good German expressionist lighting. Overall a good movie.

Whenever I see one of von Sternberg’s early films I wonder what he would have done if he had not been sidetracked by his fascination with Marlene Dietrich.

Ben Hecht won the first Academy Award given for Best Writing, Original Story.

The scene where Clive Brooks’s acting starts to go downhill (some might think it’s a spoiler)

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Posted in 1927

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)

Posted on December 11, 2021 | 4 comments

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
Directed by F.W. Murnau
Written by Carl Mayer from a theme by Hermann Sundermann
1927/US
Fox Film Corporation
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Instant
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Title Card: This song of the Man and his Wife is of no place and every place; you might hear it anywhere, at any time. For wherever the sun rises and sets, in the city’s turmoil or under the open sky on the farm, life is much the same; sometimes bitter, sometimes sweet.

Murnau’s first American film makes a poem out of a simple romance plot.

None of the characters is named. A Man (George O’Brien) and his sweet demure Wife (Janet Gaynor) live on a farm near a large lake with their adorable blond toddler. The lake is also a tourist destination in summer and the Man falls under the spell of a chain-smoking evil Woman from the City (Margaret Livingston). They meet on the sly. The Woman gets tired of this and urges the Man to sell his farm and move to the City. She suggests that he gets rid of his wife by making a drowning look like a boating accident.

Now the Man has already caused his Wife many bitter tears due to his unexplained absences. She is surprised when he suggests that the two treat themselves to a few days in the City. But the minute she gets in the rowboat with him, she knows something is very wrong. He makes one lunge at her but cannot go through with it. When the boat hits shore, she runs away from him in terror. He catches up with her at the last minute when she boards a streetcar.

She doesn’t warm up to him quickly. But gradually their love is renewed and they celebrate by doing a lot of new and fun things on their day out. The day isn’t over until they can return home, though, and Fate has some surprises for them.

I’ve always loved this movie. The city sets and innovative camerawork are superb. Gaynor is perfect in her role. I thought O’Brien’s lumbering menace during the dramatic scenes was pretty old fashioned even for 1927 but he won me over during the romantic comic bits. Truly a must-see and most highly recommended.

Sunrise won the first and only Oscar for Best Picture, Unique and Artistic Production and Oscars for Best Actress (Gaynor’s trifecta included this, Seventh Heaven, and Street Angel), and Best Cinematography. It was nominated for its art direction.

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Posted in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, 1927, Pre-Code Reviews

7th Heaven (1927)

Posted on December 6, 2021 | Leave a comment

7th Heaven
Directed by Frank Borzage
Written by Benjamin Glazer from a play by Austin Strong
1927/US
Fox Film Corporation
IMDb page
First viewing/YouTube (free)

Chico: Not bad, eh? I work in the sewer – but I live near the stars!

Once in a great while, I find a new-to-me film that moves me to tears. This was one of those occasions.

The setting is Paris in the weeks before the outbreak of WWI. Chico (Charles Farrell) works in the city sewers. He is a happy-go-lucky guy who thinks of himself as a “very remarkable fellow”. He is mad at God for not granting his prayers for promotion to a street washer position.

On day, Chico spots Diane (Janet Gaynor) who is being viciously beaten by her alcoholic sister. He rescues her. Shortly thereafter, a cleric gives him several religious medals and an appointment as street washer. To keep his job, Chico must have a wife. So he reluctantly invites Diane to live with him just until the police come to check on his marital status. They will live in a seventh story walk-up garret apartment. It’s not much but Chico thinks of it as heaven because of the view and Diane agrees completely.

We follow the development of the couple’s relationship. At the last minute, Chico is called up by the Army to go to the front lines of WWI. Will the couple reunite?

This plot might sound like a corny melodrama but I wept for most of the last half hour and thoroughly enjoyed it. There is plenty of comedy in the first half to balance out the tears. The direction and production are first-rate with lots of atmospheric lighting. I love these actors. Highly recommended.

Frank Borzage won the first and only Oscar for Best Director, Dramatic Picture. Janet Gaynor won for Best Actress for her performances in this, Street Angel, and Sunrise. Benjamin Glazer won for Best Writing, Adaptation. The film was nominated for Best Picture, Production and for Best Art Direction.

Clip – Do you think the makers of “The Artist” saw this movie?

Theme song with photo montage from the movie

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Posted in 1927, Pre-Code Reviews

Wings (1927)

Posted on November 27, 2021 | 11 comments

Wings
Directed by William Wellman
Written by John Monk Saunders, Hope Loring, and Louis D. Lighton
1927/US
Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation
IMDb page
First viewing/Amazon Instant

Mary Preston: Remember – I saw the war, too, Jack! And I can’t blame – anyone – for anything! What happens from now on is all that matters, isn’t it, dear?

Can’t believe it took me this long to get to the first Best Picture Oscar winner. And I was not disappointed.

The setting is WWI. David Armstrong (Richard Arlen) is a son of the richest family in the small town in which he lives. Everybody, including the principals, expects him to marry the rich and lovely Sylvia Lewis. All-American middle class boy Jack Powell (Charles ‘Buddy’ Rogers) is in love with her too. Jack is oblivious to the fact that Mary Preston (Clara Bow) is crazy about him. Both men enlist as combat pilots and go off to France. They become flying aces and eventually best friends. Mary enlists as a motor pool driver and catches up with them in France.

Most of the film is devoted to spectacular aerial footage of combat. So we get action, adventure, comedy, tragedy, romance and male bonding. Gary Cooper’s two-minute scene in this film set him on the road to stardom.

Two and a half hours of war movie didn’t exactly sound like a load of fun but I loved this. It was charming when it needed to be, touching when it needed to be, and, wow, those flight scenes were unbelievable. Amazon had the restored print with colorized flames coming out of planes that are shot down.